ShumaBike
Member
https://electricbikereview.com/voltbike/enduro/
some pics at the end
Hey. This is my first post and my first bike since I was in my teens, so if I misuse terms or I sound like a laymen it's because I am!
As a bit of history I have been commuting by car in the city of Boston for the last five or so years. Boston is a terrible city for car commuting, there are few parking spots, minor collisions are inevitable (I was hit at least four times between 2014 and my cars unfortunate death two months ago), tickets are a fact of life if you are forced into street parking like I was, and it's the most expensive insurance market in the country (A year in car insurance on a used VW alone pretty much buys this bike).
That's all before my car was totaled when a semi rear ended me. I was done driving in this warzone.
The Bike
Cost:
I settled on the Enduro after doing a ton of research into alternative modes of transportation and then watching/reading plenty of reviews on this site. I tried to buy a clearance bike from a local bike shop that sold FELT electrics, but they just weren't able to bring the price to something I could accept. I think a four thousand dollar electric bike is probably worth the price, but so does every bike thief in the city and that's a liability I just wasn't into. That said, I also didn't want to go cheap, this site did a pretty good job convincing me that trying to go as cheap as I could was going to result in a bad experience.
I had initially tried to buy the IZIP E3 Vibe+ but that was back ordered for months. I'm glad I didn't as the roads in Boston are often a step away from disintegrating and the shocks are great to have. I feel like the Voltbike Enduro is the perfect price for someone in my situation and I haven't felt let down at all by the product. So far it's been worth every penny. With the 70 dollar shipping, free helmet, a Kryptonite bike lock and other minor accessories I have spent about $2,000 so far. An eighth the cost of the car its replacing, and that thing was used. I am excited watching the overall cost of electrics go down. I feel like this bike is part of a new generation of higher quality bikes that still sit in a somewhat affordable price range.
Initial experience:
The box came pretty beat up, but it looked almost identical to the one in this sites review unit, so I guess that's just standard for bike shipping The review had no problem with it and the bike suffered no damage I could notice. The bike assembly was easy. I was able to figure it out with no instructions within a half hour of getting the box shipped to my office. This is coming from someone who has never assembled or even tuned a bike before, so that's a good thing.
The gearing was notably misaligned and the brakes were very loose out of the box. The rear air shock was also so over-filled it felt like it did nothing at all. I didn't fix anything for my first week, but the chain was dropping and it felt a little unsafe. Once I had some time alone with the bike and some youtube tutorials I was able to tune the derailleur and tighten the brakes. The brakes were easy, but tuning up gearing on a bike is not an easy process if you've never done anything like it before. I also made the exact mistake Court made in his review where I released all the air from the rear shock at once. Having no shock felt the same as an over-full one, except the bike then ran a good deal shorter. Luckily a local bike shop was nice enough to refill it for me and now it feels great. I would strongly suggest getting the bike tuned up out of the box if you're able, most aspect that can be tinkered with in my experience needed to be.
100 miles in:
I've had the bike for a few weeks and I passed the 100 mile mark on the trip meter today. Tuned up the bike runs wonderfully. Once I found the password and upped the governor to 28mph my commute time dropped noticeably. The battery doesn't last very long at the max power AND speed settings, with a range that feels to be around 20 miles, but I was getting better performance when I was trying to ride conservatively at a middle power setting and had not yet ungoverned the motor. I believe the documented min/max distances and I had been expecting a loss in battery life when I pushed the motor to a 28 cap. I find it very strange that they limited the motor to 14 MPH, which seems well below a legal limit anywhere, and I would suggest immediately upping it to whatever setting you feel comfortable with (there's a hard cap at 28). The motor can not hit the 28 mph it theoretically limits at. Even downhill while pedaling pretty hard passing 26mph is difficult and the tires are not built for speed, but it's relatively easy to maintain 20-23mph speeds on flat ground while sitting down. That has felt perfectly fine for me, Boston has a lot of stop signs and few straights. I think this is just an aspect of gearing, the bike just doesn't have a high enough gear for the motor to provide useful torque at speeds above the low 20's.
I have had one hiccup where at what looked to be 20% power the motor began to stutter, with the battery at one point seemingly dying. I popped the battery out and put it back in and it ran well enough to get me back home. I suspect this may have something to do with maxing out the engines cap, or it could be that the system inaccurately reads the batteries charge state at low levels. It ran fine the next day after a charge, so I am keeping watch.
The bike survived riding in a thunderstorm just fine, but I did get pretty wet. Fenders would be nice, but probably aren't realistic given the style of bike this is. It's a tradeoff, the rear shocks make the bumpy streets much smoother. If I had the choice I would go with the shocks over staying dry, but that's a personal preference.
