Cnugget
Active Member
Curious how the Ambassadors work out for you. George was really great at the warehouse and had a bike setup to try out with a bit of advance notice. I ended up buying on the day of.
Choosing between the Voltbike Urban and Voltbike Mariner
- Thread starter dalekinthewwing
- Start date
Curious how the Ambassadors work out for you. George was really great at the warehouse and had a bike setup to try out with a bit of advance notice. I ended up buying on the day of.
I just ordered my Volt Mariner 500 watt limited edition 2 days ago. It was between the power Bike Rad Mini and the Volt Mariner. I live in California and the 175 shipping cost plus the 8 percent sales price just put it out of reach and could get the mariner for quite a bit less shipped to my door.
I contacted Power Bikes up in Seattle and suggested for their California and Washington customers that have to pay the state tax , that they should give a reduced shipping cost. Especially since Ca and Wa are a heck of a lot closer to ship that shipping to the east coast of USA. I was met with basically a luke warm reply that there is nothing that could be done. So they lost a customer to Volt, who shipped a similar size weight and size bike from Canada BC to California for $70........go figure.
I contacted Power Bikes up in Seattle and suggested for their California and Washington customers that have to pay the state tax , that they should give a reduced shipping cost. Especially since Ca and Wa are a heck of a lot closer to ship that shipping to the east coast of USA. I was met with basically a luke warm reply that there is nothing that could be done. So they lost a customer to Volt, who shipped a similar size weight and size bike from Canada BC to California for $70........go figure.
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Cnugget
Active Member
@Roflo Welcome to the Volt Mariner club and ebiking! Each bike is a little different.. as long as you are happy at the end of the day, that's all that matters. I think Volt has a warehouse in the US and in Canada enabling them to ship either side of the border. Not sure how they got such a good ship cost but it could be possible that they eat part of it to help with purchases. My best guess. Looking forward to hearing your updates.
Each bike is a little different.. as long as you are happy at the end of the day, that's all that matters. I think Volt has a warehouse in the US and in Canada enabling them to ship either side of the border. Not sure how they got such a good ship cost but it could be possible that they eat part of it to help with purchases. My best guess. Looking forward to hearing your updates.DELUGE
Don’t call it rain. This is the entire Pacific Ocean tilted on edge over Canada’s “wet coast”. After weeks of torrential shenanigans, that hot, acidic, and ever-rising sea is still not emptied. And since my Voltbike Mariner is my sole transport, I’ve just returned from riding across the island in radical monsoon conditions. Again.
Love my homemade mudflap on the rear fender and those hard-wired running lights. Astonishingly, the magic Microclair Sports potion I scored online is keeping my helmet visor from fogging up. Less happily, my just-ordered raingear isn’t complete so I’m shoving an old motorcycle rainsuit through waterfalls at 27 kph.
My crazy goatbike thinks it’s fun. Instead of hydroplaning all over the road, those big knobbies shed water easily, maintaining total control. An especially clever trick with violent side gusts coming in off the open sea to smack us broadside at a reported 45 knots. My electric scooter used to blow across the entire lane. But this speeding fatbike doesn’t budge an inch from its line.
The biggest puddles lurk in the deep, dark woods. No biggie, I figured last week, eyeing a narrow lake maybe 40-feet long. Wrong again. Before I could shout, “Dive! Dive!” the controller vanished underwater. The rear hub motor became a water wheel. And I had to stop pedaling to keep from flooding my boots.
Don’t try this at home! Pushing serious juice through submerged electrical components is strongly dis-recommended. But the drag on those deeply-immersed fat tires was so great I had to jam the thumb throttle full on to keep my boatbike moving. We powered through that pond throwing a wake like a beamy cabin cruiser running contraband into Miami.
So watch out for bottomless puddles. And don’t sweat riding your Voltbike Mariner in conditions that would’ve intimidated Noah.
