How to get to know my ebike

[cliffieleez]

Two months ago, I got my first ebike on Craigslist and I fell in love with cycle commuting. It's a Velec R48T that I bought off a retiree for $500; he lived in an RV park off a three-lane highway and didn't like doing 20mph in the breakdown lane anymore. I asked a lot of questions that I thought would provide insight, but once I took it around the block for a test drive there was no way I wasn't buying the bike and shoving it in my car. Allegedly, it's a feature-full ebike with great components, thoughtful design, and a massive battery. But besides it's make and model, I know functionally nothing about it. This worries me a little because I can tell that the bike I'm riding isn't quite the same as the one in the EBR Review. It's a top-tier ebike for $500 though, that's for sure.

I love my ebike. I go out and explore so much more than I used to in a car. I've put almost 300 miles on it since I bought it 9 weeks ago! I'm noticeably happier now that I get fresh air twice a day riding along the beach to-and-from work. Since the nearest bike shop that carries its parts is 42 miles away on the other side of Tampa Bay, I would really like to learn more about what makes it tick. There's just so much to learn about, and there isn't a lot of chatter about this model online for me to soak up. Ideally I would like to learn and then share my findings online Should I start a bike blog? A reddit thread? An EBR Forum thread? And where should I start?

 

[indianajo]

Welcome to the site. You found a bargain. Many used ebikes have some flaky problem like a battery that quits at the first hill. You might add any comments to this velec review under the brand forums:

R48 review

Currently we have 3 - R48's and here is what I have found . A little overview : I do regular maintenance such as chain cleaning , bearing checks , loose parts , brake pads and more . Only addons we added to bike was rear lights and saddle bags . We live in the hill of Ohio so we have a lot of...

electricbikereview.com

That person had the spokes pull out of the rim @ 6000 miles, a common problem on these cheaper bikes.
Grey metal rims & spokes instead of real steel & aluminum.
That person also had a "17 AH" battery lose capability of riding 31 miles after 6000 miles. I ride 30 miles all the time on my 4 year old 17.5 AH battery from luna, but maybe I don't go as fast as that person.
It is a pretty generic rear hub motor bike. If the gears in the hub motor wear out after 5000 miles or so, you can buy almost any brand power wheel on ebay or amazon as long as the connectors & voltage match up. My gears wore out at ~4500 miles on an ebikeling motor I paid $221 for. I had the spare in the garage waiting for trouble, and was back on the road in 2 days.
Other parts, a throttle & PAS pickup might be generic but again you have to match the connector. The controller and display are matched and have to be replaced as a pair, but don't usually wear out.