Alien Gents Special II - first impressions

[NRG]

I’m now the proud owner of an Alien Gents Special II bike. I’ve been looking at a lot of commercial E-Bikes for a while now and settled on the Alien as it seemed to fit my requirements the best IE: Be affordable with a good basic spec. and also have better hill climbing capability than my DIY E-Bike. Also, unlike my DIY bike it must be more usable without motor assistance. As much as I like my DIY version the direct drive and heavy motor has significant drag that makes unassisted riding a very unpleasant experience …

The Alien Gents Special II looks as good in the flesh as in the pictures…I liked the slide in battery idea with integrated rear light and the basic feature set. The design seems well though out with the wires running inside the frame and the exposed gear change wires housed inside teflon tubing. The paint finish is very good although not perfect (some small runs on the frame by the seat) post but the rest of the bike seemed up to scratch…there were a few marks on the handle bar head(?) and the rear mudguard is a bit deformed for some reason but other than that all seem OK cosmetically. The bike is much lighter than my DIY one and the frame seems to be made well enough.

I checked the bike over thoroughly and had to adjust the front and rear brakes and also the rear Derailleur as this was not aligned with the rear sprockets…in fact it looks a little bent and may have taken a knock in transit. The gear selection works OK though. The rear wheel runs freely but the bearings don’t sound like the highest quality… there’s a bit of a hollow grounding sound coming from them and it’s something I’ll need to look into.

The Chainset is nothing special and the chain ring doesn’t have a bash guard….something I feel should be fitted to all bikes so a bit of a black mark...The brakes are V brakes and I’ve not had the chance to go for a run yet but I have my concerns over them. There is a fair amount of flex in the calipers resulting in the levers having a sponge like feel to them, this I’m not used to and at the moment they don’t inspire any confidence, the proof will be in the riding of course so we’ll see if they are up to it. One item I am definitely going to replace are the pedals, they are not large enough and feel incredibly rough when rotated…

The front forks are a cheap affair with no preload or rebound setting and just 50mm of travel. They may prove worthwhile upgrading in the future but I’ll see how they perform on the road before condemning them outright.

The tyres are Kendals and the wheels black rimmed with black spokes, they give the bike a nice look IMHO. The front mounted Bafang looks neat and spun up instantly when I quickly tried it, the free wheel looks impressive….this was one area that I had concerns about after reading stuff on the forum and elsewhere but I can knock those concerns right on the head…this motor runs very freely, even more so than in the video on the Alien web site, it’s nothing like my direct drive motor on the DIY bike and simply moving the wheel by hand you can feel that there is virtually no resistance a good result! Both wheel s run true.

So far the verdict is a positive thumbs up….for the money it’s very good, sure there are areas where costs have been kept low as you would expect but it would not take much to improve those areas and enhance others to give a better feel and perhaps make the bike more reliable. Time will tell and I’m itching to get out on the road….but not in these icy conditions!

 

[rustic]

I’m now the proud owner of an Alien Gents Special II bike. I’ve been looking at a lot of commercial E-Bikes for a while now and settled on the Alien as it seemed to fit my requirements the best IE: Be affordable with a good basic spec. and also have better hill climbing capability than my DIY E-Bike. Also, unlike my DIY bike it must be more usable without motor assistance. As much as I like my DIY version the direct drive and heavy motor has significant drag that makes unassisted riding a very unpleasant experience …

The Alien Gents Special II looks as good in the flesh as in the pictures…I liked the slide in battery idea with integrated rear light and the basic feature set. The design seems well though out with the wires running inside the frame and the exposed gear change wires housed inside teflon tubing. The paint finish is very good although not perfect (some small runs on the frame by the seat) post but the rest of the bike seemed up to scratch…there were a few marks on the handle bar head(?) and the rear mudguard is a bit deformed for some reason but other than that all seem OK cosmetically. The bike is much lighter than my DIY one and the frame seems to be made well enough.

I checked the bike over thoroughly and had to adjust the front and rear brakes and also the rear Derailleur as this was not aligned with the rear sprockets…in fact it looks a little bent and may have taken a knock in transit. The gear selection works OK though. The rear wheel runs freely but the bearings don’t sound like the highest quality… there’s a bit of a hollow grounding sound coming from them and it’s something I’ll need to look into.

