![]() ![]() You can EAT gigantic hills for breakfast and DUST entire pelotons of spandex-riders from the comfort of your flipflops and flannel shirt. These things could have a revolutionary impact on the lazy modern lifestyle and make cities of all sizes vastly more livable places. This is why electric bikes give me the feeling of Justice. You are riding a bike like you should be, creating virtually no pollution or noise, but you have a tireless olympic sprinter in your back pocket that you can unleash at the twist of a throttle. ![]() The electric bike combines some of the distance-devouring advantages of a car, with the city-friendly flexibility of a bike (you can bypass all traffic jams and jump freely between roads, bike paths and even dirt and unpaved areas to find the most direct route, and park for free right at your destination). But in the spirit of a good experiment, I decided to just add the thing to my bike fleet and see how it went for a year.Īs the months and seasons have rolled past, I have found myself blazing around town more frequently, with greater speeds and heavier loads than I ever thought possible, which has turned me into an unapologetic convert. As a profanely vocal proponent of muscle-only transportation, I was skeptical of the idea at first. Tapered head tube is large and sturdy, compatible with the RockShox Bluto suspension fork and the seat tube is also wide and sturdy at 31.Almost one full year ago, I built myself an experimental electric bike to see what all the hype was about.Quality Kenda Juggernaut Sport tires with 5 to 30 PSI range (lower PSI will do well on soft surfaces but also create drag and drain the battery faster, not tubeless ready and not locking beed so don’t go too low or you’ll burp the tire off.Available in two frame sizes (17″ and 19″) to accommodate short and tall riders alike, sloping top-tube brings down the stand over height.Sturdy 15 mm front thru-axle and 190 mm x 12 mm rear thru-axle, supports the weight of the larger rims and tires… also makes lining up the disc brakes easier when putting the wheels back on (quick release on both skewers).For those who want to operate the bike without pedaling there is an optional boost button which can be added for ~$50 offering slower 6 mph mode (akin to walk mode, helping you push the bike or cruise slowly) and a full 20 mph mode which converts the bike into a Class 2 electric bike when installed. The button pad seems well protected against water and dust (which is great if you plan to ride on sand or snow and ultimately through mud). The display panel is large but fixed… it does swivel to reduce glare and the button pad is easy to reach near the left grip but the battery and button pad have to be activated to ride which means extra time and steps. I love that it has a kickstand mounting point towards the back of the left chain stay (though they can be difficult to find, here’s one on Amazon UK). My experience with the bike has been great, the motor is truly powerful and the removable locking battery (and quick release wheels) make transport much easier if you don’t have a truck. steel or suspension, the tapered head tube is compatible with the RockShox Bluto suspension fork (or you could opt for a 31.6 mm suspension seat post from Thudbuster to save some cash). It’s one of the few electric fat bikes with rack mounts that could work with something like this and even though the front fork is rigid aluminum vs. Aside from minor decal tweaks, upgraded thru-axles and a new “boost button” option, not much has changed with the E3 Sumo and that’s alright… It remains relatively affordable given the performance and warranty offered and the two frame sizes make it accessible to a wider audience. The TranzX M07 motor used here is one of the quieter but still highly powerful drive units I’ve tested (they call it high torque). The IZIP E3 Sumo debuted in 2015 as one of the first mid-drive powered models which offered improved frame balance, efficiency and power (since you could switch gears to empower the motor at a more effective RPM when navigating soft terrain or hills). The price jumped up $100 but the brakes and drivetrain are significantly upgraded.Įlectric powered fat bikes have become super popular since 2014 and a whole range of models are now available in the US. You can see the latest model here which uses a Bosch CX mid-drive and is available in two frame sizes. This is a review for the 2016 IZIP E3 Sumo electric fat bike. ![]()
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