FreeGo Eagle Upgrades

John L · Aug 7, 2010

Thats a great range of improvements and it has me thinking mmm

It will be great to see some photos.

John

flecc · Aug 7, 2010

Looks really good John, could easily pass for something much more expensive.
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Old Timer · Aug 7, 2010

Don`t forget if you want to add a decent front mudguard for the winter you can always use a couple of P- clips. I used 35mm ones and they fitted the forks a treat.
Nice upgrades BTW
Dave

John L · Aug 7, 2010

Looks a great job. Particularly interested in the 52t chainwheel. I fitted one today but belately realised that the chain was too short

So off it came again.

I also like the suspension forks. Would love to fit a pair but have 700c wheels and would need a different model.

Its great to see other peoples upgrades - cheers.

John

flecc · Aug 29, 2010

Looking good, and very individual. That frame has some similarities to the eZee Torq/Forza one, but I like the curves in the upper and lower rear A frame tubes, should make is more comfortable on bumpy roads. With that sprung seatpost it must be very comfortable now.
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EasyRider101 · Dec 30, 2022

Hi John,
Several years ago I bought a Freego Eagle from the police on ebay - i think for only £350 (although I had to collect from Brigthon)...
It was in mostly good condition though the front light connection had been vandalised and i've never figured out where to refit the wire - although I did just find the workshop manual online.

The battery was in fair condition but i've ridden it to near death and I'm not sure if it is the cause of the problem with the engine sometimes kicking in and sometimes not. I do not really want to disassemble if a new battery would solve but equally I don't want to drop £200 on a new battery if it's still going to have issues.

Perhaps more seriously though, I was riding through squalls on Christmas Day in the night and went over a temporary bump I had not expected in my path and, while I was able to maintain control and stay on the bike, it took a heavy hit on the seat pole.
I am quite tall, so I have been riding with the seat pole higher than it should be - so the impact of my weight over that bump and the seat pole has become somewhat bent and the input on the frame has become slightly torn around the slot.
I am not aware if the frame is aluminium or steel (seems to heavy to be aluminium) but my friend says it would be difficult to fix if aluminium.

The pics I'm attaching are not the best - will try to get better ones asap...
My main question is, can I as you have done simply use another seat pole (preferably extra long) and seat? and is the frame damage repairable (though an extra long seat pole might get around that as the release still works. (An advantage of the flip seat is no one wants to steal it).

I would love to try some of your other upgrades - but I am fairly beginner with bikes (though handy disassembling and fixing iMacs and iPhones).

Any advice greatly appreciated...
Alex

georgehenry · Dec 30, 2022

Cyclezee said:
Since recently buying an ex-demo 2009 FreeGo Eagle and finding several things not to my liking, I have started to upgrade it to a level I am more happy with.

I paid £900 for it and in fairness, John Heath of 2 Wheel Electric did offer me the new improved 2010 model in part exchange if I paid the extra £399. I did not have to think about for long, I can make a lot of improvements for quite bit less than £399.

The original Zoom front suspension forks were truly dreadful, bottoming out in the smallest of potholes and leaking fluid. I replaced these with a pair of Suntour XCT V2 Forks, these made huge improvement. I decided not to reduce the height of the steerer tube, but leave it to raise the height of the handlebars. I cut away most of the original Zoom stem and used it as a clamp/spacer. The replacment stem came from my parts bin.

The Suntour MTB forks have no mudguard mountings so I fitted an SKS Shockboard in place of the standard one.

Next to go was the 160mm Zoom front mechanical disc brake which functioned, but squeeled dreadfully whatever adjustments I made. This I replaced with a 185mm rotor Clark S2 Hydraulic disc brake, another big improvement. I would have done the same with the rear, but the Suzhou Bafang motor has a non standard disc brake fitment, so I have left that for the time being.

The standard Kenda tyres were OK, but the thought of a puncture on rear hub motor bike fills me with dread, so I replaced them with a pair of punture resistant Continental Touring Plus tyres.

The far too small original 38 tooth chainwheeel along with the chain guard have gone. I did try a 48t for while, but have settled on Shimano 52t and Sora cranks. This means I am no longer spinning furiously in 6th gear and can use the other gears more, but still climb hills.

I have replaced the non suspension seat post and uncomfortable 'flip top' saddle with a nice SR Suntour SP-NEX Suspension Seat Post and a Velo Air-Lastomer Bike Saddle.

