Trying to get hold of Ness Tech Support
- Thread starter Machog
- Start date
Machog
New Member
Got hold of Jonathan who quickly diagnosed the problem. The right rear brake safety cut off is set incorrectly, I.e. too sensitive. Motor is always in ‘killed’ position. He is sending me a video to adjust the sensitivity. Think I know how to do it, but going to wait until I see the video. I can override this by pushing down on the brake lever, it then comes out of ‘brake’ mode. Anyone else with this issue, you can check by looking in lower left corner of display and you see a small circle, it represents when brake mode is on.
Unfortunately, before I got in touch with Jonathon, I got into the controller software and of course I’ve messed it up so bike will only do 5mph at the most on throttle mode! If anyone knows what the factory settings are, there’s a beer in it for you;-)
Other than that, bike looks great, well put together, comfortable, relatively light (compared with my Rad Mini), should be perfect for my bride when she gets back from Europe. I’m going to keep posting here until I get a reply or someone tells me there is another Ness forum;-)
Unfortunately, before I got in touch with Jonathon, I got into the controller software and of course I’ve messed it up so bike will only do 5mph at the most on throttle mode! If anyone knows what the factory settings are, there’s a beer in it for you;-)
Other than that, bike looks great, well put together, comfortable, relatively light (compared with my Rad Mini), should be perfect for my bride when she gets back from Europe. I’m going to keep posting here until I get a reply or someone tells me there is another Ness forum;-)
Machog
New Member
Just in case anyone has to suffer through my wife’s Ness Icon issues, here are 2 cures for the top speed issue and brake issue.
To set speed, after turning on display in normal way, hold top and bottom arrows down together on control module. You’ll get flashing KPH display, I set mine to 40kph, then you can set wheel size and MPH/KPH by hitting middle mode button, I set mine to 20, but speedo and odo are wildly off, might experiment with different sizes.
Come out of set up mode and you now get a choice of top speeds by selecting PAS level and turning throttle. PAS1 = 8mph, PAS2 = 10mph, PAS 3 = 16mph, PAS 4 = 20mph & 5 = 22mph! Quite a clever way to limit top speed.
Brake issue is also very simple, back out hex/locking screw on rear of brake lever, then slowly back out the cable with 8mm wrench until round brake display goes off in bottom right corner-voila, its cured. Too cold and wet today to do a real test, but I’ll report back tomorrow to the thousands of readers on this Ness forum;-)
To set speed, after turning on display in normal way, hold top and bottom arrows down together on control module. You’ll get flashing KPH display, I set mine to 40kph, then you can set wheel size and MPH/KPH by hitting middle mode button, I set mine to 20, but speedo and odo are wildly off, might experiment with different sizes.
Come out of set up mode and you now get a choice of top speeds by selecting PAS level and turning throttle. PAS1 = 8mph, PAS2 = 10mph, PAS 3 = 16mph, PAS 4 = 20mph & 5 = 22mph! Quite a clever way to limit top speed.
Brake issue is also very simple, back out hex/locking screw on rear of brake lever, then slowly back out the cable with 8mm wrench until round brake display goes off in bottom right corner-voila, its cured. Too cold and wet today to do a real test, but I’ll report back tomorrow to the thousands of readers on this Ness forum;-)
Machog
New Member
Bike is eventually running well, it was a frustrating week of staring at an unusable bike. Brake and speed issues both sorted-see comments above. Ness Icon is a good product. Well made, descent power, a real 20mph. Not sure about range yet, but with the way I ride, lots of 2-3 peddle assist, very little throttle only, I’m betting 20miles+. Good saddle and ergonomics. Front suspension helps take the wrist jarring that other small cast wheel bikes are prone to. Icon has full fenders, nice rear rack, lights, folds well, quick release wheels.
Unless my experience was an anomaly, the complete lack of support and communication should be taken into account, when ordering over the internet. My suggestion, call the CS support line, before ordering, get a feel for the company and their response. Try a few questions, see how long it takes them to respond. My other eBike (Ness is for my wife), is a Rad Mini, from Seattle WA. Mini is outstanding, the readily available tech support and follow up is a model for this emerging industry.
Unless my experience was an anomaly, the complete lack of support and communication should be taken into account, when ordering over the internet. My suggestion, call the CS support line, before ordering, get a feel for the company and their response. Try a few questions, see how long it takes them to respond. My other eBike (Ness is for my wife), is a Rad Mini, from Seattle WA. Mini is outstanding, the readily available tech support and follow up is a model for this emerging industry.
