CashMoney
Member
My wife's Ride1Up 700 ST recently turned 1,000 miles on the odometer, so I’d thought I’d post a long-term review.
She commutes to work with it, about 9 miles round trip, through the mild hills of Atlanta with one steep hill (I've seen the display show a max speed of 32 mph!). Garage-kept at home, usually parked out of the rain at work. She rides in the rain, even hit a few downpours on the way home. We don't do anything to dry out the bike or battery, just park it in the garage.
I ordered it on Jan. 17, 2020, and it arrived on Jan. 24, 2020. The brake light was broken in the box, and Ride1Up sent a replacement right away. Assembled it myself, and found that the threaded boss on the front fork for the brake cable clamp screw was stripped. Ride1Up suggested using a longer screw, and offered to reimburse me for it, but I declined. I was able to run a thread tap in the hole and use a longer screw. I checked the spokes with a tension gauge, but they did not need adjusting, as I recall.
We added a few accessories; lights, pannier bags (Rhinowalk brand, from Amazon. Attached with zip-ties), Kryptonite Evolution 1016 bike chain lock, and mud flaps to extend the fender coverage (Portland Design Works polypropylene 650 Beast). I added Slime to the tires, and we’ve had no flats.
In late February, the brake sensors that cut off the motor when the brakes are applied started acting up. Got the Error 25 code. Ride1Up sent me a video with repair steps to try. But a couple weeks later, it acted up again. Ride1Up suggested replacing the magnet and sent me a new one. In the process of replacing it, I found that the magnet on each brake lever was not well-secured (seems like the adhesive failed). I glued them back with Gorilla glue, adjust them, and no problems since.
In early April, the front wheel starting making a whining sound. On the disc side of the hub, the rubber cover that helps seal the bearing was making the sound, and there were little bits of rubber between it and the hub. I greased both dust covers with some Super Lube PTFE and the noise has not returned. But when replacing the front wheel, I found that one the threaded holes for the brake caliper bolts was stripped out. I had always used a torque wrench on the bike. Ride1Up was generous and offered to reimburse me for a Heli-coil to repair the stripped hole, so I did that. Easy repair, and they reimbursed me immediately.
In late April, my wife complained about the shifting. I tried to tune it up, but it seemed like the derailleur was bent. I checked the derailleur hanger and it seemed straight. But the derailleur looked off. I swapped it out for an Acera from my old analog bike and was able to tune it perfectly. It seems the derailleur got whacked, either in the garage or at the bike rack at work.
So I bought a new Deore derailleur (yes, there is an 9/8/7 speed Deore derailleur. It may be a discontinued model, but it is available; Shimano Deore M591SGS LongCage 9Sp. And yes, a 9-speed derailleur is also used for 8 and 7 speed drivetrains.). I also replaced the chain with a KMC X8.99/X8 chain. The Deore is a much better derailleur than the Acera. It installed and tuned up easily. I had to trim the shifter cable and housing an inch or two.
In May, my wife dropped the bike, and the left-side brake lever broke. Actually broke at the “collar” part that clamps around the bar, not the lever itself. I temporarily fixed it with JB Weld epoxy, ordered a new lever assembly and brake bleed kit, but I have yet to replace the lever. The JB Weld is holding up just fine.
In July, I replaced the rear brake pads and rotor. The pads had worn down to the metal and scored the rotor a bit. But the front pads looked fine. My wife denies this, but I think she may be using the rear brake a bit more or harder than the front.
At some point, my wife claimed that it seemed the PAS setting was changing on its own. I tried to replicate it (she said it was happening on hills) but I couldn’t. It only happened a couple times though.
The bike has worked out great for us. I bought a used 2017 Rad City at the same time we got the 700, and it’s clear that the 700 is a better bike.
As far as charging, we try to charge to 80 or 90%, but sometimes we forget and let it charge all night. My wife uses the battery percentage display, and she notes that the battery drain is not linear (from 100 to 80% takes longer than 70 to 50%, for example). Only once has it dropped to 30%. But she does not have a long commute.
