Got My New Torq Trekking

[Cyclezee]

I have just received a brand new Ezee Torq Trekking which I won in an eBay auction. It was one of the bikes being sold on eBay by 50cycles as part of their Ezee clearout. It came without battery, but I had already sourced a virtually new Sanyo celled Phylion battery from another forum member for a very reasonable price.
The deal was no battery or charger, but 50c were unable to supply cranks, chain wheel, pedals and chain. But they supplied a charger in lieu of the missing items. This did not stop me taking it for a spin this evening, power only, and letting my feet dangle. Everything seems to be working perfectly, so I reckon this was an excellent deal, £265 for the bike, £10 for a spare throttle, £25 for delivery and £160 for the battery.
I all ready have a spare set of unused pedals and left hand crank, so all I need now is a chain and chainwheel.

Any recommendations for a chain and chain wheel?

J hn

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

I have just received a brand new Ezee Torq Trekking which I won in an eBay auction. It was one of the bikes being sold on eBay by 50cycles as part of their Ezee clearout. It came without battery, but I had already sourced a virtually new Sanyo celled Phylion battery from another forum member for a very reasonable price.
The deal was no battery or charger, but 50c were unable to supply cranks, pedals and chain. But they supplied a charger in lieu of the missing items. This did not stop me taking it for a spin this evening, power only, and letting my feet dangle. Everything seems to be working perfectly, so I reckon this was an excellent deal, £265 for the bike, £10 for a spare throttle, £25 for delivery and £160 for the battery.
I all ready have a spare set of unused pedals, so all I need now is a chain and cranks.

J hn

Sounds like a steal John. 50c suplied me with a spare set of cranks and pedals when mine went a tater. sounds like I might have deprived you of yours

 

[Tiberius]

Well done John,

I saw that bid go in and decided to leave it. My delivery arrived today, I got one of the motor kits. One option is to relace it into the Torq (I broke the motor) but I think I may end up building a new bike with 2 wheel drive.

The crank and chain you need should be standard bike parts. You will need to get two chains and join them as its longer than standard. I think the Torq 2 has the same 52T crank wheel as the Torq 1, but why not work out what suits you best. Otherwise contact Cyclepoint for parts. If all else fails, I'm sure they can fly you a special part over from the factory.

Nick

 

[Django]

. . . I think I may end up building a new bike with 2 wheel drive.

Now that really does sound like fun! Will you not need some form of differential for it to be efficient?

 

[Tiberius]

No, front hub motor and rear hub motor. It will need 2 controllers, so the "differential" is done electronically.

Not sure yet whether it makes more sense to have similar motors, which will give double the thrust, or to have one motor set up for low speed hill climbing and the other for high speed on the flat.

Nick

 

[Django]

Ah yes, two controllers. Of course - amazing how obvious things are once someone points it out.

 

[Cyclezee]

Well done John,

The crank and chain you need should be standard bike parts. You will need to get two chains and join them as its longer than standard. I think the Torq 2 has the same 52T crank wheel as the Torq 1, but why not work out what suits you best. Otherwise contact Cyclepoint for parts. If all else fails, I'm sure they can fly you a special part over from the factory.

Nick

Thanks Nick,

I am thinking of fitting a standard 52T chainwheel, but didn't think about needing a longer chain. I suppose it makes sense when I think about the Torq having a longer frame than standard bikes.


J hn

 

[frank9755]

John,
Hope your wrist is ok with the Torq!
Frank

 

[Tiberius]

Hi John,

I haven't ridden a Torq2; I'm only going by reports and Torq1 experience, all filtered through an imperfect memory.

I think a standard chain is 116 links, but the Torq is 134 links, but that will vary with the actual gears fitted. If you have a free choice, you might want to think about something like a 48 instead of a 52T front chainring. Check the rear gears, you may find that 52T puts the top gearing very high.

Nick

 

[Cyclezee]

John,
Hope your wrist is ok with the Torq!
Frank

I hope so to Frank. With front suspension and a more upright riding position, it has to be better than the Torq 1 and Cytronex.

J hn

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi John,

I haven't ridden a Torq2; I'm only going by reports and Torq1 experience, all filtered through an imperfect memory.

I think a standard chain is 116 links, but the Torq is 134 links, but that will vary with the actual gears fitted. If you have a free choice, you might want to think about something like a 48 instead of a 52T front chainring. Check the rear gears, you may find that 52T puts the top gearing very high.

Nick

Thanks again for the advice Nick,

I'm going to a couple of local bike shops tomorrow to see what is available. One of them has a large stock of parts in stock unlike many of the big cycle retailers, so I am hopeful I will find what I am looking for.