The less fun downside is an extreme howling every time I jam on those drenched disc brakes. On the Mariner, they shriek loudly enough to turn heads in alarm a block away. No joke. Makes me want to jump off and pretend I don’t know myself.
The brilliant news is that braking remains good, even zooming steeply downhill in the “rain”. The secret is to gradually squeeze the brake levers. This squeegees most of the water out, allowing for quieter deceleration. I’ll try different pads in the spring. Right now, I’ve got to hang up all this wet gear. After feeding my trusty goatbike, of course. -Voltman
Don’t call it rain. This is the entire Pacific Ocean tilted on edge over Canada’s “wet coast”. After weeks of torrential shenanigans, that hot, acidic, and ever-rising sea is still not emptied. And since my Voltbike Mariner is my sole transport, I’ve just returned from riding across the island in radical monsoon conditions. Again.
Love my homemade mudflap on the rear fender and those hard-wired running lights. Astonishingly, the magic Microclair Sports potion I scored online is keeping my helmet visor from fogging up. Less happily, my just-ordered raingear isn’t complete so I’m shoving an old motorcycle rainsuit through waterfalls at 27 kph.
My crazy goatbike thinks it’s fun. Instead of hydroplaning all over the road, those big knobbies shed water easily, maintaining total control. An especially clever trick with violent side gusts coming in off the open sea to smack us broadside at a reported 45 knots. My electric scooter used to blow across the entire lane. But this speeding fatbike doesn’t budge an inch from its line.
The biggest puddles lurk in the deep, dark woods. No biggie, I figured last week, eyeing a narrow lake maybe 40-feet long. Wrong again. Before I could shout, “Dive! Dive!” the controller vanished underwater. The rear hub motor became a water wheel. And I had to stop pedaling to keep from flooding my boots.
Don’t try this at home! Pushing serious juice through submerged electrical components is strongly dis-recommended. But the drag on those deeply-immersed fat tires was so great I had to jam the thumb throttle full on to keep my boatbike moving. We powered through that pond throwing a wake like a beamy cabin cruiser running contraband into Miami.
So watch out for bottomless puddles. And don’t sweat riding your Voltbike Mariner in conditions that would’ve intimidated Noah.
The less fun downside is an extreme howling every time I jam on those drenched disc brakes. On the Mariner, they shriek loudly enough to turn heads in alarm a block away. No joke. Makes me want to jump off and pretend I don’t know myself.
The brilliant news is that braking remains good, even zooming steeply downhill in the “rain”. The secret is to gradually squeeze the brake levers. This squeegees most of the water out, allowing for quieter deceleration. I’ll try different pads in the spring. Right now, I’ve got to hang up all this wet gear. After feeding my trusty goatbike, of course. -Voltman
Attachments
The Mariner is a terrific snow bike. See my illustrated post here. -VOLTMAN
TIME FOR A NEW BIKE?
Two years in, with some 4,500 hilly island km on the clock - at least half over gravel roads and rough mountain trails - I'm considering selling my sole transportation and upgrading from my current Mariner to an even better folding fatbike. Yes, that's right. After my usual obsessive online research of the latest off-road ebikes, I have found only one model that can do everything the original Voltbike Mariner does – even better.
Yup. That's right. Considering price, proven capabilities and toothy-grin fun, I'm looking at... (drumroll please)... the new front-suspension Voltbike Mariner! Water-sealed controller box, improved high-continuous output controller, essential derailleur guard, better latches, the same superb Kendas, and those tree-root-absorbing, spring-loaded front forks make the new specs drool-worthy.
And yes, if Roger Racer is asking, I am a major fan of so-called "low end" components like Tektra disk brakes, those "agricultural" shift levers, and that Acera gear-changing thingy. Why? Because they stay in adjustment for years over brutal terrain and don't break. And that high-end battery? Over some 10 years of ebike and scooter riding from my hideout at the bottom of the cove's "gravity well", this is the first battery I've used of any type still delivering full power up that long steep hill after one year. Never mind two. And that's without charging it at 80% with the Satiator, which will significantly extend new battery life. Range remains 30+ km, peddling easy over hilly terrain.
