Here is my review of the Eco Expedition Bike. (The first part is to do with how I ended up buying this model, scroll down further to see the review).
Pre Ramble:
My entry into e bikes, was on the back of my partner having to move office. At her new location she wouldn't have parking as before, and the prices to park near would add up to a fair amount over time!
Thought's turned to parking a little further out and maybe a folding bike would be the answer to get into town on a fairly flat run (although we all know when riding you can suddenly realise there is more inclination than first thought).
Then in another twist, on business I was at this premises, with a folding e bike (Volt), outside. I asked about it with my renewed interest in bikes and it belonged to the person I was there to see! Within a short while, I was off up the road trying it out, what fun!!
So the searching started, I came here also and joined up. And this new world folded out before me. Now I'd had bikes all through my life and had a MTB that was currently sitting not being ridden. There are a few decent cycle tracks on former railway lines, not far from me, and I always harked to get back there and try them again (having ridden a small section some years back). I'd also attended the Gadget Show, and ridden an E MTB round there track a few years earlier, so I knew what they were capable of, but never thinking they would be in my future.
Now the whole E Bike thing had bitten me, so it was my interest to find something, could I in fact be the one to commute to work?
So upon looking I discovered the pricing and set my budget around the £800 mark, I still felt this was a lot to spend on something I didn't fully know I would use it enough to justify the expense. I guess as a casual rider it was all the unknown.
I closed in on a couple of bikes, and rather fancied a hybrid style with my budget limit, upon checking online details I homed in on two within travelling distance that I could go and test ride, one being the Eco.
The online information and video's the guy has produced certainly looked slick, but on paper (or on screen as i should more accurately say these days), I actually thought I would prefer the other bike i went to see.
But the proof is in the pudding as they say and riding them both it really became clear which suited me.
Review:
And so we come to the review.
Firstly the presentation of the bike, obviously it is subjective, but to me I think it sits right, and is a good looking bike, the black detailing with white frame does set it off nicely. Perhaps not totally important but aesthetics do play a big part rightly or wrongly in today's society, and i'm happy to know i'm on this one. Of course at this budget some of the components are cheaper, but i'm not up on all that yet.
Controls/screen were something that did impress me, the clear to read screen with a multiple of information, with two further additional menu's to change a couple of the readouts. Not having had a timer or distance ridden before is certainly something that creates a challenge to do just a little more each time you go out. It's all nice and clear to see and there is a back light that can be turned on for night mode. On my first run, I had a little difficulty resetting the single trip display, the instructions although thorough, seemed to be almost identical to changing a setting. I have since figured it out though - it's to do with the timing of when you turn it on as it mentions in the manual, I just didn't understand!
Power assist is very pleasant, turn it up to the max level (5) and it really does pull you strongly up to speed, and for me i think this is where it came into it's own on my test commute. There were quite a few stop starts on the cycle route, and being less than fit I enjoyed the bike getting me back up to the cruising speed. There is partly pathways, road and cycle track with the usual ridges and dips, the bike handles these well with some suspension on the forks to take out any jarring.
As it's pretty flat around my immediate area, I've tended to only use a couple of gears, mostly for pulling away and then getting up to speed, occasionally dropping down when I do face a small hill. All changes appear to be similar to my other experiences with gears. It actually has 21 gears, and I don't think as a road bike you'll ever need them, but maybe if using without power and going a little further off road or facing a climb they could be useful?
The 36v 10ah battery is mounted on the down tube and is completely out of the way, it has the usual press for battery state indicator so should give a rough idea what's in it. To charge you are told to remove it, although not particularly difficult, the connector is a screw on type, and I've seen other designs where the battery can slide off once unlocked.
Putting together was pretty easy, with good instructions you download from the eco site. In fact the instructions are very detailed, including do's and don't's, and service information too. All the shimano instructions were included. There are also two allen keys and a wrench. Although the seat angle adjustment, required another size allen key.
I should say it came with reflectors, but they don't have a rubber insert so are next to useless to attach, and also a screw holding the screen bracket was missing when i opened the box up. Though this was quickly sent to me when i reported it back to Eco.
So far the bike has been out quite a few times, and it does make me want to get out again and explore somewhere new or beat that last distance/time. It's comfortable to use (will take a little while to get used to the saddle), the brakes are bedding in nicely and do a good job for cable disk brakes. I decided to go up a newly finished track near me, that i knew would only be fun on the way down (on a conventional bike!). So I thought, I have the assist now, why not try it. Well it was impressive to say the least, was such a blast going somewhere I'd have shy'd away from previously. I do hope that my fitness will improve riding more even if it's assisted at first. As for the commuting, I don't really want to turn up to work sweating or having the thought of a hard ride home after, so it's ideal.
At this stage, for this budget and for what I need the bike to do, I would recommend it. The seller is a very amiable chap and easy to deal with. I hope to report back with more enjoyable experiences of my first foray into the e bike world.
