Hello, my name is Bob

I agree completely, @Bob Van Daley! Best job on the planet :D. Welcome to EBR; looking forward to hearing more about your work and where you get to test ride those new bikes.
 
Hey Bob!

I live in Chicago and recently just got an eBike, any of your products here in Chicago that my friends and family could check out? haha
 
Marc V said:
Hey Bob!

I live in Chicago and recently just got an eBike, any of your products here in Chicago that my friends and family could check out? haha
Click to expand...


Hi Bob, I also live in Chicago. Just curious which ebike you have and where did you purchase it. Seems like these bikes are not very popular here after talking to several bike shops in the area. Thanks!
 
@bob armani
Are you asking Bob or me? If you were asking me, my name is Marc not Bob haha

Anyways...I ended up getting the EZ pedaler X350 a bike that Court has reviewed on this site. https://electricbikereview.com/ez-pedaler/x350/ or for his youtube review

I got it from kozy.com (Milwaukee ave. location near Belmont and Pulaski). Others have given both EZ Pedaler and Kozy not so nice reviews but I have had a good experience with both! haha

Yes I agree the eBikes are not as popular as they should be in Chicago, but it depends where you are in the city, a lot of the hipsters know about them lol but the part of Chicago I ride in I always get people flagging me down asking me what the heck I am riding which can be fun! haha

Do your research, test ride, and hopefully you get one! (if you don't have one already hehe) my only real complaint is that I did not get it sooner! I got it only a few weeks ago and even though it was like 100 degrees in Chicago today I hear we are getting snow this saturday! yikes! At least I have been taking advantage while I can, already clocked in almost 300 miles! hehe

Take care and ride safe!
Marc V
 
Last edited:
Marc V said:
@bob armani
Are you asking Bob or me? If you were asking me, my name is Marc not Bob haha

Anyways...I ended up getting the EZ pedaler X350 a bike that Court has reviewed on this site. https://electricbikereview.com/ez-pedaler/x350/ or for his youtube review

I got it from kozy.com (Milwaukee ave. location near Belmont and Pulaski). Others have given both EZ Pedaler and Kozy not so nice reviews but I have had a good experience with both! haha

Yes I agree the eBikes are not as popular as they should be in Chicago, but it depends where you are in the city, a lot of the hipsters know about them lol but the part of Chicago I ride in I always get people flagging me down asking me what the heck I am riding which can be fun! haha

Do your research, test ride, and hopefully you get one! (if you don't have one already hehe) my only real complaint is that I did not get it sooner! I got it only a few weeks ago and even though it was like 100 degrees in Chicago today I hear we are getting snow this saturday! yikes! At least I have been taking advantage while I can, already clocked in almost 300 miles! hehe

Take care and ride safe!
Marc V
Click to expand...
Oops sorry Marc, yes I was asking you. Thanks for the Chicago info. I also drove by Kozy's on Milwaukee and test drove a BH Emotion, but was not quite my size. They seem a little disorganized and kinda all over the place based on my observation IMHO. So glad you are having positive experiences with the city folks. That is what it is all about. I was told that if you ride on any city bike trails, and a DNR sees you with an ebike, you could possibly get a violation. The trick is to shutdown before they arrive. haha. I work downtown and have spotted only 1 Stromer ST rider, but that is it. Local shops I have called has 1 ebike sitting for 2 years! Any idea where the ebike hipsters are hanging out? Take Care also! THX!
 
bob armani said:
Oops sorry Marc, yes I was asking you. Thanks for the Chicago info. I also drove by Kozy's on Milwaukee and test drove a BH Emotion, but was not quite my size. They seem a little disorganized and kinda all over the place based on my observation IMHO. So glad you are having positive experiences with the city folks. That is what it is all about. I was told that if you ride on any city bike trails, and a DNR sees you with an ebike, you could possibly get a violation. The trick is to shutdown before they arrive. haha. I work downtown and have spotted only 1 Stromer ST rider, but that is it. Local shops I have called has 1 ebike sitting for 2 years! Any idea where the ebike hipsters are hanging out? Take Care also! THX!
Click to expand...
No worries, I figured you were asking me :)

