Heybike Explore

[penndan]

Anybody else bought the new Heybike Explore?
I took delivery on one four days ago and have ridden it as much as I could take in the Minnesota cold and rain of October. I've decided that It's too big for me or I'm too small for it. In my prime I used to be 5ft 11 but at 86 years old I find I've shrunk down to 5 9. It will happen to all of you if the world lets you live long enough.
The seat on the HimEx has a fancy mechanism to let you flip the seat up to slide the battery out. And the seat tube has some built in suspension. These two things makes the seat too high for me to touch the ground with my toes so I bought a new fat seat and a plain tube from Amazon which allows me to reach the ground at the lowest setting.
That's all I have time now to talk about now because my wife and I are leaving at noon for a two week cruise to the Caribbean. And I've got final packing and happy dancing to do.

 

[HumanPerson]

Well have fun and be Safe on the Cruise and bring us back some goodies

 

[penndan]

Got off the Norwegian Joy cruise boat this morning in Miami and back to Minneapolis this evening to 30 degree weather. Very sobering, indeed!
Tomorrow I plan to ride the Heybike some more and see if I like it any better than I did two weeks ago. I'll be judging it against the Himiway Escape that you can see in the background of the photo above.
I've got a 1500 watt Ebikeling rear wheel kit that I might install on the Heybike.
Many things to think about.

 

[penndan]

Rode the Heybike again yesterday in the COLD. I'm liking it better than last time. Longer wheelbase because of the battery behind the seat post and higher riding position because of the 26 inch wheels compared to the Himiway 20 inchers. Another couple of rides in the Minneapolis cold and I should be ready to shut down for the winter. I've got the new fat seat set just about right for me to do some pedal assist workouts and down low enough to get my feet on the ground when I need to. With the 1500 watt wheel kit installed the Heybike should be a beast! But that will have to wait until May of next year.
We have another cruise scheduled for early 2024. A four and a half month world cruise on the Cunard Line Queen Mary 2, going to 35 cities almost around the world. If you are interested in the itinerary, you can look it up on the Cunard website. Over and out!

 

[penndan]

I couldn't help myself. I had to start working on the Heybike now. So I started with the easy stuff first.
I'm a city boy. Have been all my life None of my bikes have seen a gravel road or a dirt path. And I hate the constant tire buzz and squirminess of knobby tires, so they are gone!

 

[penndan]

And I've started on the install of the 1500 watt Ebikeling rear wheel motor. Also with a civilized street tire.

I'm working on getting the wiring sorted out now. I'm waiting for some new soldering stuff to come from Amazon.

 

[HumanPerson]

heya mate, use these instead of soldering the wires themselves...these work wonders

Amazon.com

and you'll need a heat gun, pick one....

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=heat+gun

I hope this helps ya

 

[penndan]

Great minds think in the same circles! I just ordered a set of the solder less connectors.
Thanks for the heads up. And I'm off in search of my heat gun right now.

 

[penndan]

OK. I think I've got everything plugged in to where it should be. Red to red, orange to orange, etc. Power cable reads correct on a volt meter. BUT, the display doesn't turn on. And the wheel doesn't turn.

What now?

 

[penndan]

Gave up. Returned the motor kit to Ebikeling and I'm out of the upgrade game.

 

[penndan]

Just sold the Heybike Explore this morning by way of craigslist and ordered from Amazon a 1500 watt Bopzin Ridstar.

 

[penndan]

Looks a lot like the Heybike, doesn't it? I'll get it next week. Stay tuned.