Hello all,
I'm new to the forums, so please excuse my ignorance. As with many frustrated Americans, I've decided to do something about the oil/gas issue and start biking to work. I have a 22 mile one way commute that's 99% flat terrain. I'm 30 years young and fit so I feel I can handle it at least 2-3 days a week weather permitting. I already have a Specialized Rockhopper (great bike by the way), but I would like to pick up an E bike for the commute. Has anyone compared the Ezip to the Izip? The IZIP seems to cost twice as much as the EZIP, but what are the advantages and are they worth the added cost? Thanks.

There are lots of models within IZIP family. For example, one of the IZIP model is Mountain Trailz, which is exact same version as E-zip Mountain Trailz. For more expensive models, some uses lithium/Nimh battery, which cost more or they use Brushless motor, which is bit more efficient than brush motor. Overall, they are not 2x better or will take you 2x longer distance/speed. I guess they are bit better in quality?

Before choosing which bike... Do you cycle a lot? If you are not used to riding long distance, thats lot of miles per day (even on flat ground). I'm sure other could chime in, but commuting is lot different than fitness/recreation riding.

vCathy
A note on your idea of seeing more available power if the charger is left on after the green light comes on. I agree but probably more significantly Isidor Buchmann, President of Cadex Electronics, a real power in the battery testing and instrumentation field and author of the web ‘BatteryUniversity’ and several well know books on batteries, agrees too.
Buchmann calls the charge accumulated in that time the ‘Float’ charge. And says it adds to available energy. He doesn’t imply any disservice to the battery if you don’t do it, just less power from that charge cycle.
Buchmann also prescribes a ‘rest time’ after the charge is disconnected and before power is drawn as another way to get more energy. He says it allows time for the chemistries to get comfortable with each other.
Buchmann has, in his BatteryUniversity web page, a good table of ‘How to charge-when to charge’.

The big issue here is the possibility of adding resistance (power sappers) running wires elsewhere. Notice they use 2 poles of the double pole, double throw to carry what could be 40 Amps.
I'm thinking of a Rube Goldberg I saw once where strings and pulleys were used to control a rocker switch from a distance.

Just to give Currie some credit. I don't get off the bike to manipulate the switch. It is reachable from the seat. But I do have to stop. Phooey! But maybe Currie was thinking safety and didn't want people to be diddling with a switch when they should be watching where they are going.

sorry, I'm a sporadic thinker. As I mentioned in another exchange, a GOOD fix would be: Have the controller stay awake/thinking for 5 additional minutes after it stops transmitting power to the motor. Then if the controller senses three rapid fire toggles of the PAS ON/OFF switch it comes FULLY awake and drives the motor. Write to Currie.

el116
I don't think your goal is too ambitious. I'm months away from Medicare and for the last 2 months I've been biking, eZiping, commuting either 15 miles one way or 20 miles one way 5 days a week. Granted I don't probably have the same kind of time restraints you do, but if you want to do it, you can. My 15 mile trip 'to work' is usually less than an hour.

Hmm. I just had mine around forever. Motion picture supply companies sell them, they are used a lot in filmmaking. Also, I just googled 'milk crates' and there seem to be many companies that sell them. You could also snoop around the backs of markets and see if there are any lying around.

If any of you successfully do this switch rewire, please keep us informed, I'd tackle it too if I know it works okay. I'm not too electronically savvy or I'd try it first myself.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm aware of the different models. I should have been more specific - I'm strictly speaking of the Mountain Trailz. As far as I can tell, both the EZIP and IZIP versions use the same SLA batteries, same frames, same drive system, same cranks, etc. The only difference I can see is that the IZIP has a front disc brake. The weight of both bikes appear to be the same. Is the EZIP essentially just a rebadged IZIP Mount Trailz less a front disc brake? If so, I can't imagine why anyone in the know would spend another $400 on the IZIP version.

I do like the Enlightened IZIP with the NiMH battery and brushless motor, but not the price. The range seems to be a bit longer, but the big selling point is the weight. I'm just not sold on the price.

I do cycle a lot. Granted, not usually greater than 10 miles at a time, but I know I can handle the commute and frankly I'm confident that my determination will overcome any lack of experience.

