My new Carbon...

[InLibertyITrust]

My first electric bike.

I got myself into some trouble and lost my license for the time being. I'm now commuting to work via bike.

I had a trek that was stolen while it was locked up outside by our one office. I took the opportunity of replacement to splurge on the carbon. I'll be bringing it inside into the office building basement from now on.

I just got it together tonight. I'll have a chance to ride it tomorrow.

 

[Brambor]

Congratulations. How far do you commute?

 

[ChrisD_]

Sounds like a great way to overcome some adversity, but I've almost exclusively commuting on my IZIP Dash since April and love it. I do bring my bike inside every time, since the racks are far out of sight.

 

[Deleted member 803]

Where did you get the fenders?

 

[InLibertyITrust]

I received the bike and accessories from EBR Community member Chris Nolte at http://longislandelectricbikes.com/.

Chris was very friendly in dealing with my questions. He was helpful in narrowing down what I wanted. He gave me a good price with free and quick shipping. I would recommend him to anyone in the market for an electric bike.

With the bike I bought Planet Bike fenders, a Topeak MTX rack and childseat, and a Topeak MTX trunk bag.

 

[InLibertyITrust]

My typical daily commute is only about 12 miles round trip.

I was able to ride the bike yesterday. I had some initial issues getting into certain gears so my first stop was a local bike shop where they tuned my derailleurs.

The bike shop showed me an issue getting into the smallest ring in the back where it rubbed against these two screws in the frame. The tech said the spacing of the wheel and frame could be adjusted but he didn't have time at that moment but said I could schedule something. In the time being he just made it so it wouldn't go into that gear.

My brother is suppose to come over for dinner this Wednesday. He's much more bicycle savvy so I'll have him take a look at this. I'll plug his wheel business while I'm at it: http://www.revolutionwheelworks.com/.

I then road the bike what my typical commute to work would be. The bike's a lot of fun. My commute would normally be about 30 min to work and 20 min home. On the Carbon I was to work in less than 20 and home in less than 15.

I did have one oddity on the trip home. I was at a stop light and when I went to go on green, I found it difficult to pedal and my computer went blank and then flashed a warning sign. I don't know if I was in to high a gear from stop. At first I thought my battery died (I was at one bar) but after five or ten seconds the computer went back to normal and I was moving again. Anyone ever experience something similar?

I rolled home and my battery was at 1 bar from only 18.5 miles. I'm not sure what's typical but I did have it mostly in higher pedal assist modes. I found the throttle to be pretty worthless compared to pedal assist.

My general impressions were still very positive. I wished the gearing was somewhat higher. I never left my big ring in the front and felt like I could have used some bigger gears on some of the downhills. I wasn't very impressed with the range of the battery but I'll have to experiment with lower pedal assist modes. I'd also like to look into acquiring the larger 12ah battery.

Looking forward to the ride to work come Monday morning.

 

[Peter]

Your problem with the dead LCD could be caused from a loose connection. It happened to me when my bike was a few days old. There is a silver thing in front of the bike above the wheel that connects two wires. Try to tighten it a bit. It is called error 13 in the LCD display.

 

[InLibertyITrust]

So you know what's more embarrassing than riding a bike to work?

... walking a bike to work.

I got a flat less than a mile from my office. What do I need to do to reduce the possibility of this reoccurring?

 

[Brambor]

carry spare innertube, practice taking your wheels off and on. carry quick inflation tools. Look what you are riding over but that's easier said than done. All of my flats were microscopical shards of glass.

 

[James]

Adding thicker tubes definitely help too! I use Schwalbe Doc Blue tube sealant which patches up small punctures without having to take off the wheel.

 

[Deleted member 803]

I too have issues with gearing. I find anything but the largest front gear to be too small and inefficient. I also upgraded to Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires that have excellent puncture resistance (not fool proof though). As far as battery life, I have the 12A battery and noticed that I dropped one bar at 14.5 miles on eco mode. For me the key is to find a failsafe range that you feel confident hitting without any possibility of shutdown. I do this with every motorcycle I ride: I fill up the tank and then ride until the low fuel light comes on and stays on and then do another 20 miles. I note the mileage and never exceed it before getting gas. As you ride your bike more I am sure you will begin to understand how power assist levels affect range. The good news is that I am a very old and very fat out of shape man and find that eco mode works for me 99% of the time.

 

[Vern]

So you know what's more embarrassing than riding a bike to work?

... walking a bike to work.

I got a flat less than a mile from my office. What do I need to do to reduce the possibility of this reoccurring?

My second time riding to work, I got a flat. It stinks. I now run thorn resistant tubes. They are heavy but seem to work.

I get about 32 miles range in mostly eco and standard.

 

[Peter]

I had two punctures on my BH Race with in the first week of ownership.

My dealer fitted a new tire that should be more proof to punctures and put in some yellow stuf between the tube and the tire.
This had helped a lot but is not bulletproof.
Also riding in rain or wet and riding in gravel will increase your chances og getting punctures.