So, I bit the bullet and bought a TODO e-MTB...

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The Fixer
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So, I bit the bullet and bought a TODO e-MTB...

Postby The Fixer » Fri May 04, 2018 1:27 pm

...off eBay for just under $900.00 new. A TODO 'Mountain Rider' 26" with a geared 250W rear-hub
motor. Three months and nearly 800 km later, and I'm loving it!

Everything was in the box, and everything was well padded and protected. Nothing was damaged
in transit. Nothing has failed, nothing has broken (well, one thing, but more of that later). It per-
forms as advertised in every way. I'm easily getting the advertised 40 km between charges, which
equals approx two days riding.

Tyres (Kenda) and tubes are t-shirt thin, so I've had issues with punctures due to 'cat-eye' thorns. I
used some 'tyre slime' in both tubes and that problem went away. I used 'Orange Seal' brand, highly
recommend the stuff.

Mechanical disc brakes perform well, wet or dry. Pads still holding-up well. Drive-train is Shimano
Tourney, but works well and has remained in adjustment. Frame is aluminium alloy. Weight 20.6 kg.

It easily maintains its top speed, and will climb reasonably long, steep grades, altho a bit of LPA
doesn't hurt. It isn't happy in the real rough stuff, but will cruise fire-trails and dirt roads all day
with no strain on bike or rider. Around town it's excellent.

I replaced the original nice-looking-but-rock-hard seat with something a bit kinder to the nether-
regions, and fitted a QD rear rack and a Go-Pro mount. Otherwise, nothing is modified.

Oh - the thing that broke? The speed-control clamp, because the bike was blown-over in a heavy
wind gust. Which could happen to anything. A couple of small cable-ties, though, and it's actually
more secure now than it was previously.

'Cheapie' it may be - junk it is not. I'm 100% happy with it so far.

Image
Last edited by The Fixer on Sat Apr 20, 2019 7:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.
I don't care if it's a $20 Huffy or a $20k Colnago, as long as you're riding, and you're happy.

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The Fixer
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby The Fixer » Mon May 07, 2018 8:52 pm

Yeah, OK.

I sometimes wonder why I bother.

This is one of those times.
I don't care if it's a $20 Huffy or a $20k Colnago, as long as you're riding, and you're happy.

leovendramini
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby leovendramini » Mon May 07, 2018 9:39 pm

The Ebay one had an in frame battery but yours is outboard ?

Calvin27
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby Calvin27 » Mon May 07, 2018 10:00 pm

Looks quite tidy for an ebay bike. Nice buying.

What speed is the cassette at the back? WOndering if it can take 8/9/10 speed because I'm thinking of swapping my mid drive to a hub motor.
Heavy road bike
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Very cushy dirt bike
Bike crushed by car (RIP)
No brakes bike
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The Fixer
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby The Fixer » Tue May 08, 2018 11:22 am

Calvin27 wrote:Looks quite tidy for an ebay bike. Nice buying.

What speed is the cassette at the back? WOndering if it can take 8/9/10 speed because I'm thinking of swapping my mid drive to a hub motor.
This one is a seven.

Three at the front.

It does feel as if it could use an extra gear or two at anything over around 20km/h.

I generally leave it on the small cog at the rear, and shift between the intermediate
and large chain-rings on the front, when using the motor.
I don't care if it's a $20 Huffy or a $20k Colnago, as long as you're riding, and you're happy.

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The Fixer
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby The Fixer » Tue May 08, 2018 11:24 am

leovendramini wrote:The Ebay one had an in frame battery but yours is outboard ?
I believe they do a somewhat more 'up-market' model ( a 29.5", if I recall correctly) which does, indeed, have the battery integral with the frame.
I don't care if it's a $20 Huffy or a $20k Colnago, as long as you're riding, and you're happy.

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Mububban
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby Mububban » Tue May 08, 2018 5:06 pm

The Fixer wrote:
Calvin27 wrote:Looks quite tidy for an ebay bike. Nice buying.

