My new Liberty Trike

[arcom]

<snip>

So now I just have the one Liberty Trike. I still use it every day. Until last week when the battery failed. Now working on sourcing a new battery…

Any luck with a battery replacement?

 

[elizilla]

This was a comedy of errors.

I ordered a replacement battery from Liberty Trike. When it came it was the wrong size, did not fit. Called their support and it turns out they changed the size since my trike was new. They said they send a replacement battery box but I did not make that selection when I ordered it. I went back to see what I missed and after going over the order form with a fine tooth comb I discovered it in the pull down for “charger”. This defaults to “no charger” and I didn’t need a charger so I never looked at the other options. And one of them is “battery box”. And the only other mention of it is in a video linked at the bottom. I assumed the video was an ad and ignored it. I guess I am a weirdo freak but I like to read, I almost never look at videos. Anyways, they sent me the new battery box, no extra charge.

So the new box arrived and it did not fit either battery. I went back and forth with their support and they were clueless. Ultimately my husband fixed this by drilling a new hole, and we were able to try the new battery.

At which point we discovered that it’s not just the Liberty Trike people who are idiots. My husband and I are idiots too. The battery was not the problem. The problem was corrosion in one of the plugs in the wiring harness. A little brushing and some dialectric grease resolved the issue.

Anyways it all worked out in the end. Remember in my earlier post, the neighbor who got my second Liberty Trike for his mom? Her battery died. And it actually WAS the battery in her case. So that battery was needed here in our town after all. Everyone is back on the road.

 

[Grandma Bobbie]

Yesterday I received my new Liberty Trike.

This is actually my third e-bike. I was a hardcore bicyclist in my 20s, and a very hardcore motorcyclist in my 30s. But in my 40s I started having weird problems with my coordination and it turned out to be MS. My balance is actually still quite good, and I don't have any pain (except when I fall) but my left foot is spectacularly stupid, and my left hand is getting stupider as well. Imagine wearing a left shoe that weighs 100 pounds, and a stiff bulky mitten on your left hand; this is what it feels like. I also have fatigue and weakness.

I am not quitting, so I have become a sidecar motorcyclist, and e-bikes have also become an increasingly interesting option to me. The first e-bike I bought was a Prodeco Stride. My thinking was, if I have a throttle I can keep the bike going and balanced, while I struggle to get my left foot up onto the pedal. And that is indeed true, it works, but every time I have to stop, it is super fatiguing; I can only stop five or six times before I am done in, so I have to choose my ride routes carefully. No good for the neighborhood. Instead, for that I got a Razor Ecosmart Metro. This has no pedals, just a wide low skateboard deck, and a seat. This has worked really well for me; I mostly manage to only put down my right foot and I can stop and go fairly easily. I have had it three years and use it almost every day, in season. But the limitation with it, is the difficulty of standing still on it. I am riding it around my neighborhood and I always end up stopping to chat with neighbors or look at something, or just stopping because of the crowds in the farmer's market or other busy pedestrian areas. And it is tiring to sit still on it. I get stiff and can't move well. My right foot may not be as bad as my left but it fatigues quickly too. With the stupid left hand it is a whole body effort to squeeze that left brake, and the braking power of that rear drum is terrible so I have to squeeze it hard to keep the bike from rolling away while I am sitting there. I want to stay and chat with whoever I have met but I can't do it for long! Also, I am constantly finding myself needing to back up, it might only be a couple feet but my feet are so awkward I can't. The Razor is basically a mobility scooter for me, except I get to keep my head at adult height and occasionally go a bit faster, and people look at it and say "cool bike" instead of feeling sorry for the crippled lady. I get to have fun gadgety hobbyist talk, instead of endless chatter about medicare reimbursements and ADA compliance and blah blah blah. But I am still basically using it like a mobility scooter.

This is the point of view I am coming from - I am a long time bike person who has fallen on hard times. So I am always following links and looking at ebikes. I can't believe it took me so long to find this site, but I just found it last week. And I quickly chose the Liberty Trike based on the info I found here, as the first thing I have seen that is significantly better than the Razor for my needs. I want three wheels for easy stopping and standing around. But I didn't want something enormous because I want to take it into crowded pedestrian areas. I wanted reverse, and a parking brake. And I wanted pedals so I can move my feet and legs, keep them from stiffening up.

So I ordered my trike last Friday July 6. I had a little trouble ordering. Something about the order triggered a fraud alert at my credit card company, which made it throw errors on the website. I had to call them on the phone to place the order. Then the credit card people called me to confirm it wasn't a fraudulent transaction. But I was able to quickly confirm it and it went through. During the time this was going on, the website changed from saying they were In Stock, to saying it was back ordered until July 25. In spite of this, it shipped Monday and arrived on Weds July 11. I was amazed at the speedy delivery!

