2019 Evelo Compass Trike
- Thread starter Paulf10
- Start date
Congratulations Ron_H! After a few rides (by my wife in my case) we will have to compare our experiences on the Compass trike. We will be riding mostly on paved rail trails that are relatively flat without any steep hills. Our typical rides are 15 to 25 miles, so one of the things I will be interested in is if the single battery on the Compass will be able to provide that range. My wife has been riding a 2 wheel ebike (Blix Aveny) and even though she used the throttle quite a lot, she could easily go that far and still have 50% of her battery left. I am guessing the heavy trike will eat up the battery a lot quicker.
The Compass arrived Tuesday. I had some outpatient surgery Wednesday and I'm under doctor's orders not to lift anything more than 10 pounds for a week, so removing the Compass from the box and assembling it is going to have to wait for a few more days. We're just beginners here, but I'll let you know our impressions once we've had a few rides under our belts.
My Evelo Compass was delivered to my LBS last Monday for assembly. They took all week to assemble, adjust and test it, so I picked it up on Saturday afternoon. I was surprised it took the LBS that long, but in their defense, they did an excellent job of learning the trikes features and testing it so they could give us a good demo/explanation and test ride of the trike and its features when we picked it up. The sales tech who helped us said this was the first Evelo product they had dealt with, so they wanted to make sure they could give us the support we might need. I will have to say they spent as much time with us as they normally do with the brands they sell directly. They also told me if we had any problems or questions that we could bring the trike back next week for additional adjustments and assistance as needed. It made me glad I opted for the LBS assembly and setup instead of trying to do it myself.
Initial observation is that the Evelo Compass is very well made and high quality. Everything (except the clumsy and somewhat ugly rear fenders) seems to be first class. Because of the weather (hot with high humidity) and our health situation, we have only been able to take a couple of short rides so far (less than 10 miles), but the trike is powerful even on the lowest assist level, and seems to have an adequate gearing, assist and speed combination with the mid-drive motor and 3 speed Shimano Nexus shifter. In fact, the LBS tech showed us on the display that they had taken the trike up to 21 MPH in their testing during setup (probably on downhill, not from assist) and said that the trike preformed well, had no rattles, etc. and braked well at that speed. I am curious to see what the battery range will give us on our typical trail rides. We seldom do more than 25 or 30 mile runs on paved rail trails, and I wonder if the trike will have that range on a single charge. With the built in bay for a second battery we at least have a way to improve the range if necessary without making any modifications … that is reassuring to have that option.
That is all I have to report for now … will try to follow up as we get more experience with the Compass.
Initial observation is that the Evelo Compass is very well made and high quality. Everything (except the clumsy and somewhat ugly rear fenders) seems to be first class. Because of the weather (hot with high humidity) and our health situation, we have only been able to take a couple of short rides so far (less than 10 miles), but the trike is powerful even on the lowest assist level, and seems to have an adequate gearing, assist and speed combination with the mid-drive motor and 3 speed Shimano Nexus shifter. In fact, the LBS tech showed us on the display that they had taken the trike up to 21 MPH in their testing during setup (probably on downhill, not from assist) and said that the trike preformed well, had no rattles, etc. and braked well at that speed. I am curious to see what the battery range will give us on our typical trail rides. We seldom do more than 25 or 30 mile runs on paved rail trails, and I wonder if the trike will have that range on a single charge. With the built in bay for a second battery we at least have a way to improve the range if necessary without making any modifications … that is reassuring to have that option.
That is all I have to report for now … will try to follow up as we get more experience with the Compass.
