Scaliboy62

500 watt, 36 volt rear drive. 2 year warranty Including battery !
It folds in 1/2 & fits in most trunks.
Sweet looking bike that seems to be flooding the market { I bought mine on E-Bay **.
Has Disc brakes..much more will link Specs.
The only thing I'm a little bummed about is I requested a battery upgrade to 12 AH's & the fellow didnt seem to think it is available yet for this model. range should be 25-30 miles { that's with peddling I believe **.
I paid $ 1199- got $47 E-Bay double bucks also Mastercard points on purchase & Free Shipping. So came to 1100.00 free shipping.
It cost me more to build my Schwinn protocol Mountain bike with E-bay kit.
I dont work for them, or sell them so i'll put it through it's paces @ post updates if anyone's interested.https://prodecotech.com/bikes/storm-500/
Thanks, Alan

blackssr

I have the Infinity X and the wife has the Stride 500. They are great values and alot of fun. The factory is 7 miles from my business in Boca Raton. Prodeco is an American company. I get almost 25 miles when I ride averaging about 17 MPH. This is south Florida so no hills here. Max speed for me is about 20.5 under battery only. The wife can go almost 30 miles on a charge at about 14 MPH. I weigh about 206 and the wife is about 120. I found Prodeco through research about ebikes. I am thrilled with my purchase. I have over 300 miles on my bike and not a single issue. Charge time is about 4 hours and the battery is 9 ah. The brakes are disks both front and rear. Stops on a dime. The bike is 7 speed only and the rear detailer is responsive and smooth. It would hard to find a better bike in this price range. The Infinity X was $1299.99 and the Stride 500 was $1199.99.Both have 2 year no hassle bumper to bumper warranty. Please note the range distance is with us peddling.

Scaliboy62

Great information, thanks !
25 miles range per charge with peddling will work for me, I weigh 200 lbs as well so my results should be similar..
My last build the furthest I went was about 18 miles, it's 9AH also maybe had more in her but didnt want to run battery flat but I think it about had it @ 18 ..
They claim they'll warranty the battery no questions asked for 2 years even if the 23rd month it fails. Also you could buy a backup battery for $ 399.00 I bet they weigh no more then 6 lbs easily stowed away in a backpack for a more serious day of riding. The Prodecos 7 speeds sounds perfect, the thing that started giving me problems on my homemade was the gearing, rear freewheel was changed due to the kit so getting all the gears to switch properly with the new freewheel was a PIA because the shifters were indexed. I then stripped the threads on the derailleur hole. I'm looking forward to the joy of riding a Quality Factory built bike for a change. Hopefully no headaches knock on wood. Thanks for the reply.

Richard60463

To get more miles out of our two electric bikes my wife carries one extra battery and she switches at the far end of our trip. If my battery fails on the return trip we put on her original battery. Seems to work well for us. We like to travel 20 - 30 miles total per trip.

Scaliboy62

Bought off E-Bay as mentioned, to be fair he did give me updates on bike shipping out slower then expected, from a little detective work I can tell the Sellers other E-Bike customers got theirs really quickly after purchase I believe mine was back ordered.
Anyways, well packaged, came folded in half { via fed-Ex** & took a few minutes to assemble, basicly install handlebars & seat post.
Battery came pretty much fully charged.
First impression is it's big & Cops may hassel me on this thing, then i was impressed with the paint & finish, looks like China's better efforts to me but they claim made in USA. I love the design though, a real looker.
Now to the ride, In the last 3 months I put 700 miles on my home built dual suspension Schwinn Mountain bike , seat post battery set-up. Bike rode like butter.
The Prodeco is like a Hard tail Harley, the Battery rack creeks a bit & not to sound rude but my Crotch is killing me, after about 5 mile ride. big difference there.
Now, theres play in the lower neck I dont like, When front brake is engaged & you rock the bike fowards & backwards the bottom of neck moves maybe 1/16th an inch or so , is this normal ?? Any Prodeco people put there experience this.
I ride things hard, I'm 50 years old but I break things, thats just me I wonder if this bike will hold up. I called Prodeco & no answer { late in day ]. Anyways, Jury's still out but I'm semi pleased so far first day. Thank God for that 2 year warranty .
Heres some pictures just taken today, note the center double kick stand, I wasnt expecting that, front wheel comes right off the ground when used,I like the Kickstand.
Thanks, Alan

powell

At this price you cannot have American-made motor /controller on any ebike.
Prodeco uses of course China brand motor and controller - two most important things on any ebike.
Motor and controller plus reliable true battery meter /it cannot be of much use if not software-driven/ are important on ebike.
It is assembled from China brand parts

