Love my new bike

[Kevn]

I'm really enjoying the Alation 500 I bought. I did quite a bit of research before I bought it. I tried a lot of bikes most costing twice as much and this one is right up there with them in most categories. The only real difference I see is less expensive shocks, brakes and sensors. And of those, the only one that seems to really matter is the sensors. The more expensive bikes were a bit better at giving you power when asked. This bike hesitates a bit then goes. But it just takes a short time to get used to the power delivery and smooth out the take off and then it feels fine.

I've had the bike a week now and I've found exactly two things to report that gave me issues. The first, and worst is the light that came with the bike broke on the second night. Not the light itself, but the arm that connects it. It snapped while riding a very bumpy brick road near the house. I was able to drill and new hole and remount it so it still works fine for me, but I wanted to mention that the plastic arm didn't hold up long. Not a huge deal, but since the wiring is concealed, it would have been a pain to replace if I hadn't had enough room to drill a new hole. The second minor irritation is the battery has come loose and lost it's connection going over bumps about three times now on me. The guys at Volton suggested a simple low/ or no cost fix that I will be trying this weekend. I don't really consider it a big deal and hopefully since they are aware, that will get fixed soon at the manufacturing level.

I've added two things to the bike. A rack, and I changed the seat. The seat that came on the bike was a good one, I just wanted a larger seat with springs for even more comfort. The one that came on the Alation was an upgrade my son appreciated on his bike.

All in all though, I think this is a great bike, and I'm really enjoying it. It is fast, well balanced, and just a joy to ride. It also generates a lot of looks. I've included a pic of the bike at last nights destination which was aptly named Sunset Beach.

 

[Shea N Encinitas]

Congratulations! Nice color too. Seems like a nice bike for the money, and like you said better than some more expensive models. -S

 

[Kevn]

Just wanted to add a couple more pictures of the bike. One after removing it from the box, and one from the first days ride on the bike trail here in St. Petersburg Florida. I had already removed some of the protective wrapping on the bike before I thought to get the first picture.

 

[Kaldeem]

Sweet, the Alations are great looking bikes with a price to match. Joe and the Volton team are super nice guys and try hard to satisfy the customer

 

[Kevn]

I decided to add another update after completing the first 500+ miles on the bike. So far, it is working almost flawlessly. I still haven't done a permanent fix for the disconnecting battery, but it's only come loose once (from a taking very hard jar at full speed) since I did a temporary fix by adding a thick a sponge between the cover and the battery.

The bike seems to be reporting accurate speeds. I rode past a couple of speed sensors that showed the same speed as the bike reported when I went by. When the battery is fully charged, the power set to high (5), and peddling along but not pushing it in the highest gear, I hit about 23 mph and easily hold it for the first 10 miles or so and by the time the battery is down to one bar left, I'm still able to stay at 20 though I have to help it just a hair more. Or maybe it just feels it by then. That's hard to say since I'm not as young as I once was and hadn't pedaled at all in 15 years or more.

I've been fortunate enough to be able to ride at least a couple of times a week since I bought the bike back in October. The battery still lasts longer than my legs do. That said, I can see a day coming soon when I might want to consider getting a second battery to take some longer trips as I build up my leg muscles again. So far I've been all over the southern portion of the peninsula I live on. Visited downtown, four separate beaches, and run multiple errands and bank runs on the bike. It gets a lot of attention.

I mentioned the sensors in my first post and wanted to bring up one thing about this bike that might not suit some. The power delivery seems to almost force you to pedal fast. In our downtown area we have a speed limit of 10 miles per hour and the only way to do that with power assist seems to be set power to the lowest level, and gear to the lowest gear and pedal light but quickly to "keep up" with the power being delivered. I've basically found use for only 4 of the gears when using power assist due to this. For me that's ok. I love riding as fast as it will go and almost wish for double the speed and power sometimes. I know it really isn't needed, but what can I say, I love speed. Then again, more speed than you can get on this bike is not really needed around here. Our bike trails have 20 mph speed limits so more than what this bike provides is just asking for trouble. My high speed so far is 27.6 on our absolutely flat surfaces here in Florida. Felt awesome. Here's one more pick from this past weekends ride to the pier.

 

[biknut]

That's a nice looking bike. It reminds me of my sons Neo Carbon. I like your fenders. What would you say your average range is?

I can totally understand your desire for a little more speed. 25 mph is ok for casual riding, but kind of dangerous in traffic. 40 would be a lot safer. My sons Carbon tops out about 25 mph, and that's more than enough for side streets and bike trails, but limiting for any real distance riding.