Last edited:
terrylharris
New Member
My first EVELO Compass was delivered for assembly on March 5. Soon after, it was assembled and I took delivery. Other than getting used to making turns on it, the delivery was uneventful. As soon as I rode it I noticed a clicking/ticking sound in the rear axle area upon acceleration lasting for 10 seconds to maybe 30 seconds. I contacted EVELO and after they determined that they had no rear axles available they sent a second Compass. By now the original bike shop was closed because of the virus and a new shop was the recipient. With the virus delay the Compass was assembled a week or so later. Astoundingly the second Compass had the clinking/ticking much worse than the first. The current shop is only open Wednesday thru Sunday and it is difficult to contact EVELO directly most of the time, so I am waiting on the next evolution. I will praise EVELO for being very generous and they have supported me very graciously. Has anyone else had the clicking/ticking sound with their Compass? My worry is that it is the harbinger of problems in the future, and even though the warranty is wonderful, after 30 days the labor costs are on me. Worse yet the bike shops seem unable to tear into it to find the problem. The current one is of the opinion that they did not sell it and they know nothing about it. I love the Compass and I have invested so much money on the trike and hitch and rack that I am hesitant to just send the 2 Compasses back, plus I have sold my old E-Bike and want to ride again. HELP
evelo-bikes
New Member
Hi @terrylharris,
We do strive to take care of our customers and do our best to respond to everyone quickly. As you may have noticed, it's sometimes difficult to get through on the phone. The bicycle industry is right in the middle of the biggest boom in at least a generation and we simply cannot answer every call. If you leave a message we will get back to you as soon as possible. It is usually faster to drop us an email at [email protected]
We are happy to take care of you and your trike.
Please direct all service inquiries through our phone, email, or website. While we do peek in here from time to time, we only check this forum occasionally.
Thank you,
David from EVELO
We do strive to take care of our customers and do our best to respond to everyone quickly. As you may have noticed, it's sometimes difficult to get through on the phone. The bicycle industry is right in the middle of the biggest boom in at least a generation and we simply cannot answer every call. If you leave a message we will get back to you as soon as possible. It is usually faster to drop us an email at [email protected]
We are happy to take care of you and your trike.
Please direct all service inquiries through our phone, email, or website. While we do peek in here from time to time, we only check this forum occasionally.
Thank you,
David from EVELO
Never seen such good response from any other ebike company as Evelo. I have researched for buying my ebike and read many posts about responsiveness of companies which is important to me. Biktrix also gets good ratings but Evelo seems to be outstanding. My son works as a bike salesman for high end pedal bikes and he says their sales have exploded last few months so I guess David from Evelo is correct about busy things are in that industry. Too bad other industries are not experiencing similar growth during this pandemic.
Judebarnes
New Member
Bump! Can anyone who got a compass post an update on how it has held up, how often you use it , what kind of range yoire getting ? Looking at the 2021 model with great interest
terrylharris
New Member
I love my Compass. Of course I have had 3 of them because of problems. On the first 2 the display would not show the batteries at 100% when fully charged and the battery device that allows 2 battery to be in use and as one goes down in power the other kicks in automatically was non-functional. All three have had a clicking noise in the rear end. The second was a clang rather than a clicking. The current one has the display and battery problem fixed however the speed sensor that provides the speed info to the display is not working. EVELO's customer service has been exceptional on all three trikes. New wiring harnesses have arrived at my bike shop and will installed this week hopefully solving the speed sensor problem. We ride 3 to 4 times a week up to 30 miles per ride and I have never been stranded. When all is fixed on my Compass I feel that I will have a wonderful trike. As for range I get about 25 useful miles per charge on varying terrain. With my 2 batteries it is greater.
Judebarnes
New Member
Thank you so much for your feedback ! This is going to be super useful for us to make our chooce.... Did you happen to test ride any other trikes to compare the compass to ?
terrylharris
New Member
No but I did a massive amount of research. The problem here in Ohio is to find any dealer who has an e-trike to ride. EVELO is good about sending explicit directions with pictures to accomplish a repair. Otherwise the local dealers look at e-trikes as an alien being. The EVELO compass is very sturdy and as comfortable to ride as any other vertical trike. There is a learning curve to riding it as with other vertical trikes.
Judebarnes
New Member
May I ask, how you lock up your Evelo Compass when you park it away from home? What kind of lock(s) you use and how do you orient them?
terrylharris
New Member
We ordered a Hollywood Racks setup with a bike and trike carrying capacity. At that time a very long bicycle lock was included. My wife and I usually ride together and we lock her electric bike and my Compass together including a bike rack or tree or nearby post etc.
I just assembled the same rack to carry my ebike and wife's Compass. What kind of car are you attaching it to? Any issues with it sticking out so far (~50 inches) from the back of the car? The weight doesn't worry me much because I have a class 3 hitch that's supposedly rated for more, but it's just so long...