Here is a link to Court's review: https://electricbikereview.com/liberty-trike/electric-tricycle/ I am comparing what I am finding, to what he said there.

Unpacking the bike I was impressed with the quality of the frame, the paint, most of the components, and the careful packaging. Court criticizes the quick releases on the head tube and seat tube; well, those are now much better quality and I had no trouble with scratching on the steering stems and seat tube. The plastic basket is now a metal wire frame type and was the only shiping damage; some of the wires were bent. I emailed the company and they responded within the hour and sent out a new basket by the end of the day. It will arrive tomorrow. There is no longer a chain tensioner but the company tells me this is due to an upgraded design in the rear and I can see that; what I have looks better than the pictures in Court's review, and there is no slop in the chain. The controller is held on by quality metal brackets now. I have not been able to reproduce the software error Court described, so I think that is fixed too. And the current seat is an upgrade from the first gen - it is more supportive and has a backrest, and in fact it is identical to the seat I put on the Razor when I upgraded its seat, I already know I like it! But it does still have those short one-piece cranks - I think they have to be this short to work within the rest of the constraints of the size and configuration, so I feel OK about it. They are a size more typically found on a child's bike and it's probably hard to find a better crank in that size, that doesn't cost a fortune.

So all in all, my interactions with the company have been terrific, and the trike is even better than when it was originally reviewed. And the price has gone down - I paid $1498 with free delivery. I am a happy customer.

I have 1.5 miles on it so far, which isn't very much, so I will come back and post again when I have a bit more. I will say that so far I am very pleased.

.

I am So happy for you! Am ordering mine about end of Summer, can't be more excited! I had actually found another trike that arrives Fully Assembled, but it weighs 65 pounds foldable. When I pick up water at Sam's club, it's 40 bottles altogether, 16.9 ounce bottles that weigh 47 pounds in the case. At 71 years young, I'm barely able to slide it into the basket, then slide it into the trunk of my tiny car! From there, I remove individual bottles as needed. I know I will not be able to continually lift 65 lbs! My BEST and ONLY Option is The Liberty Trike! And yes, I love the reverse, and 360 feature too, plus that cute green color,- too many numerous options to name like the price, basket, standard head and tail light, you r able to ride it into some stores and shop (I hope Walmart), plus making it easy to finance using Affirm- for folk on Social Security like me, ER let me stop right there. Seriously concentrating on paying off some bills so will be eligible! God Bless and ENJOY.

 

[Grandma Bobbie]

Yesterday I received my new Liberty Trike.

This is actually my third e-bike. I was a hardcore bicyclist in my 20s, and a very hardcore motorcyclist in my 30s. But in my 40s I started having weird problems with my coordination and it turned out to be MS. My balance is actually still quite good, and I don't have any pain (except when I fall) but my left foot is spectacularly stupid, and my left hand is getting stupider as well. Imagine wearing a left shoe that weighs 100 pounds, and a stiff bulky mitten on your left hand; this is what it feels like. I also have fatigue and weakness.

I am not quitting, so I have become a sidecar motorcyclist, and e-bikes have also become an increasingly interesting option to me. The first e-bike I bought was a Prodeco Stride. My thinking was, if I have a throttle I can keep the bike going and balanced, while I struggle to get my left foot up onto the pedal. And that is indeed true, it works, but every time I have to stop, it is super fatiguing; I can only stop five or six times before I am done in, so I have to choose my ride routes carefully. No good for the neighborhood. Instead, for that I got a Razor Ecosmart Metro. This has no pedals, just a wide low skateboard deck, and a seat. This has worked really well for me; I mostly manage to only put down my right foot and I can stop and go fairly easily. I have had it three years and use it almost every day, in season. But the limitation with it, is the difficulty of standing still on it. I am riding it around my neighborhood and I always end up stopping to chat with neighbors or look at something, or just stopping because of the crowds in the farmer's market or other busy pedestrian areas. And it is tiring to sit still on it. I get stiff and can't move well. My right foot may not be as bad as my left but it fatigues quickly too. With the stupid left hand it is a whole body effort to squeeze that left brake, and the braking power of that rear drum is terrible so I have to squeeze it hard to keep the bike from rolling away while I am sitting there. I want to stay and chat with whoever I have met but I can't do it for long! Also, I am constantly finding myself needing to back up, it might only be a couple feet but my feet are so awkward I can't. The Razor is basically a mobility scooter for me, except I get to keep my head at adult height and occasionally go a bit faster, and people look at it and say "cool bike" instead of feeling sorry for the crippled lady. I get to have fun gadgety hobbyist talk, instead of endless chatter about medicare reimbursements and ADA compliance and blah blah blah. But I am still basically using it like a mobility scooter.

