What do you all think of the 2016 IZIP models? Anyone going to upgrade?

[Cameron Newland]

Thanks for the great response! Any idea if Izip has plans to sell a battery with extended range that will fit the 2015 Dash? How far does the 8.7 ah battery typically go at higher speeds? (One other nice thing about the CrossCurrent is the 24ah battery planned for next fall which should provide awesome range.)

At high speeds on mostly flat ground in PAS4, count on 12-18 miles on a 2015 Dash. Above 28MPH, you'll be using ~30Wh/mile, which would give you 13.9 miles of range. That's with a full battery, though. A lot of folks only charge their batteries to 80% most of the time so that they can get more charge cycles out of their battery. If you're only charging to 80%, you'll get just over 11 miles of range at 28MPH.

I'd love the option of getting a 12Ah battery for my Dash, but it's probably never going to happen, unfortunately. The range is just okay on these models. If you stick to PAS1, you can average 19-23mph on flat ground and get 35+ miles of range, which isn't so bad.

 

[TenBlinkers]

I recently picked up a 2015 Dash at a great price. Do you think a generic dolphin or shark pack from Luna Cycles could be adapted to work on the Dash? They have some great 48w and 52w options with high density cells. It would be nice not to be locked in to iZip's battery.

 

[Jack Tyler]

@Cameron Newline I'm certainly late to your original post, but I thought I'd add to the thread my experience with the 2016 E3 ProTour. I rode it on two ~4 mile runs last week and thought it was a good example of how a bike's spec sheet can impress, the latest generation TransX motor can be all but hidden in the crank, it's price can be competitively positioned, and yet the bike itself can disappoint. If it were a car, I would say it lacked any kind of pleasing 'drivability' tho' I don't know if that translates directly to bikes. It's simply due to the dilemma of a mid-drive and very powerful motor which lacks a shift sensor. I could make feather soft shifts - once in a while, and with earnest concentration - but sometimes even the concentration failed to produce such results. In more normal riding, it's bang bang bang. Very stable ride, felt to me a bit cumbersome and not as sprightly as the CrossCurrent but still fairly speedy, but gosh I'd worry about the drive train on that bike, longer term. So I think your decision to wait, at least on that particular 2016 E3, was probably a good one.

 

[Donny]

I've got an iZip Zuma and I only ride in pedal assist 1 mode (PAS). After 20 miles, I only lose one bar (out of five) on my battery gauge. I'm not sure what the max range is as I have not maxed it out, but I would assume based off of what I have seen, I would think 40-50 miles (if not more) would be easily attainable. Now I also need to add that my riding is mostly on flat surfaces with very minor inclines, so bear that in mind. I'll have to find a day where I can try to max the battery out to see how far I can go.

 

[Cameron Newland]

@Cameron Newline I'm certainly late to your original post, but I thought I'd add to the thread my experience with the 2016 E3 ProTour. I rode it on two ~4 mile runs last week and thought it was a good example of how a bike's spec sheet can impress, the latest generation TransX motor can be all but hidden in the crank, it's price can be competitively positioned, and yet the bike itself can disappoint. If it were a car, I would say it lacked any kind of pleasing 'drivability' tho' I don't know if that translates directly to bikes. It's simply due to the dilemma of a mid-drive and very powerful motor which lacks a shift sensor. I could make feather soft shifts - once in a while, and with earnest concentration - but sometimes even the concentration failed to produce such results. In more normal riding, it's bang bang bang. Very stable ride, felt to me a bit cumbersome and not as sprightly as the CrossCurrent but still fairly speedy, but gosh I'd worry about the drive train on that bike, longer term. So I think your decision to wait, at least on that particular 2016 E3, was probably a good one.

Wow, that's too bad about the drivetrain-slamming shifts on the ProTour. I'm riding a full suspension BBSHD build now with shift detection (the motor power is cut during shifting) and I can report that shifts are smooth as butter. It's strange that IZIP/Currie left out this feature. My understanding is that Yamaha-powered Haibikes aren't using shift-detection, either.

I haven't ridden the ProTour, but I did ride the 2016 E3 Dash mid-drive at Interbike 2015, and to me, the TransX mid-drive seemed really loud. My new BBSHD offers twice the power and runs quiter than the TransX.

 

[Ann M.]

Questions, questions, are you discussing an aftermarket mid drive conversion on a bike you already own or are we talking about an electric bike which came with a mid drive motor system?...you have to learn how to shift with any mid drive system; it's not hard to do. The owner of any mid drive bike has to understand that this is not going to handle the same as a hub drive system. Drive train slamming???? Shift sensing is part of some mid drive systems; some kits offer it, some bikes from the major manufacturers offer it; however, it's really a function of the rider having just a little bit of sensitivity when shifting, and not Slamming gears and learning how the motor drive works. Most have sensors to recognize shifts, some do not. But lets be clear here, we're talking about a whole bike with a mid drive and not a kit conversion with the Pro Tour. You have to stop comparing a whole electric bike which comes with a mid drive system to an aftermarket kit which may have been designed for different applications.