I am about 5'8" with a 29" inseam. There is quite a difference between torque and cadence sensors. The torque sensor feels much more natural. And the upgrade also gives you 17 amp/hr. larger battery and hydraulic brakes; well worth it. There are numbered lines on the seat post and number 10 is the perfect height for me.
New spark City
- Thread starter Bcbob
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So, After test riding every e-bike I could get my hands on for the last month, I had a hard time taking the plunge and deciding on a winner. I just purchased the Spark/Rize City because I could not find anything that felt better. It will be difficult waiting 3 days until I can pick up my bike and ride it home.
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I was worried about the electrical system in wet weather. I took advice to use ACF-50 spray on all the electrical connections and most metal parts, the display, and dousing the battery insides. After detaching the electical connectors and applying the ACF-50 you can use liquid electrical tape to make a better seal after reclosing the conectors. I've been riding when it rains now for half a year without any problem.
I bought the spray can version of ACF-50 because the application straw can get into hard to reach places.
I have never had problems with water in my electrical systems during rain on any e-bike so far. My problem has been constant flat tires which become a major job with a rear hub motor. I now have learned to Slime the tires on any new e-bike I get. But the majority of Slime is made for tubeless tires and doesn't work on bikes. Slime for tube tires works very well if you can find any. It is now Saturday and my new Rize City will not be ready for pickup until Wednesday so I will use the time to track down some proper Slime.
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Slimed my citybike tires and 6 months of almost every day use, no flats. I did have a pump get wrecked but after than I made sure to let the wheel rest for a while with valve not at the low position before attaching the pump. My guess is that slime went pushing into the pump valve and it blew apart when I applied pressure.
As for electrical connections I was worried because I never had a ebike before and I had read reports of bikes shutting down in rain and the parts had to be dried out before it would work again.
The ACF-50 is good for aircraft rust/oxidation prevention/removal and water repellent, so it's just good stuff to use.
As for electrical connections I was worried because I never had a ebike before and I had read reports of bikes shutting down in rain and the parts had to be dried out before it would work again.
The ACF-50 is good for aircraft rust/oxidation prevention/removal and water repellent, so it's just good stuff to use.
I received my Rize City today, a day earlier than expected and was able to ride 25 km. before the rain started. The Rize employee assembled the bike in front of me and he had difficulty adjusting the front fender so it would not rub the wheel. Those who assemble their own should beware of this. Also, the rubber cap which covers the charge port seems fiendishly difficult to close and I have not mastered it yet, even after being shown how. The motor is very quiet, smooth and powerful and has no problem reaching top speed with or without throttle. The top speed limit can be set to 40kph and then the setting jumps to 99, presumably indicating that all limits are removed, but the maximum never goes higher than 36, regardless of where it is set. I tried setting it to 40 but it showed 36 when I went back into the settings menu. The same thing happened when I tried setting it to 99. The next time I got into the menu it once again showed 36. The Rize employee told me that 36 was the maximum but I still wonder why the higher settings don't take.
Range is going to be super because battery power still shows 100% after 25 km. and the battery till shows all four green led's. Mind you, I was mostly using only the two lowest assist settings other than briefly testing the top speed. I wanted a long distance e-bike which makes me do most of the work while still taking the strain of my tired old senior body. This bike seems perfect for that. The sprung seat is plenty comfortable and I felt no need for suspension seatpost on the roughest roads. Tires indicate a max. psi of 65 which feels comfortable but with no indication of sponginess to slow the bike down. The best thing about this bike is the ways it can be adjusted to perfectly fit me. The superlative performance is just icing on the cake. With the wonderful 17 amp battery, the 3amp charger will not need to be used very frequently but should work quicker than most when called upon. I commend Rize for the 3 amp charger instead of the usual 2 but it would be perfectly safe going even to 6 amps. The chain and drive train are coated to resist rusting and should last a long time with reasonable care. The gear range is perfectly matched to the capabilities of the motor. So, initial first impressions indicate a nearly perfect bike but I will be merciless with any future shortcomings. For now, I recommend it highly.
