Customer Reviews

E-Zip Mountain Trailz Electric Bicycle, Model# EZ-MT8-BL

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Assembly: I've never assembled a bicycle before, but some assembly is required for the e-zip. I managed to put it together in about 3-4 hours, and someone with experience could probably do it in 1-2 hours. Some parts of the instructions aren't terribly clear, but not too much assembly is necessary. The electric components are already installed, so it's just a matter of putting together the handlebars, front wheel and brakes, and seat.

Range: The claim is that this bike has a range of 18-24 miles, but I don't think this is accurate. My bike will go about 13 miles before the engine appears to run out of energy. The battery indicator says that there's still almost half the energy left in the battery at that point, as there should be, but it acts as though it's run out of juice.

Fortunately my bike commute is just 13 miles, so I can manage with the reduced range. A couple of times when I haven't put as much effort into pedalling, it's run out of juice on me after just about 10 miles, and it's a tough bike to pedal without the electric motor going as it's so heavy. As long as I put some decent effort into pedalling and go a little easy on the throttle, it will get me the 13 miles. You actually don't want to go much further than that anyway, because sealed lead acid battery life is significantly reduced when the battery is discharged more than 80%.

Performance: On my regular mountain/road hybrid bike, my commute takes about an hour, averaging about 13 mph. On this electric bike, the commute takes about 50 minutes averaging about 15 mph. The ride takes significantly less energy, as the throttle makes pedalling much easier. Accelerating and climbing hills (and going against a headwind) in particular are a piece of cake in comparison.

The bike has 7 gears, but I only use about 4, if that many. Most of my ride is spent in the lowest gear going at about 17 mph. If I'm climbing a hill I'll probably drop it down a gear or two until I reach the top. As I mentioned, the motor is engaged with a throttle on the right handlebar, below which is a battery level indicator (full/half/empty). The battery attaches into a slot on either side of the rack on the back of the bike (only 1 battery is provided and necessary). The bike is pretty heavy (50-60 pounds), especially with the heavy lead battery on board. The charger is included and the battery is removable, so you can take it off and bring it with you for recharging.

Battery: Recharging usually takes me 4 hours. The charger claims it takes 6-8 hours, but that's probably if the battery is fully discharged (and you don't want it to be, as that will reduce the battery lifetime, as mentioned). It costs about 0.2 cents per mile (2 cents per ten miles) to recharge the battery, so it's practically free. The battery should last 150-300 charges, and costs about $100 to replace. You also want to recharge it immediately after use to maximize the lifetime of the battery. When I get to work I bring the charger and battery inside and recharge it at my desk, and do the same at home.

The only complaints I have are that I wish the range were a little better and the bike were a bit lighter. A few of the parts are a bit on the cheap side (like the seat), but easily replaceable with better parts if you're so inclined. For $350 I really can't complain. An electric bike conversion kit on its own will cost close to $300, and a regular mountain bike on its own will cost on the order of $400, so $350 for a combination of the two is great. I didn't find any other electric bikes for under $500, so this bike is a great value as long as you don't need to go more than 13 miles at a time.

Length:: 2:45 Mins

Price under $400.00 online, shop around.

battery life great. Just rode it 10 miles to work and back on a low grade uphill and down. And it still had alot of power left. In less then a hour. And that is with stopping nd walking the bike across busy streets at the lights.

I am over the max weight level for the bike by 10 pounds, and had no trouble with power.

I am 5'11 and the bike isn't small for me.

Let the Boss take it for a spin and he looked like he was going a good 15+ miles an hour on it. Will have to use my gps on it to see how fast it really goes.

Overall love the bike and would buy another in a heartbeat.

I have had this bike for about a couple weeks and I am quite happy with it, especially considering that all other electric bikes I've seen were over $1000. I live 13.5 miles from work, and it is hilly. I am in decent shape, but on a regular bike, the trip exhausts me, I'm slow due to the hills, and I would need a shower upon getting to work. With the ebike, I still get some exercise, but I can keep my speed on the uphills over 14 or 15 mph and I don't get totally burnt out. I weigh 127 pounds, and the battery lasts 14 miles to work, with me putting in a decent effort - I am helping the motor by pedaling on the uphills enough to get tired, but not so tired that I can't bike home again. I take the battery off and charge it at work. A few times, it does seem like the battery is petering out right at the end, so based on how hilly my commute is (significantly), how much I weigh (127), and how much I'm willing to help the motor by pedaling (a decent amount), 14 or 15 miles is about the limit of the battery. So, in short, this is what I wanted it to do - allow me to ride to work in less than an hour (about 15 mph average), without getting totally exhausted.

