sfselzer

@zydeco--Thanks for the advice. (Being a skinny malink sometimes has its advantages.)

Soon as I get my mortgage refi squared away, I'll likely pull the trigger & take the plunge on a MiPower (to mix a couple of metaphors).

Hope your luck with the bike improves -- you seem to be suffering the travails of Job.

zydeco

@Sfselzer: It does seem like it however I am a very long way from being a man of that caliber.

The bike is repaired and working now. I have 100miles on the odometer and it is growing on me.

Scaliboy62

I bet you'll enjoy this bike Zydeco glad to hear your back in the saddle. I cracked 2100 miles, sprung for a center kickstand from Bike-Smiths on EBay the guy who sells Prodeco's. The center stand needed to be shimed to work I used a skateboard truck riser super hard rubber worked really well. The advantages of the center stand include the front wheel is propped off the ground & you can spin the crank backwards on the stand to inspect chain & alignment etc..I'm done with the upgrades I hope

zydeco

I have added a few things. Mostly stuff from amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...ike+%2Caps%2C0
https://www.amazon.com/NowAdvisor%C2%...bike+headlight
https://www.amazon.com/Brooks-Saddles...s=brooks+flyer
Right now I have a big ugly milk crate ziptied to the rack. The headlight and rack are good to go. I am now working out how I want to attach the extra battery on the rack. If I am as lazy as possible using maximum power I get about 16 miles per battery. I still have to work on a few hills but I have noticed a considerable power boost when I pedal. So even fake pedaling usually let's me creep up a hill. Is it just me or is that thumb throttle more exercise than pedaling? I am not new to thumb throttles. I own a 4 wheeler and have the thumbs of a gamer but this thing kills me. I can see where that kickstand is a good move I think I will get one. Somebodies prolly about to loose a truck off their skateboard.

zydeco

Well I am over 300 miles now. I was able to correct the discomfort with the throttle.
I hit a beast of a pothole and am now dealing with loose spokes. I think I have it close enough but the wheel is a little out. The same pothole bent the mounting screws for my rear rack. The headlight I linked above went to trash pretty fast. Yesterday I tried a ride at power setting 3 of 5. I did not improve my range from setting 4. I made it home at 21 miles with one red bar which is about the same as setting 4. I have been riding the easy trails with my son. This bike actually shines offroad and balances very very well. I have to get new tires though. These tires are fine on perfect pavement but horrible anywhere else. I am now a happy camper though. My legs are staying sore (good sore). I work pretty hard on steep hills so I am getting a good anaerobic workout on my legs though I admit I am not getting much cardio. Being able to keep pace with my extremely athletic son has been priceless.

Scaliboy62

Schwable tires seem to be a favorite high end tire, a little pricey but worth it from what i understand, having said that I went with the Kenda K838's , they are street tires with a proven motorcycle type tread 1/2 price of the Schwable's, I mentioned this in an earlier post that I'm running 26x195's instead of the stock 175's..
The wider tire really improved the ride & the overall bikes performance, smooths out the power delivery takes away that little surge the speed limiter, but like i mentioned you have to slightly re-route the power cables that goes to the motor to the top of the frame's chain stays so the tire doesnt rub. It takes away a little bit of the clean factory look but not really an issue the way I ran it & placement of black tape & zippy ties.
These Kenda tires are pretty much street tires although my bike sees grassy areas as I avoid all the hurricane damage here on Long Island.
I've been keeping my weight loss @ 18 lbs. since Feb. 2012 when getting into E-Bikes & my hypertension has been improved from stage 2 to boder line high 1. The spokes can be a pain in the ass but I've learned to check them regularly & having replaced a couple 2 different times I've learned to avoid these bid potholes & take it easy coming off curbs by going really slow & proper weight distribution. Also those old sidewalks that have raised uneven sections you dont want to hit those hard, I think the spokes get damaged more as your hitting raised things compared as going down curbs.
Even though this Mipower isnt perfect it is a well made as far as waterproofing , the hubmotor is same as Stromer, Grace & Ultramotor uses, & it has a soilid tight feel due to nice forks & design. Glad to hear your getting into a groove with it. I sound like a salesman for these things & I noticed RMartin raised the price of this model by 300 bucks or so since my reviews, I should bill them for 10 %

zydeco

I don't have the post count to send a pm so I will post this here. https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-2012-EZP...item3a7bf7554a
That frame look familiar?

pjtait

And the battery - they just rearranged the control panel a bit, and removed nearly half the capacity.

zydeco

Scaliboy I can't reply to your PM until I have a post count of 50.

I think this is an earlier version of our bike. The frame is almost identical but there are subtle improvements on the mipower. The part that stood out to me was the battery bracket. I think the mipower's design is an improvement. I am dieing to connect my batteries in series for 72 volts now. That would actually be alot faster than I want to go but I am starting to wish I could get a little more speed out of the bike. I have lost a little weight finally but with the speed limiter It doesn't allow the ride to change much. I hit 420 miles today

Scaliboy62

I think the bike has more top end in it if you can disconnect the speed limiter, i tried unscrewing it & the motor didnt turn on, I guess it's designed not to be easy to bypass it but i'm sure it could be done Maybe needs to be bypassed & grounded?** , I'm OK with the 20 MPH's where I live but would want the bike faster if I move to a rural area.
Yeah that frame is close to the Mipower same design but different if you look close. One thing that I never mentioned our bikes are Powdercoated, the EZPro looks painted, I do have a couple chips but the finish holds up really well to washing, damp cloth wipe downs then a WD40 wipe, it shows no bubbling i'm upwards of 2500 miles & clean it pretty much after every ride, it gets "the treatment".. That EZPro bike didnt sell for the second time on EBay { well there's still a couple more hours left, no bids **. Weather's changing here on Long island so I'm not putting the 25 a day average on her anymore but put on the Long Johns & as long as theres no ice around I still enjoy her, fingers get a little numb I'm checking out different gloves. Oh well, so long

EBikeFL 

I've been using these gloves: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o09_s00_i00

and these goggles with a pair of prescription glasses whose arms broke off: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o08_s00_i00

I'm happy with both and use them when the weather here in Florida gets cold...around 55-65 degrees. Brrrrrr.