What speed is the cassette at the back? WOndering if it can take 8/9/10 speed because I'm thinking of swapping my mid drive to a hub motor.
This one is a seven.

Three at the front.

It does feel as if it could use an extra gear or two at anything over around 20km/h.

I generally leave it on the small cog at the rear, and shift between the intermediate
and large chain-rings on the front, when using the motor.
Nice bargain. Getting it for a steal makes anything better :)

When I was using my 200W e-bike kit on my old MTB (3 x 7 gearing) I'd almost never get out of the big ring at the front. I'd just shift around the mid range of the cassette. Only proper hills would see me gearing down on the front.

My ebike kit has been relegated to the spare room to be sold off one day (dead battery, I'm looking for quotes to replace it), but I'll always have a soft spot for them as they got me back riding again, and when I'm older they'll help to keep me riding :)
I'm about to miss not having that motor going up the hills on Rottnest towing a heavy trailer full of the kids' backpacks and beach towels etc.....daddy pack mule is in for a tougher time this year than the last few :shock:
When you are driving your car, you are not stuck IN traffic - you ARE the traffic!!!

Calvin27
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby Calvin27 » Thu May 10, 2018 1:26 pm

Mububban wrote:
When I was using my 200W e-bike kit on my old MTB (3 x 7 gearing) I'd almost never get out of the big ring at the front. I'd just shift around the mid range of the cassette. Only proper hills would see me gearing down on the front.
I run out of gears quite quickly on my 1x8 speed mid drive PAS. Cassette range is 11-30 but I think a 10 speed 11-36 might be perfect and not too expy.
Heavy road bike
Cushy dirt bike
Very cushy dirt bike
Bike crushed by car (RIP)
No brakes bike
Ebike

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The Fixer
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby The Fixer » Wed Aug 15, 2018 6:50 pm

The e-bike has hit the 1000km mark. Nothing's broken in that time (apart from one plastic clip), and nothing has worn or failed. The only thing that's needed touching is that the brakes needed adjustment at 200km (they squeaked) and at 950km to take up normal pad-wear. Front tyre is hardly worn, rear tyre is about 40% worn. It's used almost exclusively on-road (or path) with the occasional easy trail. I'm still perfectly happy with it.
Last edited by The Fixer on Sun Aug 19, 2018 7:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I don't care if it's a $20 Huffy or a $20k Colnago, as long as you're riding, and you're happy.

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xx68
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby xx68 » Sun Aug 19, 2018 1:43 pm

I may be on the outer on this .
But , I think e-bikes seem to be more ...long lasting .
A mate has an e-mtb it’s done almost 2500km since Feb tyres are fine , brakes fine , chain fine . We ride pretty hard ( I am a convert but have short arms ...) I’m impressed .

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Mububban
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby Mububban » Mon Aug 27, 2018 4:18 pm

When the battery on my conversion kit failed, rather than replace the battery (~$400) I bought a $1500 road bike instead :D
I used mine for regular commuting and charged it following the guidelines, but it lasted less than 2 years I think. Not sure if that's reasonable or not. Either way, I'm loving the road bike :)

I'll be interested to know what sort of lifespan other batteries have.
When you are driving your car, you are not stuck IN traffic - you ARE the traffic!!!

scooter1971
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby scooter1971 » Mon Aug 27, 2018 7:44 pm

Great to hear about the e-bike purchase, sounds like your'e enjoying it which is the main thing.
There are so many options out there and like all tech each year costs drop and quality/features increase.
I reckon i'll get one someday, will have to sell a few things first though...

mmgoy
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby mmgoy » Fri Oct 26, 2018 2:11 pm

I've got 42 at the front 11-36 at the back (10sp) and I never use the bottom gears and run out of gears on flats or slight declines. Not by much but enough to get me looking at upgraded chain ring

AdHoc
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby AdHoc » Tue Mar 19, 2019 10:54 pm

I bought one of those a few days ago, $990 shipment to Tassie included. Haven’t used it more than 20 km for now, but I’ve enjoyed it. The plastics of certain clamps (controller box in particular) are very brittle and break, so I’ve been using cable ties to attach stuff.

