List Price: $599.00
Sale Price: $549.99
Today's Bonus: 8% Off
Overall
Great bike for the price. Improvements would be increased quality control on batteries and chargers, upgrading handlebar, and redesigning the battery terminals.
Buy it. It works fine for what it is.
Pros
Great value for an electric assist bike. Paid for itself in commuting savings not to mention health benefits.
Comfortable ride (thicker tires help)
Surprisingly quiet motor
Having both Pedal Assist and Twist features is nice
Cons
-Quality control issues combined with 90 day warranty:
-Battery replaced in two weeks (warranty replacement plus shipping charge) $25
-Charger replaced in four months $40
-Battery terminal 1 replaced in five months $20 (part only)
-Battery terminal 2 replaced in 11 months $20 (part only)
-Email customer service never replied to requests. Phone CS are helpful though.
Design Comments
-Basic handlebar design is generally uncomfortable, grips hurt hands without gloves
-Kind of slow with only 7 speeds
-Motor on another bike in the same line is 250 watt, not 450. Could this be marketing voodoo at work? Can't confirm this, though sounds iffy.
-Battery and Bike Weight
The SLA batteries work fine on this bike. These are most cost effective batteries on the market, not most advanced. If you want more of a performance feel to your bike, pony up 400 bucks for the Lithium battery.
Steel that is used in this bike frame is the most cost effective material and also the heaviest. Two other common bike frame materials, Aluminum and Carbon Fiber are much more expensive.
Currie offers the IZip line with improved components at a premium. Via Lento Aluminum frame with SLA battery (extra $200), Via Rapido aluminum frame with Lithium battery (extra $500).
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
I actually bought this bike from Walmart.com to save on shipping costs. I have had it for 2 months now. I have to say that for the price it is probably the best e-bike you can buy. My first real test for my bike was a sponsored event called 'Bike Around The Buttes'. A forty mile ride with a few hills but mostly flat. I had 2 batteries for this trip. I pedaled at a moderate pace (12-15 mph) in battery assist mode. I was very nervous because I did not think the batteries would last that long. Surprise, the first battery went twenty miles. good thing too because the batteries lasted a whole lot longer than my legs did (I am 65 and about 60 lbs over weight :-). The second battery went about 18 miles. I had forgot to charge it up the night before so it had a short trip to work and back on it. fortunately the first battery had partially come back to life and it brought me the rest of the way to the finish. I was still able to maintain about 12 mph.The instructions tell you to discharge your battery 2 times completely to 'condition it', but I think this information is incorrect. Please read this article. I just found it today, essential reading IMHO.
The quality of components on my bike are ok for a commuter. The tires are great for street riding, brakes work good, shifting gears is easy, the rims are aluminum alloy and look nice, brakes work great, seat adj. is easy.
I am planning on upgrading the front forks, and the rear derailleur to improve the looks and performance of my bike. I have recently changed out the pedals to sealed bearing units.
Out of the box my bike needed some tuning. the wheels needed truing (I tend to be a perfectionist :-), brakes needed adjusting, and motor chain needed adjusting after the first couple of hours.
If I had it to do all over I would buy it again.
enjoy.
Best Deals for Currie Technologies eZip Men's Trailz Electric Bicycle
I have owned my eZip Trailz for a year now. I put on about 500 miles on it. I have found that for me an electric bike is the best, environmentally-friendly mode of short range transportation for commuting and pleasure. I have found that many on the market are too expensive and don't come with a free test ride. There are even some upwards of $1,000 that come with SLA batteries.Pros:
+ affordable entry-level electric bicycle
+ reduction in carbon footprint
+ minimal sweat after a ride; longer distance achieved with same amount of effort as a non-electric bike. (This is the primary reason anyone would get an ebike, right?)
+ convenient battery lock and disconnection
+ free bicycle parking when commuting to work in the downtown zone
+ pedestrians and other bicyclists see you and whisper to each other "hey, that's an electric bike!"
+ torquey 450 watt motor
+ quiet operation
+ brakes and other components are more heavy duty in comparison to a non-electric bike
+ fat road tires are comfortable and has little rolling resisitance
+ 7-speed geared to allow a rider to pedal downhill up to 26 mph (but there is hardly any motor assist past 16 mph)
+ first electric bike; will not be the last. (I will never forget my "OMG!" feeling from the first ride.)
Cons:
bike not meant for trails (despite the name). Stay on roads and sidewalks to ensure the bike doesn't vibrate parts off.
bike is rear-heavy
rear rack support bars started rubbing away plastic battery casing leaving white powdery residue. Eventually lead to loud & annoying rubbing sounds when going over road bumps and cracks.
rear rack bolts loosened themselves off over time. (should've used loctite on them at the beginning)
left side terminal died after 300 miles. Right side died after 200 miles. Comes to find out, the positive wires connecting to the terminal blew off. Required new ring connectors and a little knowledge about cutting and crimping wires.
SLA battery shows weakness after 30-40 charges.
SLA battery drastically loses power after a few miles of riding. Battery didn't have the same amount of oomph as when new. Likely that the range suffers over time as well.(Tough to make it home if your ride ends at the top of a hill.)
After the breakdown at 500 miles, I removed the kit and rode the bike without the motor/battery for 100 miles without a problem. It felt just like a regular mountain bike. This year, I upgraded the bike with a brushless hub motor kit with a LiFEPO4 battery and have been riding for 600 miles now. The bike and all of its components has been holding itself well to the newly found power without a problem.
Honest reviews on Currie Technologies eZip Men's Trailz Electric Bicycle
Its about 3 weeks or so I have been using this bike. Easy to assemble bit heavy as expected for acid base batteries. I use it for my commute to and from Train station. I always use in peddle assist mode to enjoy my exercise and not that tired. Rides about 18-20 miles / charge. I wish it would be little lighter otherwise I would give 5 stars.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Currie Technologies eZip Men's Trailz Electric Bicycle
I ordered this to help me make a 14 mile commute. The bike came well packaged and mostly assembled. Just follow the good instructions and you'll be up and riding in about an hour. (without the battery as it needs 8 hours to charge.)So far I've put on about 60 miles and here are my impressions:
1. The build quality is good, very strong frame. The rear brakes and derailleur came factory adjusted and I did not need to tweak them. Nice! The front brakes are adjusted during the assembly process, but it's easy.
2. I would recommend putting loctite on the pivot screw threads for the hand brakes. One of mine vibrated off (never to be found) within the first 3 hours of riding. And they are metric, just in case you have to go through the same thing. I also put loctite on the screws that secure the hand brakes to the handle bars as are similar.
3. The battery/motor combination seems well tuned. I set my expectations low and road the bike for awhile without the battery assist. Then on the hill up to our house I used the battery, what a difference it makes, wonderful!
4. Beware of the weight of the bike and battery when you dismount. I'm a bigger guy so it doesn't bother me too much, but you have to take care when you are off the bike if you lift the front tire and the bike is at an angle. The weight of the battery makes the bike want to fall over easier. It's best to grab the seat tube to maintain control when you are moving the bike around.
5. I thought the heavier bike and battery combination would make the bike difficult to move, but the low rolling resistance of the hybrid tires make the bike seem easier to move than my knobby tire mountain bike.
6. The brakes are good and wide to give extra stopping power.
7. I highly recommend the Topeak MTX Trunk Bag DX with Side Panniers. It fastens to the rack solidly and has plenty of room.
8. If you are going to be riding this for more than 30 minutes at a time, I highly recommend getting one of the wide saddle seats with the gel inserts. Unless you are gifted with an iron butt, you'll figure this out soon enough.
Cheers and good riding!
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