The Chainset is nothing special and the chain ring doesn’t have a bash guard….something I feel should be fitted to all bikes so a bit of a black mark...The brakes are V brakes and I’ve not had the chance to go for a run yet but I have my concerns over them. There is a fair amount of flex in the calipers resulting in the levers having a sponge like feel to them, this I’m not used to and at the moment they don’t inspire any confidence, the proof will be in the riding of course so we’ll see if they are up to it. One item I am definitely going to replace are the pedals, they are not large enough and feel incredibly rough when rotated…

The front forks are a cheap affair with no preload or rebound setting and just 50mm of travel. They may prove worthwhile upgrading in the future but I’ll see how they perform on the road before condemning them outright.

The tyres are Kendals and the wheels black rimmed with black spokes, they give the bike a nice look IMHO. The front mounted Bafang looks neat and spun up instantly when I quickly tried it, the free wheel looks impressive….this was one area that I had concerns about after reading stuff on the forum and elsewhere but I can knock those concerns right on the head…this motor runs very freely, even more so than in the video on the Alien web site, it’s nothing like my direct drive motor on the DIY bike and simply moving the wheel by hand you can feel that there is virtually no resistance a good result! Both wheel s run true.

So far the verdict is a positive thumbs up….for the money it’s very good, sure there are areas where costs have been kept low as you would expect but it would not take much to improve those areas and enhance others to give a better feel and perhaps make the bike more reliable. Time will tell and I’m itching to get out on the road….but not in these icy conditions!

Hi NRG,

I completely agree, not by any means a top spec bike, but very decent value for money imo. I'm still loving my Alien bike, I thought the novelty factor would have worn off by now, but I just really enjoy riding it. You are right about the pedals - they are a bit basic & small - did you have a particular upgrade in mind? I'd also be interested to hear what you are planning to do to the brakes. I do wish there was an easily accessible switch that could be used to choose between power assist & no power assist, this might be simply resolved by installation of a switch on the bars I guess. Any ideas welcome.

Rus

 

[NRG]

Hi Rus, well the brakes are wait and see but I'm interested in your experience of them. For the pedals I think I'll go for something like this:

VP197 Silver Alloy Touring Rat Trap Pedals

The on/off pedelec systems are a pain and I think I'll do what I did on my DIY bike and make it switchable from the handlebars...

 

[Straylight]

Just had a thought - you could always divert one of the brake cut out cables through another switch on the handlebars, i.e. have the seccond switch in parallel to the one in the brake lever, that's if it's a standard two core, connect to cut-out type arrangement, and not a 3 core hall sensor type.

 

[NRG]

Found the source of the rough sounding rear wheel...slightly over tight bearings. Slackening them of and making them finger tight worked a treat, they actually seem quite good well greased and now silent! Also, with the wheel out I took the opportunity to position the mudguard correctly with the use of a spacer on the center mount, now it looks much better.

 

[rustic]

NRG,

How are you finding the range? Or is it too early to get an accurate picture? I'm a big guy & this bike pushes me along at over 15mph on the flat using throttle only, I wonder if the settings need to be adjusted as this will obviously limit how far each battery charge will take me.

Rus.

 

[Pete]

