It’s been several months now since I’ve had the opportunity to test out the iZip Enlightened hybrid-electric bicycle — and the enthusiasm present with my first impressions has certainly not waned.
As I mentioned earlier, living in Ithaca, NY means having to negotiate several steep inclines to get to work. Most bikers around here either find alternative windy roads that slowly make their way to the top — or walk their bike up the tougher sections. Either way, when you’re dressed to impress, sweating your balls off is one thing you want to try and avoid. This in mind, ever since hybrid-electric bikes hit the scene, I’ve been eying them as a means to avoid roundabouts and just hit these hills straight on. iZip offers a bunch of different bikes to handle such scenarios and I was fortunate enough to be given one to test drive.
If you’re not familiar with how hybrid-electric bikes function, here’s a bit of a recap from my first post:
The IZIP instead is an electric-assist — giving you some extra torque to help you up some tough inclines. To that end, you still have to pedal. The beauty of this system is that you can choose to have it on or off — or at different levels of assist. About to hit a hill and want some support? Simply press the “+” button on the left handlebar and watch the LCD indicator light a few bars higher. Want to back off? Hit the “-” button. It’s as simple as that — and believe me, you still get a workout.
In my rides to work, I generally kept the power button on high — which even on flat portions of the trip, never seem to interfere with normal pedaling. As soon as I hit those nasty inclines, however, I could hear the electric motor kick on and the exertion normally needed to huff and puff greatly reduced. The electric-assist can’t overcome huge inclines, however, — so on some of my trips, I avoided the monster hills and took side streets. This strategy seemed to favor the technology and the assist definitely got me to my destination much faster than normal — and with less sweat.
This was also the first time I’ve ever had to charge a bike — generally about two times a week. It wasn’t terribly annoying, but the bike does weight a good amount (50lbs) — and carrying it up to my porch for a recharge was something of a pain. I can definitely see why other companies have shifted to removable battery packs to make the process much easier.
Perhaps the greatest praise that I can throw on the iZip Enlightened is that it’s a bike that doesn’t try to be something else. Nobody is going to stop you and ask what you’re riding. This is an evolution of the bicycle that hides all of its tech on the inside — and it’s a simple system that does a decent job of providing some extra “umpf” to your ride. Perhaps the greatest complaint is that, at a MSRP of $1,999, I wish it was more affordable; though I’ve seen 2007 models online for just a tad over $1K. Obviously, as the tech becomes more widespread, we can expect these hybrid-electric systems to come down drastically in price.
So, is it for everyone? Probably not. Is it a great commute bike? Absolutely — if you’ve got the cash to spare and are looking for something that will get you to your destination relatively sweat-free, give it a shot. The versatility of the control system is such that you can dictate how much of a workout you get — and if you arrive on time warmed up or out-of-breath.
For more information on the iZip Enlightened — or any of their other models — please jump here.
Copyright © 2009 GroovyGreen.com - Start Today :: Save Tomorrow. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact michael@groovygreen.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana
About This News Article or Informative Resource
The article Review: IZIP Enlightened Hybrid-Electric Bike Makes For A Great Suit-Commute is syndicated for use on our Green Lifestyle Blog. The original content can be found here.
