Schwinn I-zip?

[fatboy]

experience of Izip

Hello Coops and all,
I am now using the Izip 2-3 times a week for commuting to the station a journey of 6.5 miles, am doing it in 28 minutes in the morning, but 38 minutes in the evening. The feewheel does seem to be working well as I can get over 35mph down a long hill. Also if I lift the rear wheel and spin it, it will spin for ages with no resistance from the motor.
The canal tow-path is a smooth tarmac surface, and I try to keep my speed up to 12 or 13mph on this part of the journey, but find it gradually drops below 10mph if I try to cycle unassisted, there seems to be a lot of resistance when I try to get the speed back up to 13mph without using the motor, is it the wide tyres? or the weight of bike + rider ?

 

[flecc]

there seems to be a lot of resistance when I try to get the speed back up to 13mph without using the motor, is it the wide tyres? or the weight of bike + rider ?

It's both of these, common to every electric bike I've ridden, but a lot less on the Lafree Twist where the low weight and not very wide tyres that are standard make it quite easy to cycle as a normal bike and I frequently do.
.

 

[ITSPETEINIT]

26 inch suspension forks?

Yes, the Quando isn't ideal as one's only bike, since without gears the cycling experience has limitations. Trouble is, no one bike does it all, hence our quandaries and me ending up with three!

If only the Torq had 26" wheels from the beginning, things would have been much easier. It would still have been a 20 mph job, but with better hill climbing at both ends, motor and rider, and would have suited shorter people as well.

.

All this to-ing and fro-ing is getting me down. I am on the lookout for a bike that does it for me o I'll update my profile for all to see and marvel).
"IF ONLY THE TORQ HAD 26" WHEELS".
Get out your spoke key Flecc. Rebuild the wheels with 26" rims of YOUR choice and tyres to suit. Then rebraze the brake pivots onto the front forks.
Pricey I know but cheaper than the made-to-personal-spec e-bike, and cheaper than three
Better still: buy new front forks for 26" wheels then you could have suspension if you wished. I know the Torq is a hard ride on the hands.

As for shorter people - something like 2 inches, maybe more, can be gained by changing the seat pin to the normal micro-adjust type. (Anyone who takes this up should carefully measure the inside diameter of the seat tube - on my Torq 25.6mm would be a better fit).
But I agree, 26" wheels covers both perceived motor gearing and shorter folk.
Both brings the rider 3 inches or more closer to the ground
Peter

 

[flecc]

The trouble is Peter, it's best done by changing both ends to 26" wheels for two reasons. First it keeps the rider gears relationship in step with the motor gearing, both down together, second it keeps the steering head angle correct.

Fine you might say, do that. Trouble again is, the bottom bracket moves over 2" down and the cranks are now too long, so short cranks become necessary, and I don't like them!

Another factor as I've remarked before is that 24" wheels are an even better option for it, on the basis that the Quando can easily touch 18 or more mph with 20" wheels with the same motor, add one fifth and you'll see what I mean. With 24" wheels both ends the hill climb gain would really be substantial, but the conversion complexities would be even greater and the end result a bit of a "pigs ear".

I had considered the other options you mentioned, but don't like suspension forks. All in all, I decided it wasn't worth the mods and expense due to all the compromises involved, so my Torq is standard with gearing etc and I accept it's strengths and limitations and largely use it in accordance with the designers intentions.

With three bikes, it's "horses for courses" for me. No electric bike can do it all to meet all requirements due to both the constraints of physics and our laws, both individually and in combination.
.

 

[coops]

Thanks for the information on the Izip Fatboy, I also found it had relatively high resistance to pedalling as you said, despite its quite "free" freewheel.

I'm not sure why that is: although I think that the bike + rider weight & the thick tyres are clearly factors, as I have posted elsewhere, I now realise that freewheel-ability is only one factor in rideability of ebikes, and that motor friction can give resistance to pedalling especially at higher speeds, as has been said of hub motors, but even it seems in the currie izip which is external to the rear wheel?

Hope that's useful

Stuart.