I also have recently acquired an Alien Gents Special II and was helped towards the decision to buy it by a couple of members in this thread, among others.
I had only used it for two battery conditioning cycles when the weather intervened, so what I can add to this thread is a bit limited.
I generally agree with earlier posters, and the pedals I think are the worst item on the bike, but easily fixed, so not really an issue. The front forks don't seem too popular, but to me they seem fine so far. On the question of range it is difficult as I really punished it on the two conditioning cycles, and using the throttle 99% of the time got 18 miles. I am 102 Kg and I don't consider that too bad at all and on the basis of that would expect to get above 25 miles from a full battery with reasonable pedal assist.
One of the reasons I went for this bike was the larger than usual frame, but beware, I am 6ft and still needed the saddle almost all the way down and anyone smaller would probably have to replace the seat suspension post with a normal one. There is a warning on their web site about this, but may be missed.
Personal taste, but I find it a nice looking bike which will be shortly be improved on mine by fitting some MB style mudguards. The silver colour may not be to everybody's taste however, and I have found it is easily scuffed and shows up every little mark. My preference would be a sort of Rat Bike black to make it unattractive to the light fingered fraternity.
The setup for the battery, sliding into the rear rack is very neat, but it is easy to miss the guide rails when putting it in, as the battery still slides in but does not engage with the socket at the back of the rack. There is a key operated lock but note that unlike some other bikes this does NOT disable the battery when the key is removed, instead there is an on/off switch on the battery. This makes the bike much easier to steal by anyone in the know. The other plus point about this arrangement is that the rear light is part of the battery pack which along with a front LED light, is run off the battery. It has always seemed crackers to me to be carrying round an enormous battery but having to have seperately powered lights. (yes, your battery might run out, but fit some tiny LED lights as backup if you want) Lights have two functions, to enable you to see or be seen. For the latter use the lights are very good, to see with, I don't have enough experience to comment.
I haven't ridden anywhere near enough miles to be able to say anything other than it seems to be a very powerful machine, and what little pedalling I did do, powered me up a hill at a fair rate of knots.
Others seem to not be too happy with the brakes, but I have found them powerful and progressive so far and have no intention to change them.
I think what is clear at this early stage is that it seems to be an all round competent machine which is unlikely to disappoint too many buyers and at this price point gives very good value. Obviously time may tell otherwise, I will have to see.
What I can say though is that I have found, like others, that their customer service is fantastic, and removes for me the big worry about buying online. I won't bore you the details here, but if anyone wants to know, they can IM me.
Finally remember that it is a powerful machine and does need a bit of understanding to get full benefit out of it. I was given fantastic help on this and other aspects of the bike by generous members of this forum, and I will copy their comments to you if you IM me. (these comments are only really relevant after you have bought the machine so I haven't posted them here)
Pete

 

[NRG]

Rus, I've not been brave enough given the current weather to test the range yet!

Thanks for the reply Pete, looks like we all rate the pedals about the same LOL! Also agree about the battery, I've already misaligned it but I've got better with practice. I'd be interested in the comments you received, please PM them if you want, thanks.

Whilst on about pedals the ones I linked to above arrived today and.....well they sure look nice and the bearings feel so much better but doh! The pedal shank is not log enough....so it means the pedal sits closer (5mm) to the crank and therefore my shoe catches on it now and them... I could try a couple of spacer washers but there may not be enough thread for the crank...hmmmm...I think they'll have to go back, the search continues....

 

[rustic]

Rus, I've not been brave enough given the current weather to test the range yet!

Thanks for the reply Pete, looks like we all rate the pedals about the same LOL! Also agree about the battery, I've already misaligned it but I've got better with practice. I'd be interested in the comments you received, please PM them if you want, thanks.

Whilst on about pedals the ones I linked to above arrived today and.....well they sure look nice and the bearings feel so much better but doh! The pedal shank is not log enough....so it means the pedal sits closer (5mm) to the crank and therefore my shoe catches on it now and them... I could try a couple of spacer washers but there may not be enough thread for the crank...hmmmm...I think they'll have to go back, the search continues....

I've always had a preference for toe clip pedals, I suspect I will opt for something like this:

RALEIGH Cycle Pedals Road Pedal & Toe Clip MTB AVR210 on eBay (end time 13-Jan-10 08:00:08 GMT)

I hope it will be fit for the purpose. I still not sure about range, I just haven't been able to ride regularly in the current conditions & other commitments, but hope that will change soon, I might just order those pedals in preparation.

 

[NRG]

At last I’ve managed to get some mile on the Alien and can now form an opinion on how it rides. In three words: It rides superbly!

My concerns over the brakes and suspension have been dispelled. The brakes still don’t feel that good, there’s a spongy feel to them but they have great stopping power and the suspension even with its limited travel and lack of adjustments works well soaking up the bumps.

I found the seat very comfortable and the suspension post a real benefit as I’m used to an all rigid bike.
The pedals have started to run in and the bearings feel a lot better but I have some replacements on the way from SJS.

The Bafang motor feels very strong and has very good hill climbing capability I had to put less effort in on the Alien compared to my direct drive home converted bike. The motor is noisier than the direct drive one especially at low speeds under load but is quiet enough when cruising. Speaking of which the top speed of the Alien with pedal assistance is…let’s just say, on the generous side of the legal limit I’ve fitted a cycle computer today so will know for sure how fast it actually is…

The pedelec system seems to work fine on the Alien, I’m almost sure the power tails off as speed / cadence increases meaning there’s none or very little of the on power / off power problem that I have on my home built bike as you reach top assisted speed. Also the pedelec sensor is over ridden when the throttle is used in combination allowing for fine tuning of when the assistance comes in and for when lower speed assistance is needed…also applying full throttle gives a little boost to the amount of assistance and therefore top speed.