Scaliboy62

I bet the Chinese motor/controller lasts me a few years & many miles from the feel of them, smooth & powerfull for a 500 W 36 V bike. I'm sure they wouldnt give 2 years on the warranty if Prodeco didnt believe in them. Anyways after the warranty expires I may Hot Rod it with a more powerfull motor/controller/battery setup.
I like the welds on the Frame..& other components..You get what you Pay for & even though I've only put 5 mils on my bike so far I think I have a lot for the money here.

powell

Have you ridden it in the rain?
Or anybody?

Scaliboy62

I'll tell you what, i'm starting to get buyers remorse on this thing, theres too much play in the headset. I wonder if the Compression cap is correct , or spacer is set up right ? I spent couple hours working on it, the paint on com. cap is scraped up Brand new bike 10 miles on it & I have to take it to a bike shop as per Prodeco to have headset adjusted { they said to send them the bill **. If I'm told this amount of play is normal { which I doubt** i'll be sending this thing back. I waited 17 days for it to be delivered after buying/ paying for with Paypal now this ?
Phew, not off to a good start..

powell

Any free play in headset is NOT acceptable for safe riding, that is shoddy component.
I have 4 bicycles never any free play on headsets.

problem is that poor quality headsets get loose often oppose to brand name which never get loose but cost$$$.
Warranty whatever terms is never free for owner , you forgot cost ,do they pay for any back and forth shipping?

Scaliboy62

I got it adjusted , it was off. There was movement in the whole top of the cartridge & compression cap, you could see it rocking off the frame/neck & feel it, . Basiclly the procedure on this style headset is to tighten the lock ring { for the lack of a better term ** down to where the steering is too tight but the play is gone then back it off & find that special spot where the steering is freed up & you can ride with no hands & theres no play in the headset. It wasnt adjusted to that spot, is now & I'm warming up to the bike.
I rode 15 miles today, felt good..I'm liking it now. There sending me out a new compression cap cant wait because mine is all funky & chipped up from multiple adjustment attempts ..Oh well.

blackssr

Twice. One major storm. Florida is like that. I rode 7 miles home in it.No issues at all .

eauque

Hello, First post, glad to meet you all.

I got a Genesis 500 at the factory last weekend and already have over 100 miles on it. I will be using it for a 15 mile commute. So far, I have pedaled 75% of the way both times I've ridden to work. I think I could coast the whole way but need to experiment more with distances... I let the motor do most of the work and just kind of help it along. I rode for an hour/15 miles yesterday in 92 degree direct sunlight and barely broke a sweat (most sweat was under my black helmet).

BTW, I'm 170lb

I've inflated the tires to 70psi (no idea why they put 40psi tires on a bike made for distance...)

I am an excellent mechanic and I checked most of the bike over before riding for the first time. (My bike came assembled sadly.) Overall, the bike is very tight however, there were several loose items. Most alarming, all 8 of the screws on the battery itself were loose. 4 of them were 1/4 inch out from being seated. The seat post clamp was loose. The handle bar clamp was loose. I can't blame these items on Prodeco as I bought the bike thru ebay. I just picked it up there as a convenience. The ebay seller assembled the bike before I arrived to pick it up.

The seat is very cheap and uncomfortable. Change seat for better comfort.

The Shocks are garbage and rob power from the motor. Replace with rigid disc-ready forks.

Battery rack could be smoother.

Rear wheel is slightly out of round. Annoying and robs power.

Several of the battery connector pins came out of the controller. They popped right back in but, they should be permanently attached.

Despite all of the gripes listed above, I am very satisfied with my purchase.


Question though, do you Prodeco 500 owners notice a severe drag from the back wheel while coasting? If I lift my bike's back wheel off the ground and give it a spin, it stops after only 2-3 revolutions. The drag is coming from the motor or the bearings, not from the brake.

eauque

Oh, also my kickstand was rubbing against the chain. I had to put a 1/4 inch shim between the kickstand and the frame so the chain would not drag on the stand.

