Evelo Orion

[timtheteacher]

Anyone else have an Orion? Had mine a week and have 150 miles on it already

 

[TrikeKentucky]

While I don't have one, I'm looking at them. Do you have the CVT transmission and how do you like your bike? I live in a hilly area (Kentucky) so having low grunt without a battery is on my list.

 

[Al P]

I bought the Aurora model about a year-and-a-half ago. It has many of the same components as the Orion. It is a solid bike, weighing 65 lbs. with battery, pannier, etc. and has a comfortable ride. The motor is 250 watts, which is fine for level terrain or very moderate hills, but where I ride it is quite hilly. I would recommend the 500 watt motor for the Orion if it was available, but they don't offer it in that model. If you ride on hilly terrain consider the Aurora or the Aries model.

 

[Ann M.]

I have a pair of customers with these ebikes who just ride the heck out of them! They're a real ebiking family with the long time rider getting an Evelo for his neice so they could ride together and had our shop build a custom Tricycle for his sister & wife to share. Being their closest service center (the bikes were purchased online) I've had a very good experience with the Evelo staff. Parts are in stock and they have tech staff to answer Q's.

@TrikeKentucky, the Nuvinci hubs are Sweet You can dial in the gearing you want as you ride or at a stop (ever forget to down shift at the bottom of a hill at a stop light !!) so your pedaling cadence can always be comfortable. Those hubs are strong enough that they're used with some of the 1000 watt mid drive systems you can find online for DIY setups, so no need to worry about them with the Evelos. The Nuvinci hubs are lower maintenance for you, too. And I have to add a little shout out to their Cedar Park, TX research offices which also provide technical support for all of the Nuvinci systems.

 

[TrikeKentucky]

Thanks Ann M. for the info on the Evelo. I've been looking and looking and Evelo is in my top three along with Rad and Surface604. I really like the looks of the Rad Rover but I don't really need it since I live in Kentucky I need some hill strength. The Surface604 Colt but neither of these two bikes are mid drive which is what I think I need. There's some hills that have hills around here plus I like to do the "Hilly 100" which is up in Indiana and its two days with some hills reaching around 16-17%. Its about 55 miles each day. I have a KMX Trike but it has some quirks about it so I have second thoughts about putting a mid drive on it. The plus about the Evelo is I can buy one through Amazon and get 5% back and really buy a more expensive bike since I would be using my Amazon Card. I've emailed Evelo couple times and they quickly reply to emails and from everybody says they have great customer support.

 

[Ann M.]

You might want to consider putting a powerful rear hub motor on that KMX trike, rather than a mid drive if you want to electrify those wheels too! The 'bent and the Evelo are two different types of machines, each with its own special feel.

 

[TrikeKentucky]

I've thought about doing a mod on the trike but I have had some changes recently. I lost my license couple months ago due to very little peripheral vision and a conventional bike being more narrow is easier for me to control plus easier to transport around on a bus since I will be "bike only" during the day till my wife gets home so I will be doing my own errands or DQ runs. If I want to ride to a nearby town an E-bike will save me a lot of time over a trike. I'm wanting to take some trips by E-bike also but that's only a dream right now.

 

[Ann M.]

Understandable, just figured why not do both . One boon with all the ebike riding you'll be doing, it will balance the DQ runs .

 

[Gerund Gee]

I have been having so many issues with this bike since trying to use it as a commuter a few months ago. First, the rear rack that held the battery started to fall apart and break at the welds and needed a jury-rigged set up by the bike mechanic to hold it together. Then, the rear wheel started popping spokes, like 2-3 spokes every ride or two, and required a full rebuild of that wheel with a different rim (the bike mechanic was perplexed that such an expensive bike didn't have hand-laced spokes). Circa this morning, after sinking even more money in, the pedal broke clean off, on the first day of spring weather. The company was responsive to e-mail but would not cover any repair or replacement of what to me seems like an obvious manufacturing flaw.

 

[Ann M.]

@Gerund Gee, it might help to take your bike into a shop that works on electrics, it doesn't have to be one that's a dealer for Evelo. They may have some perspective on the issues you're having with the Orion. I don't know who your current mechanic is but they are out of touch with production reality. Almost all ebike wheels are machine manufactured, including hub motor wheels. If you're trying to put a lot of additional weight on top of the battery; it isn't designed to carry very much. That's an unusual tablet shaped horizontal battery rack; that could explain broken welds and broken spokes. Also, riding off curbs and allowing the whole weight of the bike to slam into the street with the rider sitting down can overly stress a wheel.

It's possible that there could be other causes, these are just a few of the most common. I've worked on a lot of the Evelo bikes and not seen too many serious issues. Hope you get some answers soon; really recommend you find a different bike shop.

 

[Whisky Charles]

I agree - I have had an Aries from EVELO for close to a year now and have had no issues whatsoever with it. Everytime i did feel i needed to call in i recieved a person on the phone to help me with my issues. Did you try giving the company a shout? I have found them to be super receptive to my questions and concern and would recommend that be your first step before taking it to any other bike shop.