rick kimura

If they got that for $499 then its a good deal , as its a package . The ones who paid more down the track ,,,I don't know . The bike will be not up for the task required for what I want ,,but everyone has varying needs , so that leads me to think its a small fish that's been marketed well and it will deliver whats expected for a novice .

vincent713

Yeah most of the owners it's their 1st ebike and they are thrilled with it. The motor, frame and battery seems to be solid according to their feedback so that alone is worth $500. Of course if I had it the first thing I would do is slap on a 48v battery & controller. Then maybe add more gears if that's even possible. It's a nice looking bike. What sets it apart is the slick looking box.

2old

Remember, the cost was $500 + about $200 shipping, but still a respectable deal. There are derailluers that can be bolted to the rear axle, and probably add a front easily too. Problem then is a new rear wheel that can accommodate a freewheel or cassette.

vincent713

The Radrover bike has a 500watt geared hub motor with 7 gear cassette on it and disk brake on the other side. I'm pretty sure this bike can accommodate that.

rick kimura

It does have eyecatching appeal , the 48v battery & controller ,,a must have & yes I just noticed its got no derailleur . The steering stem is the same one as what ive got on my fat tyre bike so they must be all the go now . What are those red things on the insides of the rims ? mine doesn't have them . looks like the tube is bulging out of the holes .

vincent713

Rick - those are just drilled holes with a liner on the inside to save weight. Makes the rim lighter, great idea and also looks cool.
Here's a black on black.

chas58

Good luck putting gears on this bike. Have you ever tried to convert a single speed frame? It’s not straight forward. Probably the biggest problem is just getting room for a cassette.

It certainly seems to be a nice cruiser. That single speed gearing can’t support pedaling at a battery less speed of 10mph, and at a powered speed of 20mph. I guess it isn’t really designed to get much pedal input at 20mph. 10-15mile range doesn’t strike me as very usable either. (Just my personal needs)

Ultimately without a battery (on a decent fat bike) I am about 2mph slower, and have a 50+ mile range (Guess I’m not the target audience – LOL).

My first thought was that 48v on this bike would be great. However, that is a 260rpm36v motor running at 20mph (ideal conditions). At 48v it would be a 350rpm motor good for about 26mph. I’m not sure the motor (or bike or brakes) are designed for that kind of speed. If someone does it, let us know!

Still, I’m impressed with what they have been able to create!

speedy25

Got my notification that my bike is on its way by UPS and should be here Tuesday. Did anyone else in this thread get one or was it only me?

-SP

chas58

So far, it looks like this campaign has turned out as well as can be expected. Here is an article from Fortune (of all places) is a good buy, although I kinda read it as a bit of relief from the author after all of the doubt and controversy this year.

Here's why the controversial Sondors eBike is worth the wait - Fortune

Still, if you can get a bike like this for $850 delivered (plus assembly costs), it is quite a bargain. I'm not sure how long the current wait list is. I still want to see one running 48v at 20ah. That would be quite an interesting bike (although not strictly street legal for a production bike).

vincent713

Maybe Sondors next bike will be a 48v system? That would rock!

speedy25

Got a couple of rides in on mine. It does go quite well and I am impressed with it for the money. The only weird bit is the handling on tighter radius turns. I didnt know it had pedal assist but it was easy to confirm when I saw the sensor on the front sprocket. Now its time for the extra bits. One is a display that lets you alter the controller settings. You can change top speed and amount of pedal assist along with some other useful functions.

8/23 Update- Got in a few more rides. This bike is GREAT. After riding it enough to learn how best to ride it, I have it down. A combination of pedaling and thumbing make it a fairly quick fat tire bike. I'll proclaim anyone who didnt get one missed out. Now lets see what the long term brings for reliability.


-SP

chas58

Sweet! Glad you are enjoying it. Although there was a lot of controversy with this campaign, It looks to have turned out as good as could be expected. Congratulations!

2old

Speedy, should be reliable since the Chinese motors appear to be gaining in reliability, and Samsung batteries have an excellent reputation. If anything else fails, should be a cheap fix.
Glad I didn't get one though; not the product for socal IMO.
Sondors did an excellent job designing the bike too.

speedy25

I wont say its excellent design, but it was fairly well thought out.

Minus- Battery doesnt slide in the "triangle." The box has to flex for it to go in. On/off switch is on the opposite side of the insertion side, so you have to take out a rubber plug to turn the battery on. The chargers are flakey. You have to do a plug/unplug/attach battery/re-plug and hope the battery starts charging, or repeat the sequence again. It doesnt go up hills very well. BUT it is a lot easier when you do. Some light pedaling keeps you moving.

Plus- Good bottom bracket. I chuckle seeing the bike backpedaling by itself as I travel down the highway. Layout of the bike is good even for a tall guy like me. There isnt any part that I just HAVE to throw away and replace with a better one.

Its my first e-bike and I'm pleased. I'm still contemplating an e-bike shop and with this bike mass adoption of e-bikes might just happen.

I was in Pittsburgh cycling with my sweetie and we got to a fair sized hill and she said she was going to climb it slowly. I put her on the Sondors and she zipped along with the rest of us with no problem. I think she likes it better now.

-SP

corrado33

I watched the initial video. The guy said it had "hydraulic" brakes when it obviously has the cheapest mechanical disk brakes available.

2old

The initial video and description had numerous "inconsistencies" all well documented. However, got a first hand view of one on Saturday and am impressed by the positive appearance. Also, heard that it has good riding characteristics.

vincent713

The bike is surely an eye candy and attracts a lot of attention. I really would like it so much more if it had multi gears. Wonder if this is possible or have already been done?

chas58

Yeah, he was going for a price point. A popular DYI solution is to build your own bike and use a mid drive motor (Walmart fatty or bikesdirect are good candidate donor bikes). He should make a model with gears. That would add maybe $100 to the price.

Is it possible? www.fyxation.com makes a single speed to 6 speed conversion kit if you are desperate.

But in the mean time some people put an internally geared crankset on the bike to get at least 2 gears.
FSA METROPOLIS PATTERSON TRANSMISSION CRANKSET - FSA
Schlumpf Innovations Gearing Systems - Speed Drive, Mountain Drive, High Speed Drive
https://www.sram.com/truvativ/produc...set#fragment-3

But a $300 accessory is a lot to put on a “$499” bike (realistically an $900 bike)

dilkes

And I know of at least one owner who has ordered one of these - at $245USD.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/3...x-efneo#/story

vincent713

I went to www.fyxation.com but did not see anywhere on there that has a 6 speed conversion kit. Can you please send a link to that exact location?

2old

Couple of friends have developed three speeds by using a triple crankset (with front derailleur system), single rear gear and rear derailleur (or other tension method). Probably, the Sondors could be adapted using this methodology; cost about $75 for the parts (Amazon or Chain Reaction Cycles).

dilkes

I found it here
Six Fyx Conversion Kit | Fyxation

chas58

I've done that on one of my e-bikes. The tricky part is fitting a derailleur to a frame not designed for a derailleur (Like Sondors). You need one to take up the large amount of chain slack. How are you going to fit a derailer or take out large amounts of chain slack?

But yeah, if you have a derailleur hanger, its easy to do. Not on the Sondors though.

2old

It's apparent that the Sondors doesn't have a derailleur hanger. However, a bolt on rear derailleur and some tension systems will accommodate the chain slack. That was the point of my post; individuals had three speeds on bikes WITHOUT DERAILLEUR HANGERS.

chas58

Great, so like I said, " How are you going to fit a derailer or take out large amounts of chain slack?"

sounds great in theory, but I can't figure out how to do it.