What about repairs, you're asking. Over the equivalent of many years' city riding, I've replaced two drowned controllers (not difficult). The slowly disintegrating cadence sensor was recently exchanged for a much sturdier, snap-in upgrade - again at no cost. (Thanks, George!) About a 60-second job. And that kissable, life-preserving rear tire is finally worn enough to need changing. I'm now awaiting an instantly-shipped replacement set of internal planetary gears. I knew going in that those nylon gears in geared hub motors eventually fail. So becoming immobilized in the deep dark woods was a surprise. But not unexpected. Shouldn't be a problem to fix. (George has posted excellent step-by-step YouTubes for Voltbike controller and internal gears replacement).
This duffer is actually looking forward to the challenge. I need to learn how to dismount the rear tire and dismantle the motor, and I can do the new tire and derailleur guard installations at the same time. But why did those 8Fun gears fail so soon? P'raps from using the thumb throttle to start. Never, ever do that on the slightest incline. (Motor makes prolonged unhappy noises.)
Stay tuned for the next thrilling episode as I turn 70.
-Voltman
Two years in, with some 4,500 hilly island km on the clock - at least half over gravel roads and rough mountain trails - I'm considering selling my sole transportation and upgrading from my current Mariner to an even better folding fatbike. Yes, that's right. After my usual obsessive online research of the latest off-road ebikes, I have found only one model that can do everything the original Voltbike Mariner does – even better.
Yup. That's right. Considering price, proven capabilities and toothy-grin fun, I'm looking at... (drumroll please)... the new front-suspension Voltbike Mariner! Water-sealed controller box, improved high-continuous output controller, essential derailleur guard, better latches, the same superb Kendas, and those tree-root-absorbing, spring-loaded front forks make the new specs drool-worthy.
And yes, if Roger Racer is asking, I am a major fan of so-called "low end" components like Tektra disk brakes, those "agricultural" shift levers, and that Acera gear-changing thingy. Why? Because they stay in adjustment for years over brutal terrain and don't break. And that high-end battery? Over some 10 years of ebike and scooter riding from my hideout at the bottom of the cove's "gravity well", this is the first battery I've used of any type still delivering full power up that long steep hill after one year. Never mind two. And that's without charging it at 80% with the Satiator, which will significantly extend new battery life. Range remains 30+ km, peddling easy over hilly terrain.
What about repairs, you're asking. Over the equivalent of many years' city riding, I've replaced two drowned controllers (not difficult). The slowly disintegrating cadence sensor was recently exchanged for a much sturdier, snap-in upgrade - again at no cost. (Thanks, George!) About a 60-second job. And that kissable, life-preserving rear tire is finally worn enough to need changing. I'm now awaiting an instantly-shipped replacement set of internal planetary gears. I knew going in that those nylon gears in geared hub motors eventually fail. So becoming immobilized in the deep dark woods was a surprise. But not unexpected. Shouldn't be a problem to fix. (George has posted excellent step-by-step YouTubes for Voltbike controller and internal gears replacement).
This duffer is actually looking forward to the challenge. I need to learn how to dismount the rear tire and dismantle the motor, and I can do the new tire and derailleur guard installations at the same time. But why did those 8Fun gears fail so soon? P'raps from using the thumb throttle to start. Never, ever do that on the slightest incline. (Motor makes prolonged unhappy noises.)
Stay tuned for the next thrilling episode as I turn 70.
-Voltman
Riding with a Bafang? Check this out!
AN INQUIRY INTO THE CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF A BAFANG GEARED-HUB MOTOR, August, 2008
[http://willthomasonline.net/an-inquiry-into-the-catasro.html] -Voltman
AN INQUIRY INTO THE CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF A BAFANG GEARED-HUB MOTOR, August, 2008
[http://willthomasonline.net/an-inquiry-into-the-catasro.html] -Voltman
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