My E-Joe Epik SE

What turned me off about the Volt was/is the suspension fork, looks less comfortable, and to be honest, the LCD is too much for me. I mean... what if I lose that? Torque center must be nice but it seems that the cadence on the E-Joe is sufficient enough.
 
What turned me off about the Volt was/is the suspension fork, looks less comfortable, and to be honest, the LCD is too much for me. I mean... what if I lose that? Torque center must be nice but it seems that the cadence on the E-Joe is sufficient enough.

Those are good points. One of reasons I preferred e-JOE over Neo Volt (other than price, of course) was the simplistic dashboard. It's very simple, red color light-based interface, and I thought that I would be able to control better even at night.

And yes, e-JOE's low / med / high cadences have been sufficient for me so far.
 
Do you think you can put these flap extenders (wide open) on the original fenders and maybe bend them down?

Original fenders, you mean the SKS fenders that I have? And, I did order "wide" version of the mud flap for ThorUSA.

I took example pictures of what it would look like. I am not sure what you meant by "bend down", but let me know how you want to see it, and I can take pics for you. Ultimately, in order to attach the mud flap extension, I would need to drill a hole on a fender, and I haven't done that, but without drilling, I can at least attach the mud flap at the end for this demo purpose.

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Folks,
I am a newbie to this forum and prodigal bicyclist who is looking at the eJoe Epic SE with several goals and reasons in mind.
A decade ago, in my youth, I was an avid cyclist and weightlifter. I had a motorcycle "get off" and am now trying to regain my fitness as well as make my multimodal commute faster, and more enjoyable.

I commute 10 miles by auto to the Amtrak train station then 75 miles by train and take the DC Metro four stops to with in a mile of my work destination. I am able to walk each way from Union Station DC to work, two miles but it does take time ... about 30 minutes.

The thought of using an eJoe Epic to commute from Union Station to the office is appealing and of commuting from home to the Amtrak station even more so. Question is, how heavy is the eJoe Epic? How hard would it be for me to lift it onto the Amtrak train then stow it onboard?

I have seen folks with Dahon folding bikes on the train, but the difficulty is that the local train station has a low platform which requires stepping up (3 steps up on a fairly narrow stairs). And this would be in addition to my briefcase, currently 20 pounds. Also, can the Epik be rolled around, say out of the train station when arriving at Union Station?

Any advice or encouragement would be appreciated.

Moonkat in Muddyland
 
Folks,
I am a newbie to this forum and prodigal bicyclist who is looking at the eJoe Epic SE with several goals and reasons in mind.
A decade ago, in my youth, I was an avid cyclist and weightlifter. I had a motorcycle "get off" and am now trying to regain my fitness as well as make my multimodal commute faster, and more enjoyable.

I commute 10 miles by auto to the Amtrak train station then 75 miles by train and take the DC Metro four stops to with in a mile of my work destination. I am able to walk each way from Union Station DC to work, two miles but it does take time ... about 30 minutes.

The thought of using an eJoe Epic to commute from Union Station to the office is appealing and of commuting from home to the Amtrak station even more so. Question is, how heavy is the eJoe Epic? How hard would it be for me to lift it onto the Amtrak train then stow it onboard?

I have seen folks with Dahon folding bikes on the train, but the difficulty is that the local train station has a low platform which requires stepping up (3 steps up on a fairly narrow stairs). And this would be in addition to my briefcase, currently 20 pounds. Also, can the Epik be rolled around, say out of the train station when arriving at Union Station?

Any advice or encouragement would be appreciated.

Moonkat in Muddyland

42 lbs. Not super easy, but it'll work if it's going next to the door. Definitely can't be stowed above.

It can't easily be rolled while folded.
 
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E-Joe has a folding capability but yeah, it's not for rolling around at all. I've folded it into the bus when it was snowing a lot outside, etc, and needing to take a bus. When folded, it does the job of being smaller, but the size isn't super compact to my taste.

