Greetings from Central Iowa

SummittDweller

New Member
Region
USA
Hello everyone and thanks for sharing your experience here and allowing me to join in. I'm Mark, alias SummittDweller, also my original geocaching handle. Geocachers might also know me as Iowa.Landmark, one of the geocaching reviewers from the great state of Iowa. I live in Tama County and work nearby at Grinnell College. I try to get away and go camping and geocaching whenever the weather and my schedule allows.

In the past I've always taken my folding 26" Army Recon bike everywhere with me, but I find it tough to keep an old folding bike tuned up and functioning well, and it's even harder to keep my old body tuned up and functioning at all! I had a self-built Ebike (about 18 years ago I added a pressure sensitive PAS powered hub and controller to an old 20" Giant Revive semi-recumbent) and loved it for city riding at the time, but it wasn't really suitable for geocaching on woodland trails. So I traded it for the Army Recon, and it's been OK, but climbing steep hills and maintaining speed for balance is difficult. During the pandemic I also bought a used Day 6 Dream (another semi-recumbent) and that was great in the city, but while it provided a comfortable ride (love the seat!) it was also hard to maintain speed and stability when climbing.

Oh, did I mention the reason for my handle, Summitt Dweller? I live at the top of a hill so leaving home on my bike is always a breeze, but I pay the price coming home... when I'm hot, sore, sweaty and exhausted. Can you tell I hate hills (and headwinds), at least when I'm on my bike!

So, a few days ago I bought a used Ecotric 26" SportCool Fat Tire Ebike, and so far I love the ride. I can get the exercise I need without having to worry so much about climbing that last hill to get home. Once I get my cargo rack installed it will be perfect for geocaching trail rides AND riding errands around town.

Unfortunately, there's already a problem with the Ecotric and I'm going to need some advice/expertise to remedy it without spending more than the bike is worth. Fortunately, this problem doesn't impact the ride much, the powertrain and all necessary safety features (brakes, etc.) seem to be fine so I'm planning to take my time working on the issues. I have a degree and background in engineering and am a diehard DIY guy so it might even be fun. I'll post details of the problem in another forum and provide a link here: https://electricbikereview.com/foru...010-new-controller-or-other-suggestion.49608/
 
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Welcome from Macomb Illinois and good luck getting your bike up and running.
 
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