cannibalmps
New Member
Last August my wife had a very serious accident on her 2015 E-JOE EPIK SE, on a downhill at 29mph, common in the Boulder area. Her steering started to wobble uncontrollably and caused her to fall. She had originally bought it on 6/30/15 in Denver. “Originally” because we had returned the first E-JOE EPIK SE because of the flimsy and inadequate brakes and a very rough headset, both of which we considered serious safety problems. The owner offered us an identical brand-new bike in exchange. We should have rejected this second bike, especially after we found that it, too, had the same flaws as the first bike, but having always put safety first, we wanted to make sure that the bike would be safe to ride and had an experienced local Boulder mechanic replace both brakes and headset on 1/20/16. No motor vehicle was involved; the weather was fine. The day before we had ridden to Erie over similar hills. The luggage rack carried a wire basket, a 5-lb Oxygen tank, and panniers. She received the 2nd bike on 9/15/15 and logged 925 miles by 8/31/17. We had our mechanic check the bike: he, like another shop later, found no “smoking gun” but did note that the stem quick-release folding mechanism was not quite tight, among other things (see his findings at
https://electricbikereview.com/foru...th-evelo-products-help-solutions-fixes.13136/ , which he posted on the EVELO forum under FreedomBikes, Dec 8, 2017 instead of the E-JOE forum).
After FreedomBikes’ findings, the other shop also commented that perhaps this bike should not be ridden at over 20 mph, and that the bike’s configuration, with very high handle bars, may impair the bike’s balance and stability. Additional research suggests that incorrect weight distribution could be a factor, i.e. that this bike, with most of the weight in back (see above), was perhaps back-heavy, with insufficient weight in front which would make the bike harder to control.
In all, there is also evidence of poor manufacturing and assembly of bike components
(see EPik SE Steering Stem Keeps Coming Loose;
Quick Release Latch Issue;
My biggest gripe with the bike is the brakes (Gurt: My 2015 Epik SE)),
and possibly poor design:
very high handlebars and upright position, affecting balance, stability, turning.
Comparison of E-JOE EPIK SE, and BIKE-FRIDAY CRUSOE.
Both are folding bikes; both have 20-inch wheels; they have a
similar, but not identical geometry. The steering on the two
bikes is totally different and likely contributes to the different
weight distribution on the bikes. The BF’s frame is somewhat
closer to the ground, with a lower center of gravity.
I have ridden BFs many years and miles, without a problem.
This 2015 E-JOE EPIK SE is not a safe bike for all speeds and conditions—buyer beware!
https://electricbikereview.com/foru...th-evelo-products-help-solutions-fixes.13136/ , which he posted on the EVELO forum under FreedomBikes, Dec 8, 2017 instead of the E-JOE forum).
After FreedomBikes’ findings, the other shop also commented that perhaps this bike should not be ridden at over 20 mph, and that the bike’s configuration, with very high handle bars, may impair the bike’s balance and stability. Additional research suggests that incorrect weight distribution could be a factor, i.e. that this bike, with most of the weight in back (see above), was perhaps back-heavy, with insufficient weight in front which would make the bike harder to control.
In all, there is also evidence of poor manufacturing and assembly of bike components
(see EPik SE Steering Stem Keeps Coming Loose;
Quick Release Latch Issue;
My biggest gripe with the bike is the brakes (Gurt: My 2015 Epik SE)),
and possibly poor design:
very high handlebars and upright position, affecting balance, stability, turning.
Comparison of E-JOE EPIK SE, and BIKE-FRIDAY CRUSOE.
Both are folding bikes; both have 20-inch wheels; they have a
similar, but not identical geometry. The steering on the two
bikes is totally different and likely contributes to the different
weight distribution on the bikes. The BF’s frame is somewhat
closer to the ground, with a lower center of gravity.
I have ridden BFs many years and miles, without a problem.
This 2015 E-JOE EPIK SE is not a safe bike for all speeds and conditions—buyer beware!
