Go Electric is firmly commited to ensuring that all our customers are as informed and satisfied with our products as possible. eZee bikes are the first electric vehicles we have ever ridden that do not perform like toys and it is the consistency of performance in all terrain that makes them the first true electric transport alternative ever to be sold in Australia.
How Fast?
All eZee bikes will travel at around 25 - 30 klm/hr without peddling on flat ground. When climbing a hill of 5% you will find that you can maintain this speed by changing gears and riding a little harder. On steeper hills of 10 - 12% you will find a normal peddling will maintain a speed of around 12 - 15 klm/hr. Whilst it is possible to travel faster than 30 klm/hr by peddling harder, Go Electric strongly recommends that you keep your speed to this limit and just interchange peddle power for electric power as the terrain dictates.
eZee bikes can provide amazingly consistent performance and take off speeds through the most efficient electric motor ever attached to an electric bike. This means that nearly all the 200 watt power rating is utilised to create and maintain the bikes motion in combination with the human effort. All our eZee bikes are built as an electric push bike where the motor works to augment the human effort and it is for this reason that we have sought to ensure that they work most effectively at the normal touring bike cadence of around 30 klm/hr.
How Far?
Range is one of the great problems that electric bikes have traditionally had with the true range of most electric bikes in Australia being around 10 - 15 klm even in the flattest terrain. This problem has stemmed more than anything from the inherent limitation of Lead Acid battery's due to the need to have extremely heavy battery's to get a decent range but equally needing to use a lot of power to move the weight of the battery's. Lead Acid Battery's also suffer things such as memory effect that can seriously reduce their range.
eZee bikes come with either Nickel Metal Hydride or Lithium battery's. The advantage of these two battery's is that they do not suffer the memory effect and have a power to weight ratio that is about two and three times that of lead acid respectively. The Nickel Metal Hydride battery's have been in use in Europe for about 3 years now and have performed consistently well. The Lithium battery's are only in their infancy but have in our testing provided a range up to 25 % more than the NIckel Metal Hydride whilst weighing 20 % less. Lithium Io battery's are the technology that powers our tiny mobile phones and we believe it will equally alter the future of electric vehicles.
All eZee Bikes have been extensively tested on our test route on Magnetic Island which has some of the steepest hills in Australia with a gradient of 14% over a 1 kilometre climb. All results are with a rider who is making no noticeable contribution but the more you peddle the less the bike does and the further you go. We state the range as 25 klm for the Nickel Metal Hydride battery's and 30 klm for the Lithium Battery's because we are comfortable that any person will achieve these figures in all Australian terrain.
How Steep?
Hill climbing is the main reason most of us want to ride an electric bike rather than the peddle variety. eZee Bikes are simply the most amazingly efficient hill climbing electric bike that we have ever heard of. They will comfortably cruise up a 10% gradient and with a bit of peddle effort a 14% gradient is possible for most average people. The reason that such climbs can be achieved is a combination of the astounding efficiency of the motor and its inbuilt planetary gear set coupled with the lightweight aluminium frame and state of the art battery's.
eZee bikes are built on the premise that the motor should be there to assist the human effort and particularly to assist people to climb hills. They make the riding of a bicycle up a hill both safer because you move up the hill more quickly and also ensure that the sight of a hill is not something to be dreaded on your bike. It is whilst hill climbing that any electric motor most comes under stress and when the quality and reliabilty of eZee bikes is most noticeable.
Warranty and Battery Life
eZee bikes come with a 12 month warranty on all motor components and bike components and a 6 month - 80 % depth of discharge warranty on the battery. We back this up with a sunrise to sunset phone support service for all our customers and if you have problems after the warranty period expires we offer a full repair and parts service at a very reasonable fee. Our commitment to quality and reliability in all our vehicles means that we will at all times attempt to deal with any service or repair queries in an extremely expedient manner.
Because we are working with Magnetic Island Bike Hire to run all eZee bikes as hire vehicles, we are likely to have come across any problems prior to you and can offer an advice service. All the bike components of our eZee range can be serviced and replaced at your local bike shop and we provide an Australian specific manual with all our eZee bikes to make your maintenance as simple as possible.
Battery's should give you at least 200 - 250 full cycles of charge for Nickel Metal Hydride Battery's. The Lithium Battery's should provide an even greater life span which should equate to 300 full cycles before replacement but this new technology is less proven. Battery care is very important. We highly recommend that you charge the battery after each use and ensure that the key is always removed whenever the bike is not in use. This will avoid the slow deep discharge that is possible if battery is left on and unused for a long period. All our battery's are guaranteed for 6 months from date of purchase.
Battery's can be replaced for $300 Australian for Nickel Metal Hydride or $500 Australian for Lithium Ion.