hi Richie,
Yes i agree, i got a second battery pack too and was a waste of money. It just makes the bike heavier and does not double the range at least not for me. Theres a lifepo4 36v 10ah on ebay right now from foxx batteries for $374 free shipping and includes bms & charger (good deal) I wanted it but wont have cash in time, things are ruff in florida right now lol[/QUOTE]


10ah refers to the amp hours the battery is rated at. I think you need to calculate the amps used not the ah.

For example a 20ah battery will last twice as long as a 10ah battery. If you get 15 miles with a 10ah battery and wanted to double it you would need to get a 20ah battery of course they are nearly double the price. This is true no matter what type of battery you get. The lifePO4 packs last 20 times longer than SLA and 5 times longer than nimh which is why they are the best. You also get 100% of the power the whole time and can use 100% of the charge. With SLA only 80% of the power is used and you only get full power for about the first 15% of the use after that it gradually gets less and less.

When I was testing the lifePO4 pack I didn't know it was almost dead until about 3 minutes before it died. I was going the same speed and had the same power available the whole time.

Here is a great site with loads of information on batteries and how they work

Welcome to Battery University

__________________
1st bike - Ezip trailz mountain bike with 36v Shockley LifePO4 - Avg. 27MPH
2nd bike - Beach cruiser, 36v Shockley LifePO4, rear Puma hub motor kit - Avg 22MPH --- Coming soon - 48v Shockley LifePO4 to increast top speed to 29MPH!

Test coming soon two 36v Shockley LifePO4 battery packs in series for 72v. Top speed should be around 44MPH

Got my new K&N filter today and it fit like a glove! Check out the pictures below.

Attached Thumbnails

     

__________________
1st bike - Ezip trailz mountain bike with 36v Shockley LifePO4 - Avg. 27MPH
2nd bike - Beach cruiser, 36v Shockley LifePO4, rear Puma hub motor kit - Avg 22MPH --- Coming soon - 48v Shockley LifePO4 to increast top speed to 29MPH!

Test coming soon two 36v Shockley LifePO4 battery packs in series for 72v. Top speed should be around 44MPH

Theres a lifepo4 36v 10ah on ebay right now from foxx batteries for $374 free shipping and includes bms & charger (good deal)[/QUOTE]


Hey Rodlan,

Yep, I noticed that on Ebay myself. I just wish the cells could have been aligned differently so the length of the complete battery wasn't 15" long. It would overhang my rear cargo rack by 3"'s LOL....Still, I think it's a decent deal when it comes to LiFePo power cells.

__________________
Richie
E-Zip 2008 Mountain Customized Cruiser
Go Green-Go Solar

Here is a great site with loads of information on batteries and how they work

Welcome to Battery University[/QUOTE]



hi TheReviewGuy,
thanks for info.
did your battery come with a fuse wired in ?

That has a very cool look to it. Certainly makes it even more of an attention getter. Maybe you can post a direct link or part number so we can order one too.

__________________
Richie
E-Zip 2008 Mountain Customized Cruiser
Go Green-Go Solar

hi TheReviewGuy,
thanks for info.
did your battery come with a fuse wired in ?[/QUOTE]

Yes, it does come with the fuse built in. It also had a lock but I drilled it out to get more air flow but that is not nessasary if you drill holes in the case. I will be adding group buy details tonight so if you want one check back tonight.

Full details on the battery packs will be included tonight so save your questions.

__________________
1st bike - Ezip trailz mountain bike with 36v Shockley LifePO4 - Avg. 27MPH
2nd bike - Beach cruiser, 36v Shockley LifePO4, rear Puma hub motor kit - Avg 22MPH --- Coming soon - 48v Shockley LifePO4 to increast top speed to 29MPH!

Test coming soon two 36v Shockley LifePO4 battery packs in series for 72v. Top speed should be around 44MPH

Ok, my bike arrived yesterday so here's my first impressions, otherwise known as:

The trials and tribulations of owning an I-Zip

Well, he turned up and I was happy to see he was the newer model rather than the one pictured on the website and as Richie said he had a few more features such as an adjusable heatset.


