Yee-Ha! My new bikes have arrived!

[ocb]

After my pedelec failure with the a-bike electric (my profile doesn't fit the bike's capabilities) I decided to go for what I use now, but electrified. That would be a 26" folding MTB.

Nobody local was selling anything. Point on the line as they say here.

There were a couple of suggestions here for vendors in the UK, but being the adventurous type I did my research and opted for Alibaba. It's taken me the best part of 5 months to get to this point....but my bikes have arrived!

I ended up going for a 26" folding MTB and a 20" city commuter e-bike as a backup. I'll trial the both of them, and sell (at zero profit, mainly to annoy the tax man) the 2nd.

It'll take this weekend to get the bikes up and running. It's my boy's 5th birthday this weekend, which just adds to the usual hectic weekend being the father of 3 young kids.

https://xdddc.en.alibaba.com/productshowimg/60108580796-800679545/26_inch_250W_Land_Rover_electric_bicycle_with_hidden_lithium_battery_and_spoke_wheel.html

I'll post a build + first use report next week.My first impressions are positive though.

 

[cyberdyne_systems]

Two, just greedy . Look forward to the next report and pics!

 

[Hubear]

Nice! I also just got a 26 inch foldable MTB myself! =D

If you don't mind me asking, how much does it cost to buy a bike from alibaba, including shipping and all other fees etc?

 

[ocb]

Nice! I also just got a 26 inch foldable MTB myself! =D

If you don't mind me asking, how much does it cost to buy a bike from alibaba, including shipping and all other fees etc?

Not at all. $1902 all in. That was the bikes ($1100) + UPS airfreight + the taxes. Not a bargain by any manner of means, but I did get what I wanted and delivered to my door.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Are you sure that includes the duty? Normally you get the bill for duty about 2 weeks after deleivery.

 

[ocb]

Here in Belgium they collect the tax on delivery. I had some gaming stuff (from LightintheBox) arrive a few weeks ago, also via UPS and had to pay duty before they'd hand over the goods. Thankfully that got fully refunded by the seller.

 

[anotherkiwi]

You didn't post a link to the 20" bike.

 

[ocb]

You didn't post a link to the 20" bike.

Oops - neither I did.

voila:
https://xdddc.en.alibaba.com/product/60093794879-800679547/20_folding_electric_bike_with_lithium_battery.html

As you can see, I like "hidden" batteries.

Something similar at my local bike shop (where I bought my "weekend" Trek + kids get bikes serviced) cost 1700euro. I know, in that price I'm buying local support/warranty etc, but in the end it was a Chinese bike. eBikes are catching on big time here in Belgium, but there is no local equivalent of Woosh.

 

[stumpy150]

Land Rover ???? Isn't that a well known 4x4 manufacturer?????

 

[anotherkiwi]

"Yes but we are Chinese, we didn't sign the treaty protecting brand names!"

 

[ocb]

First brief report. I like!!
Ok, having done 600km on my non electric mtb the past few weeks , I actually miss the buzz that comes a hard workout.

I didn't get the chance to do a full burn-in , it was my youngest boy's 5th birthday weekend. Thankfully no issues with the bike as such- although I have burned through the outer layer of my Carradice Slim as the seat post slid down during the first 2km and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what the noise was [emoji22] off now to buy black silicon sealant. My fault, too much of a rush.

The bike is definitely a step up from my 26" folding pinifarinni/Dahon. With the assist turned off for most of the ride, I was easily 5km/h faster on flat. Will check cyclometer tonight. Suspension front and back made certain horrid cycle "path" sections a breeze. With the hard front and back Dahon it was filling loosening at some parts of my commute!

I hate to focus on the negative, but after my build and first run I have to make these comments:

Biggest gripe- my Dahon has stand-offs to prevent damage when the bike is folded. This doesn't. I've used a folded rag, but will see what I can get for a more robust solution.

Not a fan of the angle of the control panel. I like having the brake handles relatively high, meaning the CP is well out of my field of view.

I miss grip twist gear selectors. The shimano lever selectors take up a lot of scarce space on the bars. So much so I have no room for a bell, with is a critical bit of kit on my commute!

The Dahon had handy triangle in the frame I used for looping the security chain. This doesn't have anything big enough. I have the decathlon copy of the Oxford chain. I'll add a solid D bar thing and combine the two. Thankfully I can leave these at the bike parking at the office!

The front light cable connection is , well, not connected. How it missed QA I have no idea- there's a 10cm gap. I'll need to cut the cable ties and redo.

No more gripes for now. Early days
Will post more later.

On the pedalec side, I've not had the chance to play much. I prefer not to get too used to both power assist and throttle, but I have to say- throttle is so easy! I was running very late today, and using the throttle got me up the final 3km hill like it wasn't there. I was usually down to 10 or 11 kmh - today it was 25. Woo hoo! I still got my heart rate up to 145, but that was my choice. I wasn't a sweaty mess when I got to the office, which meant I could save 10 mins and skip the shower!

That at the end of the day is why I went electric. To give me the choice.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[anotherkiwi]

I miss grip twist gear selectors. The shimano lever selectors take up a lot of scarce space on the bars. So much so I have no room for a bell, with is a critical bit of kit on my commute!

I understand your space issue but I certainly don't miss twist shifters which I find very inaccurate when "in the thick of it". An upgrade would be combined shifter/brake levers or... 2 cm longer handlebars.

 

[ocb]

I forgot one from the gripe list. They delivered a charger with US style plug.Hard wired, not even on a 8 or cloverleaf connector. Thankfully the charger is 110-240v rated, and I happened to have a US to EU adapter (and knew exactly where it was...minor miracle in itself!)

