Review of Sondors EBike
I have taken regular bikes onto BART, but never a Sondors E-bike. I wanted to see how everything would work--all the way from entering the station, to using the elevators, to securing the bike on the BART train. I made a few enhancements to my Sondors. Perhaps the most important was the addition of a "Lunacycle LCD" paried with a 25 amp controller. The LCD gave me some big advantages:
- Clearer view of battery remaining
- Several types of odometer readouts
- Adjustable range of pedal assist
- Changeable top-speed governor
- Cruise-control ability
Adding the LCD was not too tough, but with the new 25 amp controller, it took a few hours to figure out how to mount the controller inside the battery box. The wire connections themselves were simple to attach.
The day started out pretty sunny . . .
On the BART cars, you can lean the E-bike against the special bike rail. I discovered that some cars actually have heavy duty straps (like seat belts) that you can use to secure your bike to the rail.
Of course, you will need to take the elevators up/down to the platform. This was no problem at all. But I got a lot of curious looks and questions from other BART riders.
It's often busy inside the station, so of course, I just walked the bike once I entered the station.
The BART station agents were curious and friendly. Also, a nice tourist from the Phillipines helped me with some photos. (Thank you, Carmen!)
When I first got my Sondors "Fatty," I installed a rack and pack. I keep a tire repair kit, including several CO2 bottles in the kit.
My bike has the Lunacycle LCD, as well as the upgraded, 25 amp controller.
On the way back home, I really got drenched, but all worked well.
I always use a powerful flashing red tail lamp.
...and a powerful, flashing head lamp.
I got completely drenched on the way from BART back home, but the trip was great fun, and the Sondors came through just fine.
