Volt Bike Mariner 2016: So far so happy! Observations as they happen.

[Cnugget]

@Joaquin V I would get your brakes checked to make sure they are set up properly. I haven't rode a non-electric so I am unsure of your expectations on stopping speed but mine does seem to stop quite readily (with the exception of rainy conditions)... to the point where I feel like I could keep going but the bike would be at a stand still. I did have my brakes checked/quick setup by an LBS... It doesn't hurt to have someone do a look over the bike to make sure everything is in good repair eh?

 

[Cargo Bike Trailer Josh]

Just upgraded the brakes to dual piston hydro Shimano Zee's with Ice Tech rotors. 203mm front, 180 rear. Amazing results, even with a 3 hundred pound trailer on my 6!

All I can say is it's easily 10 times the stopping power as the stocks. With the stock brakes I was literally billowing smoke from both front and back. Was not going to last much longer without a total melt down. Problem solved.

 

[Cnugget]

Thank is SWEEETTT!!! How much did it put ya back$ ? Interested in an upgrade ALWAYS!!

 

[Cargo Bike Trailer Josh]

Thank is SWEEETTT!!! How much did it put ya back$ ? Interested in an upgrade ALWAYS!!

I think they were $400 usd for front and back. Well worth it...especially since it's my work bike and everything related to it is a write off!

Super powerful. If I didn't haul a massively heavy trailer the stock brakes would've been good for the first year or so.

 

[Cnugget]

HAPPY 4000km's BIKEY!! - for you I bought a nice brake light, coffee mug holder, usb rear light brake and reflective stickers.

Other bikers would cringe at my crammed handle bars. Embrace it!

By the numbers:
It costs ~$2.50 in gas to go to work each day.
Replacement battery is about $600.
240 commutes will cover the cost of a new battery (taxes not included).
At 55 so far. Only 185 more commutes to go!! New battery = ~3 years??

My car cost ~$20,000 CAN and has ~200,000 km's on it.
My bike cost ~$1,600 CAN so I figure if I can get 16,000 km's on it will pay for itself like my car has. 1/4 the way there. ~4 years to 16,000?

Question is..
How long will the battery last?
How long will the bike last?
Can I cram another 1000km's on before the 1 year anniversary? August is comin soon!!

Still on factory brakes... wub wub wub wub.. (time for a check up soon)
LBS said chain should be good till 6000 km.

 

[subzero]

The price of enjoying the ride on an ebike on a nice day, feeling the wind on your face....priceless.

 

[Uphill]

MARINER AND SEDAN TRUNK:
3000 km's today YAY! My bike had a special surprise in store for me to celebrate this occasion memorably.

While heading to work in the rain I got a flat! Ak Then it tipped over onto the gear side while trying to sort out a ride. I pulled everything off of the bike and then my battery (which was minding it's own business) got by bumped and tipped over too!! Ahhhhh.. The taxi arrived and just fit my bike into the back trunk of the Toyota Corolla (newer model) but alas the lid would not close.. So for all you people wondering if it might fit in a standard sized trunk of a sedan, the answer is likely no.. UNLESS... you like to keep an open trunk with bungees or have a larger that average trunk.. Of note:

I don't have the gear protector like the new versions have(yes I am a bit envious) .. This may impair getting a bike into the trunk. .

I will be going to an LBS today (they groaned when I said it was a rear hub electric with a flat on the back). Oh dear.. Just trying to get it up and running ASAP. I must learn to be more mechanically sound. Unsure of the required repairs involved at this point. Hopefully it won't be a exciting as the morning. Fingers & toes crossed...

