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3 Responses to “IZIP HG-1000 Commuter Bike”

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   April 6th, 2009 at 6:09 pm

   

   [...] Wireless to Launch HTC Touch Diamond on April 10 IZIP HG-1000 Commuter Bike Chia Helps Regulate Your Daily Diet BeoSound DB9 Exclusively for the Aston Martin DB9 Film camera [...]

2. Amy Stevens
   April 18th, 2009 at 9:34 am

   

   I have some complaints about the HG 1000, but still have hope for this bike. I planned to use this bike to commute 12 mies to work, at its top speed, with only occasional pedalling. Off the shelf this is impossible to do. I have some ideas of how to boost the range, but I feel mislead by the item descriptions on the store sites.

   The range specified is way over-stated. I am able to go only about 3 miles at top speed w/o pedalling. At low speed w/o pedalling, probably about 5 milles. Pedalling continuously, and only using the motor to boost the forward motion so that I can continue to pedal continously (fast, like in first gear with a normal bike)…. I have only been able to go 12 miles. This is at slow-ish speeds. And on steep hills it sometimes makes more sense to walk the bike instead of stress the motor/my legs. Motor is not strong enough to get up steep hills w/o pedalling. There is only one gear on this bike, so when coasting downhill, or going half of top speed with the motor, it it impossible to boost the speed by pedalling… If it had a highher gear, that would change things.

   So, while I am dissapointed with the claims about this bike, I am going to keep trying. I’m going to get a few more batteries to boost the range. I hope to also be able to go at top speed (which different stores claim to be either 15 or 20 MPH), except on those steep hills, where I would like to keep speed up as much as possible, and will still have to peddle.
   If I were to do it over, I’d get a bike which is not as heavy (this one is 150 lbs), and I’d make sure it had gears. If I could get a more powerful motor I’d do that, too, even if it means I need extra batteries.

3. ZC
   April 29th, 2009 at 4:37 pm

   

   I have the 2007 model of this bike, and I’m able to get 15 miles of range easily with a fully-charged stock battery (I’ve never tried to go further). If you’re only getting up to 5 miles on yours (or 12), then you have a bad battery, haven’t been charging it properly, or have a problem with the controller or charger.

   As for speed, I can pedal hard + throttle to get as fast as 24 mph, which has me flying past most manual bikers. If I just use the throttle, the bike cruises (on flat land) at 17 mph. Maybe they limited the speed since my model, but the law requires that an electric bike go no faster than 20 mph to be considered a “bicycle” and not a moped, so you really can’t fault CurrieTech for that.

   Considering all that you’re saying, there are a few possibilities as to why you’re having such speed and range problems:
   • Your battery is dead or dying.

   • You fail to charge it fully as soon as you’re done riding and the top limit is now much lower than it should be.

   • You’re over the weight limit for the bike (I’m a 230 pound male, so you’d have to be huge if this were the case.)

   • You have a defective controller.

   • You have a defective charger.

   • You have a defective throttle.

   • You’re trying to ride in a very hilly area, and nobody told you that this wasn’t the best bike for hills, being that it’s a single-speed.

   Either way, adding more batteries isn’t going to make it go faster or further. It’s more likely that it will fry your controller and motor if you do that, unless you change the controller and charger, too. You can’t turn a 36 volt bike into a 48 volt bike and not change the controller without major problems. Also remember that batteries are extra weight, and that weight can cause you to go slower or reduce your range unless you get a motor that is meant to deal with that sort of weight.

   My suggestion is to call Currie Tech and get a new battery- Tell them that this one died way too early and never held a charge and they may cover it in their one-year warranty. If that doesn’t work, then you should consider a higher-end bike.

   I love my HG-1000. I’ve been using it to commute to work and around town for a couple years now, and aside from some hard-to-find parts, it’s been a great bike that did everything Currie promised. You do have one major point: The weight. The HG-1000 weighs 90 pounds (*not* 150 lbs) and that’s a bit more than I’d like to deal with on some days.

   Good luck. I hope you find the bike you need.