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Machog
New Member
Talking to myself here, but no matter, someone will join me soon. Went for test run on my wife’s Ness Icon today. 24 miles of mixed riding, including hills and headwinds. Mostly rode PAS 2-3, bits of 4 and burst of throttle to see how fast it would go with head winds- 18mph. Flicking between 1 & 2 bars at the end, but battery display had a solid 2. Think you could easily go 30miles+ and with my wife being considerably lighter than my 190lbs, maybe further than that. Now that I’ve got it working its a good product. Just hope I don’t get anymore issues, because I’ve a feeling I’m on my own.
Machog
New Member
OK, 4/6/18. Just called Ness tech support to see if anyone was there, 3rd ring they picked up. Talked with Jonathon. So I’m now more encouraged and feel like recommending this bike. It is a good value and a well put together complete machine. If tech support is now up and running you should seriously consider Ness if you are looking for a folding bike.
Are these guys still in business? I bought my Ness bike in April 2019 and put around 2,100 miles on it. The other day while riding, the bike frame split at the folding joint weld. This is definitely a warranty issue they need to address and I was lucky to not have gotten hurt. I have called and emailed numerous times and have gotten no response. I just want others who are considering purchasing a Ness bike to reconsider. It feels like these guys are not standing by there word and are probably scamsters. It is a decent bike however with no customer support you should probably look elsewhere. Unfortunately, I am going to have to buy a new ebike.
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J.R.
Well-Known Member
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- USA
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- Piedmont Highlands
This will be my third season riding the Ness Icon and it's been a good bike. I haven't put tons of miles on it but I haven't had any issues other than brakes and gears that need some fine tuning. I easily get 30 miles on a single charge and the battery is still holding up well. I regularly ride on pedal assist levels 1 or 2 at about 12-14 mph. For those killer hills I use 3 or 4. For super duper hills 5 but that's very rare. Of course I don't live in a hilly part of the country.
So far I've contacted customer support once but that was a couple years ago and they were prompt to answer. I just had a general question. Luckily the bike uses many standard components that can be purchased online. If the company went belly up the bike could still be repaired. I hope the company does well because I get tons of compliments on the bike trail. It's been a good bike with plenty of power for the trails I ride.
So far I've contacted customer support once but that was a couple years ago and they were prompt to answer. I just had a general question. Luckily the bike uses many standard components that can be purchased online. If the company went belly up the bike could still be repaired. I hope the company does well because I get tons of compliments on the bike trail. It's been a good bike with plenty of power for the trails I ride.
I would be careful with them even if you already have one. I was researching them when they were non responsive after my frame cracked. They had a BBB complaint against them about a customer who had one under warranty and the frame broke at the folding hinge like mine. They did nothing in that case for the customer. This leads me to believe that there could be a defect in the manufacturing process. Anyone who is riding one should inspect their bike for issues. A frame failure during riding can be extremely dangerous. It seems Ness does not want to take responsibility or stand behind their bikes. They are lucky that no one sues them over injury (that we know of at least). In my opinion they should have a recall of some sort to address the problem. The bike is not safe for anyone to ride. This is from someone who put over 2,000 miles on his over a seven month period.
That's not good about the frame. I have the step-thru and haven't had any problems yet. I ride primarily on pavement but I've hit some potholes and hard bumps. Bad customer service will kill an ebike company. Gotta stand behind your products. That's why RadPowerBikes is so popular. It's less of a risk to buy from them. Lectric Bikes, a new company also has reports of very good customer service. I have a RadRunner coming Monday and the Juiced HyperScorpion in May or June. Yeah, I really like e-bikes! I like my Ness Icon too. Maybe I'll shoot Ness an email and see if they respond promptly.
Okay, I sent them a message because I actually do need some help! I played around with the controller settings and now the battery drains ridiculously fast (or it shows that it is) and speedometer is jacked up. Not the same thing as a cracked frame but I'll let you know how fast they respond and whether their response was helpful.
Machog
New Member
Its no good emailing them, you got to call and keep calling. They covered a warranty claim with a local bike shop for me, I paid, texted the invoice and they sent me a check. Other than that the NESS has been great. Its now well out of warranty, so when/if it fails, I’ll get it repaired locally, all my LBS will tackle eBike repairs.
Yes I tried emailing them and the email failed because there's no such address apparently. They don't know their email doesn't work? That seems kinda crazy. I'll try calling and hopefully that hasn't been disconnected too. All I need to know is the correct speed settings for the display. I tried what was suggested in several posts above and screwed things up. Ha.
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