you don't see many of these!

eddieo

Banned
Jul 7, 2008
5,070
6
Very elegant and stylish...love the speedo!

battery looks tiny:rolleyes:
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,560
30,849
It is indeed very stylish and superb quality, since it's the sister bike to the equally beautiful Sparta Ion M-gear, made by the same company.

The snag is that the direct drive motors these use are gutless and about the weakest hill climber on the market, perhaps not surprising since they are from Holland where they hold their hill climb trials on the cross channel ferry ramps.

One of our members asked my advice previously which I gave as above. However, he was won over by the superb quality of the bike and bought it. After riding it home he immediately mailed me to say how disappointed he was with it's lack of ability, far worse than he had expected.

So only for those in flat country with very gentle slopes, not for any real hills.
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flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,560
30,849
P.S. For a third opinion, Velovision tested the Sparta Ion M-gear sister bike and on a steep hill concluded that the motor only had the strength to pull itself up the hill, leaving the rider to do all the work of getting the bike up there.

That's tantamount to saying it wasn't worth having a motor.
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redalpha3

Pedelecer
Oct 31, 2006
91
0
I own one of these and would agree with everything flecc has stated. However, I've now had it for nearly two years. I've not done many miles but the miles I've done have been lots of fun. The quality of the bike is remarkable. Every component is of excellent specification. It stands as a bicycle in its own right. It is quite readily usable without electric boost and it is not seriously handicapped by its weight. I could not say the same about my Sprint 7. Switch off the electrics there and you are pushing your bike home. (Come to think of it, I remember the electrics switching themselves off under load with back wrenching results:( ). In my youth I was a half-decent cyclist. Now, after health issues I can still ride and I find that the electric boost is sufficient to help me up the steep hills without inducing heart failure. I love this machine.

There are problems. In order to replace a rear tyre you have to have the electrics recalibrated by a dealer. The nearest to me is about 60 miles away. I've made enquiries into buying the computer software to do this myself with little progress. Secondly, I found the original Dutch Roadster style handlebars impossible but have replaced them and there is no longer an issue.

For my purposes this has been a good purchase but, as in all things your mileage may vary (literally).:D