This is the point of view I am coming from - I am a long time bike person who has fallen on hard times. So I am always following links and looking at ebikes. I can't believe it took me so long to find this site, but I just found it last week. And I quickly chose the Liberty Trike based on the info I found here, as the first thing I have seen that is significantly better than the Razor for my needs. I want three wheels for easy stopping and standing around. But I didn't want something enormous because I want to take it into crowded pedestrian areas. I wanted reverse, and a parking brake. And I wanted pedals so I can move my feet and legs, keep them from stiffening up.

So I ordered my trike last Friday July 6. I had a little trouble ordering. Something about the order triggered a fraud alert at my credit card company, which made it throw errors on the website. I had to call them on the phone to place the order. Then the credit card people called me to confirm it wasn't a fraudulent transaction. But I was able to quickly confirm it and it went through. During the time this was going on, the website changed from saying they were In Stock, to saying it was back ordered until July 25. In spite of this, it shipped Monday and arrived on Weds July 11. I was amazed at the speedy delivery!

Here is a link to Court's review: https://electricbikereview.com/liberty-trike/electric-tricycle/ I am comparing what I am finding, to what he said there.

Unpacking the bike I was impressed with the quality of the frame, the paint, most of the components, and the careful packaging. Court criticizes the quick releases on the head tube and seat tube; well, those are now much better quality and I had no trouble with scratching on the steering stems and seat tube. The plastic basket is now a metal wire frame type and was the only shiping damage; some of the wires were bent. I emailed the company and they responded within the hour and sent out a new basket by the end of the day. It will arrive tomorrow. There is no longer a chain tensioner but the company tells me this is due to an upgraded design in the rear and I can see that; what I have looks better than the pictures in Court's review, and there is no slop in the chain. The controller is held on by quality metal brackets now. I have not been able to reproduce the software error Court described, so I think that is fixed too. And the current seat is an upgrade from the first gen - it is more supportive and has a backrest, and in fact it is identical to the seat I put on the Razor when I upgraded its seat, I already know I like it! But it does still have those short one-piece cranks - I think they have to be this short to work within the rest of the constraints of the size and configuration, so I feel OK about it. They are a size more typically found on a child's bike and it's probably hard to find a better crank in that size, that doesn't cost a fortune.

So all in all, my interactions with the company have been terrific, and the trike is even better than when it was originally reviewed. And the price has gone down - I paid $1498 with free delivery. I am a happy customer.

I have 1.5 miles on it so far, which isn't very much, so I will come back and post again when I have a bit more. I will say that so far I am very pleased.

.

I am So happy for you! Am ordering mine about end of Summer, can't be more excited! I had actually found another trike that arrives Fully Assembled, but it weighs 65 pounds foldable. When I pick up water at Sam's club, it's 40 bottles altogether, 16.9 ounce bottles that weigh 47 pounds in the case. At 71 years young, I'm barely able to slide it into the basket, then slide it into the trunk of my tiny car! From there, I remove individual bottles as needed. I know I will not be able to continually lift 65 lbs! My BEST and ONLY Option is The Liberty Trike! And yes, I love the reverse, and 360 feature too, plus that cute green color,- too many numerous options to name like the price, basket, standard head and tail light, you r able to ride it into some stores and shop (I hope Walmart), plus making it easy to finance using Affirm- for folk on Social Security like me, ER let me stop right there. Seriously concentrating on paying off some bills so will be eligible! God Bless and ENJOY.

Heck, I forgot to add the MOST Important thing. The Liberty trike detaching into two equal parts is Perfect for me! At 25 lbs each, Doable lifts!

 

[elizilla]

Grandma Bobbie, note the listing on the Liberty Trike site, for refurbished trikes. They sell returned trikes there at a discount. That is how I bought my second, saved a couple hundred that way. They don’t always have refurbs available but if you keep watch they come along.

Just noting this since it makes it much easier to afford.

 

[Grandma Bobbie]

I have seen some sales and wondered about them. They were $200.00 cheaper, but do u still get the basket, the front and back lights, does it fold and can detach into 2 separate parts for transport- that's the main feature I love, is the battery still good, hopefully new, does it have a year's warranty? Was afraid to pursue because it said minor imperfections and uncertain of what all that entailed? Paying off some bills so will be able to afford the new Liberty Trike, one I've fallen in love with! I can imagine myself out and about riding in parks, and I absolutely LOVE that green color!

 

[elizilla]

The refurb I bought was perfect and came with everything a normal one has. It had one mile on the odometer. They are the same trikes, just ones that other people returned. But you might have to wait and watch for your color to show up. Sounds like you are waiting anyway, and the refurb might be affordable sooner.