 

[Blue hawk]

izip with back hub

Hello Every won . I came across this forum about the I zip bike with the curie hub motor on the rear wheel 16 size ,I bought two brand new for me & partner, about 2 months ago, & have enjoyed them so much, it does what it says. So far clocked up 660 miles on different rides. riding from Swansea front Wales up to Gwaun Cao Gurwen is a steep hill clime my brother on a light wait mounting bmw bike with 27 gears & is very fit.& me 17 stone on a folding shopping bike allowing me to go on trains & buses , aluminium frame with two lead acid batteries one on the rack other in the mounting. With peddle assist I flew up the hills, had to wait for my brother, usually he had to wait for me. With two lead acid batteries & my weight doing 60 miles round trip switched batteries of sometimes on the flat, but still made it home battery to spare. Yes very good bike. if this site is more about the engineering & batteries, please accept my apology, but had to mention my experience of this bike. Tried others but no good on hills. Unless bought something above £800 this I zip bike was £ 600 for the two on e bay brand new . Never looked back. Now my brother is thinking of getting this bike. As you don’t have to pree book a space for this bike on a train or bus. Just wheel it on to station & fold up. Very pleased indeed having a larger frame with weight now makes it enjoyable bicycle riding, giving me exercise as well.

Kind regards to all
Blue hawk.

 

[flecc]

No, this site is about everything electric bike Blue Hawk, so don't take any notice of us waffling on about tech matters. That tends to happen when there's not much other activity in the forum!

Thanks for your experiences with the folding Izip, the more we have like this the better as it helps others to choose the right bike for them.
.

 

[coops]

Hi Blue Hawk

Welcome and thanks for posting your experiences with your bike: I didn't even know there was an Izip folder!! Can you post a link or just the model name/number?

I totally agree with flecc, the more bike info we have the better .

Happy cycling.

Stuart.

 

[andrewelectricbike1]

I-Zip currie drive Meerkat from Tescos £349.97
Meerkat Metro electric 26'' bike - Tesco.Direct

Even cheaper on Electric Bikes and Bicycles - IZIP ELECTRIC BIKES - Izip Trialz ST Gents CB26 Electric Bike at £314 exc VAT!

On the other end of the price scale there is the Izip Trekking LI Izip Trekking LI Gents Electric bicycles at £1400. Same currie drive system but gold plated frame

If you have an I-Zip keep the reviews coming!
Is anyone using this drive system for a commute?
Has anyone modded the gearing yet?
Have you had a look in the battery case?
Pictures would be great.

Andrew

 

[flecc]

That second link is exactly the model that 50cycles had for a while until the eZee Liv arrived.
.

 

[andrewelectricbike1]

It looks loaded with quality bike bits! I-Zip cover the full price spectrum with pretty much the same drive but offer different batteries and general parts.

A good demonstration of degrees of quality in the electric bike market.
Andrew

 

[coops]

I thought the higher priced Currie/Schwinn Izips were hub motor bikes, and quite low powered & seemingly vastly overpriced at that?

The first bike you linked to above is a unisex/stepthrough version of the second, my experience of which is the same as several others: the bike is hard to pedal due to some sort of resistance, possibly from the motor, so its hard work to ride even at moderate speed (say 10mph?) without motor power hence more of a motorbike, not a moped, if you get me! Also the steel frame alone is several kilos heavier than most aluminium-framed ebikes around today, before you add battery weight (24V SLA) total of ~35-40kilos: not a light ride and little or no scope for extra batteries to extend the ~10-15 mile maximum range (SLA) under the 40kg legal maximum weight limit, thats if you'd even want to ride it further, which I doubt .

Stuart.

 

[andrewelectricbike1]

I took a test ride (short) on the IZip, the only resistance when peddling I felt was the weight of the bike similar to the SuedeE. The currie drive has a dinky freewheel opposite to the cassette. See image.

If you have a regular commute and the batteries get you there and as long as the weight is legal... How many commuting powabyke owners regularly lift their bikes? (I have ridden a powabyke too) It does the job it was designed to.

Why would you want to ride an electric bike without power on your commute?

Andrew

 

[nigel]

nigel

The curry izip seems just as bad as the powabykes although at least they have a 36 volt battery and a fair motor and will go up most hills i wonder why powerbyke is still so sucessfull nationwide given all that weight and no suspension.nigel

 

[andrewelectricbike1]

Ironic really isn`t it?
Just shows how broad a church the EV world is.
It does not pay to trash every bike apart from your own.

The powabyke I rode was years and years old, practically a moped Still it held a good charge and moved me around at a decent speed on my visit to the in laws. I really shake my head when we get high and mighty about "superior design". After all the parts are still readily available for the powabyke and the curry motor is easily changed for a more powerful version at a fraction of the price of a hub or bracket drive. (for off road use only of course)

Esoteric=expensive to fix

 

[coops]

I took a test ride (short) on the IZip, the only resistance when peddling I felt was the weight of the bike similar to the SuedeE. The currie drive has a dinky freewheel opposite to the cassette. See image.