Most of the nuts and bolts have been replaced with better quality stainless steel type.

That completes the upgrades so far. I do intend to replace the rear mudguard.

Costs so far:

2009 FreeGo Eagle ex-demo £ 900.00

2 x Continental Touring Plus tyres £ 28.95

Suntour XCT V2 Forks £ 42.97

SKS Shockboard £ 8.68

Clarks S2 Hydraulic disc brake £ 39.99

Shimano 52t chainwheel and cranks £ 25.00

Stainless steel nuts and bolts £ 9.33

Total inc.del. £1054.92

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J hn

Looks great. You've got yourself a real work horse of a bike. I have a similar Oxygen Emate City that I bought in June 2011 that is still going strong. My son used it for a year to commute to his first job. My daughter is hoping to get a new job and will need to use it to get to that. It just soldiers on and I have so far been able to mend it when something has worn out or broken. Now over 11 years old and I love it.

Eaglerider · Jan 2, 2023

Another vote for the old Freego Eagle. I've had mine for 12 years and it's still going. Battery was re-built 6 years ago and still good for 35 miles plus. It's still a very comfy bike, especially as the years have taken their toll on me. Shame that Freego ceased trading, my Eagle has been great. Good quality ebikes. Perhaps I might do a re-build soon.

AndyBike · Jan 3, 2023

This is the unfortunate(and for me personally) the most annoying thing about Ebikes, and bikes in general, but not so much as due to the different disciplines

Its the tat they expect you to put up with.
Steel handlebars, plastic pedals, hubs that barely fit the job description, and don't get me started on brakes, probably the most important safety feature and despite spending thousands of pounds, are always the cheapest bottom of thee range offerings.

But this isnt just bikes in the 'Under a grand' price range. They fit tat and rubbish to bikes costing £3k+ Take a look and theres the utterly pathetic suntour fork, and disc brakes that retail for 20 quid a throw. Adequate ?, possibly, but on a heavy bike that all ebikes are, they will stop you at slowish speeds, but in an emergency, where you need to cramp on the levers in a death grip you wil find your stopping distance is similar to that of a 200 ton train. Slow speeds they will work to overcome inertia, but higher - not a chance.

The rest of the parts are added seemingly as an afterthought, and seemingly by people who have never ridden a bike, or believe all bikes including the sad offerings from the argos catalog, are as good as each other.

My bike was basically 5k, but even they the choice of some parts required a change. Brakes mainly. Slightly better offerings on board in the form of a 4 pot shimano m520, which is not bad, but at those higher speeds, and me carrying just a few extra ounces on the waistline, i upgraded to Hope Tech 4 V4.
Gearing at 12 speed is not a good choice for a big heavy bike. 10 speed, which its thicker chain and way cheaper cassettes is also a better route to take. Lower speeds, keeping in mind the motor does much of the work, and for steep inclines 8,9 or even 10 are a much better proposition.

Wheels too are a good bet. Decades ago, a well respected bike mechanic, who had worked in the industry for 50 years on my initial bike buying/building to put the money into the parts of the bike that actually more - The wheels, the bottom bracket and the headset. Thee hubs are constantly turning, so it would make very good sense, to at least make sure those hubs are up to the job and have reviews to match. wheels that dont take much to service(ie no cup and cone) but are strong to take the vigor's of road riding through the seasons.
Best choice in my opinion is a sealed cartridge bearing hub British made - My choice was Hope pro 4, because hope are very very good, easy to service and the same hub gets used from everything from road riding, to full on megavalanche dh extremes It it's strong and capable enough for all that, then it is strong and capable enough for a 365 4 season commuter on a heavyweight Ebike.

Bonzo Banana · Jan 3, 2023

AndyBike said:
This is the unfortunate(and for me personally) the most annoying thing about Ebikes, and bikes in general, but not so much as due to the different disciplines

Its the tat they expect you to put up with.
Steel handlebars, plastic pedals, hubs that barely fit the job description, and don't get me started on brakes, probably the most important safety feature and despite spending thousands of pounds, are always the cheapest bottom of thee range offerings.

But this isnt just bikes in the 'Under a grand' price range. They fit tat and rubbish to bikes costing £3k+ Take a look and theres the utterly pathetic suntour fork, and disc brakes that retail for 20 quid a throw. Adequate ?, possibly, but on a heavy bike that all ebikes are, they will stop you at slowish speeds, but in an emergency, where you need to cramp on the levers in a death grip you wil find your stopping distance is similar to that of a 200 ton train. Slow speeds they will work to overcome inertia, but higher - not a chance.

