Ok so I think I've finally decided on buying the IZIP E3 dash. I'm wanting to use a little bit of the money I'll save from not buying a Stromer to have the shop do a few upgrades. I really want the hydraulic brakes that every other bike seems to have. Can anyone give me their thoughts on what might be the best option for upgrading mechanical disc brakes to hydraulic? I've pretty much see two main brands in the e bike scene, Avid and Tektro. Thoughts?
Upgrading Brakes?
- Thread starter ChloeSnow
- Start date
Congrats on a decision. I have been looking for a lighter weight second bike to purchase to add to my Stromer and still am sitting on the fence. I keep finding "the one" and then I back away. For the Grace - lack of any dealers within probably 500 miles, the Specialized Turbo X - the issues brought up here about overheating, the list goes on. People on this forum seem to really like the Dash. And the price can't be beat.
Since the Dash has a more aggressive riding position, I just want to mention that if I had gotten the Specialized I would have raised the handlebars a couple of inches for comfort. There are several stem risers on the market. One is the delta cycle thread less stem riser. If you look on REI's website, you can read the reviews. Also reviewers talk about the added comfort.
Just my 2 cents.
Since the Dash has a more aggressive riding position, I just want to mention that if I had gotten the Specialized I would have raised the handlebars a couple of inches for comfort. There are several stem risers on the market. One is the delta cycle thread less stem riser. If you look on REI's website, you can read the reviews. Also reviewers talk about the added comfort.
Just my 2 cents.
lemmitrek
Member
I was in the same boat as you when I took the E3 Dash 2104 for a test drive. I didn't like the brakes at all, but I liked the bike. The bike shop was trying to upgrade it to hydraulic brakes, but could not find any with the integrate switch. While the LBS was looking for a solution, the 2015 model came out. I really like it and the brakes seems to not as bad as I thought. I am happy with my bike. For now, I will stick with them and enjoy the bike. The working brake switch is a must. I was considering to just use regular hydraulic brakes, but I would consider this to dangerous now after riding an eBike and appreciating that the motor cuts off.
Enjoy!
Shea N Encinitas
Active Member
A Dash hydraulic upgrade has been discussed at length on the Izip section of this forum, in short it is not a trivial upgrade, as mentioned above, due to the motor cut off circuitry. Avid BB7's are a popular 'upgrade', while they are mechanical they are easier to adjust.
50 lbs VS 62 lbs? I'd still put you on a Stromer ST1 Platinum - then you would have the hydraulic brakes 14.5 amp hour battery (range) VS 8.7 amp hours on the Dash.
For the stairs maybe you could rig a shoulder strap, keep the bike low, close to the stairs and use the brakes to hold position in between lifting a step or two at a time. Non geared hub motors do not have enough torque for throttle walking up stairs (as was suggested in your other thread), and well that just sounds dangerous. -S
50 lbs VS 62 lbs? I'd still put you on a Stromer ST1 Platinum - then you would have the hydraulic brakes 14.5 amp hour battery (range) VS 8.7 amp hours on the Dash.
For the stairs maybe you could rig a shoulder strap, keep the bike low, close to the stairs and use the brakes to hold position in between lifting a step or two at a time. Non geared hub motors do not have enough torque for throttle walking up stairs (as was suggested in your other thread), and well that just sounds dangerous. -S
Shea N Encinitas
Active Member
@biknut I thought you were going to say you would just ride up the stairs! While I completely agree with your comment there is also the adjustment issue VS what are essentially, self adjusting hydraulics. Also Chloesnow has indicated bike theft, and therefore tampering are concerns, so the in frame battery is better IMO. I'd hate to see someone kick the juice loose, or for her to have to haul around the Dash's battery.
Reddy Kilowatt
Well-Known Member
Greetings Chloe:
Congratulations on your impending eBike purchase. I've heard a lot of good things about the Dash.
I don't know what mechanical disk brakes are on the dash, but I must say I am more than pleased with the Tektro Novela CS brakes that Optibike installed on my new Pioneer Allroad. They're powerful, easy to modulate, and don't require a lot of effort to apply strongly. And I do mean strongly. (I've got a couple of 35 mph descents on my commute with hair pin curves between them.) Optibike used Dia-Compe DE-1 brake levers which are wired into the bike's control electronics to cut the motor power.