She commutes to work with it, about 9 miles round trip, through the mild hills of Atlanta with one steep hill (I've seen the display show a max speed of 32 mph!). Garage-kept at home, usually parked out of the rain at work. She rides in the rain, even hit a few downpours on the way home. We don't do anything to dry out the bike or battery, just park it in the garage.
I ordered it on Jan. 17, 2020, and it arrived on Jan. 24, 2020. The brake light was broken in the box, and Ride1Up sent a replacement right away. Assembled it myself, and found that the threaded boss on the front fork for the brake cable clamp screw was stripped. Ride1Up suggested using a longer screw, and offered to reimburse me for it, but I declined. I was able to run a thread tap in the hole and use a longer screw. I checked the spokes with a tension gauge, but they did not need adjusting, as I recall.
We added a few accessories; lights, pannier bags (Rhinowalk brand, from Amazon. Attached with zip-ties), Kryptonite Evolution 1016 bike chain lock, and mud flaps to extend the fender coverage (Portland Design Works polypropylene 650 Beast). I added Slime to the tires, and we’ve had no flats.
In late February, the brake sensors that cut off the motor when the brakes are applied started acting up. Got the Error 25 code. Ride1Up sent me a video with repair steps to try. But a couple weeks later, it acted up again. Ride1Up suggested replacing the magnet and sent me a new one. In the process of replacing it, I found that the magnet on each brake lever was not well-secured (seems like the adhesive failed). I glued them back with Gorilla glue, adjust them, and no problems since.
In early April, the front wheel starting making a whining sound. On the disc side of the hub, the rubber cover that helps seal the bearing was making the sound, and there were little bits of rubber between it and the hub. I greased both dust covers with some Super Lube PTFE and the noise has not returned. But when replacing the front wheel, I found that one the threaded holes for the brake caliper bolts was stripped out. I had always used a torque wrench on the bike. Ride1Up was generous and offered to reimburse me for a Heli-coil to repair the stripped hole, so I did that. Easy repair, and they reimbursed me immediately.
In late April, my wife complained about the shifting. I tried to tune it up, but it seemed like the derailleur was bent. I checked the derailleur hanger and it seemed straight. But the derailleur looked off. I swapped it out for an Acera from my old analog bike and was able to tune it perfectly. It seems the derailleur got whacked, either in the garage or at the bike rack at work.
So I bought a new Deore derailleur (yes, there is an 9/8/7 speed Deore derailleur. It may be a discontinued model, but it is available; Shimano Deore M591SGS LongCage 9Sp. And yes, a 9-speed derailleur is also used for 8 and 7 speed drivetrains.). I also replaced the chain with a KMC X8.99/X8 chain. The Deore is a much better derailleur than the Acera. It installed and tuned up easily. I had to trim the shifter cable and housing an inch or two.
In May, my wife dropped the bike, and the left-side brake lever broke. Actually broke at the “collar” part that clamps around the bar, not the lever itself. I temporarily fixed it with JB Weld epoxy, ordered a new lever assembly and brake bleed kit, but I have yet to replace the lever. The JB Weld is holding up just fine.
In July, I replaced the rear brake pads and rotor. The pads had worn down to the metal and scored the rotor a bit. But the front pads looked fine. My wife denies this, but I think she may be using the rear brake a bit more or harder than the front.
At some point, my wife claimed that it seemed the PAS setting was changing on its own. I tried to replicate it (she said it was happening on hills) but I couldn’t. It only happened a couple times though.
The bike has worked out great for us. I bought a used 2017 Rad City at the same time we got the 700, and it’s clear that the 700 is a better bike.
As far as charging, we try to charge to 80 or 90%, but sometimes we forget and let it charge all night. My wife uses the battery percentage display, and she notes that the battery drain is not linear (from 100 to 80% takes longer than 70 to 50%, for example). Only once has it dropped to 30%. But she does not have a long commute.