-Keep you gear shift-r protected

 

[Uphill]

C Nugget --I got a flat on my rear tire also, but was super lucky -- a slow leak happened overnight and so I wasn't stuck miles from a road somewhere. A bike shop reluctantly agreed to fix the flat and I watched them with all their equipment labor through it for about 40 minutes. If I was on my own along some trail, I know I'd have been there for hours. I asked the repairman if he had heard of Slime & he encouraged me not to use it, because he said the next bike shop which repaired a flat or changed my tire would hate me.
But there's no other great options out there, and I loaded about 7/8 of a bottle into each tire about 3 months ago and it's given me great piece of mind. I do a lot of trail riding with my Mariner (just topped 400 miles, at least half of which are off road) and I used to be pretty worried. Knock on wood, not worried at all now, no matter how rough the terrain or how far from a road I am. On the Slime website, people say they pull briars out of their tires when they get home and there's no leak.
I can't notice any difference in the ride at all. I'm a little reluctant to see what happens if I want to deflate the tires for any reason --not sure whether it will squirt out the valve stem or not. But until then, I'm happy.

 

[Cnugget]

Happy 5000km bikey!!

It's still going with me on it. Been pulling some longer consecutive miles (25 - 30miles) in a go and my tailbone has been affected. Took a week off from the commute. Moved to a harsher crazy narrow seat to see if an increase in my leg rotation would help. Not so sure if it is helping but I DO know it's worse than day 1 bike ride for the pumpkin. Sadness. I have also noticed the seat is changing how I ride. Getting out of the seat more often makes for a bigger workout for sure.. Big drain on the human battery... That's probably good.. a bit less fun factor though.

I dropped by to the Voltbike Warehouse to see if the ongoing light issue could be sorted. After having a brand new controller installed the lights outage still went unresolved. I am sure it is a wire somewhere. George mentioned dropping it off a for a few days so they can find the guilty wire. He also gave my better half a new brake lever cuz his broke. So nice. Both our bikes are past 1 year and both over 4600km's. THANKS GEORGE FOR TAKING THE TIME

BACK at 3000:
Changed out both of the back tires after the ~3,000km mark flat crash and I have not had a flat since (knock on wood).
Went over the Vee Tire Mission Command (had been hoping for the Speedster's but c'est la vie). All for the flexible bead instead of the wire bead. Anything to make changing a tire easier.
Also swapped out the tube to the Heavy Duty Kenda 4.25" x 20" tube. They are probably about 2x's as thick!!! So glad to see them back on Amazon!
If it's a magical ingredient or just luck I am happy with no recent flats in my life. (Yes probably tempting fate as we speak).

May have found a LBS that does not wince when I bring my bike in! Keeping my fingers crossed it wasn't just good luck. Got a micro tune with the new seat purchase so I have gear 1 again and the brakes working better'R. Now if I can just get my tailbone and seat sorted...

On that note... winter IS coming and with the also comes RAIN for the FALL.
Trying to get some wet weather stuff sorted so that I don't look like such a drowned rat when I crawl into work.
Happy biking y'all and hope you rears stay swell in the seat.

pics to come...

 

[attyjenkins]

Cnugget, I am jealous. I have waited half a month for my Mariner to be delivered, and it finally arrived today. You have 5,000 km, and I have zero.

I think this is a new model of Mariner. It has that fancy bell for the left thumb. The throttle is now a twist grip (just the final two inches, under the thumb and index finger). There is a bash guard over the derailleur and a slap guard under the chain. Here are some photos.



But the frustrating part is that Voltbike has included a charger that won't fit. The battery has an outlet the size of a dime, with 3 small numbered holes. But the charger cable ends with a single round plug. Voltbike indicated that this may be a common problem with their new production from China. They promised to send me a new charger, and I hope it comes soon.



This is worse than waiting for delivery -- now I can see and touch my shiny new bike, but I just can't use it.

 

[Cnugget]

@attyjenkins Bummer about your plug end! Though I am not a fan of the twist throttle, I have also not spent much time on one. Curious how you will like it. I do know that your brake levers are a step up from mine and of course the bell works better too .. A little easier to deploy so enjoy!