Quite frankly I love the fact that they shut off the juice to the motor before I've even squeezed them hard enough to begin to apply the brakes. This feature is great for maneuvering my ride around in the parking lot at work. I can pedal when I want to in order to maintain balance, without having the motor annoyingly kick in.
So I don't think hydraulic brakes are a necessity. Good disk brakes on bikes are so much better than the old cantilevers we had years ago. I also think an electrical cutoff is a necessity. I'd say no matter what you choose to do, be sure your bike's brake system includes these.
If my experience is any guideline, you'll find plenty of other stuff to spend your extra $$$ on; no worries there.
Best/Allen
Congratulations on your impending eBike purchase. I've heard a lot of good things about the Dash.
I don't know what mechanical disk brakes are on the dash, but I must say I am more than pleased with the Tektro Novela CS brakes that Optibike installed on my new Pioneer Allroad. They're powerful, easy to modulate, and don't require a lot of effort to apply strongly. And I do mean strongly. (I've got a couple of 35 mph descents on my commute with hair pin curves between them.) Optibike used Dia-Compe DE-1 brake levers which are wired into the bike's control electronics to cut the motor power.
Quite frankly I love the fact that they shut off the juice to the motor before I've even squeezed them hard enough to begin to apply the brakes. This feature is great for maneuvering my ride around in the parking lot at work. I can pedal when I want to in order to maintain balance, without having the motor annoyingly kick in.
So I don't think hydraulic brakes are a necessity. Good disk brakes on bikes are so much better than the old cantilevers we had years ago. I also think an electrical cutoff is a necessity. I'd say no matter what you choose to do, be sure your bike's brake system includes these.
If my experience is any guideline, you'll find plenty of other stuff to spend your extra $$$ on; no worries there.
Best/Allen
Brian(J)
Active Member
I've written extensively in other threads about liking the Dash and disliking everything about the brakes. I swapped the stock brake units for AVID BB7's, and later a swap to Jones H-bar handlebars and a riser forced me to replace the brake cables, so I upgraded those to Jagwire low friction. Now I don't post about that anymore because I love my brakes, when I think about them at all, which is about never. Really great upgrade and easy. I got new rotors with the brakes but didn't install them and just use the existing rotors, in part because one rotor is 180mm and the other is 160mm and the new rotors were both 160.
Very much recommend upgrading to the BB7's.
Very much recommend upgrading to the BB7's.
lemmitrek
Member
The advantage of upgrading to BB7's is that you can continue using your existing levers with the cutoff. The brakes of the Dash are Shimano. They are not bad, but the adjustment is more painful than it needs to be.
I love hydraulic brakes, but I am content with mine at the moment, knowing that my next step would be to try the BB7 based on Brian's recommendation.
Shea N Encinitas
Active Member
Brambor
Well-Known Member
That's not too bad for an expense to get the bike right. I'm wondering, however, buying from NYCE wheels what is the repair workflow in case something is wrong with the bike? Has anyone here purchased from NYCE wheels and utilized their service department? Do you have to send the whole bike back or what ?
Any LBS repair shop can swap out the calipers for you to go from shimano -> avid bb7's: it should be pretty quick, a drop-in replacement.
I think that's definitely a better route than trying to go to hydraulics as you won't have to switch over the levers. I have multiple bikes (including fast/heavy tandem) w/ BB7's and never found myself wishing for hydraulic's, though I'd be fine if they came on a new bike. The BB7's have plenty of stopping power and are easy to adjust. This is probably an upgrade I will do in the near future (just ordered new pads for the shimanos so I'll let those wear down first at least).
I think that's definitely a better route than trying to go to hydraulics as you won't have to switch over the levers. I have multiple bikes (including fast/heavy tandem) w/ BB7's and never found myself wishing for hydraulic's, though I'd be fine if they came on a new bike. The BB7's have plenty of stopping power and are easy to adjust. This is probably an upgrade I will do in the near future (just ordered new pads for the shimanos so I'll let those wear down first at least).
you see that's a thing i don't want to have to do though, adjusting things. I know next to nothing about bicycles and bicycle maintenance. Will I learn? Sure, but I have work and go to a school that regularly puts people in the psychiatric unit due to the amount of stress it puts on it's students. I sincerely don't have time right now to learn any more than I have to. Every time I hear "automatic" my ears perk. It's part of why I almost went with the grace. Anyhow, speaking of all that...I have lab. Gotta go!
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