To a degree, yes I did feel Kozy's lived up to some of their bad rep, I walked up to their eBike section and no one was there, it was actually dark, luckily the eBike floor (yes it is a full floor :)) had motion sensor lights so it all got lit up when I started walking around, but I used to work in downtown Hotels as well as used to work mainly IT helpdesk, still help out the helpdesk from time to time, so I have a high patience tolerance haha. So I just went to front desk and asked for help with an eBike, they linked me up with George who was very helpful. He also mentioned that the milwaukee location for now is the goto for eBikes at least for the kozy chain of stores, he said if any help with maintenance or fixing etc from the other kozy shops they would just send them to the milwaukee location. And once I showed I was serious (meaning I took the credit card out :)) they got even more accommodating, I say it in jest, they were fine even before that. But they were very helpful moving forward after the down payment, I got a floor model and it had to be setup, tested, etc before they gave it to me. This convo actually reminded me there was an issue with my EZ Pedaler X350 where the display was totally wrong, it was displaying in kilometers per hour instead of MPH and was totally jacked up, it was saying the eBike was going 50kph when it was barely moving lol but kozy's staff worked with EZ Pedaler to resolve the issue and I was pleased with their service on that, I was actually still in talks with Kozy's staff as well as EZ Pedaler post buying it, asking questions etc since I am new to the eBike scene and both parties were very prompt and helpful returning my emails (EZ Pedaler owner Dick himself replied). That I really appreciated even after they got my money :)

I never heard about that violation from an IL DNR, but if you are worried about it, just carry a printed out copy of Federal and local eBike laws (some cops don't want to see anything if you show them on your phone, they want an actual print out lol), to show the DNR or any officials for that matter. I consider myself more knowledgeable than the average joe when it comes to tech and I had little to no knowledge about eBikes till recently, so would not shock me that many officials are not up to date on the laws.

Don't know of any local eBike hipster hangouts lol but whenever I cruise my eBike in wicker park, bucktown, logan square, etc I get hispters yelling at me "nice eBike bro!!!" haha rather than a lot of the city where they are curious what kind of contraption I am riding without pedaling hehe

What eBike do you currently own @bob armani ? I'm curious what your experience is riding in Chicago with an eBike hehe. Always nice to hear from another Chicago eBiker!

Take care, ride safe!
Marc V
 
Marc V said:
No worries, I figured you were asking me :)

To a degree, yes I did feel Kozy's lived up to some of their bad rep, I walked up to their eBike section and no one was there, it was actually dark, luckily the eBike floor (yes it is a full floor :)) had motion sensor lights so it all got lit up when I started walking around, but I used to work in downtown Hotels as well as used to work mainly IT helpdesk, still help out the helpdesk from time to time, so I have a high patience tolerance haha. So I just went to front desk and asked for help with an eBike, they linked me up with George who was very helpful. He also mentioned that the milwaukee location for now is the goto for eBikes at least for the kozy chain of stores, he said if any help with maintenance or fixing etc from the other kozy shops they would just send them to the milwaukee location. And once I showed I was serious (meaning I took the credit card out :)) they got even more accommodating, I say it in jest, they were fine even before that. But they were very helpful moving forward after the down payment, I got a floor model and it had to be setup, tested, etc before they gave it to me. This convo actually reminded me there was an issue with my EZ Pedaler X350 where the display was totally wrong, it was displaying in kilometers per hour instead of MPH and was totally jacked up, it was saying the eBike was going 50kph when it was barely moving lol but kozy's staff worked with EZ Pedaler to resolve the issue and I was pleased with their service on that, I was actually still in talks with Kozy's staff as well as EZ Pedaler post buying it, asking questions etc since I am new to the eBike scene and both parties were very prompt and helpful returning my emails (EZ Pedaler owner Dick himself replied). That I really appreciated even after they got my money :)

I never heard about that violation from an IL DNR, but if you are worried about it, just carry a printed out copy of Federal and local eBike laws (some cops don't want to see anything if you show them on your phone, they want an actual print out lol), to show the DNR or any officials for that matter. I consider myself more knowledgeable than the average joe when it comes to tech and I had little to no knowledge about eBikes till recently, so would not shock me that many officials are not up to date on the laws.

Don't know of any local eBike hipster hangouts lol but whenever I cruise my eBike in wicker park, bucktown, logan square, etc I get hispters yelling at me "nice eBike bro!!!" haha rather than a lot of the city where they are curious what kind of contraption I am riding without pedaling hehe

What eBike do you currently own @bob armani ? I'm curious what your experience is riding in Chicago with an eBike hehe. Always nice to hear from another Chicago eBiker!

Take care, ride safe!
Marc V
Click to expand...