J hn

 

[Tiberius]

OK John,

PM me if you need more details.
I have a little spreadsheet which tell you the gear range if I put in the front chainring size.

Nick

 

[fishingpaul]

I have just received a brand new Ezee Torq Trekking which I won in an eBay auction. It was one of the bikes being sold on eBay by 50cycles as part of their Ezee clearout. It came without battery, but I had already sourced a virtually new Sanyo celled Phylion battery from another forum member for a very reasonable price.
The deal was no battery or charger, but 50c were unable to supply cranks, chain wheel, pedals and chain. But they supplied a charger in lieu of the missing items. This did not stop me taking it for a spin this evening, power only, and letting my feet dangle. Everything seems to be working perfectly, so I reckon this was an excellent deal, £265 for the bike, £10 for a spare throttle, £25 for delivery and £160 for the battery.
I all ready have a spare set of unused pedals and left hand crank, so all I need now is a chain and chainwheel.

Any recommendations for a chain and chain wheel?

J hn

Good buy john, and its good to have another torq 2 owner on the forum,i would be interested to hear how you feel it performs,against all of your previous bikes,if the bike is one of the derestictable ones it has alot of extra power waiting to be unleashed,as for the chain i found they all come in standard length,and two chains were needed,the gears are rather high it is easy to pedal downhill at 30 mph at a very low cadence,and uphill in first gear i feel as though i would like to drop to a lower gear sometimes,although the motor keeps pulling well it would be nice to be able to give it some extra help,does your front wheel freewheel ok? it should spin for at least 25 seconds after releasing the throttle with the front wheel held up,the disc brake on mine had been set way out of balance,and was scoring the disc and creating a lot of drag,having had a giant suede before i assumed it was just the drag from the motor,but with the disc brake set properly it freewheels superbly,i hope you are happy with your bike personally i feel ihave at last found my ideal bike at the fourth attempt.

 

[Cyclezee]

Good buy john, and its good to have another torq 2 owner on the forum,i would be interested to hear how you feel it performs,against all of your previous bikes,if the bike is one of the derestictable ones it has alot of extra power waiting to be unleashed,as for the chain i found they all come in standard length,and two chains were needed,the gears are rather high it is easy to pedal downhill at 30 mph at a very low cadence,and uphill in first gear i feel as though i would like to drop to a lower gear sometimes,although the motor keeps pulling well it would be nice to be able to give it some extra help,does your front wheel freewheel ok? it should spin for at least 25 seconds after releasing the throttle with the front wheel held up,the disc brake on mine had been set way out of balance,and was scoring the disc and creating a lot of drag,having had a giant suede before i assumed it was just the drag from the motor,but with the disc brake set properly it freewheels superbly,i hope you are happy with your bike personally i feel ihave at last found my ideal bike at the fourth attempt.

Hi Fishingpaul,

Thanks for the information. With regard to front wheel freewheeling, I had already tested that and it spun for exactly 25 seconds straight out of the box without any adjustment, so that would appear to be OK. This one is derestrictable, but I am going to leave it restricted for the time being.

One odd thing I discovered last night is that the derailleur and shift are a brand called Microshift, not Shimano SORA, the standard fitment. Also one of the sprockets is missing, only 7 when there should be 8?

J hn

 

[Cyclezee]

It turned out the 13T sprocket was missing from the 8 speed Shimano cassette. This sprocket is removable seperately and not fixed to the rest of the cassette, so I imagine it was 'nicked' from the bike along with the pedals, cranks and chainwheel by 50c for spares. I can't grumble too much about that as they supplied a charger in lieu of these items.
I have managed to replace all these parts today. Couldn't source a spare 13T sprocket locally, so I bought a new Shimano 11 to 32T cassette for £17.99, a KMC 8 speed chain with 116 links plus 2 x 10 link sections which I used to make a 134 link chain for £13.99.
I salvaged a Shimano triple chain ring set and cranks from my son's 20 year old Claud Butler which has been laying in the back of my garage for the last 5 years. The large ring, which has surprisingly very little wear, is 48T and just about the right size. After removing the small inner chainring, it fits the Torq nicely with plenty of clearance.
After a few minor adjustments the bike is now up and running nicely. For the time being I'm going to use it restricted, but I may derestrict at a later date.

Overall, I am happy with this purchase, there are one or 2 minor scratches on the paintwork which you wouldn't normally be acceptable on a brand new bike, but It still represents good value for money.

