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Izip Trekking e-bike: A more Enlightened form of travel
The Izip Trekking Enlightened is an electric bike that's ready to replace your second (or even first) car.
Mon, Dec 21 2009 at 1:40 PM
 8

Photo: Currie Tech

Before my friend Michael d'Estries mentioned to me that he was going to be testing an electric bike from Currie Tech, I admit that I didn't know a whole lot about e-bikes. I was aware of their existence, but had never actually ridden on one, so after the kind folks at Currie Tech agreed to send me one to review, I wasn't sure what to expect.
 
What I found, just a few minutes after unpacking the bike and taking it around the neighborhood for a cruise is that I never wanted to go back to non-eletric bikes again.
 
Currie Tech sent me the Izip Trekking Enlightened, a 24 speed beaut of a bike with a 24 volt rear hub motor and lithium ion battery with a stated range of 23-30 miles. I stopped keeping count of how many compliments I've received from strangers about how cool the bike looks- the storage rack, disc brakes, front suspended fork, front and read fenders, built on headlight, and stylish frame (the batteries are concealed in a wide, curved downtube) combine into a bike that is at one classically charming as well as fiercely modern.
 
Unlike the Pedego Comfort Cruiser, which I'm also been reviewing, the Izip doesn't come with a throttle. Instead cranking on a throttle when you want to go faster, you just pedal and the bike's on-board computer measures the torque and meters out an appropriate amount of extra power to the rear hub motor. It couldn't be more user friendly- you just get on the bike and start pedaling, the bike does the rest.
 
Riding the Izip is fun. It's hard not to get a big grin on your face the first time you step down on the pedal and feel the added power of the motor. The acceleration of the Izip is fantastic, it's not hard to see why 'zip' is in its name. Riders can choose between five different power settings, the higher the setting the more extra power given and the faster the drain on the battery. For the part I ride around at the top setting but have fallen back to three and even one bar while out on longer rides in an effort to conserve juice.
 
Though the bike has a stated range of 23-30 miles, I found I was getting 15-20 miles on real world rides. I'm a fairly big guy though, 6'3" 200lbs., so smaller riders and those more content to ride at lower assist settings could easily hit 25-30 miles to a charge. The charger is small enough to fit into a backpack and could easily re-charge the bike during a typical day at the office. The nice thing about the Izip is that even if you do run out of battery power, the 24 gears are more than up to the challenge of bringing you home sans-electricity.
 
Like the Comfort Cruiser, and I guess really any high end quality electric bike, the Izip Trekking Enlightened could replace a lot of people's second car. The bike's price of $1,999 seems high when you look at it as a bike but if you view it as a replacement for a automobile it looks downright cheap- there's no gas to buy (it costs pennies to charge), you don't have to insure it, pay to park it, and when something breaks you'll be writing out checks for two, maybe three digit repairs, not the $1,000+ surprise bills that cars can throw at the best of us (often at the worst of times).
 
Electric bikes are great because they allow you to get to your destination in one of two ways- a lot faster or a lot less sweaty. The Izip Trekking should appeal to both speed demons and anyone who needs to show up at work without looking like they were trying to keep up in a race with Lance Armstrong.
 
You can buy the Izip Trekking Enlightened at IzipUSA for $1,999. It comes in two sizes- medium and large.
 
 
Motor: Exclusive Alloy Shell DC Brushless Geared Hub Motor
Battery: Replaceable Lithium-ion battery pack
Amps: 10 Amp hours
Volts: 24 Volts
Brakes: Tektro IO Disc brake up front, Pro Max TX-218 Linear Pull in the read, Tektro EL-340 Levers
Weight: 52 pounds
Seat: Velo suspension comfort post  
 
Don't sue me FTC Disclosure: Currie Tech sent me an Izip Trekking Enlightened to use and review for free. It'll go back at the end of the review period. 
 
 
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Comments: 8
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anonymous
Mike Haik Dec 21 2009 at 4:48 PM
Thanks for the reply. Taking your advice and calling around to demo both but having trouble finding the IZIP. Going to HB Scooters in Huntington Beach (Califonia) this afternoon - they offer the Pedego for $1595. They also offer the Ulta Motor but it is $2700. I will try it when there. The Currie dealers I called do not stock the Trekking for a variety of different reasons. One other thing I learned calling around is that the Pedego comes in eight different colors in the Classic and nine different
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colors in the Step Thru. I am going to buy 2 electric bikes for Christmas Gifts for myself and my wife. I am nn vacation this week and next so we will report back on what we purchase and our experiences riding them.
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sgunther's picture
Shea Gunther Dec 21 2009 at 5:00 PM

Send me an email at sheagunther@gmail.com and I'll put you in touch with someone at Currie Tech, they might be able to help you find a Trekking Enlightened nearby to try out.

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anonymous
Mike Haik Dec 21 2009 at 9:09 PM
So much to learn! Test rode the Utra Motor (looks like a scooter, heavy and expensive at $2700) a Pedego (nice looking and very comfortable riding position). Both are throttle controlled. We also rode a Giant Twist ($2,199) and a Trek ($2,399). My wife and I both agree that we like throttle power and dislike the pedal assist type that both the Giant and Trek have. Power was added when we didn't want any and it felt unsafe. Apparently we are not the only ones as the dealer selling the Trek has
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it discounted to $1699 because he told us his customers have not liked pedal assist. He had 2 and I think we could have got them for even less if we bought 2. If the Trek was throttle controlled, it would be worthy of consideration since it was 36 volt and had plenty of power. Since the Currie is pedal assist, we will not need to ride it. We are now looking for throttle only options and going to test ride a "Hebb" tomorrow. We also determined that we want 36 volt battery system. All the 24 volt bikes we rode were too slow and did a poor job on hills. One thing for sure, the more we ride them, the more we want one. Hope to close a deal on two tomorrow! Will update with any other relevant info.
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sgunther's picture
Shea Gunther Dec 21 2009 at 9:17 PM

That's great! I can't wait to hear what you end up buying. Are you and your wife new bike riders or just making the jump to electric for the first time?

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anonymous
Mike Haik Dec 23 2009 at 8:08 PM

We are going with the Pedegos. Dealers rave about the quality and support from the factory. We also think they have the best looks and offer the best value. We would have bought them today but my wife can't make up her mind about the colors she wants. From my perspective, Pedego offers too many colors but I guess that is better than too few.

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sgunther's picture
Shea Gunther Dec 23 2009 at 8:11 PM

Good choice, it's a great bike. Are you going with the Comfort Cruiser?

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anonymous
Mike Haik Dec 21 2009 at 2:31 PM

Is the Pedego faster? Looking at the specs, the Currie is 24 volts and the Pedego is 36 volts. Pedego shows a 500 watt motor but the I can't find the Currie motor size anywhere but it looks much smaller. Specs from the manufacturers web sites show Currie up to 15 mph and Pedego at 20 mph.

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sgunther's picture
Shea Gunther Dec 21 2009 at 2:39 PM
It's hard to say which bike can go faster- the Pedego certainly has more juice, you can feel the extra oomph that the 36 volts offers over the 24 volts of the Izip, but once you hit 25mph or so on the Pedego, pedaling doesn't add any more speed (it only has six gears). I haven't hit the point where pedaling is ineffective on the 24 geared Izip. If I was racing a clone of myself on the bikes I'd guess it'd be pretty even, though the version of me riding the Izip would probably be working a little
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harder for it. One of the big differences between the two bikes is the throttle- the Pedego has one, the Izip doesn't. I'd suggest trying both bikes out before making an decisions if it's still a toss up but either way you go you'll be in for a treat- they're both sweet bikes.
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