Downsides? The battery rattles on the guide rails but I fixed that with a subtle adjustment to the guide channel on the battery. Using a flat end punch and a hammer I gave the top of each guide channel a few firm taps opposite the battery lock to close each up by ½ mm or so just enough to stop the battery from rattling around. I have a front brake that squeals but I hope an adjustment to the brake block will sort that out and the only other issue is the length of the gear shifter cables are about 3” too short…with the bars adjusted upwards to give a good riding position theres not enough play for full steering lock, something to watch out for if you are a taller.

I think the Alien is cracking value for money; there are a few areas of design that could be improved on but on the whole it rides superbly seems to be well thought out with a pedelec and throttle combination that seems to really work.

 

[NRG]

Speed: 16mph using the Pedelec and about 18mph with throttle. Range approx. 28miles mainly using the pedelec...still have a few battery conditioning cycles to go though.

 

[Caph]

I've got the mark one and am surprised to hear you get 28 miles out of the battery in pedelec mode. I only get 16 miles!

I'm glad that the freewheel has been sorted. It's the mark one's biggest downfall in my opinion.

The mark one has similar speeds but how's the weight of the mark two? I got my Galileo back a while ago and the weight difference is huge. Even just picking up the rear end to move it around is an effort with the Alien. The Galileo feels light as a feather in comparison, but I'd probably put that down to 36V -v- 24V. I guess extra power requires extra weight.

I still think that the Alien feels more like a low powered moped than a bike which is great if you want that sort of thing but not good if you don't. I'm keeping mine as a spare but it won't be my main bike even though the full length mud-guards, integrated lights, panniers, and more power make it a lot more suitable for commuting. I just much prefer my bike to feel like a bike.

 

[NRG]

.... I just much prefer my bike to feel like a bike.

Which is just what the GS MKII does , weight is about 25~26Kg inc battery so no worse than competing products and it feels nothing like I would imagine a low powered moped to feel...it feels like a well sorted E-Bike

 

[NRG]

The Alien continues to impress, managed more miles today a beautiful sunny but very cold day, 21 freezing miles but very enjoyable and only 1 LED out on the battery so the reserve continues to improve.

I've fitted a set of Schwalbe Marthon Cross tires bought from SJS...not cheap but on the ice today they proved themselves very grippy and with noticeably less rolling resistance than the standard fitted Kenda tires...they are also lighter which helps.

I think I could do with a slightly taller top gear and may change the 3rd chain ring to a 48 tooth version...

 

[NRG]

Just finished another battery conditioning run today and the range for me worked out at 31 miles or so using Pedelec mode mainly, this works out to be about 12W / Mile over some quite challenging terrain with a few nagging 14% hills.

 

[rustic]

NRG,

That sounds pretty impressive! When I bought the bike I was initially attracted to the throttle only option, but I've been extremely pleased by the pedelec assistance which zips me along at a pretty decent rate of knots. I can't report on range with mine as I just haven't been consistent enough with my use of the bike given other commitments and the weather, I'm really encouraged by your figures though

 

[stevebills]

Has this bike been replace by the Aurora?

 

[NRG]

I think the Aurora is the closest one currently available the GSII is road legal though and has a front hub motor...it was also £400 cheaper when available.

 

[rustic]

Now you've had the bike for a while, how have you found the range NRG? Last summer using a mixture of pedelec, throttle only & pure pedal power I was getting around 27 miles on a single charge. Is this consistent with your experience?

 

[NRG]

Sorry I missed your post Rustic.

Range on the Standard controller worked out to be around 28~30 miles, with this new E-Crazyman controller and the three way speed switch it has the potential to be a lot more. For instance I recently made a very pleasant 28mile ride mostly done in the low speed assist setting with occasional use on medium and only one of the battery LED's had gone out, two remaining alight. After the battery had rested at room temperature all three where back on!

Now I know the lights are very hit or miss on accuracy but that's still very good, my average speed was 13mph, before, this would have been higher at 15mph or so...an exchange of speed for better economy! Of course to get this range you need to put in more effort yourself and ride the bike above the assist speed which is fine because as you slow down on an incline the motor gently picks up again and gives you a little push to keep you going....the speed switch sort of acts like a minimum speed switch.

The bike still continues to please, it's a shame that Alien don't sell them any more as with a few tweaks it is a very fine bike.