(Excuse the less than prefect pic but it was taken with my Razr, not exactly the pinnacle of camera phones).

At the moment he's still stock apart from the removal of the mudguards, which, let's be honest, look awful and the seat as I'm not the tallest in the world and the seat with the suspension in the seat stem was just a touch too tall.



So I switched it for a standard seat stem and we're away again.

All looked good until we tested the brakes only to find the front brakes didn't work, after some investigation it turned out that one of the front disc pads was missing.

So, with some swearing and a round wales tour of the finest bike shops I finally found a shop with some in and it was back on track.

We gave him a quick run (by this time he'd been given a gender but not yet a name) and all seemed well, the power assist allowing me to peddle up hills that my much fitter partner still needed to get off and walk for.

So we decided to give him a full run over to the sables where my step sister keeps her horses.

Now we got about a third of the way and there was a horrendous crunching noise from the bike and a squeal. We stopped an looked at him only to find out the bearing on the back wheel had somehow colapsed and the wheel had tilted to one side and gouged a lump out of the battery box! (Luckily it didn't get through the casing and the battery is still intact).

Luckily within about 5 minutes a guy going home in his company van stopped and offered to help and we managed to get a lift back home.

Once we got home it turned out that the nut that holds the ball bearings in place was loose and the bearing cover just couldn't hold by itself. What a disaster!

Luckily we had a some compatible bearings (in a bearing cage so no chance of the same problem) in another scrapped wheel and after fitting them (making sure all the nuts were tightened correctly) we took him out for another run.

With the bearings all sorted he ran well with us doing a good 7 miles over hilly terain with me using mostly power assist but sometimes TAG.

Though I definately noticed the workout, I wouldn't have been able to do the distance at all without the power assist. Even with the pretty steep hills we get here, as long as I peddled as well he made it up without too much trouble.

Even though the bearings went, I have to give the bike some pretty high praise as once this was fixed he ran really well, and given that we removed the back wheel to take the rear mudguard off, there's a chance the bearing was our fault anyway! (Unlikely I admit, but then I know enough to check things like that first but I didn't in my enthusiasm to get him on the road).

Some more power would be nice so I will be looking at the 36v conversion, but it doesn't seem essential.

Oh, and by the end of the last run he was given the name Roger, after the feeling I got from riding a bike for the first time in 18 years... (and after lowering the tone, I'm off! )

Hi there Jennih,

Sorry to read your new I-Zip (Roger) had a few hiccups, but relieved you were able to work them out. I myself took several hours assembling and going over my Mountain Trailz, just to make sure all nuts and bolts were tight. I'd say after the next time you ride, it may be a good idea to go over it again, especially the pedals, just to make sure everything is in order. Also try and recharge the batteries as soon as possible after each ride, even if it was a short ride.

The other thing I wanted to mention is the seat post you changed out. On the E-Zip model I purchased, the suspension post is adjustable. You simply remove the post, turn it upside down and use the supplied allen wrench to turn the bolt in or out a few turns to soften or stiffen the ride. I don't know if the I-Zip models have this, but you may want to check it. I was able to fine tune my suspension post to my 185 lb. body weight and totally love it. In fact, I also purchased a Schwinn replacement seat designed more for a cruiser bike that is leaps and bounds more comfortable than any bike seat I've used so far. Target has them for about $19.99. Best of luck with "Roger" and I love that red color.

__________________
Richie
E-Zip 2008 Mountain Customized Cruiser
Go Green-Go Solar

Review Guy:

This thread is fantastic. Thanks for your research and posting your results. Since my b-day is next month, I have one of these Ezip Mtn Trailz bikes on my wish list! I have been reading & rereading the posts and getting more excited by the day.

This looks like the perfect solution to my 11-mi work commute.

Also, thanks to Richie and others who have posted on this thread.

Jennih, happy biking/motoring in Wales. My grandmother came from Pontypridd; I still have relatives in South Wales.

These bike are a blast. By far one of the best things I have ever bought. I ride mine every single day its very relaxing and great way to get some fresh air.