My only complaints so far is that the bike is heavy (but then I knew it would be when I ordered), and also I don't find the handlebar grips to be very comfortable. They seem rough (including the shifter on the left) and not very padded. I wouldn't mind if it had one more higher gear - when I'm going downhill and the speed gets much over 20 mph, I can't really add any more speed by pedaling because the highest gear isn't high enough.

So, for the price, as an entry-level electric bike, I'm quite happy with it. It's a win win situation - I save gas, save the planet, get some exercise, and have fun.

One last thing - at the time I wrote this review, the photo on Amazon is of last year's model. This year's model is the same but is black, not blue, with some red, orange, and white accents. I bought mine from [...].

I purchased the bike about a month ago. It was pretty easy to put together. It only took me about 30 minutes and I'm somewhat mechanically inclined. Changing a flat on the rear tire however is a whole different story! That took me a couple of hours to do. I would recmd putting "slime" in your tires so you wont have to change the tire for a minor flat. The bike rides great although it is heavy like others have said. I have a 1.2 mile commute to work but the area is extremely hilly. EXTREMELY. With the pedal assist engaged, I can easily get up the hills, but it definitely still gives you a good work out. Because of the hills (literally both ways) the range of the battery is greatly reduced. If I don't remember to charge the battery at work and ride home that evening, I can definitely tell by the end of my ride home. There may be a defect with the battery however as it has just recently stopped charging when plugged in. I am ordering a new battery because the one I have now will not hold a charge anymore - or at least as far as I can tell. Currie doesn't warranty the battery, so if yours goes, your'e on your own. All in all, it's a good bike, very solidly built, for the money. Keep in mind that most electric bikes start at 1000.

After twenty years, I retired my old commuter bike. It was a workhorse and had thousands of miles on it, but I moved farther from work and decided to look into electric bikes, for something to ride in comfortably and then work up a sweat on the way home (note: it's way too easy to let the bike do the work both ways).

This bike appears rather ordinary, and it is in many respects. It does not have high quality components. It is heavy. The wheels are not easy to remove. After flats on both front and rear tires, I switched to thorn resistant tubes and added Slime.

The Ezip has a strong following of supporters who have managed to tweak it to excellence. By changing a few components, it can easily achieve 20+ MPH speeds. Two relatively simple changes are: 1. the motor freewheel from 20 tooth to 16 tooth and 2. the seven speed freewheel from 14-28 to 11-34. These two modifications have boosted the pedal assisted speed to over 20 MPH.

I also replaced the two 24V/10AH, sealed lead acid (SLA) batteries with a single 24V/20AH Ping LiFePO4 battery. For even higher performance, these older (pre-2009) Ezips do not limit the input battery voltage and can accept 36V. This combined with the other mods could get an Ezip to near 30MPH speeds. But I am comfortable cruising around at 20MPH so I have not made the move to 36V, yet. Another good point of the Ezip is its durability. Since it was designed to accept two heavy SLA packs, changing to a smaller and lighter lithium based battery pack makes the bike more maneuverable.

If it was fun before--and it was--it is incredible now.

Added 15.NOV.11: After riding it around and wondering how 36V would feel, I decided to put an unused SLA pack in series with the Ping. It is a simple mod to make one side 24V and the other side in series with the main battery pack. By paralleling the two SLAs in the pack, it becomes a 12V, 20AHr battery. The equivalent 36V, 20 AHr battery boosts my pedal assisted speed to 28.3 MPH (from about 22.1 MPH for the 24V battery). The new speed is borderline unsafe for this bike. There is the added weight but, more importantly, the brakes are not really adequate for these speeds. Lighting is also a concern. It sure is fun to ride, though. :-)

I was surprised to find this bike a Wall Mart. I am 69 yrs old and found it hard to use a regular bike. I mounted a folding side bike basket that I found at a local bike shop and use it when to go to the local market... I purchased a the heaviest chain and lock for security... The bad guys really like this bike. Wall-Mart could sell a ton of them if they would market it better... I found this bike buried among the normal bikes..
I like the bike so much I purchase 2 of them one mans and one woman.... as I found it easier to mount the bike using the woman version (pleas don't laugh)... (keep in mind I am 69 yrs old). This is an extremely fun bike to ride and fits my purpose perfectly. I was rather concerned about the rather loud winning noise when accelerating and was glad to see the video showing me that this appears to be normal.. I hope it lasts!?
EVERY ONE SHOULD GET TWO - If for no other reason just to have a spare battery.