I am a 6 foot 200 pound male and I mirror some of the complaints Court had in his review. Even raising the seat and setting it as far forward as possible it feels like there is too much distance between me and the handlebars. I've gotten used to it, but this is not a bike for small people and I would prefer the bike not be so long. It's also hell to get up to my second story apartment. I have been switching between upstairs and in the buildings basement. The weight makes the second floor climb annoying, but the bikes length makes navigating the tight basement stairs equally difficult. I am a gym goer, but this is a very awkward thing to carry with few good places to grasp. Again, this is not a bike for small people.
The bikes appearance is great. I have received several compliments on it. The matte black paint scheme is very attractive and I am happy that it lacks some of the more extreme sports inspired flourishes bikes often have in their design and paint jobs. I have made converts out of several co workers with both the looks and by giving them a ride. Most people are surprised trying an electric for the first time. It's an easy sell. The motorcycle style helmet is kinda dorky, but maybe that's just how it sits on me. It's definitely a fashion statement. The helmet is comfortable and feels sturdy and safe, so that's a plus.
Wrapup:
I really like this bike. If the battery hiccup mentioned earlier turns out to be nothing then it'll be a purchase I have absolutely no regrets about and would suggest to anyone above a certain physical size. Looking at bikes that are twice the cost I can see their quality, but I think this thing holds its own. Looking at other bikes in the same price category or cheaper and this bike suddenly looks like an amazing value. The previously mentioned IZIP E3 Vibe+ has a rear rack serving as a fender and a step through frame but totally lacks the shocks that make this a great commuter at high speeds.
I am not a hardcore bike guy, and while I do a lot of hiking I have never done mountain biking. I'd like to in the future, but this is strictly from the perspective of a commuter. As a commuter this bike has been a dream, and riding is much more pleasant than driving. The weight is high and the bike is just too big overall, but that comes with the territory of a one size fits all approach. I have gotten a little bit of bike elitism thrown at me for buying an Electric with one co-worker jokingly (or maybe not?) saying they would beat me up if they saw me on a trail with it. This bike does not feel like it has the torque to actually damage a trail, but it's heavy so if you're skidding around every corner you could probably do some damage. But then so could anyone on any bike. I guess that comes with the territory of joining a new subculture. That one instance doesn't outweigh the good things people have been saying about the bike and I feel great riding it.
If you have any questions feel free to ask. I'll probably add to this if anything new pops up.
some pics at the end
Hey. This is my first post and my first bike since I was in my teens, so if I misuse terms or I sound like a laymen it's because I am!
As a bit of history I have been commuting by car in the city of Boston for the last five or so years. Boston is a terrible city for car commuting, there are few parking spots, minor collisions are inevitable (I was hit at least four times between 2014 and my cars unfortunate death two months ago), tickets are a fact of life if you are forced into street parking like I was, and it's the most expensive insurance market in the country (A year in car insurance on a used VW alone pretty much buys this bike).
That's all before my car was totaled when a semi rear ended me. I was done driving in this warzone.
The Bike
Cost:
I settled on the Enduro after doing a ton of research into alternative modes of transportation and then watching/reading plenty of reviews on this site. I tried to buy a clearance bike from a local bike shop that sold FELT electrics, but they just weren't able to bring the price to something I could accept. I think a four thousand dollar electric bike is probably worth the price, but so does every bike thief in the city and that's a liability I just wasn't into. That said, I also didn't want to go cheap, this site did a pretty good job convincing me that trying to go as cheap as I could was going to result in a bad experience.
I had initially tried to buy the IZIP E3 Vibe+ but that was back ordered for months. I'm glad I didn't as the roads in Boston are often a step away from disintegrating and the shocks are great to have. I feel like the Voltbike Enduro is the perfect price for someone in my situation and I haven't felt let down at all by the product. So far it's been worth every penny. With the 70 dollar shipping, free helmet, a Kryptonite bike lock and other minor accessories I have spent about $2,000 so far. An eighth the cost of the car its replacing, and that thing was used. I am excited watching the overall cost of electrics go down. I feel like this bike is part of a new generation of higher quality bikes that still sit in a somewhat affordable price range.
Initial experience:
The box came pretty beat up, but it looked almost identical to the one in this sites review unit, so I guess that's just standard for bike shipping The review had no problem with it and the bike suffered no damage I could notice. The bike assembly was easy. I was able to figure it out with no instructions within a half hour of getting the box shipped to my office. This is coming from someone who has never assembled or even tuned a bike before, so that's a good thing.
