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People like Micah Toll are paid by the manufacturers, so always take their praise with a grain of salt.

The "Wiz" looks like a nice enough scooter, but the homely tall wheel versions probably handle better - tiny wheels tend to make the things 'twitchy'. I had a similar "X-Treme" scooter for a few years: the build quality was poor, and the top speed with the similar 3,000 watt hubmotor was barely 40mph on level ground.

I'm trying desperately to find a replacement conical headset spacer, but they mainly come from China, and I'm afraid that Ride1up won't have spare parts like that. If anyone can find me an aluminum or even steel one (no carbon fiber) that would get to me within a week, I'd be very grateful. Here are the specs:

Fits 28.6mm diameter fork.
15mm tall.
 
Micah Toll, on pretty much every review, goes out of his way to explain that he is not paid by manufacturers. It's one of the reasons why I trust his reviews. If you have evidence to the contrary, I would appreciate seeing it. Thanks!

Micah's comments, from a reddit thread:

Many reviewers/website/youtube channels aren't reviewers, they are advertisers. They charge a fee to perform a "review" which is really just a video or article explaining how great the bike is while showing you every nut and bolt - always without criticism.

I don't really want to start a flame war, but it's pretty obvious which sites and reviewers these are. Reviewers that charge a $1,000 "universal service fees" or otherwise charge a fee to perform each review aren't reviewers in the traditional sense because these are paid reviews. Paid reviews are inherently flawed because the reviewer is incentivized to only say good things or the bike company won't pay them to do more reviews in the future.

For this reason, I have never done paid reviews and have remained adamant that Electrek doesn't do paid reviews. I/we get paid by Google ads on the page, ads before the youtube video or by affiliate links. In my opinion, this is a much more ethical way to do this
 
alozzy said:
Micah Toll, on pretty much every review, goes out of his way to explain that he is not paid by manufacturers. It's one of the reasons why I trust his reviews. If you have evidence to the contrary, I would appreciate seeing it. Thanks!

Thanks for this. Lefty can now send Micah a few thousand $ for the FUD
 
LeftieBiker said:
Fits 28.6mm diameter fork.
15mm tall.

I probably have something like that but it would not be conical. Could you find a picture of what you're looking for? I know newer headsets are 'tapered' or something and I assume that is what you need but maybe it's just a matter of semantics.

Like this? https://www.walmart.com/ip/1-1-8-Aluminum-Bicycle-Headset-Spacer-Cycling-Steerer-Tube-Conical-Spacer/388271689
 
Straight spacers are a dime a thousand. It's the conical ones like that one at walmart (two week shipping time) that are hard to find unless you order them from China, or risk a cheaply-made, poorly fitting carbon fiber spacer. I'm going to see if I can have Velofix assemble the bike this week, if they have the spacer.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Straight spacers are a dime a thousand. It's the conical ones like that one at walmart (two week shipping time) that are hard to find unless you order them from China, or risk a cheaply-made, poorly fitting carbon fiber spacer. I'm going to see if I can have Velofix assemble the bike this week, if they have the spacer.
Can you make do by stacking a series of flat washers until the spec'd part arrives ?
 
Nope. This is a critical part of the steering mechanism - you don't want the steering to bind up while riding. Also, taking it apart again would be a real PITA. It's going together with the right part in place.
 
Problem solved - I hope. My Greenbike USA folding bike has the same size (or within a mm or so in height) spacer just below the bar folding mechanism. I was able to get it off in 5 minutes, without having to disassemble anything. Tomorrow evening, health permitting, I restart the assembly. I still need to acquire one, but it is no longer urgent.
 
I have found a home for ALL of my EZIP bikes - about 5 total. I contacted a Saratoga bike group that rehabs bikes for locals, and they will take the bikes to refurbish them for handicapped people. They will pick the bikes up this week. I am thrilled! Those bikes got me back on a bicycle when I thought I'd never ride again. One of them has about 5,000 miles on it.
 
The new bike may be finished. I had an inordinate amount of trouble with the steering head - especially considering that expensive roller bearings have been replaced by an empty tube and cheap spacers, with a few rubber pieces thrown in to make it a real PITA. Anyway, this is the second or third iteration of the bike, and there are some improvements - and some non-improvements. The rear fender now has a cast-in flange nut to make attaching the rack to the rear fender easier (but still not easy). They still ship the bikes with no air in the tires, though, which I think is appalling. The lights are now pre-attached to the wiring; I'm not sure if that is better or not. But the controller can no longer be programmed to provide more than 18 amps, only fewer. And I really really hope that I just overlooked the option to program the assist levels, because that was a big reason I bought the bike. If that is gone then Ride1Up will be hearing about it.

This evening I'll do a shakedown/test ride. Hopefully the fork will stay on the bike, along with the handlebars, which are literally the only thing holding the fork in place. Ok, literally it's the adjustable stem, but you get the idea. The first time I saw this system of spacers and empty steering head, it was on an "X-Treme" bike, and I thought "Geez, what a cheap-ass way to do it." Give me roller bearings and flat nuts top and bottom...
 
And I really really hope that I just overlooked the option to program the assist levels, because that was a big reason I bought the bike. If that is gone then Ride1Up will be hearing about it.

I can not tell from the web site Leftie but if your bike has a rear hub motor like my daughter's new bike, the ONLY option for programming seems to be from GRIN in British Columbia, they make a programmer that splices into the wiring. Midmount Bafang motors are programmable, I can send the link but getting the software up and operating is a PIA....
 
Good for you on passing on those ebikes. I'm sure there will be some happy folks on the other end of that deal.