Hey Marc-
Thanks for all the verbiage on the Chicago scene. You may have gotten the wrong info about my ebike adventures. Still ebike dreaming. Have not made a decision on which one to buy yet. Currently I ride 2 different MTN bikes (Trek 7000/Columbia MTB) mainly on bike trails. The Cook County
FPD told me you could get a violation quoting the trail sign which clearly indicates 'no motorized vehicles allowed'. I was also told by a local bike shop that you risk riding, on say ,the North Branch trail with an ebike as well. I have even considered the Cycleboard, but is also fully motorized.
I did not think any type of printout from the Fed would override local laws and rules, but I am not up to date on that stuff. Do you really beleive that a printout would hold any ground if confronted by an official? If I knew I was free and clear, my mind would be made up to ride with no fear of getting a ticket. Heck, I received a ticket once in front of the local bus terminal for riding on the sidewalk near the curb at less than walking speed. It ultimately was a $75.00 fine to pay. The cop must have been having a bad day. He was not nice at all. I posed no harm nor were their any signs posted. He was a real JAG. LOL

Yeah, I also spoke to George at Kozy. I was on the top floor by myself for about 40 mins before being helped. Glad you had a good experience though!
George was very nice and patient. If you do not look like a serious shopper, perhaps you will not be waited on too quickly. Good job on the Credit Card out there! Not sure whether I want to do a conversion kit, or go full swing into a BULLS or Specialized. Kozy does not have either on to test ride. The closest dealer for BULLS is in WI...
Take Care and be safe Marc! THX.
 
Marc V said:
No worries, I figured you were asking me :)

To a degree, yes I did feel Kozy's lived up to some of their bad rep, I walked up to their eBike section and no one was there, it was actually dark, luckily the eBike floor (yes it is a full floor :)) had motion sensor lights so it all got lit up when I started walking around, but I used to work in downtown Hotels as well as used to work mainly IT helpdesk, still help out the helpdesk from time to time, so I have a high patience tolerance haha. So I just went to front desk and asked for help with an eBike, they linked me up with George who was very helpful. He also mentioned that the milwaukee location for now is the goto for eBikes at least for the kozy chain of stores, he said if any help with maintenance or fixing etc from the other kozy shops they would just send them to the milwaukee location. And once I showed I was serious (meaning I took the credit card out :)) they got even more accommodating, I say it in jest, they were fine even before that. But they were very helpful moving forward after the down payment, I got a floor model and it had to be setup, tested, etc before they gave it to me. This convo actually reminded me there was an issue with my EZ Pedaler X350 where the display was totally wrong, it was displaying in kilometers per hour instead of MPH and was totally jacked up, it was saying the eBike was going 50kph when it was barely moving lol but kozy's staff worked with EZ Pedaler to resolve the issue and I was pleased with their service on that, I was actually still in talks with Kozy's staff as well as EZ Pedaler post buying it, asking questions etc since I am new to the eBike scene and both parties were very prompt and helpful returning my emails (EZ Pedaler owner Dick himself replied). That I really appreciated even after they got my money :)

I never heard about that violation from an IL DNR, but if you are worried about it, just carry a printed out copy of Federal and local eBike laws (some cops don't want to see anything if you show them on your phone, they want an actual print out lol), to show the DNR or any officials for that matter. I consider myself more knowledgeable than the average joe when it comes to tech and I had little to no knowledge about eBikes till recently, so would not shock me that many officials are not up to date on the laws.

Don't know of any local eBike hipster hangouts lol but whenever I cruise my eBike in wicker park, bucktown, logan square, etc I get hispters yelling at me "nice eBike bro!!!" haha rather than a lot of the city where they are curious what kind of contraption I am riding without pedaling hehe

What eBike do you currently own @bob armani ? I'm curious what your experience is riding in Chicago with an eBike hehe. Always nice to hear from another Chicago eBiker!

Take care, ride safe!
Marc V
Click to expand...
Hey Marc-FYI below regarding my question and the answer I received from People for Bikes: Progress on Ebike Laws in the US:

I was told to carry a copy of HR727 in case I am stopped by a local official while riding an ebike on a bike path in Chicago Cook County.
Will this document ensure I am not issued a violation or stop my ebike from being impounded? Very concerned before proceeding. Please advise.

No is the short answer to your question. HR 727 is a consumer law legalizing ebikes to be sold as bicycles and not motorized vehicles in the US. For the purpose you want (if necessary?), you would want state and local laws. That's what determines if your ebike is legal and that you're allowed to ride where you are riding.
 
Reid said:
I put a "like" to every response above.

How easy that was to do because how much family we all are.

Salud.
Click to expand...

Reid- I read through all of your 'liked' posts and it reminded me of the famous Abbott and Costello routine as quoted 'Who's on first". LMAO.
 
bob armani, op Bob's your uncle.

Will "like" you to Well-Known Member status ASAP.

Just who was on first first?

I donut know!

 
Reid said:
bob armani, op Bob's your uncle.

Will "like" you to Well-Known Member status ASAP.

Just who was on first first?

I donut know!

Click to expand...

Thanks Reid! Love these classics along with my other favs, ie: The Honeymooners etc. Now those guys were the real deal IMO.
 
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