ShareRoller - Quick and Dirty Electric Bikes

One Motor

Hi everyone, I just picked up and installed my new one motor electric bike friction drive unit on Saturday and was most favorably impressed . It worked way better that I had ever thought possible and more then lives up to its promise.

It’s an amazingly well thought out device with what I can see will take me a while to figure out how to use , although on the other hand, I left Jeff Guido’s Studio, got right on my bike, and without any problems ebiked it all the way through Manhattan from the Wall Street area to the upper west side , roughly 6 or so miles through Streets, Bike paths, Parks and traffic for a fantastically enjoyable ride on a beautiful Spring day.

I think I went through what a lot of other people on this forum wrote about in that I purchased the one one motor unit on the very first day I received Jeff’s initial email, October 12 of last year. I too thought I would get it in the 6 to 8 weeks that had been initially stated and went through frustration and impatience and even doubt as the time stretched on. I was buoyed by Grace’s many wonderful email updates and her obvious decency and sincerity clearly came through her writings and continually reassured me so that at some point I just had the strong thought that it really didn’t matter when I got the unit as long as I got it eventually.

Well, Ladies and Gentleman , I got it ! And now that my long wait has finally ended and now that I finally have the one motor in my hands I can honestly say that had I known how fantastic this device would be that I wouldn’t have minded waiting twice as long as I did.

The installation went smoothly and easily although in all honesty i can’t take any credit for that as Jeff pretty much did the whole thing with the exception of my handing him a bolt or a tool that fell to the floor from time to time. None the less, watching Jeff put it all together I could see that once you figured out what went where, it was really an exceptionally easy process.

I have to say, one thing that strikes me as significant and important about the One Motor is that, as Jeff wrote to me in an email

“ I sometimes have worried that I made the product to complex. That people didn’t want or need all the features I built into it, and that I should have instead just built something simpler and less functional... “

Well, personally I like being treated as an intelligent human being and I appreciate a product that rather then being dumbed down for me to use without thinking,instead let’s me grow and reach and strive to master, not unlike any computer or tool or vehicle that requires a learning curve to use.

You can increase or decrease power levels with much more information, then most ebikes, throughly monitor battery levels, cadence, lighting and more and

I just got the unit two days ago and I’m still figuring out all that it does. But the thing is that the OM is designed to be an intelligent, but not difficult electric bike based on a practical and through understanding of what a biker needs and wants and uses.

The way that I got into all this was that I first purchased an electric Brompton bike from NYCE wheels ( who mysteriously closed their doors and vanished into the night a few months ago) . It’s a 3 speed Brompton with the crystalyte hub motor replacing the front wheel. I’ve really enjoyed riding it but with the motor and the battery and this that and the other thing the weight crept up into the mid to high 40 lb plus range. As a senior citizen living in a walkup building (stairs only, no elevator) this was an important consideration for me and it wasn’t so easy for me to just grab the bike and run out the door, I need to really brace myself for the climb up or down and it’s not an easy thing for me to do.

At some point I thought it would be helpful to just get a plain non electric light weight bicycle that I could easily walk out the door with and just as easily carry back upstairs.

OK, so I found a used brompton S 2 for a reasonable price and started using that however, despite the increased ease that I had in getting my bike to and from the street, once I was there I realized that of course peddling an electric bike is obviously and of course far far easier then peddling a non electric bike.

So after a while I started thinking about a light weight friction motor and actually tried to contact several companies that seemed to carry them but they were based in Asia and non of them even wrote back to me.

After sometime I received an email offering the One Motor and I purchased it right away that day and then of course with the previously discussed extra long wait to receive it. Anyway, what’s done is done and if I got mad at everybody who wasn’t on time I would be angry at half the human race. So what if it took a little longer then I thought it would and as I wrote to Grace in one email, it was wintertime anyway and I wasn’t planning to go out bicycling in 35 degree weather !

It’s much quieter than I thought it would be and the peddle assist ( which I don’t have on the crystalyte ebike ) works smoothly and efficiently and reminds me of way over a half century ago when as a boy I was learning to ride a bike for the very first time. My father would run behind me and hold me from loosing my balance and falling over while also give me little gentle pushes from time to time until one day I looked back and realized that I was peddling on my own !

That’s the type of feeling I get when the One Motor kicks in and just gently pushes me forward and for a split second i almost imagine that I feel weightless and I’m flying on my bike. Oh me oh my, maybe I’m slipping into my second childhood here, are people allowed to do that on electric bike forums ?

