Phantom XR 5

[Andreas]

After receiving my Phantom XR 5 2 weeks ago I must rode about 200+ miles by now. Most of my average trips are about 20-22 miles (30-35 km) with an elevation gain of about 150-200 meters (450-600 feet). The real positive about this bike is that it really propels me up the steep inclines. I took the bike up our steepest paved bike trails in Calgary. About 6 miles straight up a hill in full throttle with peddling. I did the trip twice to see how well the battery preforms and how long the battery actually last in a real time environment. After putting at total of 24 miles on the bike (12 miles up hill and 12 miles down hill) the battery indicator was still on 50%.

Riding my bike to work, 24 mile round trip I use about 20 battery power to work and about 60% battery power on the way home. I have more uphill on the way home and I battled a strong head wind. I barely made it back home, the battery was exhausted, below 50% and it couldn't help much anymore on my last uphill.

For anyone looking for an e-bike I would recommend buy a good bicycle and add an electric bike kit, installed by a certified technician. You get much more unrestricted power out of the system and it is much cheaper. Upgrading or swapping components are also much easier and cheaper with a bike kit. Big companies charge more and their product is too restricted and it forces you to buy their product. My complain is the 20 mph speed restriction on a flat surface.

 

[Lenny]

Great.
See if you can install their torque sensor and get more range out of it.

 

[Andreas]

Update on my daily commute...one minor issue.

Now riding that that bike for two month straight, I still like to find a way to increase the speed. My commute to work is fun so far and I do enjoy the bike. Few days ago I had a weird sound coming from the battery/crank area. Was very loud and kept sounding almost like grinding , hard to explain the noise. I removed the battery and inspected everything and placed in back in place, since then the noise was gone. Did anyone had a similar experience? Otherwise the bike runs fine. Over the weeks I noticed that the throttle response works best when set not higher than 50%. it seems to be the sweet spot and the motor runs smoother. Cranking it to full throttle doesn't bring anything anyway. It feels that the power delivery is also controlled.