The cabling being apparent and outside of the frame is an issue (long-term reliability and less room to attach accessories to the frame, like a padlock), but at this price it’s perfectly acceptable.

There’s no spot to attach the bell, its clamp just doesn’t fit anywhere on the handlebar, which is really odd.

@The Fixer, what’s the exact model of the rear rack you added?

Edit: other thing I forgot to mention is the chain derails easily on steep hills, but maybe that’s just me not knowing how to use a bike (this is my first ebike and I haven’t had much experience uphill with bikes before) and the front light does not work for some reason.
Last edited by AdHoc on Thu Mar 21, 2019 11:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Comedian
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby Comedian » Wed Mar 20, 2019 1:20 pm

The Fixer wrote:The e-bike has hit the 1000km mark. Nothing's broken in that time (apart from one plastic clip), and nothing has worn or failed. The only thing that's needed touching is that the brakes needed adjustment at 200km (they squeaked) and at 950km to take up normal pad-wear. Front tyre is hardly worn, rear tyre is about 40% worn. It's used almost exclusively on-road (or path) with the occasional easy trail. I'm still perfectly happy with it.
Any update? I'm impressed by the price - but it will have to do some miles to really impress me.

AdHoc
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby AdHoc » Wed Mar 20, 2019 9:47 pm

Also, The Fixer, do you know how to turn on the backlighting on the screen? I’m sure I saw it light up before (blue-ish light), but now it’s not backlit.

Also, I thought I’d mention this: my brakes have been squeaky since the beginning.

ironhanglider
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby ironhanglider » Thu Mar 21, 2019 8:43 am

AdHoc wrote:Also, The Fixer, do you know how to turn on the backlighting on the screen? I’m sure I saw it light up before (blue-ish light), but now it’s not backlit.

Also, I thought I’d mention this: my brakes have been squeaky since the beginning.
Squeaky brakes are not an e-bike issue. Any competent bike mechanic should be able to resolve that. Lots of instructional videos on YouTube to help you DIY.

Cheers,

Cameron

AdHoc
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby AdHoc » Thu Mar 21, 2019 11:08 am

Yup, has more to do with the fact that it’s a cheap Chinese bike ordered online, will look into it, thanks.

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The Fixer
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby The Fixer » Sun Mar 24, 2019 2:08 pm

Stay tuned for a detailed update, but I'd just like to address a few of these queries.
@adhoc

Re: Rear rack - it's nothing special, just a generic seat-post-mounted jobbie from K-mart. So far
it's done its job without complaint, although I wouldn't trust it with a lot of weight. For general
use, it's fine.

Re: Lights - press the top button on the LH control for a few seconds. The dash should then light
up, and the headlight should come on at the same time. NOTE: The headlight is not particularly
good (it's quite bad actually) - it helps 'them' see you, but won't help you see much at all. I have
a small battery-powered auxiliary light mounted next to the dash display (see pic).

Re: Bell - yes, the handlebars are very 'busy'. I've mounted mine inboard of the RH brake/shifter
but it's not ideal. Looking at maybe an electric horn, powered either by the bike or by recharge-
able batteries.

Re: Wiring/cabling - I've found no issues so far. No chafing, and no problems with water etc
getting in. I do agree regarding space for accessories - I have a bar-mounted camera-bag which is
unusable due to the wiring layout. I'll be looking at re-routing some of the wires at a later date.

Re: Chain/derailleurs - no real issues here. The derailleurs are low-end Shimano, so not great, but
better than Chinese knock-offs. All they've needed is a bit of lube, and cable-adjustment (the
cables do stretch A LOT in the first few hundred kays). I find that while riding around town I
seldom need to shift the rear from high-gear, and mostly shift by alternating between the middle
and large front rings. Obviously, I shift more if riding off-road.