I also really like that the bike is still a bike with normal wheels, and how you can so easily slip the one motor unit on and off and although I can easily fold up my Brompton and take it with me if I had a regular sized bike I could lock up the bike and in seconds take off the one motor unit and just put it into a back pack or just carry it as everything simply snaps together using strong and long lasting magnets. It’s really cleverly designed and just seems so easy to use despite having layers and layers of subtle complexities

Well, I suppose I’ll have more to say about this later as I use the one motor in the weeks, months and years ahead

I think this will definitely fill a niche in the electric bicycle world and this is one of those times in life where I’m so happy that I hung in there and waited. I guess I thought that I would get something puny and noisy and that would barely equal my hub motor ebike but I figured if it was light weight enough I could use it locally to get around in my neighborhood and that I could use the crystalyte unit for longer trips like biking to Brooklyn to see my grandson. After 10 minutes on the One Motor I surprised myself by thinking that I might sell the crystalyte and just use the one motor for all my biking needs, both near and far . It’s far exceeded my expectations and who would have thought that a lowly friction drive unit would be equal or surpass the electric bike hub wheel, the king of the ebike world . Well, news flash, the king is dead, long live the lowly friction drive ! Unless someone invents an anti gravity, flying bike I think this is going to be at the forefront of ebike evolution for years and even decades to come. So thanks again Jeff, you really aced it with this one or should I say with this one motor.

OMG thank you for posting!!! I can't wait for mine to arrive, of course, I won't have Jeff installing it, lol. Lucky you =). Did it come with any kind of instructions?
 
OMG thank you for posting!!! I can't wait for mine to arrive, of course, I won't have Jeff installing it, lol. Lucky you =). Did it come with any kind of instructions?
Hi Lin B,
Well, I guess I would have to say yes and no, about the instructions,or I could say sort of.
Jeff gave me a lot of verbal instructions and there were some helpful emails with some instructions
and I guess it was all just enough to get going and ride away.
But, Jeff is working on an instruction manual and I found Jeff and Grace to be very focused and responsible people so I’m sure they will answer all of your questions and give you enough help to figure out how to use the One Motor.
They’re doing a lot at once and it’s not like there’s some giant factory in China turning these units out by the boat load. For the time being maybe it’s best to think of the one motor units as artisinal electric motors , made in Jeff and Grace’s fascinating and stuffed studio space.
Don’t worry, you’ll get it and be off and riding with the wind in your hair before you know it
Happy Biking and all the best ,
Josh B
 
Hi Lin B,
Well, I guess I would have to say yes and no, about the instructions,or I could say sort of.
Jeff gave me a lot of verbal instructions and there were some helpful emails with some instructions
and I guess it was all just enough to get going and ride away.
But, Jeff is working on an instruction manual and I found Jeff and Grace to be very focused and responsible people so I’m sure they will answer all of your questions and give you enough help to figure out how to use the One Motor.
They’re doing a lot at once and it’s not like there’s some giant factory in China turning these units out by the boat load. For the time being maybe it’s best to think of the one motor units as artisinal electric motors , made in Jeff and Grace’s fascinating and stuffed studio space.
Don’t worry, you’ll get it and be off and riding with the wind in your hair before you know it
Happy Biking and all the best ,
Josh B
Thanks, Josh. If you get a sense of range using the battery, could you post? I'm torn between the mini and upgrading. I don't plan to use it all the time, more for hills and headwinds, so I'd love to have some actual range figures to consider. Supposedly the add-e which had a similarly sized battery ranged around 15 miles in intermittent use. That would work for me, with the option of a second small battery later for travel. But with hub motors, one divides the Wh by 20 to get a realistic range estimate and if the same were true for 1Motor, a mini would not work long enough for me. So - any input you have on range+type of usage (throttle or PAS) would be greatly appreciated!!!
 