Scaliboy62

Thanks for the links, I love to ride with my Mechanix gloves but anything under 45 degrees & fingers get numb, I tried latex gloves as liners but too sweaty I'm going to read the Amazon reviews on the gloves you linked

usnavystgc

The mere fact that they have to put a speed limiter to limit the bike to a measily 20 mph is absolutely insane. I cannot believe the feds regulate ebikes to this pitiful measure. I can exceed 20mph regularly on my pedal only bike and I've exceeded 40 down a long hill. We should petition congress to change this law. It is the stupidest law ever and it was certainly written and voted on by people who don't even ride pedal bikes. The mere fact that this law exists is criminal.

EBikeFL 

+1

pjtait

I thought the speed limiter was incorporated into the controller? What part did you unscrew?

pjtait

You're joking, right?

Scaliboy62

I'm not 100% sure but I think it's one of the 2 connecters that run along the chain stays closest to the motor, I'm sure one of those wires is the one I disconnected but I'm not sure it was the speed limiter, but I think so ..I'm so confused "
Check out my latest improvement, I bought this " Decade " brand leather tool bag, it's pretty popular for motorbikes & cheap for leather anyways. Got it secured with a couple cable ties, I like it not sure if I love it with tools in it it makes the bike a little unstable on the center stand, I keep light stuff in it for now, was like 25 bucks.

Trecilla

Been looking for some answers to questions about my new Mipower and you seem knowledgeable, can you help?
Just bought a Mipower from RMartin and I'm puzzled about a couple of things.
The charger seems to only have a yellow/orange LED light, I haven't seen any green ones although the manual implies there are green LED indicators. There's only one LED bulb, and it's either blinking or straight-on yellow/orange. When I charge the battery, I've been turning the battery power off, is that correct?
Also, my Microshift plastic housing cracked prior to shipping; they're sending a replacement. I suppose it will be easy to replace myself, do you know anything about this? Do they send instructions? I like the bike, but jeeze, the instructions are skimpy and non-sensible.

Scaliboy62

The instructions suck , I'd be willing to bet there is instructions in Taiwanese that are better & they translated this condensed version for the English speaking countries..
Leave the battery turned off while charging, the key will be horizontal with the battery, that is off position { also the batteries LED lights wont be lit up when it's off.** Thee battery charger goes from a flashing amber when the battery is lowish then flashing green when it's allmost charged then solid green when charge is complete also the fan shuts itself off when it's charged.. Switch the charger off first then disconnect it from the port.
My Microshifter didnt crack during shipping, I've heard of others that did though but I have no idea how to install it. One tip I'll say is keep an eye on the spokes , dont hit curbs hard or come off them hard, have respect for the rear wheel, it's not fragile & the bike is really well built but the rear spokes seem to be it's Achllies heel. I replaced 3 total 2 incidents & have learned how to true the wheel & keep them taught & it's been fine 2800 miles on the clock since last July. I'm curious how much do you weigh & how tall are you, is the 17" frame a good fit ?

Trecilla

I'm 5'8" and 135 lbs, bike is good fit, but shopping for a more comfy wide seat for longdistance trips. OK, followed your instructions and guess what, it did turn green this time. Thanks! I'd like to order fenders, do you know where I can get them?

Scaliboy62

https://www.emaxi.com.tw
There's actually fenders { they call them mudguards ** that are an option, here's the manufacturer in Taiwan, maybe they will ship them or maybe RMartin has them.
I sprang for a Tamer Pivot plus { used to be known as Tricky Dick** suspension seat post & love it, that with the Brooks saddle, I flattened the rails of 2 saddles before springing for the Brooks but I'm 195 lbs maybe you wont have to spring for a high dollar saddle. The suspension seatpost really saves my lower back

Trecilla

ok, will ask RMartin about mudguards. Another assembly question. Directions say to be sure to put left/right pedals on correctly on left/right sides - is this Tiawanese humor??? they look identical to me. Is there truly a difference? If so, I could not find any markings with L or R, and they look identical to me.

Scaliboy62

Theres a stamping on the end { butt end of threads **each one has an L & R. I think all bikes are like this or they would work themselves loose
EDIT, dont forget that left pedals are reverse threaded.

zydeco

This is funny reading Trecilla's posts. My shifter was broken too. I had same issue with trying to read the instructions for the charger. Anyone wanna place bets on her controller? Trecilla the bike has some bugs to work out in the beginning but once you work them out it is a reliable bike. I went for a nice 30 mile ride yesterday. I may do it again today.

Scaliboy62

I had my original controller go on me first week or so also, the second one { which they sent right out free of course ** has been flawless, it is a different looking controller slightly the outside & wires are anyways I didnt open it up, looks like they upgraded them, no problems since the replacement also