Anyone have an Eco Stepper or Viking E-Go?

I've just taken delivery of one of the former (think only the branding differs between the two) and would be grateful for guidance on a couple of aspects to get it going. The instruction manual for all it's worth might as well have remained in the original Mandarin:

1. Where the handlebar swings up to join the frame, the locking mechanism involves a Toblerone-shaped piece of metal that has two small holes drilled through it. At the hinge are two little pins wrapped in springcoils, which seem intended to fit in that wedge, but in my case one of these points upward and the other down. So the unit doesn't lock together.

- The question is whether these pins, flimsy as they seem, are necessary for stability in steering. Would I be stupid just to snap them off?

2. Similarly though with no apparent pins involved, the hinge between the front and back ends of the frame itself doesn't lock securely. Pushing down on the silver lever points it to the ground but it drifts back up again.

- Any tips there, as I've read that these bikes can require an amount of fine-tuning before they're road-ready.

3. The battery doesn't charge beyond two green lights - the third remains red even after 12 hours plugged into the wall.

- Any sense of how much of a liability that would be? (I don't envisage anything beyond a 10km round trip, though hills will be involved.) And are replacements really still £200+?

Bottom line is that I got it at a steal of a price (eBay auction by a commercial vendor whose pictures on the ad were broken, but I knew by then what one looked like). It's been used barely if at all before and might've been a previous return.

I accept there's an element of you-get-what-you-pay-for, and I still have 10 days to send it back. But as sourcing another one from elsewhere is likely to cost double, I'd like to make it work if I can. Hence this Pedelec newbie's request for advice!

You should take the battery out, charge it, measure the voltage at the two outer bottom contacts, leave it half an hour and measure it again. Report the results here, and we can tell you if your battery is OK.

You can get those batteries a bit cheaper direct from China. If I had to replace one, I''d get a 36v one, which will fit exactly the same, but will give a lot more power and speed, although not everybody wants that.

Thanks for replies so far. I'm away till the weekend but will follow these through when back.

Any pointers meanwhile from Stepper/Viking owners about the more mechanical than electrical stuff?

I have a Tesco Hopper which is the same bike. I charged my battery yesterday and it is the same. And I think it always has been. I have never taken my bike to its limits as I rely on the assistance aspect, but it seems to have functioned ok.

Photos of your handlebar hinge would be useful. I have just taken some photos but have mislaid my cable for uploads

Ok as I cant find my cable at the moment I will try to describe mine

In the toblerlone hinge section, there is a central spring loaded connection that hold everything together. The other 2 screws look to me just like positioning screws. ie to line up the hinge. I might be wrong, but I don't see how they will add more to the effectiveness of the handlebar joint.

But........ I am not going to cut mine to test the theory.

Photos of your handlebar hinge would be useful. I have just taken some photos but have mislaid my cable for uploads

Here's one, showing the Toblerone in a vertical position (to lock, it needs to be horizontal) and with the pin to the right visible under a springcoil - the left-hand one is also there but is less evident in the picture, having lost its coil. As said, the pins point at angles when they should seemingly point straight out.

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I have a tesco hopper. The manual said to get three green lights on the battery when it's fully charged. Mine is same as yours so I contacted Avocet who are the manufacturers.

this is the reply

My name is glyn Nolan. I am the e-bike manager for Avocet Sports Ltd.

We are the manufacturer of your electric bike.

 

The manual is incorrect. A healthy battery, fully charged will have 2 green lights and one red. The lights will go out one by one until the red remains. At this point charge the battery.

Here's one, showing the Toblerone in a vertical position (to lock, it needs to be horizontal) and with the pin to the right visible under a springcoil - the left-hand one is also there but is less evident in the picture, having lost its coil. As said, the pins point at angles when they should seemingly point straight out.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6452[/ATTACH]

Looking again I can see that all 3 points are spring loaded. I thought the 2 outer ones were just screws. (Dodgy eyes, sorry)

I still believe that they are largely for positioning the toblerone piece as without them you will have to double check that everything is lined up before tightening the handlebar attachment.

On mine they are both straight, if thats what you want to know.

Sorry to mess you about, but a question?

On my bike the toblerone section is the same width as the rest of the handlebar hinge. In your photo it looks as if it is narrower.

Is that the case? Because if it is it may already have had some modification. If it has been modified, it may no longer be safe.

On my bike the toblerone section is the same width as the rest of the handlebar hinge. In your photo it looks as if it is narrower.

Thanks for the concern hopper_rider but it's the right width - just at 90 degrees to where it should be. If the bent pins were out of the way it would rotate to the horizontal locking position.

Any thoughts on my other question about the central frame hinge? Nothing seems broken there on mine, it just doesn't lock securely in position.

Best, James

I had completely missed point 2. Sorry.

It is beginning to sound as if your bike has had a tough life. Either as the result of misuse or it has had a very rough courier journey at some point.

On a folder it is necessary for the folding joints to be able to lock securely. Otherwise it becomes an 'elf and safety issue.

There have been a number of Dr Bike events over the summer which would be ideal for you. Unsure if they are still ongoing or if one would be near you. These are free events where a bike mechanic is on hand to help rectify bike maintenance issues.

Either way it would be unsafe to ride this bike if the two locking hinges are not locked.

There have been a number of Dr Bike events over the summer which would be ideal for you. Unsure if they are still ongoing or if one would be near you. These are free events where a bike mechanic is on hand to help rectify bike maintenance issues.

Good thought, though I can't find a local (Torquay) one for now.

After some fiddling and jiggling I've meanwhile got the handlebar hinge to lock and the main joint to bolt a bit more firmly. Next stop is the nearest bike shop to see what they say.

Well, it took a while for non-mechanical me to put it together (and I still can't figure out how to mount the rear light - anyone?) but I took the Eco Stepper for its first spin today and am really pleased.

Though it's also been yonks since I was on any sort of bicycle, I was rather less wobbly than I'd feared. The pedal-driven electric propulsion (no throttle on these) maintained the momentum in my hilly local area in a way that gave reassuring stability.

Still getting the feel of the six gears, and am doubting that a standing hill-start will ever be easy! But once under way, this fiftysomething is so far finding it a good combo of effort on my part and assistance by the battery.

After buying a helmet and cable lock, next on the accessories list is a rear-view mirror. Thanks again for the input of all who posted.