I would take if for a ride without power! Get the cables stretched on the brakes and gears.. start the breaking in process. Take it in for a tune up if you can after a couple of rides.. It will probably need a couple adjustments as the cable stretch early on. Have a mechanic look it over and make sure all the mechanical parts have no mis-alignments (ie. brake setup/roters/wheels..) unless of course you are mechanically inclined to do this for yourself. I'd also probably make sure you post/rail that holds the battery is screwed down tight.. Mine tends to loosen up easily.. Maybe even some lock tight on it. Get her all ready to go..

I would also be tempted to take the charger you do have into a Source or Best Buy and see if they could splice/fit it with a Male XLR Connector.. As long as the specs are correct. 48V ~2A charger. If you need the exact specs I can post for ya. There are enough hover boards out there now where you may be able to find a charger like this at a local shop maybe?

Happy Riding!

 

[Cnugget]

Just an update.. I had my bike into visit George @Voltbike to change out the controller to see if this would address the issue of my lights (cutting out/not working). For a short bit my lights worked but then they turned off again. Bummer! There must be a loose wire somewhere. I will have it in sometime soon for a longer visit.. Hopefully during a long rainy section. It will take more time to find the culprit wire. Thanks to @Voltbike for being so helpful. One day my lights will work properly.

NEW CONTROLLER (different than the old IMHO):
The new controller acts different to the the old one. At least if feels this way to me (Not sure what model it is). It seems more subtle on taking off.. which I always thought would be nice to have. It also doesn't instant cut out at 31 km's but gradually rolls off the power on the top end. It feels like it has a bit less power/ now overall.. Full speed at level 9 (highest PAS) takes longer to achieve, which means I am biking mostly in this level through out the ride. . This is more noticeable when going uphills where the bike has a bit less pull.. I hate to say this, but I sort of miss the full raw power the old controller had... sometimes. Wouldn't it be nice to have the best of both worlds.. haha..

 

[Cnugget]

The Mariner is still working through the wind and the rain.. I will be reaching 5,600km's tomorrow. Just hit my 90th commute since starting to eBike back in August of 2016. It's getting colder now so each time I make it out, I feel really happy I did. It seems to come down to perseverance.. Keep the wheels a rolling.. well at least until the ice arrives for me...

The narrow bike seat has changed how I ride the bike now. More balance and connection to the bike, less luxury & leisure. It's more like what I would think a spinning class would be like.. outside and in the rain.

I've come up with some home made gear that has been helping with the chillier wind and sort of the rain. It's a bit rough but it gets the job done with no excessive extra costs. I bought a paint suit at a hardware store and made chaps and some mitt covers.

My bike telescoping neck has a little play to it.. Has had so for quite some time after a bigger fall I had last winter in the snow. While I used to enjoy hands free with out the shudder effect.. it's more hands on now for control. Hand signals and turning while going downhill and trying to brake all at the same time can be a challenge. Not lying. Sometimes I wish I had turn signals. All said and done though, if there was one thing I would add to the bike it would be better brakes. Saving up.

 

[zap016VOLTAGE]

Just an update.. I had my bike into visit George @Voltbike to change out the controller to see if this would address the issue of my lights (cutting out/not working). For a short bit my lights worked but then they turned off again. Bummer! There must be a loose wire somewhere. I will have it in sometime soon for a longer visit.. Hopefully during a long rainy section. It will take more time to find the culprit wire. Thanks to @Voltbike for being so helpful. One day my lights will work properly.

NEW CONTROLLER (different than the old IMHO):
The new controller acts different to the the old one. At least if feels this way to me (Not sure what model it is). It seems more subtle on taking off.. which I always thought would be nice to have. It also doesn't instant cut out at 31 km's but gradually rolls off the power on the top end. It feels like it has a bit less power/ now overall.. Full speed at level 9 (highest PAS) takes longer to achieve, which means I am biking mostly in this level through out the ride. . This is more noticeable when going uphills where the bike has a bit less pull.. I hate to say this, but I sort of miss the full raw power the old controller had... sometimes. Wouldn't it be nice to have the best of both worlds.. haha..

