First E-bike and thinking ahead.

[Rainman]

Hi, I've just ordered my first e-bike a Fiido D3 Pro.

Please don't laugh, as there is some method to my madness.
I wanted a one size fits all bike that the whole family could use, and would fit easily in the car or on the bus. I wanted it UK legal (ish), and price was quite important for a first bike, as I don't think it will be massively used on a regular basis. I would have preferred a scooter, but they are not legal on the road in the UK.

I'm thinking ahead for when the warranty runs out, or if the manufacturer turns out to find any excuse not to warrant it, I want to be able to replace anything myself and not always the same part from the manufacturer if there is a better and cheaper component from a third party. The thing I seem to be noticing when reading about e-bikes, is that compatibility between parts is important. The controller, display, battery and motor all have to get along for it to work.

I'm reasonably handy with the spanners, but less proficient at tracing electronic component faults, even though I own 2 multimeters. Battery replacement seems to be the big ticket item, but I'm up for the idea of getting a spot welder and replacing dead cells, as a few of the places I've seen seem to charge almost as much as a new battery to refurbish them.

Is it realistic to expect to keep these bikes working with part replacement for less than the cost of just buying a new one?

Thanks

 

[HumanPerson]

Welcome to the forums

 

[Smaug]

Welcome to the forum, from SE Wisconsin, USA!
The battery pack and brake pads are the normal wear parts. Maybe the brake discs if you ride it enough.

I believe in the UK, you're not allowed to have throttle. I bet there is an easy way to disable that in the controller, and if not, check with Fiido whether simply cutting the throttle wires would do it or if that would disable electric altogether.

I haven't ridden one, but I'm curious why Fiido isn't honest on their website. It would lead to less customer disappointments and strengthen their brand. Examples:

For any height and any age
Equipped with a dropper seat post and a step-through frame, the D3 Pro is a one-size-fits-all for 5.0'(155cm) - 6.5'(200cm). Almost anyone can get on it with legs stretched out straight.

I almost guarantee that anyone over 5'8 is not getting anything CLOSE to full leg extension on that bike. The seat post is not long enough.

Carry around with ease
One of the lightest on the market with a mere 38.6 lbs total weight, thanks to the aluminum alloy used throughout the body. On top of that is a stem extender that can be loosened and folded.

38.6 lbs. is not too heavy, but I noticed the frame doesn't fold, as the batteries are in that downtube. So the handlebars fold down and the seat post goes down through the seat tube, but it's going to be unwieldy as it will still be full length. I had a bike like this before too; (Sailnovo from Amazon) it would just BARELY fit in the trunk of my car. (but at least it wasn't double thickness, as would be the case if it folded)

Excellent riding experience with less effort
A high gear ratio and better torque. You won't stop feeling your pedal resistance at higher speeds. Meanwhile, you climb the slope with less effort.

A high gear ratio = worse torque, not better. Still feeling pedal resistance at higher speeds means climbing slopes with MORE effort, not less.

Enjoying your ride
The 250W Brushless motor pushes it to 16 MPH, staying within the line almost everywhere. Ride stress-free. Have fun.

Here, they say the motor pushes it to 16 mph. Elsewhere on the very same page, they say 14.6 mph is the top speed. It's false in at least one of those places.

None of this necessarily means it's a bad quality bike, but it means the marketing team is either completely dishonest or incompetent. But it DOES make me not trust them though.

We have a user here named "A" who is a fan of Fiido bikes; he has one each for him and his wife. Maybe check in with him.

As to your comments about keeping the bike going by having parts, I've got a lady that reached out to me through a Facebook eBike group named Suzy Cen who is EXCELLENT at sourcing Chinese OEM eBike batteries, and at a much-reduced cost. Maybe she can help with brake pads too? Yours is built- in though, so I don't think it would be an easy job to change it. It's probably not a modular pack. Might require special tools to get things in and out. Building or repairing your own battery packs is risky. Things have to be done just right for them to be safe and we are starting to see more eBike fires. The governments are starting to react by requiring 3rd party safety certification on the battery packs. Here in the states, New York City and some cities on the west coast are requiring this already. I'd be surprised if the UK isn't.

As to your other question about whether replacing parts could make sense on eBikes, the answer is yes, but probably not on a $300 one like that. Take good care of the battery pack, trying to keep the state of charge between 20-80% and it will last three times as long as if you're careless with the charging. Charging to 100% then leaving it for days or weeks to "keep it ready" really hurts the battery lifespan. Ditto for discharging it all the way. If you take care of the battery pack in this way and the cells are decent quality, it will likely last 5+ years with daily use.

I think this eBike will give you the bug and you'll see your way clear to justify a nicer, more capable one in the future. That's how it worked with a lot of us.

I got into it thinking I'd buy an eBike for my wife, so she could ride with me and keep up so I could get some exercise. I wound up riding it more than her and almost immediately got another one. Then, I got one for commuting and groceries. Then I got an eMoped. (it's a different class in the UK, I think you call them "speed pedelecs")

 

[kmccune]

Hi, I've just ordered my first e-bike a Fiido D3 Pro.

Please don't laugh, as there is some method to my madness.
I wanted a one size fits all bike that the whole family could use, and would fit easily in the car or on the bus. I wanted it UK legal (ish), and price was quite important for a first bike, as I don't think it will be massively used on a regular basis. I would have preferred a scooter, but they are not legal on the road in the UK.

I'm thinking ahead for when the warranty runs out, or if the manufacturer turns out to find any excuse not to warrant it, I want to be able to replace anything myselfes and not always the same part from the manufacturer if there is a better and cheaper component from a third party. The thing I seem to be noticing when reading about e-bikes, is that compatibility between parts is important. The controller, display, battery and motor all have to get along for it to work.

I'm reasonably handy with the spanners, but less proficient at tracing electronic component faults, even though I own 2 multimeters. Battery replacement seems to be the big ticket item, but I'm up for the idea of getting a spot welder and replacing dead cells, as a few of the places I've seen seem to charge almost as much as a new battery to refurbish them.

Is it realistic to expect to keep these bikes working with part replacement for less than the cost of just buying a new one?

Thanks

yes, a lot of these ebike conversion kits have everything you need and they are a lot cheaper than the whole bike,do not know what size your wheels and whatever are,have seen used 250 watt bafang front wheels for $25 usd,and its not a whole lot of trouble finding something to drive these things with,forget about repairing used battery a pretty fair battery can be had for around$300( normal precautions) you can choose the style( occasionally finding something that can drop right in connector,etc., conrtollers are not hard to source either. wow just checked,didnt realize it was that small,though its still not impossible to get parts for,i would recommend something a tad bigger, like the the viva 20x1.75 folder only disadvantage its 48 volts dont know the motor power( reasonable price too)