Thanks for the encouragement. Glad to hear others are making similar treks. Agreed, time is not on my side, but I can make a couple sacrifices. I figure I'll need close to an hour and a half each way. Perhaps I can shorten it with experience. Fortunately, I have some beautiful terrain to travel. At least a few miles of the trip is along a lake. Nothing wrong with spending some time outside with nature.

I'd like to discuss battery charging a little more with you experts. (the e-zip battery) I have two specific questions:
1. If I charge the battery for 8 hours, should I then unplug it, or is it okay to leave on charge longer?
2. If I do a full charge, and then the battery sits around for 3 or 4 days, should I recharge it before I use it again? (yeah, yeah, I know, what is it doing sitting around for 3 days? I got a flat on the rear tire and it's taking me few days to fix it.... )
Thanks!

Hi Element and welcome to the group.

Yes... you've pretty much nailed the differences. Save yourself some money, unless the disc brakes mean $400 to you.

I also wanted to let you know that the Ezip is quite upgradeable. You don't even have to use a Currie battery pack at all if you choose not to. I have the Men's Ezip Trailz and my next purchase for it will be some other batteries. You will find that the REAL cost in these bikes, ends up being the fuel for them, and that's the batteries. (not even charging them is a cost concern because charging them literally costs pennies, and with laptops and cell phones everywhere these days, getting a charge when you're out and about is easy.) The standard Ezip comes with a batt pack that contains 2-12volt 10ah SLA batts wired in series making it 24volts 10amp hours. For your ride, I would want another 10amp hours, in case I was tired on some days, or just didn't want to be sweaty when I got to work.

Congratulations on taking the plunge, no matter which model you purchase, you will love being outdoors for a couple hours a day. You see so much more traveling this way!

Well... actually,... if you were to take the cover off of the control box you would see that there are plenty of other places on the ezip frame that a switch can be mounted and be easily accessible to any rider that would be a shorter distance than the way the switch is currently installed. No worries about power sapping.

I finally converted my battery to 36v today and took a ride.. and all I can say is WOW!

Hard to believe, but it brought more smile than I thought was possible. The speed increase = about 6-7 more miles per hour (to 24) and torque have definitely increased. Oh, I used ckasper's idea and installed a smaller basket on the rack. Since I'm not using the built-in battery pack, I didn't have to cut anything. If you are going to use a basket setup, make sure you don't get one that is too high or too wide. I swing my leg over the back to get on the bike and my 1st basket choice left me with few cuts.

Can't wait till my lifepo4 gets here!!!

Hi lynnala..

1. I had a discussion with Currie folks about batt maintenance and they don't recommend the battery be left on the charger more than 8 hours.
2. I haven't let my batt rest for that long so I have no practical experience to share. I would put it on the charger for about an hour. My batteries are their brightest right off the charger.

Sorry about your flat. Do you know what caused it? I've got a link for getting the back tire off of the Ezip, but I can't find it right now. I will update this post when I run across it.

Leamcorp

I don't understand your comment. I've had the cover off, had to do that to hook my headlight to the switch. The thing the switch needs to be near is the path from the one or two batteries, to the controller(but before it) and then to the motor. The only close place would be under the seat or at the front of the controller box, behind the seat under the rack. If you moved the controller, you could move the switch. I think they wanted the controller DRY.

I assume you need a new charger for a 36V battery set up? Other than that, nothing different - just rewiring the batteries, and a new charger?

Thanks for the welcome and the feedback. I've done some more reading, stopped by my local bike shop and made a few phone calls. No Walmart in my area carries this bike, but I didn't contact every store in town. I've actually taken a big interest in the Crystalyte conversion kits. I've found a shop online that has a 26" rear wheel kit in stock and I'm planning to purchase the 37A Lithium battery which is rated for 24-30 miles without pedaling. Even if the claim is a bit bold, I should be fine since I intend to do some pedaling. Overall, I'm amazed how much is on the market for Ebikes. Looking forward to joining the rest of you!