The rest of the parts are added seemingly as an afterthought, and seemingly by people who have never ridden a bike, or believe all bikes including the sad offerings from the argos catalog, are as good as each other.

My bike was basically 5k, but even they the choice of some parts required a change. Brakes mainly. Slightly better offerings on board in the form of a 4 pot shimano m520, which is not bad, but at those higher speeds, and me carrying just a few extra ounces on the waistline, i upgraded to Hope Tech 4 V4.
Gearing at 12 speed is not a good choice for a big heavy bike. 10 speed, which its thicker chain and way cheaper cassettes is also a better route to take. Lower speeds, keeping in mind the motor does much of the work, and for steep inclines 8,9 or even 10 are a much better proposition.

Wheels too are a good bet. Decades ago, a well respected bike mechanic, who had worked in the industry for 50 years on my initial bike buying/building to put the money into the parts of the bike that actually more - The wheels, the bottom bracket and the headset. Thee hubs are constantly turning, so it would make very good sense, to at least make sure those hubs are up to the job and have reviews to match. wheels that dont take much to service(ie no cup and cone) but are strong to take the vigor's of road riding through the seasons.
Best choice in my opinion is a sealed cartridge bearing hub British made - My choice was Hope pro 4, because hope are very very good, easy to service and the same hub gets used from everything from road riding, to full on megavalanche dh extremes It it's strong and capable enough for all that, then it is strong and capable enough for a 365 4 season commuter on a heavyweight Ebike.

I disagree about Suntour forks, I'm not saying they are great but they are on a higher level than most Zoom forks and the unbranded forks you get for many bikes. You can also get spares for them and Suntour are the OEM manufacturer of many other brand forks. I don't know if its still the case but up to XCR forks were made in a high volume factory probably mainland China but the OEM forks and their high end forks were made in Taiwan. I'm not a suspension fork fan I think when fitted to bikes they often add un-necessary softness and inefficiency to the ride partly due to their movement but also the additional weight plus all the additional servicing they require but I have seen Suntour forks give very good service and of course you need suspension on most mountain bikes. I think in contrast Zoom forks are a throwaway product with spares made from unobtanium. I remember in the past I had a Carrera Subway 8 with rigid front forks and suspension seat post and a Kona Lanai with front forks and no suspension seat post and the Subway 8 was by far the most comfortable of the two bikes because most of my weight is at the rear. The suspension seat post was super easy to service with a quick clean and grease and being under the saddle never got much water so pretty much operated well at all times. So I'm pretty much against front suspension but if I do have it I'd much rather it was Suntour than unbranded or zoom.

As for Hope products they are pretty amazing but super expensive. I have a Kona Hoss with some upgraded Hope parts and the quality and durability is great but its a lot of money. There are some bike thieves who steal decent bikes and then strip those bikes for parts to sell on ebay etc and I can imagine a bike with Hope parts would be much sought after. I saw a police report where the thieves in question were not selling the frames and had large amount of bare frames when caught.

georgehenry · Jan 3, 2023

I bought my entry level 2015 Hard tail Haibike Yamaha when the price I had paid for my rear hub Oxygen and the price I needed to pay to aquire the Haibike had reduced to £350.

I wanted a crank drive bike for its ability off road to travel cross country to work. I had started using The Oxygen on some off road tracks travelling to work but although riding it on tracks it was not designed for was actually quite fun, I was limited to easier tracks and The Oxygen was taking a beating.

The difference between the price of my entry level Yamaha Haibike and the most expensive Yamaha Haibike of 2015 was £1950, a high spec (for 2015) all mountain full suspension bike that retailed at £3,700.

Some people want the best that is available and are happy to pay for it and I am absolutely fine with that, but I wanted my bike to do a job of work, commuting in all weathers, a round trip of 22 to 26 miles depending on the route I chose.

I actually thought it was pretty good straight out of the box. The workmanlike tecktro hydraulc brakes have been great, still are, and I felt no need to change them. I ride cross country tracks but with some more demanding ups and downs thrown in, certainly not a race enviroment, but I am heavy and I carried two full panniers.

It came with Suntour XCR Air RL-R, Remote lockout, suspension: air/oil, travel: 100mm front forks. They can be adjusted for my weight, again are workmanlike, but again have proved very durable and still work as intended.

