Roadrunner

Battery range Weather's been a bit against me for a few days but this morning was perfect,- crisp air, no frost, and sunny. So off I set to see how far the battery (or myself !) would last over varying terrain but with me pedalling all of the time ( apart from an occasional treat of a freewheel downhill ). Roads were a good mix of undulating drumlin country, city streets, suburban roads and cyclepaths and canal towpath, Total distance 45 miles, average speed 14.0 mph, max 27.6 mph, journey time 3 hrs 10 mins. The battery was dead at 43 miles so the last two were under human power alone. This was a non stop run other than at road junctions. it is noteable that the green light only went out at 40 miles so only got a few more miles on the amber, so don't be fooled into thinking you have alot left when the green goes out! At least thats how my indicator works. I publish these figures as they may help others to decide if an ebike will suit there needs as this is the sort of data that I wanted to know when I was investigating the subject prior to purchase. As for the GS2 it has performed faultlessly to date. The only problem has been the battery charger which developed a fault on its first full charging cycle - switching on and off at 2 second intervals and overhaeting. Emailed Jim at Alien at 2.30pm on a Friday and he had a new charger with me by 9.00am Saturday,- excellant service we all seem to get from this company. Thats it for now. Cheers

Hello Blackpanther You will see from my posts I joined the ebike fraternity last week by purchasing an Alien GS2. I too am a lifelong motorcyclist and currently run a Thunderbird and an SV 1000 S, I am also 13 stone in weight! I have just done a 20 mile run this afternoon and the green full charge light is still on, I guess I am about half way through the charge, anyway I dont see any problem for you even if you don't recharge at work, you should get home easily on one charge, unless its "extremely" hilly. You can always keep the battery switched off on the way to work thus improving fittness and have a pedal free ride home if you are "bushed" By the way the price you quote is the Ebay price, if you buy direct its £20 cheaper and you can still pay by card etc. i purchased the panniers from Alien aswell, they are fairly small but neat and have plenty of room for waterproofs, lunch etc. So far I am delighted with my purchase even though I knew I was buying at the budget end of the market. I didn't know if I was going to like it, but I am hooked, and as others have advised you can always upgrade in a year or two. Good luck if you join the gang. cheers Roadrunner

Thanks for that NRG, electronics isn't really my thing ! Thought I read somewhere I needed to, must have dreamt it:D

Alien GS2 first proper run Hello again folks, just in from the first proper daylight run on the steed! Perfect timing as I waited until the frost cleared, enjoyed perfect winter sunshine the whole time and the instant I returned home the snow started, thats what I call organisation.., lol. Total distance 30.3 miles avg speed 13.2 mph max 26.1 mph. Bearing in mind how long it is since I have been on a bicycle I was rather pleased with this, and if anyone reading this is hesitating getting an ebike or doubting their ability then believe me its a doddle, go for it ,you will enjoy it! I feel I could do 50 miles without a problem ( well ok the battery might have a problem, but even after 40 miles on first conditioning charge I have still amber and red charge indicators showing ), You can certainly notice the drop in battery power but still impressive for first charge I think. The run was two thirds canal tow path and one third outer suburban busy roads, the tow path was just perfect on the bike. No issues whatsoever with the Alien, although I did ajust the rear brake before setting out as I noticed it was rubbing slightly,- 30 second job. You old hands will probably laugh but the simplist things make a big difference and maybe worth pointing out to other "freshers". An example is making sure you get the seat height spot on for your particular physique, I thought I had but found an extra few millimetres of height made all the difference when I made an "en route" ajustment. Its the sort of thing only mileage will show up once you get the feel for your particular bike. The low gearing of the bike is fine except on fast well surfaced roads - yeah like we've lots of those..lol, but I find that the bike just wants to go , and of course at above 15-18mph its all human power so I'm curious to know what I could do on a lightweight racer, ( for a quarter of a mile anyway !!) Thats for another day, meantime looking forward to my next run which will simply be to drain the battery and get it on its second reconditioning charge. Is two enough anyone? Cheers for now

Hopefully I have put this in the correct place , as I explained in my first post I am new to forums so just shout if I don't follow the protocol! Well the GS2 arrived this morning despite TNT's multiple attempts to avoid delivering it to me, what a fiasco, but nothing to do with Jim or Alien I hasten to add. I read everthing on this forum regarding the Alien which was very helpful and I recommend anyone thinking of purchasing one to do the same, Although I am new to electric bkies and haven't cycled for 40 years I was attracted to the GS2 even before discovering this forum and following the old adage "if something looks right it usually is" I was already half sold on it anyway. So it has turned out, and I set about unpacking and getting it built and checked over earlier today. Everthing was straightforward and I fitted the panniers which I also purchased from Alien and a Cateye Strada bicycle computer. Whilst doing this the battery was on charge. The only faults I found were a few paint chips on the frame, two slightly loose spokes on the front wheel and a gash in the front rim (on the black part). Nothing to worry about and the first two faults were readily fixed Just had a quick run (10miles on suburban roads averaging 15.8 mph with a max of 25). The lights, particularly the rear seemed effective with motorists giving me a wide berth when overtaking, unless it was because I was wobbling ... lol. Everthing worked well with no problems, although even at this early stage it is fairly obvious that the gearing is on the low side and as others have pointed out a higher top gear would be something worth considering, I think it could climb a wall in bottom!!. That'll do for now, have just realised my legs feel a bit rubbery !