What carbon imprint???

Bit the bullet and picked up the Ezip Mountain Trailz electric assist bicycle this week. It's dirt cheap considering some of the brushless hub motor alternatives out there. I needed something to get me to work and back with out breaking the bank or a sweat. My office is air conditioned but who wants to sit there cool but stinky all day. This should fit the bill nicely. The E chart on the Currie website figured it will pay for itself in fuel savings in roughly 12 weeks. I won't miss the pump at Shell or Mobil one little bit. 6-8 hour trickle charge on the battery pack should cost between 2 and 3 cents per charge. That's right .02-.03




In the box...

Haven't tested the range yet but it's advertised as getting between 15 and 22 miles per charge. The variables of course are the riders weight and how you ride the thing. It has 3 modes of operation. Standard pedal power, That's not going to happen as it weighs about 75 lbs. fully loaded. Pedal Assist mode where the rider pedals but the throttle is kissed to assist on hills and such, and TAG mode. TwistAndGo.. No pedal at all. Just crank the throttle and cruise around town. This mode will of course drain the battery in short order.

Really looking forward to seeing how this unit holds up. My work commute is about 5 miles each way so I don't forsee any problems in the range dept. I hope not anyway. I'll have to call a tow truck if it runs out of juice.


Seems to handle well for being so heavy. The weight is an accumulation of the battery and hardware. It's made with a steel frame and steel = heavy. It also = inexpensive. There were quite a few other offerings in lighter weight units but they ranged in price from 900 to 2000 bucks and more.. This unit was a Wally World purchase at $ 299.00. Just couldn't pass it up..

Here are some assembly shots for you. Took about an hour to put together and read up on the charging system. Basic hand tools were included so it was a snap.



Well, I think everything's there...


Charging up the battery pack...



Rollin' down the street smokin' Endo, Riding on Drive and Juice...




Throttle, Mode button and LED charge indicator lights...




Fully assembled and ready to roll...


Just have to source a headlight and a blinking red taillight for the dawn and dusk rides. Already have a sreaming neon windbreaker for visibility. Should also get a cheap cycle computer to track the mileage. I have about 2200 miles on my real bike. The 2003 GT I-drive 1.0 pictured below. Man I wish the ezip had the GT's weight and handling carachteristics... Oh well, if it did I'm sure they'd want 3K or more for one.



My baby a couple of Summers back...


That's about it for now. I'll update the blog if there is a major catastrophic failure somewhere along the way and/or update it with mileage/performance info as it comes in...

Be well all..

-Scott