Thanks, Josh. If you get a sense of range using the battery, could you post? I'm torn between the mini and upgrading. I don't plan to use it all the time, more for hills and headwinds, so I'd love to have some actual range figures to consider. Supposedly the add-e which had a similarly sized battery ranged around 15 miles in intermittent use. That would work for me, with the option of a second small battery later for travel. But with hub motors, one divides the Wh by 20 to get a realistic range estimate and if the same were true for 1Motor, a mini would not work long enough for me. So - any input you have on range+type of usage (throttle or PAS) would be greatly appreciated!!!
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Hi Lin,
I put these two pictures up to show you the clue cards I made up at my local copy shop, they’re also laminated, While I’m learning how the One motor system works I thought these would be a helpful memory device. I wanted them to be wallet size for ease of keeping them with me but I can just barely read them - hmmm, maybe I need glasses
As far as your question about the batteries, I’m asking myself the same thing. I only got the mini battery because weight was a prime consideration for me and although of course the range you get out of each battery completely depends on the individual and how much you peddle, what energy level you have the motor on, etc, I estimate the range of the mini battery to be about 12 miles give or take.
I’m also considering getting an additional battery for increased range but don’t yet know which one I should get. I’m sure I’ll figure it out as the summer moves on and I see what my ebiking needs turn out to be.
Also, Jeff wrote to me that they’re finishing up the instruction manual this weekend so depending on when you get your one motor delivered, the manual may be ready by then.
The photos and descriptions I used for my clue cards are from their web site and even if you don’t make them as small as I did it might be useful to just carry those photos with you in their regular size.
All the best,
JoshB
 
Hi Lin,
I put these two pictures up to show you the clue cards I made up at my local copy shop, they’re also laminated, While I’m learning how the One motor system works I thought these would be a helpful memory device. I wanted them to be wallet size for ease of keeping them with me but I can just barely read them - hmmm, maybe I need glasses
As far as your question about the batteries, I’m asking myself the same thing. I only got the mini battery because weight was a prime consideration for me and although of course the range you get out of each battery completely depends on the individual and how much you peddle, what energy level you have the motor on, etc, I estimate the range of the mini battery to be about 12 miles give or take.
I’m also considering getting an additional battery for increased range but don’t yet know which one I should get. I’m sure I’ll figure it out as the summer moves on and I see what my ebiking needs turn out to be.
Also, Jeff wrote to me that they’re finishing up the instruction manual this weekend so depending on when you get your one motor delivered, the manual may be ready by then.
The photos and descriptions I used for my clue cards are from their web site and even if you don’t make them as small as I did it might be useful to just carry those photos with you in their regular size.
All the best,
JoshB
Hey Josh, thanks again! Would you estimate that 12 miles as motor only, or motor in a particular mode? Or is that with constant pedaling?
 
Hey Josh, thanks again! Would you estimate that 12 miles as motor only, or motor in a particular mode? Or is that with constant pedaling?
Hi again,
I would guess that more or less 12 miles would be with moderate peddling however I really haven’t had the one motor long enough to figure all of this out and these are questions which would be much more knowledgeably answered by Jeff and Grace.
 
Hi again,
I would guess that more or less 12 miles would be with moderate peddling however I really haven’t had the one motor long enough to figure all of this out and these are questions which would be much more knowledgeably answered by Jeff and Grace.

Thanks. Weight matters to me as well (Bike Friday pakiT rider) so I signed up for the mini. The cost of 2 mini batteries is $100 more than the standard (as an upgrade), and is fewer watt hours, so there's a cost effective issue I'm trying to figure out. Jeff gives range as 10-20 miles. Someone with an add-e system, and similar sized battery friction drive, posted they got 16 miles range with intermittent use. I probably won't get mine for at least 3-4 weeks, I think, so if you get a better sense of range during that time, please share.
 
Josh B reported this (on April 1--noted)...

Apr 1, 2019
Hi everyone, I just picked up and installed my new one motor electric bike friction drive unit on Saturday


Has anyone gotten a ONEMOTOR without going to Jeff's office to pick it up?
 
First "GROUP"...doubtful very many are on this forum.
 

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New update....backer orders shipping in tandem with pre-orders so Jeff can recoup some funds to reinvest. First non-local orders shipping this week. Hoping mine comes in May since I am somewhat early in the queue. First reviews are very good.
 
I wonder why there haven't been any buyers posting YouTube reviews yet. It's kind of strange we're not seeing any reviews online. On the Shareroller and Onemotor facebook pages, just the same review as above.

If I had one, I'd be sharing my impression on one of those sites.

