Last year my next door neighbor saw my first ebike, (a Veloteq) and … took my lead.  He went and got himself a bike. He, (okay, his name is Michael), stored his bike outside over Winter and of course, it died.

Cut to now.  Michael called the dealer, (Segway of Ontario), who called the distributor, (Daymak), who… did nothing. Michael then called Mobility Unlimited on Gerrard Street.  They came, (yes, came), and fixed his battery for him and did it cheep too.  

Mobility Unlimited – you guys are heros.
Yes – I watch too much Colbert  

Want to know what happens if/when you leave your charger on too long?  Read this blog entry from a Vancouver Ebike dealer.  

Lesson learned?  Use a timer.

I keep hearing from people, (especially Daymak owners), about how their batteries are failing.  Perhaps its our cold Canadian Winters, or maybe folks aren’t following instructions.

My advice; use the Battery Tender.  This device can stay plugged in all the time and will keep your 12volt battery in tip-top shape.  $60′ish from most motorcycle stores.

NOTE: This is NOT NOT NOT the same as a trickle charger.  This is a very smart device.  Great for cars, motorcycles, boats… anything with a 12volt battery

I have, and I admit it.  By removing one tiny capacitor I’ve increased the top speed of my bike to about 42 k/mh.  

So, have you mod’ed your ebike?

I visited the Greener Living Show yesterday, it was not so busy with the TTC Strike.  I saw Daymak, Blue Avenue and DewDad… I saw a couple of new guys too, like Airstream.  Same old same old.

What stuck me the most was the display, (and test ride), by Bionx.  Wow!  Now I know why they cost what they cost.  What an amazing technology.  With real regenerative power, breaking sensors and selectable power assist ratios you really are getting bla bla bla … I have to write more before I press the “publish” button.

What’s with all the low watt scooters?  Check out the dry-weight specifications on the multi-branded scooters and then look at the motors, and ya wonder, where’s the watts?

No, seriously.  There are lots and lots of scooters on the roads downtown, I seem them everywhere and while there are a bunch of 500 watt models, there are way more 350 watt’ers.  And most of the time, those 350 watt’ers are going way slow, like, scary slow.

One of my fear factor moments is heading north on Don Mills Road, in a posted 60 Km/h zone and the traffic doing an average of 72 Km/h.  Not a happy place to be during rush hour.  My other favorite is the hill that goes around Casa Loma…. peddle peddle peddle.

We all lock our bikes, right?  But how?  Most bikes have a steering lock, some even have a hub lock so the wheel can’t spin.  Pictured above is the Master Lock “Street Cuff” – a CDN$200 lock with $5000 insurance against theft.  Available from a fine Canadian company; Scooter and Moped Parts (DOT com)

My question…. is an alarm really a deterrent?

The following is a contribution from reader Chris B.
 
The Schwinn from Canadian Tire @ $500 is a real steal.  I spent about 2-weeks researching and visiting about 15 bike shops.  There was nothing under $1000 as-far-as e-bikes went, and the Bion-X kit that I would need (being a big guy) was about $1800 (not to mention that it won’t fit on my 1-year-old, $500 Schwinn comfort bike’s frame!  So, add another $500 for a bike!).
 
Picking up the bike…
 
Since it was a nice day/night, I rode the bike home from CT on mostly electric power (4km).  Not too shabby!
I continued my ride after a short pause at home, and the battery lasted a reasonable amount of time (about 45 minutes of mostly electric and some off-road).  When I got the bike home it showed that the battery was 1/2 depleted (but most likely 2/3).
The bike is not as quiet as the Bion-X system, but then again, it’s about $1500 cheaper!
Overall, I was impressed; but the true test will be my commute to work starting next week (weather permitting!).

I’m having some issues with riding an Ebike, some of which I’ve aired here, most I’ve kept to myself.

I’m considering going gas. I find that I need to travel further than an Ebike can take me and I’m constantly terrified about the liability issues should I have an accident.

What do you’ll think?

The weather has been so nice after such a looooong Winter.  

I had some time between appointments and I found myself at Jarvis and Richmond, home of Daymaks’ new downtown showroom.  Schnazzy.

They, (Daymak), even have an electric bike built for two!

Sorry about the picture – new camera phone and I’m learning how to MobBlog