Range is going to be super because battery power still shows 100% after 25 km. and the battery till shows all four green led's. Mind you, I was mostly using only the two lowest assist settings other than briefly testing the top speed. I wanted a long distance e-bike which makes me do most of the work while still taking the strain of my tired old senior body. This bike seems perfect for that. The sprung seat is plenty comfortable and I felt no need for suspension seatpost on the roughest roads. Tires indicate a max. psi of 65 which feels comfortable but with no indication of sponginess to slow the bike down. The best thing about this bike is the ways it can be adjusted to perfectly fit me. The superlative performance is just icing on the cake. With the wonderful 17 amp battery, the 3amp charger will not need to be used very frequently but should work quicker than most when called upon. I commend Rize for the 3 amp charger instead of the usual 2 but it would be perfectly safe going even to 6 amps. The chain and drive train are coated to resist rusting and should last a long time with reasonable care. The gear range is perfectly matched to the capabilities of the motor. So, initial first impressions indicate a nearly perfect bike but I will be merciless with any future shortcomings. For now, I recommend it highly.
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Niiiice. Hope you continue to enjoy it for years to come.
I'm very pleased with my 2019 model too, except for one thing...if the hydraulic brake lever takes a strong hit then it leaks, I figure a gasket on the piston rod must get blown or something like that. I have to refill a few cc once a week or so...both sides.
The rubber cap over the charging port stymies Court in his reviews, as well, but it's actually pretty easy to do. Resist using force on it. Sometimes it takes 2 tries. Easy does it. Straight in.
I'm very pleased with my 2019 model too, except for one thing...if the hydraulic brake lever takes a strong hit then it leaks, I figure a gasket on the piston rod must get blown or something like that. I have to refill a few cc once a week or so...both sides.
The rubber cap over the charging port stymies Court in his reviews, as well, but it's actually pretty easy to do. Resist using force on it. Sometimes it takes 2 tries. Easy does it. Straight in.
I have put 75km. on in the first 24 hours of ownership which translates to just about 47 miles. I spent most of the time at pas level2 and the battery still shows 68%. The LCD shows 3 bars out of 5 and pressing the button on the battery still shows 3 out of 4 LED's. Even though I was Hypermiling, I have yet to ride an e-bike whose battery I couldn't drain in a day. This definitely could prove interesting. Stay tuned.
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The fenders are terrific too. I've never had such sturdy fenders and they just don't rattle at all. I have had to pull up the rear light wire and glue the hole because the wire had moved and it was rubbing on the tire. Love the way the handlebars can be brought up and back which makes riding position so nice.
DIY pannier boxes in rear carry about 40 lbs. I am thinking of adding some up front which could also steady the wiggle that so much weight can produce, even though the panniers are low slung.
The panniers are completely essential to my tremendous enjoyment of the bike. I make excuses to get on it and ride. Massive chain and and multiple good locks aboard so I do not worry any more when I go shopping. I've secured the battery to the bike with steel bands and loads of insulation and duct tape.
I never leave it for very long anyway - the only security issue I'm concerned with now is how to best make the controller detachable or preferably just inoperable whenever I choose.
What have you got in mind to protect that beauty?
DIY pannier boxes in rear carry about 40 lbs. I am thinking of adding some up front which could also steady the wiggle that so much weight can produce, even though the panniers are low slung.
The panniers are completely essential to my tremendous enjoyment of the bike. I make excuses to get on it and ride. Massive chain and and multiple good locks aboard so I do not worry any more when I go shopping. I've secured the battery to the bike with steel bands and loads of insulation and duct tape.
I never leave it for very long anyway - the only security issue I'm concerned with now is how to best make the controller detachable or preferably just inoperable whenever I choose.
What have you got in mind to protect that beauty?
That is actually a very good question but I keep mine indoors and seldom let it out of my sight when I go somewhere. I have owned 5 e-bikes and 2 electric scooters and none have been stolen yet. I was thinking some sort of aerodynamic tailbox instead of panniers. Although with the mileage I am getting, aerodynamics may not be a concern. I don't want to give the impression that I am a die hard hypermiler. I started at pas level 1 but the assist seemed to stop with anything much past walking speed so I went to pas level 2 which seems to give me good assistance upto about 11mph or 17kph. This is about my normal cycling speed without assistance so the 141 watts at level 2 make it a breeze. 30 years ago I was riding a 26 pound Cannondale mountain bike for 300km. in 24 hours from Vancouver to Hope and back. This was before the days of suspension and the lightweight but stiff aluminum frame generated some real pain. The days are long gone that my body could do something like this but I dream of finding a long enough range e-bike to do it with assistance. I don't know if I will live long enough to see battery technology which will do it. The primitive Cateye cycle computers in 1989 never stopped counting when I stopped to take a break so my average speed for the trip was only 8mph or 12kph. So my 300 km. e-bike does not need to be very fast.
