2015 izip peak off road electric assist bike.

#2015 izip peak off road electric assist bike. series#
#2015 izip peak off road electric assist bike. zip#

These days (around 2015 when I reviewed it) the bike would be considered weak but it’s hard to argue with the comfort and amenities it offered. I think they chose to mix two systems because adding a disc brake to the rear would further complicate and crowd the hub which holds the motor and an eight speed cassette.Īll things considered, at around $2,000 this was a pretty sweet deal back in the day. The brakes themselves are actually fairly unique, the front uses a mechanical disc brake with 160 mm rotors and the rear uses a v-brake setup. It’s a neat setup and one that helps to reduce wear on brake pads and the motor. Each lever has a built in switch that sends a signal to the controller when pulled. When you need to stop, the motor actually cuts out for safety when you pull the Tektro mechanical brake levers. When the strain increases, it activates the motor and you get a little boost. From there, you simply begin pedaling and the strain gauge located at the rear right-side droput will measure the strain in your bicycle chain. The lower levels of assist use less power but don’t give you the same boost as the higher ones do.

#2015 izip peak off road electric assist bike. series#

It lights up a series of five red LED’s that show your estimated battery charge level and five more red LED’s that show your assist level.

Once it’s charged, just press the on/off button on the LED display panel which is located on the left handle bar. Operating the Urban Cruiser Enlightened is very simple.

The bike I tested in this video had an original pack and is still running well because the shop always keeps it away from extreme heat and cold and also avoids overcharging or letting it run dry (stay between 20% and 80% for best results). The cells inside use high-end Lithium-ion chemistry that is known for being light weight and long lasting. On the right side of the downtube is a little plastic slide cover that covers the charging port and the included charger should only take ~3.5 hours to completely fill the pack. The downside to this battery configuration is that it’s not easily removable… and this means you’ll have to bring the entire bike near the electrical outlet in order to charge it. People may not even realize it’s electric at first and that’s kind of nice. This, combined with the smaller motor, makes the bike very stealth. It’s on the small side in terms of power and range but is very well concealed right within the downtube. The battery pack on this ebike is just a 24 volt 10 amp hour setup. In this sense, it splits the work with the rider and is therefore capable of reaching longer distances despite the small battery size. The saving quality of this motor is that it’s activated with a torque sensor that ensures you are pushing hard before it will activate.

#2015 izip peak off road electric assist bike. zip#

It operates very quietly and actually produces decent zip and torque for its size but won’t perform well climbing hills or under larger riders. The motor powering the IZIP Urban Cruiser Enlightened is very similar to the one that powers the 2009 IZIP Trekking Enlightened! Both bikes used an efficient, light weight 180 watt geared rear hub motor. Still, it lacks a digital display, there’s no throttle mode and the power is very weak compared to newer bikes. They sell this model for ~$500 and it comes with a replacement battery (which is quite the bargain in my view).

I was able to test out a “new” model at a shop in Southern California called the Electric Bicycle Center which has been around for many years and helps to liquidate old Currie Technologies bikes. This thing is comfortable! Note that because it was sold new around the year 2009, these days the only way you’re likely to see one is used at a garage sale or other second hand marketplace. Not only does the Urban Cruiser Enlightened feature swept back high rise handlebars, it also has padded comfort grips, a Velo Plush saddle, a suspension fork (without lockout or much adjustability) and a seat post shock. The best part about it for me was the upright, relaxed seating position. The motor wasn’t especially powerful but benefitted from a smooth, responsive torque sensor which helped to extend range and make for a natural feel. The frame balance, with integrated downtube batteries, and torque sensing pedal assist was top of the line in its day and although the battery pack could not easily be removed, it did help to improve the aesthetic over other ebikes which relied on rear rack style batteries. The IZIP Urban Cruiser Enlightened was an electric bike ahead of its time in my opinion.