As for the headset, I find the newer system pretty reliable but you do need to be careful to properly preload the bearings using the top nut and then of course follow the torque values when fastening the stem to the fork. I've seen quite a few stems that have the torque value etched into the metal, which is convenient and also a good reminder that they are important. Especially with carbon steer tubes that torque value can be life-critical.
 
goldbrick said:
Good for you on passing on those ebikes. I'm sure there will be some happy folks on the other end of that deal.

As for the headset, I find the newer system pretty reliable but you do need to be careful to properly preload the bearings using the top nut and then of course follow the torque values when fastening the stem to the fork. I've seen quite a few stems that have the torque value etched into the metal, which is convenient and also a good reminder that they are important. Especially with carbon steer tubes that torque value can be life-critical.

What bearings? I see a big, primitive bushing. Fortunately the frame is aluminum, not carbon, so all of the re-torquing I'm doing shouldn't be a problem as long as the steering is free. I intend to collect all the parts I need and rebuild that correctly, as soon as possible. Fortunately I'm not hard on bikes that way - I ride around the bumps and potholes.

I just noticed the posts about Micah Toll. I got my info from the people at Endless Sphere. Some of them are reliable sources, some aren't, so I'll assume that what was posted here is more correct. Those guys are generally quite anti-prebuilt, so they probably just lumped him in with the other paid reviewers.
 
dmacarthur said:
And I really really hope that I just overlooked the option to program the assist levels, because that was a big reason I bought the bike. If that is gone then Ride1Up will be hearing about it.

I can not tell from the web site Leftie but if your bike has a rear hub motor like my daughter's new bike, the ONLY option for programming seems to be from GRIN in British Columbia, they make a programmer that splices into the wiring. Midmount Bafang motors are programmable, I can send the link but getting the software up and operating is a PIA....

The kind of motor used has nothing to do with PAS - it's the controller that handles it, and this one is indeed still programmable. I'm not sure if I can change the number of PAS levels as with older versions, but I was able to adjust the power applied in the 5 levels I have at the moment so I'll be able to use PAS on public trails, and will have more power at the highest levels. I'll be taking that shakedown ride in about an hour.
 
I've never seen a bicycle headset that didn't use bearings and that goes back to Schwinn Varsity days. I'm sure e-bikes could be different but a standard bearing is a buck or two retail and I can't see any advantage to using bushings instead but who knows? Learn something new every day.

Edit to add: I'm not sure what the headset looks like but maybe the bearings are just held in place below all the bushings/spacers. Usually on a bicycle, the spacers are used to preload the bearings by pushing down on them when the top nut is attached. Then the stem is attached which holds the spacers and bearings in place. At that point the top nut could be removed but is usually left in place. I don't know how your bike is different but if the stem and spacers can be removed without the fork falling out that would explain it. If the fork falls out through the frame without the stem attached then I would assume that it's built like a standard bike and there are bearings between the fork and head tube of the frame.
 
If there are bearings they are so thin that I missed them.

Shakedown result: meh. I don't like the seat, so I swapped that, learning in the process that once again, seat stem sizes have increased, so everybody has to go out and buy all new suspension posts again. This will make four posts I've bought. I don't like the pedal crank - it seems more designed for pretend pedaling and for use as a foot rest than for serious pedaling. There is a bit of lash in the drivetrain. Since it's a geared hubmotor, that means loose gear(s). I'll be leaving for a real ride soon, and after that I'll have more complaints. ;)

The fork stayed in place and stayed snug. So far. I'm carrying tools and, as always, my phone.
 
My garage is sordid, because I haven't been able to clean it out for quite a while. I can snap a pic or two on the road, I guess. I just added mirrors, better seat, water bottle holder, rack pack - the bare necessities for me.
 
I hear you on the seat post sizing. I don't know why there can't be just a few sizes, especially these days when tolerances are much smaller than in the past. You could try using seat post shims rather than getting a new post, much cheaper option if you can find the right size.
 
They keep changing sizes so they can sell the same people the same suspension posts in new sizes.

The shakedown ride and then test ride didn't end in disaster, and I had no trouble with the front end. I'm less than thrilled with the bike, though. The new version of the Shimano Acera was shipped jammed into 8th but with the selector on 1st, and now it doesn't shift properly - it needs to have the limits reset and the cable adjusted. The sort-of-Tektro default hydraulic brakes are adequate, but not as good as the Magura hydraulic brakes on the Metro. The volume of the motor isn't too loud, but if I was hoping to avoid the little rattles and moans that the Das Kit motor on the Metro makes, I think I'll be disappointed. The little rattles are already present, and I expect the louder gear noise will follow.

How does the bike ride? Very much like cruiser bikes dating all the way back to the Shelby from the Fifties that I rode in grade school and high school - right down to the swept back bars and balloon tires. The steering is a bit ponderous but not dangerously slow, and the bike is stable enough to let go of the bars if desired. If I think of the Metro as a sort of bicycle BMW R series, then the 700 ST is more like a Harley Sportster 883. The 700's power delivery is also different from the Metro's: the latter produces X power for each assist level, but also tries to keep the bike at about Y speed for each level. The 700 sends X amount of power to the motor in each level, but doesn't try to restrict the speed or to add more power to get up to speed quickly. The result is a slow start, slower acceleration, then as much speed as the conditions will allow for that power allotment. In 3rd for example, I have it programmed to deliver about 24% of full power. The result, in combination with the slower start I have programmed, is the bike gradually accumulating speed until it hits 18, 20, even 25MPH, albeit in a very leisurely way.

In conclusion, I'll have to see how I like it once I have it dialed in. My first impression is "I'll ride it for this Summer, then when they raise the price to $2k I'll sell it locally. I still hope to convert the Metro to a 1-1.5kw direct drive hubmotor.

I did get some photos, but I'm not feeling well right now. Maybe overnight...
 
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