It did come with the adjustable suspension seat post but even with it fully adjusted to be very stiff and short it was just slightly too tall for me. Swapping out to the standard stem gave me the extra 2 inches I needed.

To compensate I've now got a seat with built in air bag suspension that should make the ride a bit more comfortable. :)

I saw the post detailing the 36V battery pack. Looks pretty cool.

With the holes drilled in the case, are you concerned with weather/dust getting in? Any plans for a similar K&N 'sock' for the battery case?

Also, did you test the temperature of the case before drilling?

Thanks again!

Would anyone know wher I could get some empty iZIp battery packs (or real ones second hand)?

One decision I've come to is if I go for the 36v conversion the bike needs to still look as "stock" as possible, so I'd want to have some battery boxes re-built for LifePo4 rather than getting a new box for the back.

Hi there Jennih,

You read my mind on this one. This is another debate I'm having with myself. Do I completely eliminate the stock slide-in battery box (which I really like) or modify the drink holder bracket to mount the new Lithium battery pack to it. It also seems to me that in order to use the stock battery case, the LiFePo would have to be custom built to fit inside it. I want to get in on the group buy, so this is a problem.

__________________
Richie
E-Zip 2008 Mountain Customized Cruiser
Go Green-Go Solar

Good questions. Other than fitting the newer batteries into the existing case (if possible), is there an easier solution? Who makes the 24V LA battery that comes with the bike? Do they perhaps make a 36V LiFePo4 that uses the same case?

Or, perhaps there are inexpensive racks that are designed to work with the 36V LiFePo4, so all we would need to do would be to switch racks? I could always put the unused rack on one of my other bikes.

To quote Michael Cane from the Italian Job. "Lads, I've got a plan"... :)

What about buying a plastic enclosure that matched the dimensions of the battery pack (minus the extra that slips around the frame bars)? You just put a set of double wings,say two metal "U" bars (like you sometimes see on the back of PCs), and two contacts on the bottom (again, not really hard) then pack it with what you want. You can even increase the depth of the enclosure to add more batteries... :)


Getting an enclosure that is a good fit could be tricky but does that sound plausable?

Hi ReviewGuy,

I just wanted to let you know that yesterday I was able to dismount the rear tire and replace it with the other Specialized CrossRoads 26x1.95 tire. It wasn't as difficult as I thought, but if you get a flat with this bike away from home, I doubt you'd be fixing it on the street.

You want to start by making sure the bike is in the highest gear (1st gear) and then laying a tarp down on the floor. Turning the bike upside down onto the handlebars and seat. Then get some snips and cut the first two (2) zip ties holding the motor power wires to the frame (these are the two closest zip ties to the motor). Now, if you check the owners manual and turn to page 95, which details how to adjust the motor drive chain, it'll show you the bolts and nuts that you actually want to remove rather than loosen as stated in the manual.

Once the 5mm motor plate and 15mm axle nuts are removed, pull the wheel slightly off the frame enough to remove the thin 17mm inner axle nut. Once removed, the motor and plate will come off and you can lay them down on the floor and remove the wheel like on any other bike.

__________________
Richie
E-Zip 2008 Mountain Customized Cruiser
Go Green-Go Solar

Nice job Review Guy!
The motor needs the sock because you vented it? I would like to see the motor vent mod if you have the time.
Thanks for all the work!
Splart

[QUOTE=BikeToBus;6256]Good questions. Other than fitting the newer batteries into the existing case (if possible), is there an easier solution? Who makes the 24V LA battery that comes with the bike? Do they perhaps make a 36V LiFePo4 that uses the same case?

hi, It is possible to fit 36v lifepo4 in existing case, someone on ENDLESS SPHERE did it by getting battery custom sized from pingping on ebay. you can email him at pingping227@hotmail.com

[QUOTE=jennih;6221]Would anyone know wher I could get some empty iZIp battery packs

hi,
Try Currie Technologies Electric Scooters. Schwinn, GT, and Mongoose personal transportation products. you have to buy over the phone, (800)377-4532 in usa