Hello everyone,
Today I finally did it!
5000 miles completed of commuting to work on my first ever EBike my Bearprint New City 505.
I have been looking forward to this for quite a while now.
It was also a nice co-incidence that I have achieved this fantastic total 11 months to the day that I rode it to work for the first time on 22nd October 2010.
It has been very enjoyable and I have throughout looked forward to my cycle into work and the return trip home each day.
I estimate that this has saved me around £600 in petrol costs from not driving my car instead of Ebiking.
My physical sense of well being has increased and I have lost a stone in weight and feel that my circulation particularly in my legs has improved.
Using comparatively quiet country roads has been peaceful and uplifting when feeling part of the lovely countryside with the views and variety of wildlife seen day to day.
The Bearprint bike is a fairly generic type of Chinese manufactured bike but has proved to be well made and durable. All parts function well for the purposes for which they were designed.
Things which particularly sold the Bike to me were:-
1) It is a bit of a Wisper look a like with the overall frame shape - but cheaper.
2) The large 16AH battery for longer assist and distance as my commute is a 26 miles round trip.
3) Front and back disk brakes which work well for my everyday usage.
3) Integrated Front and Back lights powered from the main battery and with an on/off switch on the handlebar pedelec speed switch.
4) Designed with the Commuter in mind with decent aluminum mudguards and rear pannier rack, also smooth treaded road tyres.
5) Suspension front forks - Zoom brand - a cheaper type not very liked by many members here but they work and are functional - they've done the job for me.
6) A 2 legged centre stand to park the bike upright rather than the usual side stand.
7) The lovely "Bentley" green paint job and silver (mudguards) and black highlights (handlebars,etc) which still looks great!
8) The advertised 6 year frame warranty and 2 year electronics and battery warranty.
In the past 11 months I noticed quite quickly that the brake disks got a little rusty early on due to autumn and winter commuting but I am glad to say that this has not worsened and has not affected their performance.
A few things went wrong and needed attention but Phil and Steve at Bearprint have always been there at the end of a phonecall to offer assistance.
They have kindly under warranty replaced FOC the Controller twice,the battery terminal seating plastic plate, the Pedelec sensor, and more recently the metal bracket for the front light.
Currently the bike looks good - needs another wash after all the rain! - and is performing very well.
I am still able to travel my full 26 mile round trip on 1 charge although occasionally, usually when there are extremely strong westerly headwinds across the very flat Somerset levels, I have run out of juice more recently just before reaching home.
Something affecting this is how the battery is charged. I have found that if I turn off the charger as soon as the green light comes on I seem to have less power for my trip than if I leave it "trickle" charging overnight.
It is amazing how the strong headwinds even on the flat moor roads back to my town mean down shifting to 4th gear instead of the normal 6th gear in calmer conditions.
Any other problems?
Well during the coldest frosts last winter I did have a problem with the gears freezing maybe once or twice. I once travelled all the way home on throttle only because of this but would not recommend it as without the pedalling I got very cold indeed and holding the throttle open became excruciating! Give me the pedel sensor motion every time.
Oh I got my first puncture 2 days ago, luckily I had a day off work yesterday and was able to patch the tyre which performed beautifully today. After stopping at home my battery still showed 2 of the 4 lights.
I do my best to pedal as strongly as I can so I get a good work out and also to assist the battery to assist me for as long and for as many miles as possible!!
This gives me a little bit of a physical "buzz" as well from the work out, I can see how people might get addicted to keep fit training.
So a big thumbs up from me and the fact that my bike has so far fulfilled my hopes and expectations is largely down to the information and knowledge found on this forum prior to making my purchase using the Cycle to Work Scheme. I have also finished paying the monthly charges this month as well which is another bonus.
Thank you to everyone here and I will keep posting feedback on my bikes performance as I move into my 2nd year of ownership.
Best wishes to all.
Barry.
Today I finally did it!
5000 miles completed of commuting to work on my first ever EBike my Bearprint New City 505.
I have been looking forward to this for quite a while now.
It was also a nice co-incidence that I have achieved this fantastic total 11 months to the day that I rode it to work for the first time on 22nd October 2010.
It has been very enjoyable and I have throughout looked forward to my cycle into work and the return trip home each day.
I estimate that this has saved me around £600 in petrol costs from not driving my car instead of Ebiking.
My physical sense of well being has increased and I have lost a stone in weight and feel that my circulation particularly in my legs has improved.
Using comparatively quiet country roads has been peaceful and uplifting when feeling part of the lovely countryside with the views and variety of wildlife seen day to day.
The Bearprint bike is a fairly generic type of Chinese manufactured bike but has proved to be well made and durable. All parts function well for the purposes for which they were designed.
Things which particularly sold the Bike to me were:-
1) It is a bit of a Wisper look a like with the overall frame shape - but cheaper.
2) The large 16AH battery for longer assist and distance as my commute is a 26 miles round trip.
3) Front and back disk brakes which work well for my everyday usage.
3) Integrated Front and Back lights powered from the main battery and with an on/off switch on the handlebar pedelec speed switch.
4) Designed with the Commuter in mind with decent aluminum mudguards and rear pannier rack, also smooth treaded road tyres.
5) Suspension front forks - Zoom brand - a cheaper type not very liked by many members here but they work and are functional - they've done the job for me.
6) A 2 legged centre stand to park the bike upright rather than the usual side stand.
7) The lovely "Bentley" green paint job and silver (mudguards) and black highlights (handlebars,etc) which still looks great!
8) The advertised 6 year frame warranty and 2 year electronics and battery warranty.
In the past 11 months I noticed quite quickly that the brake disks got a little rusty early on due to autumn and winter commuting but I am glad to say that this has not worsened and has not affected their performance.
A few things went wrong and needed attention but Phil and Steve at Bearprint have always been there at the end of a phonecall to offer assistance.
They have kindly under warranty replaced FOC the Controller twice,the battery terminal seating plastic plate, the Pedelec sensor, and more recently the metal bracket for the front light.
Currently the bike looks good - needs another wash after all the rain! - and is performing very well.
I am still able to travel my full 26 mile round trip on 1 charge although occasionally, usually when there are extremely strong westerly headwinds across the very flat Somerset levels, I have run out of juice more recently just before reaching home.
Something affecting this is how the battery is charged. I have found that if I turn off the charger as soon as the green light comes on I seem to have less power for my trip than if I leave it "trickle" charging overnight.
It is amazing how the strong headwinds even on the flat moor roads back to my town mean down shifting to 4th gear instead of the normal 6th gear in calmer conditions.
Any other problems?
Well during the coldest frosts last winter I did have a problem with the gears freezing maybe once or twice. I once travelled all the way home on throttle only because of this but would not recommend it as without the pedalling I got very cold indeed and holding the throttle open became excruciating! Give me the pedel sensor motion every time.
Oh I got my first puncture 2 days ago, luckily I had a day off work yesterday and was able to patch the tyre which performed beautifully today. After stopping at home my battery still showed 2 of the 4 lights.
I do my best to pedal as strongly as I can so I get a good work out and also to assist the battery to assist me for as long and for as many miles as possible!!
This gives me a little bit of a physical "buzz" as well from the work out, I can see how people might get addicted to keep fit training.
So a big thumbs up from me and the fact that my bike has so far fulfilled my hopes and expectations is largely down to the information and knowledge found on this forum prior to making my purchase using the Cycle to Work Scheme. I have also finished paying the monthly charges this month as well which is another bonus.
Thank you to everyone here and I will keep posting feedback on my bikes performance as I move into my 2nd year of ownership.
Best wishes to all.
Barry.
