Early review of 700

[Marrduk24]

Hi

I wanted to share week 1/ 100 mile review of my 700 bike.

Background:
1. Have previously owned a Dualtron electric scooter and liked the flexibility/ mobility it gave me to get around NYC
2. But wanted to get an electric bike as I liked the comfort of a bike (bigger tires, sitting position, better suspension) more than an electric scooter
3. Had tested probably 30 bikes from various manufacturers - Trek, Cannondale, Gazelle, Bulls, Stromer. Concluded that a rear hub drive may work better for my use case than a mid drive
4. Ultimately settled on a Zen Samurai (even though it is a mid-drive) but given that won’t be available until Aug, decided to get 700

700 bike
1. Got blue color in ST as that was the only option for immediate delivery
2. Got it in 4-5 days, packed well. Got delivered to a LBS and had him assemble it. Was well worth the spend
3. Upgraded seatpost to Suntour suspension seatpost and grips to Ergon GC1 biokork grips.

impressions
1. Overall the bike looks and feels more premium than I expected
2. It is a lot of fun to ride around. I look forward to getting on the bike. My 6 mile return trip to office has become more like 15 miles because I end up taking a long detour
3. A combination of Super-motto tires, front suspension and suspension seat post creates a very comfortable ride
4. I have been mostly riding at 35% PAS level and that feels plenty of support (see a screenshot of my settings)
5. Solid brakes, smooth gear shifting, battery is easy to remove and put on - it’s important because my bike rack doesn’t have a charging port and hence I have to bring the battery to my apartment
6. Haven’t so far tracked the battery range and will know more soon. But overall battery feels more reliable than my Dualtron - it doesn’t fluctuate the way my scooter battery does.

What could be better
Overall I would say it is a great value for money for $1700. If I were to compare it to bikes that were 2x-4x the price, I would say the opportunity is in the area of motor/ controller:
1. I can feel motor vibrating when I am going from 5mph to 15mph and motor is working hard to get the bike upto speed. Vibration stops once the speed is steady
2. Controller is not as smooth - sometimes I can feel residual kick even once I stop kicking. I feel like I have to be careful in traffic / at lights

hope this is helpful.

Edit on June 1st: Now I have managed to do a full battery test. I got around 40 miles with following conditions
- 190 lbs rider, mostly flat roads of NYC
- 70% of riding at 30% assist, 25% at 40% assist and 5% on throttle

When the battery dropped below 5%, the controller reduced the power flowing to the motor.
Overall still liking the bike a lot.

 

[rchenail]

for my PAS setting, I always set it with 0 (0-7, 0-9...) This way I find that it's safer when in 0 to control the bike in tight squeezes or doing a tight U-turn and not accidentally pedalling and surging forward.

 

[Marrduk24]

for my PAS setting, I always set it with 0 (0-7, 0-9...) This way I find that it's safer when in 0 to control the bike in tight squeezes or doing a tight U-turn and not accidentally pedalling and surging forward.

So you downshift to 0 when you need to stop and you want to make sure it doesn’t accidentally surges forward?
That’s a good tip.

 

[rchenail]

Yep and don't ask how I started this

 

[Marrduk24]

Yep and don't ask how I started this

Lol. Having played around with the bike, I can probably guess. I have had a couple of small incidents myself where the bike just lunged forward after I had dismounted and was just standing by and talking to someone.

 

[GenXrider]

I don't downshift my 700 to stop, but I always drop to PAS 0. I have had a habit from the beginning of dropping to PAS 0 if I don't feel I need the assistance, like on level ground with no wind or a tailwind, and certainly when riding downhill.

I haven't noticed the issues "what could be better" #1 and #2 you mentioned, but then I am usually riding 0%, 5%, or 8% PAS, and typically don't go above that except into strong headwinds or up hills. I also don't really stop much since I do mostly riding on rural roads for exercise, not commuting. I do have sensitivity set to 1.