J hn

 

[fishingpaul]

It turned out the 13T sprocket was missing from the 8 speed Shimano cassette. This sprocket is removaable seperately and not fixed to the rest of the cassette, so I imagine it was 'nicked' from the bike along with the pedals, cranks and chainwheel by 50c for spares. I can't grumble too much about that as they supplied a charger in lieu of these items.
I have managed to replace all these parts today. Couldn't source a spare 13T sprocket locally, so I bought a new Shimano 11 to 32T cassette for £17.99, a KMC 8 speed chain with 116 links plus 2 x 10 link sections which I used to make a 134 link chain for £13.99.
I salvaged a Shimano triple chain ring set and cranks from my sons 20 year old Claud Butler which has been laying in the back of my garage for the last 5 years. The large ring, which has surprisingly very little wear, is 48T and just about the right size. After removing the small inner chainring, it fits the Torq nicely with plenty of clearance.
After a few minor adjustments the bike is now up and running nicely. For the time being I'm going to use it restricted, but I may derestrict at a later date.

Overall, I am very happy with this purchase, there are one or 2 minor scratches on the paintwork which you wouldn't normally be acceptable on a brand new bike, but It still represents excellent value for money.

J hn

I think the 48t will be more suitable,the 52t is more suited to people riding flat out downhill (anything over 30mph downhill has me hitting the brakes).

 

[Cyclezee]

I was slightly premature with my previous post as you will see from the following thread, I seem to have been supplied with a 'duff' charger
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/2944-ezee-batteries-not-charging.html
Once I have resolved that issue, I will have more to say about the bike.
One thing I would mention though as Fishingpaul said, the 48T chainring is a good choice based on the relativlely short rides I have had so far.

J hn

 

[Cyclezee]

Ezee Torq Trekking Fully 'Sorted'.....Almost!

My Torq is now fully up and running. I have to say I am very happy with my latest purchase and believe the Trekking is probably the best hub motor e-bike in it's class. The failings of the original Torq, poor hill climbing, hard ride and unreliable batteries would seem to be a thing of the past. It will now climb hills that would have made the old Torq stall, this is probably due to the new motor, the much improved battery and BM. The addition of front suspension has smoothed out the very hard ride.
Compared to it's nearest rival, the Wisper 905se, the Torq's build quality, finish and choice of components are much better, dare I say up to European standards.
However, one particular component on both bikes is particularly poor, the dreadful saddle and that 'flip top' hinged seatpost.

I have made a few 'improvements' to the bike and had to source some components as I bought the bike on eBay and it was incomplete, but I still consider it to be a bargain.

COSTS TO DATE

1. Bike minus battery, charger (supplied charger was faulty), chainset, chain, 1 sprocket £265.00​
2. Delivery charge £ 25.00​
3. Sanyo celled Battery supplied by Conal £160.00​
4. Charger supplied by Keithhazel £ 50.00​
5. 8 speed KMC chain supplied by Roy Pink Cycles £ 13.15​
6. Shimano 8 speed cassette supplied by Roy Pink Cycles £ 17.99​
7. 2 x Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700c x 35 tyres from eBay £ 34.00​
8. 2 x Schwalbe inner tubes supplied by Evans Cycles £ 5.98​
9. 2 x Continental rim tape from Phil Corley Cycles £ 3.99​
10. Selle Royal Viper Saddle New from eBay £ 5.70​
11. Shimano Triple Chainset New from eBay £ 18.45​

Total spent £599.26

I have also used some bits from my own spares bin, these include a Kalloy suspension seatpost to replace the original. A pair of Outland handlebar grips to replace originals, at the same time I carried out Flecc's throttle modification.
I am currently using an old triple chainset borrowed from my son's old bike until the new one arrives. I removed the smallest inner sprocket and reversed the middle sprocket, then reassembled the chainset which has a 48t large sprocket. Sourcing a single chainset proved difficult and much more expensive, which is why I bought a triple.

J hn

 

[fishingpaul]

Sounds promising john,after derestricting my torq 2 i am at last at peace in the electric bike world,i no longer feel the need to look on ebay for something better,i no longer eagerlly await the launch of new electric bikes,my fourth electric bike purchase suits my needs perfectly,and has had more use in three months than the other three bikes got in two years.i hope it suits you after how many electric bikes,have you contacted the guiness book of records yet john,lol paul.

 

[Cyclezee]

Paul,

How does your Torq 2 perform derestricted, range and speed? I think I will leave mine restricted for the time being in the belief that it will have a greater range.
I will be keeping this one and the Kalkhoffs for the foreseeable future.
Maybe I should contact EBA (Electric Bikes Anonymous) to get some help with my obsession

J hn