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I found this insulting anti-ebike article in a local rag and responded with a blistering comment accusing the author of deliberately endangering ebike riders with a barrage of undeserved and untrue negative propaganda. She was promulgating the usual stereotypes about ebikes being for drunks who...

I always give a rack a good shake before I'll use it, even if it's a rack I've used before. I've had a few odd looks but it's better than finding out the hard way that a rack is not secure. In my city most of the city racks are composed of a solid thick steel pole with a big ring molded into the...

All hail Sheldon! His website has been invaluable to me, both in fixing up my vintage cruiser bike and replacing the rear tire on my ebike. Re secure axles, recently I read that Abus makes one called Nutfix that uses gravity and requires the bike to be on its side to disengage. It's usually...

Abus is a German manufacturer with an excellent reputation. They've been around since the 1920's and they make a wide variety of locks including padlocks, industrial and other non-bike locks. I use two Abus locks to secure my ebike, as I described in an earlier post in this thread. I've read...

Yes, as I mentioned there's a space between the holes in the rim and the spoke nipples. I took the wheel off, then the tube and tire as well as the rim strip. I used fine emery cloth to polish the inside of the rim because there were some rough bits and burrs (I did the cotton ball test). I...

Thanks for all of the advice! 1. I bought rim tape at the same time as I bought the new tube. The bike didn't come with rim tape. It's made of plastic, non-adhesive, supposedly for mountain bikes, and stretches to fit the rim. It fits pretty snugly but with effort it's capable of sliding (around...

I'm still in hell, trying to get my lemon ebike to work. I thought I had it all ready, both wheels back on, gears and brakes working, new rack installed, etc. Then today I found the back tire flat again. I had installed a new rim liner and a new Slime tube, even though the old tube has held a...

I use Abus locks, a U lock and a heavy chain lock. Abus is a respected German manufacturer. The chains are what motorcyclists use to secure their bikes. The links are welded and covered in a heavy nylon sleeve so thieves can't pry them open. They're heavy to lug around but I just put the...

I had a Sondors Storm a few years ago. I took a look at the Thin and the frame is very similar. As I recall there's a small space between the battery case and the horizontal crossbar, big enough to allow attaching items to the bar with zip ties. You could zip tie a water bottle holder to the...

Yup - you always get what you paid for. Now I'm wondering if any other Sparkbike buyers are on this board. I'd be interested to hear of their experiences, especially if they've had their bikes for a longer period of time. Might be handy to know in advance what's going to break next. :rolleyes:

We do have LBS that carry ebikes here, more and more open each year, but they charge astronomical prices. An entry level bike like mine would go for $3000 or more, whereas I paid $1800 including shipping for the one I have. Still, I will never order an ebike online again after this experience...

I'm not familiar with dropout types, but I created a separate thread to get some help with reinstalling my rear wheel. Someone posted a pic that shows what my dropouts look like. https://electricbikereview.com/forum/threads/replacing-rear-wheel-after-tube-replacement

I couldn't refuse the delivery, they literally dumped it outside my apartment door and ran. Once I got the bike out of the box and packing material I found the paint chips on the rack and checked it with a level to confirm it was twisted (higher on one side than the other when viewed from the...

Thanks for that pic! I could only find pics of standard bikes. My ebike came with two thin axle washers and one thick one. That's what I forgot, which one goes where. However that can be figured out with trial and error. My other mistake was trying to align the tab on the torque washers...

Audible alarms can be a liability, especially if the device runs off of your battery. Vandals like to set them off for fun or to deliberately run your battery down. Plus you need to be nearby to shut it off, otherwise it just blares, annoys people, and gets stolen anyway.

This is a rant, just to vent about all the problems and bad luck I've been experiencing with my new ebike. It's not meant as a criticism of the seller, they've actually been pretty good in helping me with some early issues. In February I bought a Sparkbikes ebike by mail order. It's lucky I...

I had a flat on my rear wheel which has the hub motor. I had to take the wheel off to replace the tube. I turned the bike upside down to do this. Now I'm having no end of trouble getting the axle to sit fully in the dropouts. I deflated the tire so it's about half pressure (not soft enough to...

Re audible alarms: Not only are they ineffective at deterring thieves, they're a nuisance and a target for vandals. When I was riding my electric scooter I used to activate its alarm whenever I parked and locked it somewhere. Then one day I locked it up on a bike rack at a busy subway station...

That's a great idea! I will have to get some loc-tite. It's better than carrying a wrench around.

I understand the concerns raised re bike horns and pedestrians, but I strongly disagree with the tone. I don't like being called "anti-pedestrian" because I discuss the habits of a minority of pedestrians who endanger themselves by wandering into the street in front of my vehicle without...