Pre Ramble:
My entry into e bikes, was on the back of my partner having to move office. At her new location she wouldn't have parking as before, and the prices to park near would add up to a fair amount over time!
Thought's turned to parking a little further out and maybe a folding bike would be the answer to get into town on a fairly flat run (although we all know when riding you can suddenly realise there is more inclination than first thought).
Then in another twist, on business I was at this premises, with a folding e bike (Volt), outside. I asked about it with my renewed interest in bikes and it belonged to the person I was there to see! Within a short while, I was off up the road trying it out, what fun!!
So the searching started, I came here also and joined up. And this new world folded out before me. Now I'd had bikes all through my life and had a MTB that was currently sitting not being ridden. There are a few decent cycle tracks on former railway lines, not far from me, and I always harked to get back there and try them again (having ridden a small section some years back). I'd also attended the Gadget Show, and ridden an E MTB round there track a few years earlier, so I knew what they were capable of, but never thinking they would be in my future.
Now the whole E Bike thing had bitten me, so it was my interest to find something, could I in fact be the one to commute to work?
So upon looking I discovered the pricing and set my budget around the £800 mark, I still felt this was a lot to spend on something I didn't fully know I would use it enough to justify the expense. I guess as a casual rider it was all the unknown.
I closed in on a couple of bikes, and rather fancied a hybrid style with my budget limit, upon checking online details I homed in on two within travelling distance that I could go and test ride, one being the Eco.
The online information and video's the guy has produced certainly looked slick, but on paper (or on screen as i should more accurately say these days), I actually thought I would prefer the other bike i went to see.
But the proof is in the pudding as they say and riding them both it really became clear which suited me.
Review:
And so we come to the review.
Firstly the presentation of the bike, obviously it is subjective, but to me I think it sits right, and is a good looking bike, the black detailing with white frame does set it off nicely. Perhaps not totally important but aesthetics do play a big part rightly or wrongly in today's society, and i'm happy to know i'm on this one. Of course at this budget some of the components are cheaper, but i'm not up on all that yet.
Controls/screen were something that did impress me, the clear to read screen with a multiple of information, with two further additional menu's to change a couple of the readouts. Not having had a timer or distance ridden before is certainly something that creates a challenge to do just a little more each time you go out. It's all nice and clear to see and there is a back light that can be turned on for night mode. On my first run, I had a little difficulty resetting the single trip display, the instructions although thorough, seemed to be almost identical to changing a setting. I have since figured it out though - it's to do with the timing of when you turn it on as it mentions in the manual, I just didn't understand!
Power assist is very pleasant, turn it up to the max level (5) and it really does pull you strongly up to speed, and for me i think this is where it came into it's own on my test commute. There were quite a few stop starts on the cycle route, and being less than fit I enjoyed the bike getting me back up to the cruising speed. There is partly pathways, road and cycle track with the usual ridges and dips, the bike handles these well with some suspension on the forks to take out any jarring.
As it's pretty flat around my immediate area, I've tended to only use a couple of gears, mostly for pulling away and then getting up to speed, occasionally dropping down when I do face a small hill. All changes appear to be similar to my other experiences with gears. It actually has 21 gears, and I don't think as a road bike you'll ever need them, but maybe if using without power and going a little further off road or facing a climb they could be useful?
The 36v 10ah battery is mounted on the down tube and is completely out of the way, it has the usual press for battery state indicator so should give a rough idea what's in it. To charge you are told to remove it, although not particularly difficult, the connector is a screw on type, and I've seen other designs where the battery can slide off once unlocked.
Putting together was pretty easy, with good instructions you download from the eco site. In fact the instructions are very detailed, including do's and don't's, and service information too. All the shimano instructions were included. There are also two allen keys and a wrench. Although the seat angle adjustment, required another size allen key.
I should say it came with reflectors, but they don't have a rubber insert so are next to useless to attach, and also a screw holding the screen bracket was missing when i opened the box up. Though this was quickly sent to me when i reported it back to Eco.
So far the bike has been out quite a few times, and it does make me want to get out again and explore somewhere new or beat that last distance/time. It's comfortable to use (will take a little while to get used to the saddle), the brakes are bedding in nicely and do a good job for cable disk brakes. I decided to go up a newly finished track near me, that i knew would only be fun on the way down (on a conventional bike!). So I thought, I have the assist now, why not try it. Well it was impressive to say the least, was such a blast going somewhere I'd have shy'd away from previously. I do hope that my fitness will improve riding more even if it's assisted at first. As for the commuting, I don't really want to turn up to work sweating or having the thought of a hard ride home after, so it's ideal.
At this stage, for this budget and for what I need the bike to do, I would recommend it. The seller is a very amiable chap and easy to deal with. I hope to report back with more enjoyable experiences of my first foray into the e bike world.
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