I am looking for one. I don’t need it to do much more than commute a short distance for me and have a removable and reasonably water resistant battery casing.
It is not legal to override the max speed setting in the UK or in Vancouver but people do it. Max permitted speed in UK is 15 mph; in Vancouver 20 mph.
Which model do you have? The Vado SL 4.0 EQ is of interest to me. It weighs about 35lb, which is absurdly light. Range is short but I’m not planning on many long rides and, if the battery runs out, it’s still a 35lb bike, not bad!
It’s a 2020 model. I think the 4.0
Definitely more than 35 lbs. though. More like 50ish I think. Maybe the new ones are lighter.
Got it used from a friend but it only had a 100ish miles on it. They ended up not using it for commuting when covid hit and then it just collected dust.
I like the integrated lights in the fenders. Pretty sweet for evening rides.
Ah, you have the ‘regular’ Vado but not the SL (super light). So it’s heavier but that’s because it has more battery and more motor.
Any issues with anything? Agree that integrated lights are slick, my old bike just has clip on lights.
28mph is legal in my area for a class 3 bike. Some people do override max speeds though.
Q for all:
You ARE wearing proper helmets, right? I mean, it is the one organ that pays the bills.
Yes. I bought a better helmet when I got the ebike that provides protection for higher speed impacts.
I also have a hard to fit hat size. One size fits all rarely fits me.
I got this one:
Only issue has been a couple of flat tires. Tires that come on the bike are light, but a bit thin, so I picked up some of those plastic liners and then a sturdier rear tire (Continental RideTour). No problem since then. Will probably replace the front as well at some point.
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I always us these. We have a lot of thorns in our area.
Yep. One of the flats was from a goat head. Other was from a giant screw though, and that ruined the tire.
Go on…
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https://images.app.goo.gl/G65hdae4x8av2LQG9
Weed that grows alongside the road and leaves these sharp bony thorns that will puncture your bike tire, or your foot if you step on them. Have had them go straight through my flip flops before. They are brutal.
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So, against our advice, our son has used some of his insurance settlement to import the mother of all electric tricycles directly from the Chinese manufacturer. He won’t tell us what he paid but guessing about US$ 4,000 plus shipping and customs duty.
This pedicab IS beautiful (see photo of similar trike available from Alibaba) but totally impractical for him. It weighs 350 lbs, is 10’ long and 5’ high: so not easily transportable. It is too large for our bike paths and it has little ability to go up hills, despite its electric assist. He certainly can not take it on a busy street because of his cognitive challenges.
I think we will have to persuade him to sell it. It would be fun for me to throw two grandkids into the back seats and pedal them around but not worth the cost of the trike. Maybe someone out there interested? Am holding onto the packing crate, just in case. Please note it is covered against the rain.
That looks a bit like a bigger version of the Sinclair C5, which was an electric vehicle in England circa 1985 -
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The Sinclair C5 would have been a more sensible trike for my son!
TIL that vehicles of this class exist. Curious, do you know how much power and range this thing has?
1000 watts and 6 hours on a charge. Their main market is SE Asia to pedicab owners. The Zhengzhou Motrike products are interesting so here is the link. My son got the Velo Taxi. Don’t bother going to the Alibaba app as everything is on the first link.
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I’ve got a buddy that has one of those ebikes that looks like a motorcycle. It ships maxed at about 30kph, but everyone overrides that. Apparently it will do about 80.
He said there’s regs that it has to have pedals to make it technically a bike and stay below 30, otherwise you need a driver’s license.to.operate.
I am still trying to determine whether my son’s trike will require a driver’s licence for its user. I think not but unsure. My son lost his driver’s licence as he was in a deep coma for several months after his cycling accident so requiring a licence might seal the deal on him having to sell it. Not sure he could get licensed now.