Brian
 
Hey folks, thought I would check back in here to see how the SR was does after practically giving up on it sometime ago. No surprises the motors haven't been received yet based on past experiences which is a shame however the end does slightly feel in sight. I have to echo dermbrian's post above it is unusual to not see any reviews on online. Surely when launching you should send a few out to reputable reviewers to spread the word. No offence to JoshB is genuine but I also find it strange he joined in April only to then post a looooong all singing and dancing review of how he has his motor. This could well be genuine but there doesn't seem to be anyone else doing this. One thing also stuck out was the comment "Also, Jeff wrote to me that they’re finishing up the instruction manual this weekend so depending on when you get your one motor delivered, the manual may be ready by then." Is he really saying he's only now just writing the instruction manual?!!? surely that could of been mostly done during the time of the many part delays? Fair enough if couldn't of been pinned down but you could of got it there or there abouts. Anyway I will get off of my rant box :) Glad to see others have stuck with it and I hope you get yours soon. My circumstances have changed so while it would have been nice to have it is not really a necessity now so Jeff if you are listening had you delivered on time (even a couple months after) you would of had my few hundred pound but it will no longer be coming your way. I suspect I am not the only one like this and dread to think how much money Jeff has missed out on because of this.
 
Hey folks, thought I would check back in here to see how the SR was does after practically giving up on it sometime ago. No surprises the motors haven't been received yet based on past experiences which is a shame however the end does slightly feel in sight. I have to echo dermbrian's post above it is unusual to not see any reviews on online. Surely when launching you should send a few out to reputable reviewers to spread the word. No offence to JoshB is genuine but I also find it strange he joined in April only to then post a looooong all singing and dancing review of how he has his motor. This could well be genuine but there doesn't seem to be anyone else doing this. One thing also stuck out was the comment "Also, Jeff wrote to me that they’re finishing up the instruction manual this weekend so depending on when you get your one motor delivered, the manual may be ready by then." Is he really saying he's only now just writing the instruction manual?!!? surely that could of been mostly done during the time of the many part delays? Fair enough if couldn't of been pinned down but you could of got it there or there abouts. Anyway I will get off of my rant box :) Glad to see others have stuck with it and I hope you get yours soon. My circumstances have changed so while it would have been nice to have it is not really a necessity now so Jeff if you are listening had you delivered on time (even a couple months after) you would of had my few hundred pound but it will no longer be coming your way. I suspect I am not the only one like this and dread to think how much money Jeff has missed out on because of this.

Units were provided to local NY riders who tested them for the past month and gave feedback directly to Jeff; he has made some minor improvements/corrections based on this feedback. A new batch is shipping out this week.
 
My OneMotor is in transit with Fedex and will be delivered next Tuesday. I'll be off camping but a friend is bringing it so I can put it on my Dahon to ride during my trip. Review will be posted after I return on the 16th, fyi.
 
Five-plus years after the first post in this thread (March, 2014), and--mirabile dictu--one of our own may be getting his Shareroller/OneMotor on Tuesday. Congratulations!

(Patience may be a virtue, but I heard it called "waiting with a happy heart." And what is happiness if not a warm puppy? Happiness is also a moment before you need more happiness. Credits: Charles Schulz/Peanuts, Don Draper/Mad Men)
 
My OneMotor is in transit with Fedex and will be delivered next Tuesday. I'll be off camping but a friend is bringing it so I can put it on my Dahon to ride during my trip. Review will be posted after I return on the 16th, fyi.
 

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Ok, just a quick note with a better review to come, after I have it mounted on both my bikes. First off, build quality is excellent, really nice. It really is on/off the bike (once mounts are installed) in 10 seconds. I have only used it at the very lowest power so far, which has easily propelled me to 17mph (with pedaling) on my single speed Dahon. I'm a little afraid, actually, of the full power and going to take it somewhere away from cars and with a long straightaway to give that a go. Pedal assist transition during stop and go is incredibly smooth. Motor noise is pretty minimal, not quite as quiet as a quality hub system, but not a problem especially in a city. It's actually kind of nice to let people know you're coming. Haven't had it long enough to speak to range. There are multiple ways of installing. My Dahon has the kickstand mount and that's very easy to do. My Bike Friday pakiT will have a front mount with caliper brakes, so there's a much more complicated mounting process since there's no fork brazeons. There is also a wireless throttle+display and a phone app. So far both seem very good, but there is definitely a learning curve using the many functions of the throttle joystick and buttons. It's really small and when the motor is connected to the battery I can easily store it inside my Patagonia Atom sling bag along with my tools and other stuff. So locking up a bike and taking the 1M with you is simple. I'll get into more detail after I've had it a little while. If there's anything in particular someone wants to know, just comment, and I'll try to pay attention so I can answer.
 
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