RECEIVED MY NEW E-BIKE TODAY - AND ASSEMBLED IT MYSELF

The large box was delivered today by UPS and I dragged it inside to open it.  The temps today were pretty bad and I prefered to stay indoors with the A/C on 70 degrees.

The box was all in one piece but looked battered.  I got it opened and there was a lot of bubble wrap used in packing.  Got everything unwrapped and noticed that there was going to be a lot of assembly required.  My last bike was fully assembled when I received it so I was a little concerned that I may not be able to do it myself.

I had no idea how to put the front wheel on.

The fender for the front wheel.

My last bike arrived in the folded position.  This one did not.

I spoke to the seller who informed me that he was going to throw in a helmet and saddlebags.  The helmet was broken at the bottom of the box.  I don't wear a helmet anyway so no big deal.

Finally got the box cut away and noticed that the chain was off.  Not a problem to put it back on.

I didn't notice it at this time but the fork was in the wrong position.  When I attached the wheel it became obvious that the fender would not attach.  So I turned the fork around and everything fit. However, the tire rubs on the fender a bit.  I attached the peddles next.  Then the headlight.  The front brake took forever to attach then adjust.  There was no booklet of instructions in the box.

The last thing to do was to align the tire with the handle bars and secure them.  I could not for the life of me figure out how this was done.  I thought I had to tighten a bolt so I asked my neighbor for a wrench that would fit the bolt.  He came over and informed me that was not how to align the bike.  I was so thankful that he knew how to do what needed to be done.  The brake away part - when opened - has a screw inside that needs to be tightened.  Once that was done it was ready to ride.  It took me 4 hours to assemble everything.  But if I had to do it over again it would not take that long.  I must say, I'm very proud of myself for learning how to do this.

I really like the bags.  Plus there is still room for a basket on the back.  It also has a tail light but I can't figure out how to turn it on.  The head light has a switch on the handlebar.  The tail light might need a battery or perhaps a bulb.  I'll check it out tomorrow.

I didn't have to charge the battery or inflate the tires.  It was ready to roll.  I took it out on the street and gave it a test ride.  BOY is it powerful.  Almost too powerful.  My other bike is a 250 watt motor - this one is a 300 watt motor and a lot more powerful.  It's a good thing that it has a Low, Medium, and High control on the handlebar.  It is a peddle assist bike so as soon as you peddle the motor kicks in.  It's best to be at the Low setting or you could loose control.

While I was rolling I tried the medium setting and it took off out from under me.  Scared me at first as I was not ready for that quick burst.  I then hesitated to put it into high but I did and it is a setting I will never need to use.  I prefer the Low setting as it requires me to peddle harder and that is great exercise for my legs. 

I really like it and hope that I have many years of riding ahead.  Can't wait till the weather gets cooler so I can take it to the beach.  My little doggies were so excited to see me on the bike and  begged to go for a ride.  They remember that we used to do that.  It's been a whole year since the last time we rode together.

  

BOUGHT MY SECOND ELECTRIC FOLDING BIKE

It's been a year now since my Cyclamatic Electric bike's motor burned out.  No one in my area is willing to work on an electric bike.  After a few months, I located a mechanic in New Orleans who said he could work on the bike.  He found a replacement motor and I purchased it online.  When it came in I delivered it to the mechanic.  Three months later he still had not installed it.  It wasn't that he was so busy but that he procrastinated to the point that I had to threaten to report him.  He finally installed the motor but told me that it would not run.  He felt that it was the battery that had run down.  He didn't have a charger for my bike so I said I would charge it when I got home.  I was so glad to bring my bike home.

I charged the battery but the bike still would not run.  Then I figured out what the problem was.  He installed a 36v motor instead of a 24v motor.  The 24v battery would not run this motor.  So now I have paid $ 256.00 for the motor and $100.00 for labor... and still no bike to ride.   I have about $1200 invested in this bike so far.

I could not find the battery I need in the US.  I've tried for months to order a 36 v battery from China but after having dealt with 4 different sales reps online, I purchased one from AliBaba.  For the next 3 months I was told that the battery was still being built.  Then a few weeks ago I was informed that they could not build the battery I needed.  It took a while to get a refund of the $220.00 I paid for the battery but thanks to PayPal the claim was closed and I got my refund.

I continued to look for a li-ion battery online and even went to the local Batteries Plus store today but they can not work on lithium batteries.  So very frustrating.

I gave some thought to ordering another motor (24v) and having it installed just so the current battery would work and the bike would run once again.  But that would mean spending another $256.00 on a bike that I will never be able to get a replacement battery for.  So I decided to buy a new bike instead.

I found an electric folding bike that does offer replacement batteries.  And here it is....

It cost $799.00 and free shipping.

300 Watt motor fueled by a 36 volt 10 ah battery pack

It looks very much like my current bike...

250 Watt motor fueled by a 24 volt 10 ah battery pack

Modified with a new 540 Watt motor but no matching battery pack

I paid $799.00 for this bike 2 1/2 years ago.  I really like this bike and it was my fault that the motor burnt out.  The mechanic informed me that when he opened the motor up there was sand inside.  I wasn't surprised.  I rode that bike on the beach and it was always covered in sand.  I did rinse it off but that didn't help the sand that entered the motor.   I sure had a lot of fun on that bike.

So in about a week, I'll have a new electric bike.  Can't wait.