First post, first day on my first eBike.

[Gary Shannon]

I just installed my Hilltopper (250W) this morning, and spent the better part of the day cruising around town and running errands. I'm thrilled with my new eBike.

I noticed that I quickly got in the habit of just pushing the button when I was already pedaling, so I used it just to boost my own pedaling. (I'm 72 years old and don't pedal as fast as I used to ) I kept my 7-speed Schwinn in 5th gear and cruised at about 10-15 MPH. On level ground I mostly just pedaled. On downslopes I just coasted, and on upslopes I used the motor as a pedal assist. Using the motor that way I put about 15 miles on my "8-mile" battery. I don't know how much charge was left because the Hilltopper has no battery gauge, but it didn't take very long to recharge to full.

One thing that worried me was parking at the supermarket and leaving my battery unattended. So I bought an inexpensive WalMart lock box and bolted it to the handlebars. I used pipe brackets and slotless carriage bolts so the brackets cannot be loosened from outside the box. The wires feed through a hole I drilled in the side. Now I can lock up the battery when I go into the store, yet open the box and take it in the house for charging very easily.

 

[AguassissiM]

Welcome to the forums.
My hat off to you sir @Gary Shannon and Congratulations on your new toy.

 

[Ann M.]

Very creative solution to the potential theft issue, @Gary Shannon! Glad you're out and about pedaling; makes life a lot more fun with the ekit.

 

[Gary Shannon]

Very creative solution to the potential theft issue, @Gary Shannon! Glad you're out and about pedaling; makes life a lot more fun with the ekit.

Thank you. I did have one problem. The battery is a bit smaller than the lock box, and when I hit a bump it often causes the switch on the battery to hit the inside of the box and turn the power off! I solved that with some foam padding cut to fit the size of the battery and keep the power switch away from the sides.

I also hooked up an "Aosom Wanderer Bicycle Cargo Trailer" and pulled a giant watermelon and a ten-pound bag of potatoes home from the store with no trouble at all. Good times!

 

[Ann M.]

You should upload a couple of pics of your setup, Gary. Yep, foam padding fixes a lot of simple issues

 

[Gary Shannon]

You should upload a couple of pics of your setup, Gary. Yep, foam padding fixes a lot of simple issues

Here you go:

I may replace this box with an all metal box if I can find one the right size.

 

[Ann M.]

Quite nice looking setup! Elegant solution, Gary.