The gearing was notably misaligned and the brakes were very loose out of the box. The rear air shock was also so over-filled it felt like it did nothing at all. I didn't fix anything for my first week, but the chain was dropping and it felt a little unsafe. Once I had some time alone with the bike and some youtube tutorials I was able to tune the derailleur and tighten the brakes. The brakes were easy, but tuning up gearing on a bike is not an easy process if you've never done anything like it before. I also made the exact mistake Court made in his review where I released all the air from the rear shock at once. Having no shock felt the same as an over-full one, except the bike then ran a good deal shorter. Luckily a local bike shop was nice enough to refill it for me and now it feels great. I would strongly suggest getting the bike tuned up out of the box if you're able, most aspect that can be tinkered with in my experience needed to be.
100 miles in:
I've had the bike for a few weeks and I passed the 100 mile mark on the trip meter today. Tuned up the bike runs wonderfully. Once I found the password and upped the governor to 28mph my commute time dropped noticeably. The battery doesn't last very long at the max power AND speed settings, with a range that feels to be around 20 miles, but I was getting better performance when I was trying to ride conservatively at a middle power setting and had not yet ungoverned the motor. I believe the documented min/max distances and I had been expecting a loss in battery life when I pushed the motor to a 28 cap. I find it very strange that they limited the motor to 14 MPH, which seems well below a legal limit anywhere, and I would suggest immediately upping it to whatever setting you feel comfortable with (there's a hard cap at 28). The motor can not hit the 28 mph it theoretically limits at. Even downhill while pedaling pretty hard passing 26mph is difficult and the tires are not built for speed, but it's relatively easy to maintain 20-23mph speeds on flat ground while sitting down. That has felt perfectly fine for me, Boston has a lot of stop signs and few straights. I think this is just an aspect of gearing, the bike just doesn't have a high enough gear for the motor to provide useful torque at speeds above the low 20's.
I have had one hiccup where at what looked to be 20% power the motor began to stutter, with the battery at one point seemingly dying. I popped the battery out and put it back in and it ran well enough to get me back home. I suspect this may have something to do with maxing out the engines cap, or it could be that the system inaccurately reads the batteries charge state at low levels. It ran fine the next day after a charge, so I am keeping watch.
The bike survived riding in a thunderstorm just fine, but I did get pretty wet. Fenders would be nice, but probably aren't realistic given the style of bike this is. It's a tradeoff, the rear shocks make the bumpy streets much smoother. If I had the choice I would go with the shocks over staying dry, but that's a personal preference.
I am a 6 foot 200 pound male and I mirror some of the complaints Court had in his review. Even raising the seat and setting it as far forward as possible it feels like there is too much distance between me and the handlebars. I've gotten used to it, but this is not a bike for small people and I would prefer the bike not be so long. It's also hell to get up to my second story apartment. I have been switching between upstairs and in the buildings basement. The weight makes the second floor climb annoying, but the bikes length makes navigating the tight basement stairs equally difficult. I am a gym goer, but this is a very awkward thing to carry with few good places to grasp. Again, this is not a bike for small people.
The bikes appearance is great. I have received several compliments on it. The matte black paint scheme is very attractive and I am happy that it lacks some of the more extreme sports inspired flourishes bikes often have in their design and paint jobs. I have made converts out of several co workers with both the looks and by giving them a ride. Most people are surprised trying an electric for the first time. It's an easy sell. The motorcycle style helmet is kinda dorky, but maybe that's just how it sits on me. It's definitely a fashion statement. The helmet is comfortable and feels sturdy and safe, so that's a plus.
Wrapup:
I really like this bike. If the battery hiccup mentioned earlier turns out to be nothing then it'll be a purchase I have absolutely no regrets about and would suggest to anyone above a certain physical size. Looking at bikes that are twice the cost I can see their quality, but I think this thing holds its own. Looking at other bikes in the same price category or cheaper and this bike suddenly looks like an amazing value. The previously mentioned IZIP E3 Vibe+ has a rear rack serving as a fender and a step through frame but totally lacks the shocks that make this a great commuter at high speeds.
I am not a hardcore bike guy, and while I do a lot of hiking I have never done mountain biking. I'd like to in the future, but this is strictly from the perspective of a commuter. As a commuter this bike has been a dream, and riding is much more pleasant than driving. The weight is high and the bike is just too big overall, but that comes with the territory of a one size fits all approach. I have gotten a little bit of bike elitism thrown at me for buying an Electric with one co-worker jokingly (or maybe not?) saying they would beat me up if they saw me on a trail with it. This bike does not feel like it has the torque to actually damage a trail, but it's heavy so if you're skidding around every corner you could probably do some damage. But then so could anyone on any bike. I guess that comes with the territory of joining a new subculture. That one instance doesn't outweigh the good things people have been saying about the bike and I feel great riding it.
If you have any questions feel free to ask. I'll probably add to this if anything new pops up.