The wheelset were built to a price and not up to the job with a heavy rider on board riding relatively aggressively off road. Both wheels were changed, the rear almost immediately and the front when the wheel bearings developed play and where not designed to be easily serviced.

The first rear wheel replacement was an off the shelf mavic that lasted 10,000 miles. Then in October 2020 I pushed the boat out and had a hand built rear wheel built which has been very good indeed. I told the wheel builder what I wanted and emphasised that in my top trump world of rear wheels, strength trumped all the other qualities.

My entry level Haibike had a nine speed transmission and I have found that is all you need and much cheaper to replace worn out parts for. Crank drives punish their drive train.

That bike has really impressed me, will be eight years old in March, now with 16,902 miles under its wheels, and I was lucky that the 2015 Yamaha electric system fitted to it has turned out to be probably the toughest motor out there.

The original 400Wh battery is also still working remarkably well.

However what I did not know when I bought it in 2015 is how the systems are propriety and makes mending the bike much more difficult. I have managed to fix my bike when I have had a problem, but exceptionally good though I have found the bike, and occasionally tempted to buy a newer model, have not done so due to the can bus locked down systems that potentially make it very difficult/impossible/expensive to fix.

My 2011 Oxygen geared rear hub silver fish battery bike is still going after 11 years and can be fixed and mended cheaply with generally available parts. It is a really good bike and gets used a lot.

The Haibike is an undeniably more polished design and a very capable off road performer.

For commuting on the road and any on road errands or tasks, I have found a geared rear hub bike best. Off road the crank drive is best.

AndyBike · Jan 3, 2023

Hi end suntour forks you are never ever going to see on a standard bike costing between £1-3k. High end suntour are aftermarket only.
But even then they are playing catch up with nearly all the other manufacturers.

But the main premise here is suntour forks at the level off £100 complete are **** poor. I have been using sus forks since the mid 90's and there are good forks, and there are bad forks, and suntour that come on the vast majority of bikes are bad forks.

Bonzo Banana · Jan 3, 2023

AndyBike said:
Hi end suntour forks you are never ever going to see on a standard bike costing between £1-3k. High end suntour are aftermarket only.
But even then they are playing catch up with nearly all the other manufacturers.

But the main premise here is suntour forks at the level off £100 complete are **** poor. I have been using sus forks since the mid 90's and there are good forks, and there are bad forks, and suntour that come on the vast majority of bikes are bad forks.

So what is your opinion of sub Suntour forks like Zoom models or completely unbranded which have 25.4mm stanchions (or less), weak seals and basic elastomers perhaps only on one side or simple springs on one side. I feel like Suntour XC range and above are a huge upgrade on those.

AndyBike · Jan 3, 2023

Elastomers went out in the late 90's replaced by springs and then air. At the time when thats all we had we pretty much developed a range of concepts to make them softer, which included hitting them with hammers and also drilling holes in them, but the basic problem was still there in that its more than just the spring action of pogoing up and down that gives a fork a wider range of use. Damping became the goal.
Damping is beyond tightening down a spring to make it firmer, or loosening it to make it softer, there are tiny differences that make al the difference.
Take small bumps for example, or ripples. if a fork goes over these the fork compresses but then rebounds are at the same rate, so you need to be able to adjust both aspects.
Throw into the mix that some hits the fork takes are at very low speed, and some are- depending on what you are riding are at high speed, so in effect you are placing far greater compression because of speed involved.
So you need to be able to damp not only low speed compression, and therefore rebound, but also high speed for both aspects.
A simple air spring and basic damping arent going to give you this range. So what you have in the basic of basics, low end suntour or zoom - and lets be clear that zoom have always been a low end fork that was designed to be seen on bikes out of the likes of argos, where the entire bike costs £99.99.
In fact calling it a suspension fork is perhaps giving it airs and graces it is undeserving of.

Over the past 30 years fork development has been through a host of changes and serious money has been thrown at that development, with designers coming from the likes of F1 car and bike racing.
No way can you compare a suntour or zoom low end fork to anything resembling a proper, up for the job modern fork.

In fact in the late 80's and early 90's most forks used in the new sport of MTBing could mot be compared to the current crop of zoom or suntour(Suntour incidentally is a make that made similar parts to shimano. They died a death in the 80's because they couldnt compete with shimano, and of fork manufacture they have no historical experience)
On my bike i run a Fox36 and have a RS Lyrik ultimate in reserve. I know both of these forks are up for anything i care to throw at them either deliberately or accidental

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