Thanks for the info How2, that helps. And yeah, it's a bummer about the flat, and it was on only my 4th ride! I was in the middle of a 16 mile round trip. I got the rear tire off myself, had to remove the battery. I can't find anything that caused the flat, and I'm kind of suspicious because the split was right on the seam of the tube, and there was a distinct pop when it blew, but no evidence of anything penetrating the tire. I'm thinking the tube is faulty. (if it was over-inflated, that was the dealer's fault, not mine) No way of proving it though. As was suggested to me in another thread, I'm considering getting a puncture-resistant tire for the rear, because it really is a pain to get it off the bike.

Thats correct + few more items.

For bit more detail,

The components (and cost) are... 3rd battery ($37), two 36volt controller ($17 x 2), cable/connector (radioshack - $15), rack bag (already had one), a small basket ($6 from Lowes), bungee cords ($10) and u-bolt ($4) to secure the basket.

There's one other item that I need to purchase - 36v throttle with battery led. This is because once you switch over to 36v, the LED on current controller is always lit up (because its 24v). So I decided to get the thumb setup rather than current twist throttle.

Once you have everything - it takes about 5-10 min to rewire the batteries and about 10-20 minutes for adding wires to one of the bike rack terminal. It actually takes more time to configure the bag/basket. I wanted to make sure that basket is really secure, while bag is removable for recharging in the house. I'll take some pics once I'm done with the final touches.

lynnala
More power to you for getting wheel off. I don't understand removing the battery.

See second version just below this is a little off.

Here's a procedure I wrote for myself, haven't had to use it though.

Removing the rear wheel for tire repair

See next post, please.

This is a new, best effort. And I've done this one

Removing the rear wheel for tire repair

The good news is I eliminated removing the motor from its mount, less chance to loose stuff. The bad news is now there are 19 steps instead of 13. But I know these work, at least did once. I guess the others did too, but I think these are better. I now think I could manage it by the roadside.

Removing the rear wheel for tire repair

1) Loosen brakes, Normally removing ‘noodle’ (elbow shaped metal tube at brake arm on motor side) from mount will do, or loosen brake cable
2) Cut wire tie on motor lead closest to motor, need a good knife or diagonal cutters
3) Fasten motor to battery rack using wire looped around top standoff,carry some maleable wire
4) Loosen both 15 mm axle nuts
5) Loosen 17 mm thin nut between dropout and motor mount (Requires thin (cone) wrench)(A cone wrench is a bike store item)
6) Remove 5 mm bolt clamping motor mount to dropout
7) On the adjusting stud (points to front at front of motor mount) back off the 5mm nut furthest right
8) Slide motor mount forward, to loosen chain
9) Remove chain from motor sprocket
10) Swing front of motor mount down to free adjusting stud on front of motor mount
11) Lower wheel, mount and motor a bit to expose 17mm nut
12) Remove 17mm nut (that holds mount to axle) from axle
13) Remove mount with motor from axle, wire will hold it in place. No tension on motor lead
14) Loosen 15 mm axle on right side more
15) Swing derailleur down out of the way to free pedal chain from freewheel
16) Remove wheel
17) Fix tire
18) Install by reversing steps 16 to 1, including replacing wire tie
19) Adjust motor mount front to back, using the nuts on the adjusting stud so that there is 3/16” movement when the chain is pushed in the middle of its span

I should add a couple of us are working on a mod to make tire changing easier. It involves a master link in the 1/8 drive chain: motor to freewheel and a slotting out of the mount plate and possibly a bolt on reinforcing plate over the new slot. That means the mounting plate and motor would stay in place and the axle would come down thru the new mount plate dropout.

Also, in case anyone is curious, I'm working on a writing project (for 'work') at home today. When I get bored or blocked I come over here for a while. Seems to work for the project.

how2 I'm sorry somehow I missed your note before. You can see the racks at https://www.deltacycle.com/product.php?g=28

As to the other pics, my ecam is sick. I haven't decided if it's fixable or if I need to buy another.
I'll get some up soon, may borrow one.

HOW2 That's not quite true. You could wire the third battery between the center of the switch and the controller. That way it would be in series with whichever battery pack you were using. That probably says it needs MANY AH to last thru two.