OH NO!
@Cnugget said "It feels like it has a bit less power/ now overall."

The Mariner's "RAW POWER," - Rocket launches from a stand still - is the Mariner's best feature.
Love how quickly the eMoto accelerates to 33Kph.
Some times, I could out accelerate gassers from stop light to stop light.
On occasions, I've been able to wheelie it.

Sad

 

[Cnugget]

Don't get me wrong. I can still beat the cars or at least match them through an intersection, it's the full pull right to cut off is a little less. It does keep me going at top speed much better now.

 

[draf]

Hi guys! What is the maximum comfortable cruising speed for you in PAS mode? I mean how fast can you go on the Mariner for extended periods of time, until the battery is drained?

 

[Cnugget]

Hi guys! What is the maximum comfortable cruising speed for you in PAS mode? I mean how fast can you go on the Mariner for extended periods of time, until the battery is drained?

How fast? Comfortable cruising speed? Likely to get some personal opinion responses. Here's mine.
The battery will give you everything it's got until it's pretty much done. The top of the battery does tend to give you a bit more punch fresh off a charge. But the steady drain till almost dead are benefits of lithium battery power. To me that also means knowing how much charge you actually have left is a challenge and not to expect your battery indicator to be as accurate. Personal experience is usually the better judge. If you have a limiter on, it will max out at 32km/hr or 20mi/hr. My bike will still give me limited power above that on flat terrain so I can cruise round about 35km/hr or ~21.5mi/hr. Comfortable to me, would that be for you? Your max speed will be less and less the steeper up the hill and dependent on the controller and tire friction with the road/pavement or dirt. Maybe I could go faster or have the battery last longer if I had slicks on and weighed less. ~180lbs + what ever is in my bag (20lbs?).

How fast really depends on a variety of factors. The terrain, speed, temps, wind, hills, how fast you dare to go etc etc. I went over 60km in distance the other day on flat terrain but not at full speed with good temps, no wind and using some leg power and still had some battery left. Ave speed was 17km/hr or 10.6mi/hr PAS was 3-6 out of 9. I have not done a test at full speed on flat terrain (mostly because it is hard to find flat terrain where you can go max speed). My battery is also 1+ years of use now and the older 10.4ah not the 11.6ah. Conservative guess would be 30mi or 50km distance going as fast as 35km/hr or 21mi/hr.. but I do think distance would be longer on a battery under 1500 mi or 2500km odo.

Another FYI.. The Volt Bikes are small batch so that means there could be variety or changes that occur from set to set. What I experience may not be what you experience. To me both a pro and a con.

Hope that helps.

 

[draf]

Thank you for the quick and detailed answer! It certainly helps!

 

[Cnugget]

It's been about 2.5 months since my last ride end of October and charge. It was 38 miles on flat terrain on a beautiful Fall day. There was some actual exercise going on and I even saw another Mariner during my travels. My crotch needed about a week or more after that one. Had the bike out recently and just went out for a little stroll. Still works! Came back after ~15km / 10miles.. battery showing as full... though it likely was not, it's nice to see it can still hold a charge for an extended period of time after 1.5 years of ownership. I may take it out again after not charging to see how many more miles I can log before needing a re-charge.. Probably good for the battery during the non-Winter use. Ice is my foe.

 

[Ian in Alberta]

It has been some time since I've posted here. The reason is that I had some issues with my Voltbike Mariner. I'm not certain to this day what caused them, but they involved several aspects of the bike - the screen, the controller, the motor...who knows. With the help and guidance of George from Voltbike, we tried to address the issues in many different ways, to no avail. The problems were compounded by the fact that Voltbike is in the greater Vancouver area, while I live in Lethbridge, Alberta - a distance of 1000 km.

In December, George agreed to replace the Mariner on warranty, at no cost to me. I received it this week, and am riding again!

That's why I am posting now. I want everyone to know that Voltbike stands behind their product.