Carl Schmidt
[...]

The bike is heavy, but works nicely. This is a good entry bike if you want to go electric. Just find someone other than Currie Technologies to deal with. You can go thru Wal-Mart. They will ship the bike to the store closest to you. Keep the carton and filler...just in case...and go thru Wal-Mart if it doesn't work properly.

Dealing with Currie Technologies was a horror show. Twice they sent bad batteries. I had the bike for over four months before I could actually ride it. When they sent the second battery, they actually included remarks stating "Customer is a pain."

I finally had to purchase a battery from them (at 20% off...Big Deal) just to get it on the road. They are the only company selling that specific battery, so I was stuck. The E-Zip weighs 70+ lbs. with both batteries on, so you better be pretty strong.

I have since bought a Cyclamic at $699. It is a GREAT bike (lithium battery) and I would go back to them in a heartbeat. My wife has a bike she bought from R.W Martin in Texas. It is a very good bike and they solved any problem she had over the phone; a good customer relations company.

I put a complaint in to the California Attorney-general's Office about Currie.

UPDATE: Currie Technologies called me earlier this year. They said that they are monitoring their complaints and that I should know that "they don't do business that way anymore." There was no compensation offered. I have a feeling they saw the above review and wanted to stop additional reviews.

I have worked for 22 years as an inspector and supervisor for the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection. In California, you have an excellent Division of Consumer Affairs. If you want to file a complaint send a letter to:
Complaint Assistance Unit
Division of Consumer Services
Department of Consumer Affairs
400 R Street, Suite 1080,
Sacramento, California 95814 ATT: Director Brian Stiger
or by telephone at 916.445.1254 or 800.952.5210.

You can also go to their web site: dca@dca.ca.gov

The bike's rating is for 240lbs. Oh how I long for those days- I am 54 and left that behind a couple of decades ago! I am 6'3" and 290. We have two of these and take them camping- hook up a child cart and listen to my grandkids squeal behind me. I am also now using it to commute to work- a distance of seven miles with mild hills. I used to ride in my younger and thinner days, and I am hoping that I will be able to get back to that form now that I have started commuting with this bike. At my age and weight, I simply could not make that distance without the motor assist. The bike is working hard to propel my weight, but the battery holds up for the entire trip. I plug it in during my day at work and it is fully charged by the time I go home. Three days a week this shall be my routine for the next eight months. Great product, and works well even for us older over-sized folks. Oh, by the way- the seven miles takes me 35 minutes- thanks ezip!

I got mine in January 2009 for $300 with free shipping. What a great deal. I replaced the batteries after a year and a half... Interstate Batteries had the replacement 12 volt gel cells locally for $40 each. The tabs were soldered, but I was able to get them off with my Metcal soldering iron.

I am not too fond of Chinese products, except this one. I have been riding this bike for two years, with my son on the back who now weighs over 50 lbs. I weigh 174. I take it camping, I take it to work 5 miles, and run around town. It is faster than my car for running around town in traffic. For anyone wishing for Lithium batteries, this bike cost less than one lithium battery, The entire bike is made to sell cheap and with that in mind, the bike is designed as a cheap commuter bike. I have not treated my bike nicely. I have ridden over speed bumps hard enough to dislodge the connector at the bottom of the battery case. No problem, it was made to so that it can be fixed. I have broken the fuse holder, no problem, I completely removed it and replaced it with an automotive spade type fuse then tucked the fuse into the housing. The lead acid batteries should outlast any lithium and will be 1/10 the cost of a lithium battery. Let's face it, the batteries in your car are lead acid, and generally last 5- 7 years. Replacement batteries should be in the $30 range. The replacement lithium battery in my HP laptop is $150. I have loaned my bike out. Everyone who rides it, loves it. I purchased mine after seeing a video on U-tube. Some guy weighing 240 lbs went around the block without pedaling. I was impressed. Being and engineer, I have been more impressed with the simplicity of the drive. The motor can be replaced, cheaply with a motor from a Razor scooter. Try that on one of the integrated expensive bikes. One drawback is the weight, it is heavy, very heavy at 70+ lbs.
Even at 76 lbs, I rode my bike into work on hot 100 degree day, and never broke a sweat. I love this bike, what can I say?