Tidalforce Electric Bike: Great idea, but bad/unstable/immature technology
Written: May 17 '06 (Updated Nov 07 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fun to ride, good for environment, 20mph, 20-mile range.
Cons: Unreliable toy. Expensive. Company going out of business?
The Bottom Line: This is a really neat idea & fun to ride (when they work).
But at this stage, it's just a really expensive "toy".
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| graphics_guy's Full Review: TidalForce iO Cruiser Electric Bicycle |
I first saw these Tidalforce electric bikes on the TV
program "Life In the Fast Lane" (hosted by Steve Natt).
They seemed like so much fun, and such a great idea
that I had to get one...
You let it charge 4-6 hours, and the bike has a range
of about 20 miles, and can go up to 20mph -- one estimate
claims that a recharge costs about 10-cents worth of
electricity. The bike looks & works like a normal bike,
and you can pedal it as much (or as little) as you want
(the more you pedal, the longer your battery will last).
To use the electric motor, there's a small throttle you
push with your thumb - the farther you push it, the faster
it goes (up to the max 20mph). When you put on the brakes
it turns the motor into a generator and recharges the
battery. The battery is in the front spokes, and the
motor is in the rear spokes (well balanced, and low center
of gravity).
I live 2.5 miles from work, so this bike seemed like
the perfect environmentally-conscious (and cool/hip)
commuter vehicle.
I researched these bikes heavily. They have lots of
information on their webstie http://www.tidalforce.com
and I also found lots of bits-n-pieces of info online.
Some of the info mentioned that this company was getting
ready to be sold - the company that developed the
technology was not good at mass manufacturing & marketing
the bikes, and there were selling it to a company that
was better at this - or, so some of the info claimed. [Maybe that should be a warning sign?]
Their website listed several bike shops in my area where
I could buy the bike - I called & visited several, but
none of them did. I found a shop some distance away that
actually did have one in stock, and went to try it out.
It looked super, and the test drive was an awesome
experience. They said this was their last one (they were
getting out of the electric bike market), and were willing
to come way down on the price (list price was $2,500).
So I got the bike for an unbelievably low price [maybe
that should have been a warning sign?]
After I got it home, and after several short rides,
I started noticing "oddities". The bike would go into
regenerate-the-battery mode when it wasn't supposed to
(which makes it go very slow, and because the motor
becomes a generator and produces a lot of drag.)
Also, the motor would frequently stop working altogether
(usually at the same places in my trips, right after coming down a small hill, and then leveling out) -
I would have to totally stop the bike, shut down the electric, and then "reboot" it to get it working again. Sometimes this would happen 3 times on my 2.5 mile commute to work (what a pain).
I called Tidalforce, and they said it might be caused by me
shutting off the power by turning off the key - they claimed I wasn't supposed to do that (although the manual doesn't mention that anywhere). Instead, you're supposed to hold down the "Battery A" button for 5 seconds until it takes that battery offline. Well, even when I religiously turned it off there way, it still had the same problem. Also, Tidalforce said they hadn't heard of anyone else having this kind of problem.
So, under it's 1-year warranty I sent it in to the shop for repair (ie, At my shipping expense I sent it to their shop near Washington DC). The bike had less than 100 miles on it (and still does). I got a confirmation email from them saying they had received my bike and my keys. A couple weeks later I got it back, and they claimed it was fixed. But they forgot to send me my keys, so I couldn't use it - I asked them about the keys, and they mailed me
some more a few days later. Also note that while working on the bike they had re-assembled some of the parts wrong - for example the rear brake cable's metal guide was pointing backwards instead of forwards, so the brake cable had a big crimp in it to turn back in the right direction and go to the front handlebars (seemed like someone who didn't know much about bikes in general had been working on it).
Well, after a few test drives, I quickly concluded that the bike still had basically the same problem (later I found it actually had even worse problems now, because it left me totally stranded several miles from home with a 'reboot' not even getting the motor to work again). Pedaling the 70 pound bike home, uphill, was an arduous task, with the high resistance of the non-working motor. My knees hurt for several days.
I have since heard that many people are having these same problems. One guy has had to send his bike in 8 times (so far) - so many times that he's built a special shipping crate for it. You can read many stories on the google newsgroup:
http://groups.google.com/group/tidalforce
There are several people with suggestions for work-arounds, fixes, and even some things that sound like voodoo/witchcraft to try to get the tidalforce bikes to work.
This bike is a *great* idea, and it's the most wonderful experience in the world when it works -- but be aware that you are probably buying technology that still appears to be in the Alpha/Beta test phase, and the bugs have not all been worked out (and it's quite possible that the company will go totally out of business, and you will not be able to get parts or service for your bike). Quite a risk to take, for a bike that costs around $2000.
Oh - and did I mention that they strongly discourage you from getting the bike wet? (the electric connectors are not water-tight, and the bike could easily short-circuit). I never got mine wet, but this could be a serious limitation.
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Someone recommended I add some technical details about the physical aspects of the bike:
This model is what I would call a "Beach Cruiser" style.
It is very comfortable to ride, and has a thick and
comfortable gel seat (the seat has a clear section so you can see the gel inside). The gears shift pretty easily/smoothly via a "ring" on the front handlebar (if memory serves, there are about 5 or 7 gears?) I usually leave it in 3rd gear, because that's the only "sweet spot" where I like to pedal :)
The brakes seem a little "cheap" - it's just the kind that pinch the metal part of the wheel, and they don't seem to be all that heavy-duty. But I guess this is just a cruiser bike, and not a racing or offroad bike that's likely to need lots of emergency stopping power.
The paint is a shimmery/flat finish - quite stunning. Certain portions of the cables are run through the frame, which gives it a 'clean' look.
The handlebars are wide (ala beach cruiser), and I was able to adjust the seat & handlebar heights for a comfortable ride (I'm 5'11").
I added a red l.e.d. flasher to the rear, and white led headlight to the front. It's a shame I couldn't tie these into the bike's electrical system, or that the bike didn't come with these already built-in.
The bike is quite heavy (almost 70 pounds), so if you're going to transport it on a bike rack, you'll need to get a fairly heavy-duty one that supports the bike by the tires.
The bike rides smoothly, but is a little hard to pedal without the electric assist (both because of the weight of the bike, and the drag of the motor in the rear, I assume).
When the motor is working, the bike rides very smoothly, and accelerates smoothly and quickly.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
graphics_guy
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Reviews written: 35
Trusted by: 3 members
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