Steponit

Well, it took a while for non-mechanical me to put it together (and I still can't figure out how to mount the rear light - anyone?) but I took the Eco Stepper for its first spin today and am really pleased. Though it's also been yonks since I was on any sort of bicycle, I was rather less wobbly than I'd feared. The pedal-driven electric propulsion (no throttle on these) maintained the momentum in my hilly local area in a way that gave reassuring stability. Still getting the feel of the six gears, and am doubting that a standing hill-start will ever be easy! But once under way, this fiftysomething is so far finding it a good combo of effort on my part and assistance by the battery. After buying a helmet and cable lock, next on the accessories list is a rear-view mirror. Thanks again for the input of all who posted.

Good thought, though I can't find a local (Torquay) one for now. After some fiddling and jiggling I've meanwhile got the handlebar hinge to lock and the main joint to bolt a bit more firmly. Next stop is the nearest bike shop to see what they say.

Thanks for the concern hopper_rider but it's the right width - just at 90 degrees to where it should be. If the bent pins were out of the way it would rotate to the horizontal locking position. Any thoughts on my other question about the central frame hinge? Nothing seems broken there on mine, it just doesn't lock securely in position. Best, James

Ta freddy - though that sounds like a post-facto rationalisation on the part of Avocet for having produced a misleading battery display, it's reassuring if in any event they're all the same!

I'd try (link spam removed) no connection, just used successfully a few times for shipping boxed items). You'd need to specify insurance I guess. Do you have a good source for batteries by the way?

Here's one, showing the Toblerone in a vertical position (to lock, it needs to be horizontal) and with the pin to the right visible under a springcoil - the left-hand one is also there but is less evident in the picture, having lost its coil. As said, the pins point at angles when they should seemingly point straight out. [ATTACH]6452.vB[/ATTACH]

Thanks for replies so far. I'm away till the weekend but will follow these through when back. Any pointers meanwhile from Stepper/Viking owners about the more mechanical than electrical stuff?

All of life may have its ups and downs, but in this part of south Devon all the more so when it comes to getting around. So I'm currently trying to put together an Eco Stepper (much the same as the Viking E-Go) and am sweating over it: see main forum.

I've just taken delivery of one of the former (think only the branding differs between the two) and would be grateful for guidance on a couple of aspects to get it going. The instruction manual for all it's worth might as well have remained in the original Mandarin: 1. Where the handlebar swings up to join the frame, the locking mechanism involves a Toblerone-shaped piece of metal that has two small holes drilled through it. At the hinge are two little pins wrapped in springcoils, which seem intended to fit in that wedge, but in my case one of these points upward and the other down. So the unit doesn't lock together. - The question is whether these pins, flimsy as they seem, are necessary for stability in steering. Would I be stupid just to snap them off? 2. Similarly though with no apparent pins involved, the hinge between the front and back ends of the frame itself doesn't lock securely. Pushing down on the silver lever points it to the ground but it drifts back up again. - Any tips there, as I've read that these bikes can require an amount of fine-tuning before they're road-ready. 3. The battery doesn't charge beyond two green lights - the third remains red even after 12 hours plugged into the wall. - Any sense of how much of a liability that would be? (I don't envisage anything beyond a 10km round trip, though hills will be involved.) And are replacements really still £200+? Bottom line is that I got it at a steal of a price (eBay auction by a commercial vendor whose pictures on the ad were broken, but I knew by then what one looked like). It's been used barely if at all before and might've been a previous return. I accept there's an element of you-get-what-you-pay-for, and I still have 10 days to send it back. But as sourcing another one from elsewhere is likely to cost double, I'd like to make it work if I can. Hence this Pedelec newbie's request for advice!