 

[ocb]

So, I got back from work to home. I knocked an impressive 5 minutes off my near 15km journey. Just over 32 mins cycle time.

37mins cycle time was my previous best, after about 600km of training. On wet/windy days - always into-wind of course… - it was 42-44 mins, and that’s wasn’t me taking it easy, trust me!

I had previously calculated that getting my speed uplifted on the nasty sections would knock 5 mins off - I’m glad to see (as a non-practising light aviation pilot) that I can still do speed/time calcs!

The toughest section, an off-road shale and stone uphill forest slog, was for the first time bearable. I’m glad to see that I’m not a total slacker - even with full throttle and peddling like a muppet I topped out at just below 20km/h. The big difference was I wasn’t a sweaty wobbly wreck at the end for the first time! I know the young and the fit can do it - and it doesn’t even *look* that hard from afar, but I’m a mid 40s office-bound bloke who once was rather fit, about 15 years ago though.

The front suspension makes a huge difference in comfort (which I knew from my non-folding hard tailed weekend MTB). I can’t honestly say I noticed the rear suspension most of the time. A couple of times over a very rough cycle “path” part I didn’t get buckaroo’d. It’s my first time with rear suspension. I’m obviously not taking this bike to real MTB extremes, and if it hadn’t come with the bike as standard, I know I wouldn’t have paid extra for it.

I did go a bit heavy on the throttle on the way home, it’s my kid’s birthday today and I wanted to be home ASAP. I did feel the palm of my right hand begin to suffer from pinched nerve.
I have been spoilt with my Dahon + kick scooters in that they have very good ergo grips. This bike has simple foam covering - and it’s shown me that I’m probably too heavy on my wrists, that and I’ve not gotten used to the shimano lever gear changers.

I have ordered gel ergo grips, and will try to back the pressure off. It’s not a criticism of the bike - even though it would only cost a few bucks to add decent grips, it’s “normal” that personal stuff like pedals and grips will most probably get changed on a decent bike. They did deliver stock pedals, and I did fit them - even though I will change them in a few days. I had my Shimano PD-MT-540s out the box yesterday, but I decided that was one change too much. I’ll get used to the bike first before venturing into clippy-shoe land for the first time…

 

[ocb]

So, I just had my first "epic fail". Whilst frantically trying to get up and running at a dodgy crossing, my foot slipped and took out the derailleur and snapped the chain

The mounting for the derailleur seems to be some ABS type injection moulded plastic. It's a Shimano setup - but I don't know if that part is from Shimano or the bike manufacturer. Gouged some paintwork for good measure.

I'll drop it off at my local bike shop on Friday. I've already emailed the manufacturer with the picture. I'll see what they say.

I was in a forest, and 5km from my car. In the few minutes I was there stripping the parts off and stowing everything, I got eaten alive by mosquitos.

I am SO thankful the bike came with the throttle. I cruised the rest back, sometimes pedalling backwards just to confuse passing motorists!

I won't have time to commission the 20" commuter bike tonight, so it's back to my Dahon for tomorrow...{sigh}.

I was so enjoying that bike as well! I'd say about 85% of my commute I have the assist completely off, I use it just for the tough parts and when I have wind full in my face.

 

[D8ve]

Oh perhaps you should have gone clippy shoed after all.
I assume you mention front derailleur ?

 

[anotherkiwi]

...

Never say never but since I mounted these not one slip incident. There I've done it, for sure tomorrow I will break my leg...

Sandals, barefoot, city shoes tried them all and nada, nothing, rien...

Pedal strike? Yep you have to relearn how to take corners which in itself is not a bad thing.

 

[Yamdude]

So, I just had my first "epic fail". Whilst frantically trying to get up and running at a dodgy crossing, my foot slipped and took out the derailleur and snapped the chain

The mounting for the derailleur seems to be some ABS type injection moulded plastic. It's a Shimano setup - but I don't know if that part is from Shimano or the bike manufacturer. Gouged some paintwork for good measure.

I'll drop it off at my local bike shop on Friday. I've already emailed the manufacturer with the picture. I'll see what they say.

I was in a forest, and 5km from my car. In the few minutes I was there stripping the parts off and stowing everything, I got eaten alive by mosquitos.

I am SO thankful the bike came with the throttle. I cruised the rest back, sometimes pedalling backwards just to confuse passing motorists!

I won't have time to commission the 20" commuter bike tonight, so it's back to my Dahon for tomorrow...{sigh}.

I was so enjoying that bike as well! I'd say about 85% of my commute I have the assist completely off, I use it just for the tough parts and when I have wind full in my face.

A definite benefit of having a throttle there...... and yet another reason i'll always fit one.

 

[ocb]

Rear derailleur was the unfortunate victim.

What happened was this. I have to turn off the cycle path, which runs parallel to the road. There is a pedestrian crossing, which is the only way to get across (they are maniacs here). Unfortunately between the cycle path and the crossing it's just a bike's length churned up muck patch, and in a little dip to boot.

I'm still not used to the extra weight of the bike + slightly different saddle position (day 2 of using it) and I got caught a bit off guard. There was a gap in the traffic and launched the bike off the muck and onto the road and went to step up. Foot slipped backwards and I just heard bits hit the ground.

 

[ocb]

Finally had the time to look at the poor mutilated part. It's a shimano tourney TX, which can be had for around 10 euro. Top quality that ain't! I'll be upgrading to something all metal, like the Shimano XT RD-M8000.