Scaliboy62

Thanks for chiming in Eauque with your Prodeco experiences. I like the idea in theory of the tires having more air then 40 lbs. I wouldve thought the tire & or tube would maybe blow though @ 70 but you seem to have proven that wrong, I may try 50 bs. I agree though you get better mileage with harder tires. I cant see going rigid on the front end, so many freaking bumps where I ride & live, maybe upgrade one day if the stock front end gives me problems .
I've got 77 miles on mine so far The derailleur needs adjustment already { this is prob. normal readjustment interval **but second gear is making noise .
I've got a tip, lose the trycycle kids toy bell that came installed on the bike, they must of included that POS for insurance or Legal reasons but it's a joke. I today installed an air horn bought from Amazon.com, things rechargable with a schrader valve , holds 100 lbs PSI & is 110 decibels loud ! Sounds like a Ford F250 horn but louder, clean installation 25 bucks { I forgot the brand name ** made in France I think.,
Also another tip , with the Battery's built in tail light ..4 times I've accidentlly flicked the switch to the on position, the location of the switch & the type of switch is easily turned on by accident. If you ride the bike to work & accidentlly leave the light on all day you may run out of juice perematurely on your way home. Also I wonder how much energy does that tail light use up ? Anyone know ?
I'm liking my purchase too after some earlier issues although minor. It takes a while to get the feel of these bikes, they have a unique character or feel of the road, they kind of sail a little for the lack of a better term but they are predictable & the brakes are excellent, stops on a dime & gives you change. Time will tell how well it holds up.
Also I dont feel any excessive drag from the rear wheel on mine, the bike coasts really well, as matter of fact I'm impressed how easy it is to pedal it with power turned off like a regular bike, feels light & i get the sense it wouldnt be a big deal to ride a few miles without power if I ran out of juice one day, much better in this sense then my mountain bike with a kit i had last.
I hope they come up with a 12 or even 14 AH battery for this thing, I'd be interested in that upgrade ..

eauque

I agree with you on the bell. I've never had a bell or horn or any other noisemaker on my bike. I like your idea for a 110 db air horn though...
Air horns ROCK!
I seriously doubt the rear tail light uses much power. I think it is 6 LED. That light could probably run for months (years?) on a single charge of the battery.
Hmm, on further thought, the tail-light might even have it's own separate battery...

Scaliboy62

The horn's called a Delta Air Zound, I'll insert an image. It's 115 DB's worth a looksy.
Your right about the light drawing a slight amount considering it's LED's, I had it fully charged & accidently flicked it on last night for 5 hours so I'll be able to tell when I put the charger on it this morning how long it takes for the light to turn green again, that'll give me a good idea.

blackssr

The 12 amp hour battery is an upgrade coming in a few weeks. It is $200 upgrade. Totally different shape battery.New rack and mounting included.

Scaliboy62

Do you know if it's possible I can exchange my low time original for the 12 AH plus the cash ?

blackssr

I was told the $ 200 was a trade up price. They should be available soon. I am on the fence if I am going to do the upgrade or not. I wish it were a 48 volt/ 12 amp hour upgrade. I would do that in a NY minute! I am getting about 25 miles with no issues with the stock battery. I really would love more speed not run time.

Scaliboy62

I wonder if the stock 36 volt motor & controller would handle 48 volts ? A Hot Rodded Prodeco , great idea.
The only drawback with the larger AH rated battery it comes with a cost, not just money but size. I'll have to check the specs when it comes out. I've got 140 miles on mine allready & it really grows on you this bike, the marrige between the motor , battery & controller is much better performance wise & smoothness then my Con-His motors kit bike, I used break the circuit once every couple times out with it's a 9 AH battery & have to do a reset, going up a hill without enough pedaling would pop it but the Prodeco it's never happened. The bike really uses all of the batteries power , has more powerfull feel then last bike, much smoother.
Another gripe I learned of today is the battery charger gets very warm borderline hot if left on charge just a couple hours after light turns green. My last charger never got the slightest bit warm if left plugged in overnight after a full charge . I know of someone who's house burned down from overcharging a Tots/kids electric car in his basement. Charger says it's fused on it but I'll be keeping an eye on the charger, little scary .

Bk2

Blackssr...


I realize it's been almost a year since you posted about you and your wife's Prodeco ebikes, but I was hoping you could give me some more info on how things are going with them.


I'm strongly considering a Stride for myself. I want the folding ability, and plan on a battery upgrade. Did you purchase them online? If so, which dealer and how did it go? Lastly, what are your overall impressions of the Prodeco? The more research I do, the more confused I become, especially with all the different makes/models.


Thanks in advance for your time and help.


Bob K.