I'm not clear what you mean about the resistance due to weight Andrew? The weight of a bike only requires extra pedalpower when accelerating or going uphill: what I found on my short tryout, and others have described here - fatboy for one, in this thread - was a definite resistance when pedalling at constant speed on the flat, which cannot be attributed to bike weight. Another member here, brookesy, also found the bike to be awful, though she didn't specify why. The cause is not a lack of freewheel which I had heard the Izip has, and indeed as fatboy says when you spin the back wheel it freewheels fine, but the very high resistance is there when you pedal nonetheless: maybe this is the same resistance you're saying is due to the bike's weight? It's not. its not a bike I'd like to pedal around, unless I really wanted a "training bike" with built-in resistance to burn calories & build muscles in short distance, it was that bad! .

How many commuting powabyke owners regularly lift their bikes? (I have ridden a powabyke too) It does the job it was designed to.

Why would you want to ride an electric bike without power on your commute?

To be able to easily pedal an ebike at good speed without motor assist is essential for getting exceptional range per charge, aswell as a satisfying "hybrid power" bike experience. Why are you limiting ebike use to commutes? I like to use my bike for many different kinds of trips, especially exercise & longer trips out of the city, usually around 30 miles but I'd like to be able to extend that. People have different uses & needs of ebikes; we clearly have very different usages: I like at times to use mine as a bike, with optional power assist if I need it, not as a necessity to overcome huge pedalling resistance as on the Currie Izip. I find on cycleways I often have to manoeuvre & even lift my bike around/over obstacles: not fun, but worse if it weighs a ton! .

So you see, for my requirements, if an electric bike doesn't ride pretty much as easily as a standard bike, albeit a bit heavier clearly, then in my book its certainly not doing the job its designed to . Each to their own though.

Stuart.

 

[coops]

Nigel: From what I hear, currie izips (non-hub) do climb hills ok, its a 450W motor after all, and weightwise the steel-framed version izips are on a par with the powabyke its true, though lighter aluminium versions of both are around, but I've never heard a powabyke owner complain of a massive resistance when trying to pedal the bike, with or without motor power? I doubt they'd get the excellent ranges I've heard if they suffered that problem.

Stuart.

 

[coops]

Ironic really isn`t it?
Just shows how broad a church the EV world is.
It does not pay to trash every bike apart from your own.

I really shake my head when we get high and mighty about "superior design".

Andrew, who is doing these things? I really don't understand who or what you are referring to, but if its me, and I don't see who else it could be unless you're mixing up my posts here with the simultaneous discussion on costs, design & quality of ebikes in the anyone heard of sustaincycles thread (which I haven't caught up with yet), then read my post earlier today in that thread & rest assured that my sole aim in participation in this forum is to seek to both inform & become better informed about ebikes, especially their design & use, and I don't hesitate to point out any particular advantage or shortcoming of either my bike or any other bike I've experience or information on, as factually as possible, wherever it serves that purpose. I'm not biased in any respect; furthermore I will not attempt to deny anyone whatever they choose to accept once the facts have been presented. I would be truly saddened to think you're suggesting otherwise .

Funny how we all get so passionate about bikes, innit? Who'd have thunk it, eh? I'm sure that says something really important that runs deep in all of us here, and its tremendous when it all works positively .

Stuart.

 

[coops]

It looks loaded with quality bike bits!

Do you mean spare motor parts for projects? To be fair, as you can see in this thread, I considered the Izip as a possible project for NiMH battery upgrade etc. and if it was lighter and didn't have the pedalling resistance that's been pointed out, I'd see it as a useful & good value budget bike with possibilities for my sort of usage (odd that we don't see the lighter aluminium framed version of the same bike for sale much, isn't it? ).

As it is, however, for me a Torq at nearly 3 times the price has turned out to be at least 3 times the bike the izip was, and I don't care how you account for that: whether its better researched & designed, better made, higher spec components, lighter materials, higher quality... whatever, its easily worth 3 times the price for me! Others with different requirements may disagree, but thats fine, and a variety of bikes for a variety of uses at a variety of prices & qualities is also fine by me!: its the spice of life, after all, isn't it?!

Just so long as everyone knows what they're getting for their dosh .

Stuart.

 

[nigel]

Nigel

BY Coops
As it is, however, for me a Torq at nearly 3 times the price has turned out to be at least 3 times the bike the izip was, and I don't care how you account for that: whether its better researched & designed, better made, higher spec components, lighter materials, higher quality... whatever, its easily worth 3 times the price for me! Others with different requirements may disagree, but thats fine, and a variety of bikes for a variety of uses at a variety of prices & qualities is also fine by me!: its the spice of life, after all, isn't it?!
100 per cent right it took me a few months to save the dosh for my torq but it was worth it when ever the weather is dry i am out wizzing all over the place i luv it PS it did take 3 cheap bikes prior before i got the torq.