Update: 122.2 km. so far. 46% Battery remaining. 2 out of 5 bars remaining on LCD Screen and 2 LED's remaining after pressing button on battery. Assuming BMS shuts down the battery at 20%, I should still have one quarter of my battery remaining. I have done 8 hours of riding out of the last 48 and I feel rather tired so I calculated just how much work I have done at PAS Level 2. I went to Bikecalculator.com and punched in all the numbers which told me I would use 3890 kilocalories if I were riding without power. I wear a Fitbit during my rides which registers my heart rate over time during various activities which include Outdoor Biking. Fitbit tells me I have actually used 2914 kilocalories which means I have done 75% of the work. Whew, no wonder I am tired. After I drain this battery, I will try the same thing at the next assist level.
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Try it with throttle only for an estimate of how it goes if you need it to. My bike doesn't shut down at 20% but I've only gone slightly less than that once, to about 17%, so I'm not sure about shut down.
I'm always trying to keep up with traffic a bit, so assist level 7 or 8 usually, a lot less on side streets.
I use throttle for smooth easy start ups as well as lower gears.
I'm always trying to keep up with traffic a bit, so assist level 7 or 8 usually, a lot less on side streets.
I use throttle for smooth easy start ups as well as lower gears.
WELL, I Hit 160km. doing 75% of the work but that was too hard for me, I may go to level 3 or even 4 next time. I would like to strike a balance where I am doing half the work plus going faster than I could unpowered while still obtaining fabulous range. The battery percentage is absolutely accurate. It goes to zero then starts flashing. It stops assisting but does not shut off but YOU SHOULD.
For those interested in further information, PAS Level 3 was a lot easier than Level 2. It actually felt like an electric assist instead of my having to do most of the work. I estimate about 50-50 and I was not tired after getting 130 km. out of the battery at 20 kph. That would be 80 miles at 13mph. When I was in university 40 years ago I could pedal 75 miles to school at 13mph average speed(there was no assistance back then) The first cross country railroad averaged a blistering speed of 13mph. I think this will be my standard level for all day trips. My next charge will probably be used up at Level 4 in 4th gear. It is interesting how the PAS Levels seem to match their corresponding gears. I don't feel any range anxiety with this baby. There is a 20 amp/hr. battery which fits this bike but it must be purchased extra because there is no upgrade deal for it.
For those of you concerned about after market service I can testify that it is excellent. My bike developed a squeaky bottom bracket which indicated a possible need for grease. But I found it impossible to remove the crank bolt to get at it. I emailed Rize and they invited me to bring my bike in whereupon a young man very professionally took care of my problem and I was on my way in a matter of minutes. In my experience, even most LBS would not have handled it so quickly.
I think it is a good idea to give a 2 month follow up on this bike. Shortly after my last post, the torque sensor stopped working and I had no pedal assist. Rize Customer Service responded very promptly with excellent service but they hit a snag; the threads on the crank were stripped and they could not remove the crank to replace the torque sensor. It took 2 weeks for them to fix the problem by installing a new torque sensor. And the mysterious squeak I had before also disappeared. My bike was good as new thanks to excellent service by Rize. 2 days later, I heard the same squeak coming from the bottom bracket. I concluded that someone probably forgot to grease the bottom bracket when they installed the new torque sensor. Using the crank puller which Rize gave me, I decided to give it some grease. But I could not remove the crank because the threads were stripped. I told the story to Jay, the man who sold me the bike, and he spent a lot of time helping me troubleshoot the problem. Jay said the bottom bracket was well greased and he had removed the crank over again just to make sure the threads were intact after installing the torque sensor. So, It seems I should not have tried to lubricate the bottom bracket without talking to Jay first, but I believe my decision was logical based on information I had at the time. Anyway, I decided to live with the squeak since the bottom bracket was lubed and not in danger of bearing failure. The bottom bracket problem could be dealt with if it ever required servicing, which could be a long way off. The squeak was getting so loud that people were looking at me as I rode by. It was also irritating me to ride the bike with the increasingly loud squeak so I decided to stop riding, consider the bike a loss and put it in storage. About a week later, I had a quick trip to make so I took the bike for one short ride. The squeak had greatly diminished and disappeared completely within a couple of more rides. I was happy to have my bike again and started riding normally. About a week later, the squeak came back and, 2 days ago, the torque sensor failed and I had no pedal assistance any more. At this point, I am starting to think that I am too incompetent to own an e-bike and should consider another form of transportation. When it stops raining today I will take my bike to Jay at the warehouse and I am tempted to never come back for it.
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