Re: Brakes - correct adjustment is essential to stop squeaking, as is making sure everything is tight
and correctly lubed. Also make sure the caliper is adjusted so it is parallel with the disc. Adjusted
properly, the brakes are very good, especially when the weight of the bike is taken into account.

Hope you find this of some use to you.


Image
I don't care if it's a $20 Huffy or a $20k Colnago, as long as you're riding, and you're happy.

AdHoc
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby AdHoc » Mon Mar 25, 2019 12:15 pm

Thanks for your answer, much appreciated. I ordered my own rear rack, rated to 75 kg, will fit any bike, got panier-supports (didn’t mount them), and comes with a mud-guard/fender. $35 on eBay. This is turning into the eBay thread!

Re: light, I did figure out how to activate the light+screen before your message, but... the light still wasn’t working. I ended up dismantling everything until I found the problem inside the controller box: loose connector.

I managed to find a spot for the bell thanks to your photo, pushing it all the way underneath the shifter.

Anyway, I really like my bike and think it actually looks kinda cool, especially in black.

Image
Inside the controller box, it’s a mess! You can tell it’s a cheap build.

Image
Image
Image
Image

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Brittle plastic clamps...

Image
Bell placement

ironhanglider
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby ironhanglider » Mon Mar 25, 2019 12:48 pm

AdHoc wrote:Thanks for your answer, much appreciated. I ordered my own rear rack, rated to 75 kg, will fit any bike, got panier-supports (didn’t mount them), and comes with a mud-guard/fender. $35 on eBay. This is turning into the eBay thread!
You've done well, but there is no way that I'd be dinking my wife on that rack and she is way less than 75kg. For light loads it should be fine.

Cheers,

Cameron

AdHoc
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby AdHoc » Mon Mar 25, 2019 7:46 pm

ironhanglider wrote:You've done well, but there is no way that I'd be dinking my wife on that rack and she is way less than 75kg. For light loads it should be fine.

Cheers,

Cameron
Hey, it’s a nice rack! And I don’t mean your wife...

:arrow: []

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The Fixer
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby The Fixer » Mon Mar 25, 2019 8:09 pm

Nice one, Adhoc.

Glad I could be of some service.

Oh - regarding those broken brackets on the controller-box - one of mine is cracked
(not broken yet), but I'm looking into sourcing some more robust ones from some-
where like Bunnings or similar, or one of the local 'sparkies'.

Just gotta find the correct diameter to fit the frame-tube.

Will advise.
I don't care if it's a $20 Huffy or a $20k Colnago, as long as you're riding, and you're happy.

AdHoc
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby AdHoc » Wed Apr 17, 2019 5:46 pm

The Fixer: what tire pressure do you use? I’ve found online that the recommended pressure for bike tires was, on average, 3 bar. But I find that to be too little on my bike (I weigh 72 kg) and the tires flatten quite a lot under my weight. I’ve started putting 4.5 bar now and it seems better.

Also, I haven’t managed to figure out how the fork suspension dials work. The one on the right locks the whole system, the one on the left supposedly allows you to adjust the resistance, but it doesn’t change anything on my bike. I’d like the shock absorber to be harder than it currently is.

I too have been shifting only with the 3-speed (left front) shifter, but I think I’m going to start using the 7-speed (right rear) shifter instead. It’s not as fast, but gives me more flexibility in the gearing.

Other than that, not much else to say, still very happy, without being overly enthusiastic about it.

Edit: could you or a moderator rename this thread to the name of the bike, for more clarity and better search engine indexing? I struggled to find it again the other day. It’s the "TODO Mountain Rider ebike".

AdHoc
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Re: So, I bit the bullet and bought one...

Postby AdHoc » Fri Apr 19, 2019 12:10 am

One other thing I noticed: when the battery is flat (or goes flat while you’re riding with assist), the bike feels unnecessarily hard to pedal. It almost feels like the hub is braking the wheel when it’s not assisting, instead of just not assisting. Have you noticed this too, or is it just the contrast between assist and non-assist that’s so shocking and suddenly confusing my brain?

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