Well It arrived on the 8th of December , was promised sometime in November but what the heck , it got here on my Birthday. Happy Birthday to me and It knew what I wanted . lol.
Major job was getting it out of the shipping box , it was packed solidly and really well. You don't just open the box and pull it out , I cut one whole side away to get to the bike and parts. Then it's taking each part out ( unwrapping ) and figuring out the puzzle on which is next and what is holding it in there. Got it almost together yesterday except for the fenders , pedals and some fine tuning. They furnish a bike tool to help in the assembly and later maintenance. Heck they even include one of their Hats besides the charger , cables and keys.
Finished the assembly today and managed to pedal it around the yard.
It pedals like any normal 7 speed bike , except it leaves a bigger foot print. The tires are humongous things ( 26 x 4 ) and look like they belong on a scrambling motorcycle.
Checked the battery ( almost a full charge ). Set the instrument panel the way I wanted it and hit the road.
Pedal assist #1, I was loafing when pedaling and made it to 10.8 mph. Kicked it up to #2 and was doing 15 mph. Not brave enough to try #3 , # 4 and # 5 right now.
Put it in pedal assist #0 which means everything is up to the rider....... Got curious and started out with a slight push on the pedals and then gave the throttle a twist.......It felt like it was going to jump out from under me and before I knew what was happening I was zipping along. OK , time to stop.......
Starting from a stand still with just a slight twist of the throttle and I was going along at the same as pedal assist #1 at 10.8 mph , coasting along at a constant speed without pedaling a bit or having to go down hill. If anything I was going up a slight rise , enough where a normal bike would have to pedal. I know I have pedaled up it enough times.
Now I understand why folks like them and are able to pedal 20 miles or more and not think anything of it. They say by using the pedal assist you can get up to 60 miles off a battery , 30 when just using the throttle. ( some folks on YouTube claim to have gone further )
They say they are good for older folks and people with heart problems , get some exercise but not overdoing it. I can see this old fart doing a lot of running around to get incidentals and using it in place of the car. Have to get stuff , why not get it and have some fun doing it. Put in my order for a front basket they have specifically for this bike ( Step Threw Cruiser ) and the Normal Cruiser.
The younger generation likes them , the youngest daughter and husband both have them. Similar electric , fat tire , bikes but by a different manufacture. They are in Canada and said a 20 mile ride is normal for them.