I just got the e-zip mountain bike to get to and from work for free. Public transportation would cost $100 per month so I calculated that for only $300 I have free transportation for years. The bike is available at Walmart online for $298 right now. It sells for up to $600 in some stores. And it is well worth it.

The bike allows you to pedal like normal, use motor power only, or pedal with the motor. It reaches about 20mph with the motor alone and about 25 when you pedal. The stated range is about 15 miles to a charge with some pedaling, but I found that it will only run about 3-5 miles without pedaling. It is very hilly where I live, so I do not get the stated range even with pedaling. But I already made a new battery pack for the bike, which I will post later in detail, so I have doubled the range.

With a 450 watt motor, the bike really takes off, even from a dead standstill. It helps to get into traffic where I live.

Some have said that you can hear the motor running and complain about that. Well, it is an electric motor and I do expect to hear something while it is running. It is not loud though. Just like a swarm of angry bees buzzing. At 80 pounds it is quite a workout in the mountains while pedal assisting the motor uphill. Double the battery pack like I did, and you really have a bit of weight. What do you expect though from lead acid batteries? You can replace them with li-ion packs if you can afford the expense. For me, it doesnt matter as long as I can get around well. This bike really opened up new possibilities for me. Where I live you must have a vehicle of some kind to get around. On foot, you are quite limited to what you can do, or where you can go.

If you remove the battery pack, the bike rides just like a normal mountain bike.

My only complaint is that the manufacturer tells you not to use it in wet weather. I will find a way to waterproof it later and describe how I do it. Another problem is that they claim that the battery will only last one year before requiring replacement. At $129 a pack, that is a large sum of money to give out each year. Although in comparison to the $1200 for riding a bus each year, it is much cheaper. I have found a way to improve battery life too. That I will also post later.

Here is a youtube video review of the bike:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrjJ9cysPW0&feature=related&pos=4

I will write more later.

I have modified my bike to take a home-made battery pack, doubling the range per charge.

If you open the original battery pack, you can see how the batteries are wired together. By adding bananna jacks on the bottom of the pack, soldered to the original leads inside, I can simply plug in an extra pack. That easy.

I then used a simple plastic mailbox mounting base from the local hardware store to build an add-on battery pack. The mailbox base was the perfect size for the project and it had all the holes pre drilled into it. For extra support I used some steel bars on each side, again using the existing holes in both the bar and the plastic frame.

To mount the pack onto the bike rack I used simple metal \"J\" hooks and \"wing\" nuts. It fits perfectly. See pic below.

With this setup I was able to ride up into the mountains on a four hour ride while pedaling the whole time. I only used the motor to assist in climbing up hills. Down hill I simply pedaled in order to save battery power. The total round trip was about 24 miles. When I got home, the batteries were just giving out.

I must admit though, this is one very heavy bike to pedal uphill. The motor can not pull itself alone and you would not want to use up the battery that fast anyway. The power light goes immediately into the red on these high hills. It was quite a workout for both myself and the bike. Dont ever let anyone tell you that riding an electric bike is a lazy sport. If you want to increase range, you must use the pedals.

On normal, flat roads, I estimate I get about five miles using the motor alone and the original battery pack. With pedaling, I can double that, but not much more. I have found out that by only using half throttle, you can greatly increase mileage.