ChadS
Last tank of gas: March 2009
Once it became apparent that my Conveyor wasn't coming back, I realized my homebuilt bike was going to become my daily rider. I needed a second bike in any event, and sooner would be better so the homebuilt wouldn't be my primary bike for long.
Unfortunately ebikes, like many other things, can be hard to get right now. Especially when you're picky like me - try to find something with belt drive, IGH, no suspension, torque sensor, Class 3, big tires, sufficient battery and gearing, integrated lights, fenders available, not too heavy, with LBS (local bike shop) support. I knew of nothing that met all of my criteria.
But there were a couple of internet bikes that were close - without LBS support, obviously. The Priority Current (which spec-wise seemed very similar to my old Pedego Conveyor) had some great reviews, were in stock, and through Costco I could get one for $2600. That seemed too good to not try. If it was really good, it could become my primary bike. If only so-so, I could sell the homebuilt bike and make the Current my backup as soon as I picked out something else.
The Current arrived quickly, and was well-packaged. There were several bits that needed to be installed or adjusted, but nothing difficult. Lots of power, Class 3, decent brakes, decent ride. Not a lot of gearing or battery, but enough. It came with good fenders, lights and kickstand, and a rack was easy enough to add. It was easy to add my usual shock stem, riser bars and mirror.
It's clearly a nicer bike than my homebuilt; especially the brakes. I could live with it as a daily rider. But it's not as nice as my Pedego Conveyor was. Some downsides (mostly pretty minor):
Unfortunately ebikes, like many other things, can be hard to get right now. Especially when you're picky like me - try to find something with belt drive, IGH, no suspension, torque sensor, Class 3, big tires, sufficient battery and gearing, integrated lights, fenders available, not too heavy, with LBS (local bike shop) support. I knew of nothing that met all of my criteria.
But there were a couple of internet bikes that were close - without LBS support, obviously. The Priority Current (which spec-wise seemed very similar to my old Pedego Conveyor) had some great reviews, were in stock, and through Costco I could get one for $2600. That seemed too good to not try. If it was really good, it could become my primary bike. If only so-so, I could sell the homebuilt bike and make the Current my backup as soon as I picked out something else.
The Current arrived quickly, and was well-packaged. There were several bits that needed to be installed or adjusted, but nothing difficult. Lots of power, Class 3, decent brakes, decent ride. Not a lot of gearing or battery, but enough. It came with good fenders, lights and kickstand, and a rack was easy enough to add. It was easy to add my usual shock stem, riser bars and mirror.
It's clearly a nicer bike than my homebuilt; especially the brakes. I could live with it as a daily rider. But it's not as nice as my Pedego Conveyor was. Some downsides (mostly pretty minor):
- 1.85" tires, while better than the 1.25" tires on my homebuilt, are not as cushy as the 2.4" tires I am used to
- The motor has plenty of power...but makes a whistling sound reminiscent of a teakettle
- The charging port is a little awkward to plug the charging cord in, and really hard to get the cover back on
- 5 speeds are "enough", but more are always better. Plus this has a tight grip shift, which is kind of hard with arthritis
- It has a torque sensor...but still seems to operate more like a cadence-sensing bike
- It seems to deliver more power at high speeds than at low speeds, which is kind of the opposite of what I'd prefer
- You gotta hit a lot of buttons to reset the trip meter
- No motor cutoff on the brake levers
- The battery meter is not simply voltage-based...but does still go up and down a bit
- It doesn't seem as efficient as I'd expect...it still has plenty of energy for my normal rides, but the energy seems to disappear faster than on other bikes
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