Also note that if you are driving 10 miles one way from your home to the train station, that's 20 miles total.
EJoe Epik SE's battery will be able to barely fit that range, initially, but battery gets weaker over time, too.
So you might see the bike not being able to handle that distance over time in 3 - 6 months.

If both portability (like rolling the bike in the city) and range are important, have you seen or considered these below yet?
http://electricbikereview.com/tern/link-d8-with-bionx/
http://electricbikereview.com/tern/node-d8-with-bionx/

They are around $2700, and above twice as much as EJoe, so that's the downside indeed, but I think these will do a job for you. There are also other choices like electric brompton, and it's compact, but you will probably need that power from a motor / battery combo like bionx to handle your commute. BionX is a much more tested system, too.

And around metro DC area, it still snows in the winter, so tern node's 24 inch tires would be preferred in these weather conditions, compared to tern link's 20 inch. But that's assuming that 24 inch isn't a problem for bringing into the train.

Let me know what you thought of my opinion.

This is a comment coming from an EJoe owner. :)
 
Chandlee, GEC (forgive me),
The idea would be to eventually commute entirely from home to work and back with one bike and train ride. I would be able to charge the bike at work for the commute home. Also it's downhill to the train station, 6-800 foot elevation difference and I would have to make that up coming home.

I am in the concept stage and have thought of just getting a folding bike like a d-8 and pedaling. I would resort to the Metro for commutes during winter weather but am looking to integrate exercise into my daily routine which is too sedentary. Also, riding around the National Capital Mall in summer and to view the Cherry Blossoms blooming next month would be great.

GEC, the advantage of the d-8 Bionix system is not obvious to me. They both use hub motors have comparable outputs with Li-ion batteries of substantial capacity and they weigh about the same; 42-45 lbs.
Does the d-8 fold more compact? By the way, I do like the design and detail of the Terns.
 
Size-wise it might not be that different. It's just that the rolling capability is something I wish I had.
I also have a rear rack, so that might be making it a bit bulky when folded.

Note that if you plan to use E-Joe Epik SE it for commute on a daily basis, I recommend the fender hack I applied. The default fender will end up splashing dirt on your back.

Are you looking into E Joe Epik SE or Lite?

I have had some battery / controller issues with Epik SE, and I thought that if the frame that contains battery can be wobbly during bumps, it could damage the battery along the way, and it's just a design issue. BionX is external, so it won't have such an issue I thought.

Also tern is supported by vendors that sell parts for tern bikes, like biologic, for example. So, there is a larger community support in general.

But that comes with a price, so E-Joe could be a better option price-wise, too, if you don't need such external parts upgrades.
The best thing to do after this point is probably doing some test ride. If you can experience yourself how the folding is like, I think that's great.
 
GEC,
I did more research on the BionX and see that it is much sophisticated than typical ebike. Offering regeneration and a pedaling power stroke compensation side to side for physiological rehab benefits as well. I don't need to pay for those extra features. interesting to hear they are about the same bulk, so equally portable.
Laters,
 
Oh, and Vandon,
I keep thinking your avatar is a pic taken of you on Magic Island, Honolulu, looking back towards Waikiki.
But that's me.
Definitely the shaka sign....cool
Laters,
 
I was thinking the Tern as well. The bionx system is lovely and you will certainly appreciate the torque sensor for exercise.

I've been a epic SE owner in the past, and I've tried the tern, too. I love the Epic SE and think it's one of the best values out there, period. You'll probably be riding that on the lowest setting ~12mph and pedaling with your power on top of it.

The Tern is already my favorite folding bike and the bionx is hands down my favorite kit. It will give you unnoticed quiet assistance. It's better designed and more portable... maybe not $1300 more portable, though.

If you have the means, go for the Tern. Really. You won't regret it.

Otherwise, the Epic SE with a 11-tooth cassette is incredibly fun for the money. I still wouldn't call it amazingly easy to handle on a train though.

IMG_6327.jpg
 
Guys,
Now I'm thinking an escooter would solve the bulk and weight concerns 24#, 39" log.
Not for home to train but train to work to train.
I know, how de classe'.
The Terns sure seductive though....
 
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