In my last post I considered a new battery because mine is getting a little weak, and this week I ordered a new battery and have just had it delivered.
With the battery came a leaflet from the manufacturer, Phylion in China. Jinshajiang Road, New District, Suzhou, P.R. China. Postcode 215153
Tel +86-512-6832-0283
Model Number: JCEB360-11
36v 11.6AH
As you no doubt know, I’ve had an electric bike for over two years now, and it’s left a fantastic impression on me physically and mentally too.
About me, I’m 47 years old, I’ve smoked for over 30 years, I live in Halifax West Yorkshire (a VERY hilly town), I also suffer with depression and have done for 20 years. I bought this bike because I’d started cycling again the year before I tore my knee cartilage, and I struggled getting any power through my knees.
A few months after buying the Carrera Crossfire-E I had my knees fixed, and soon after I was back to normal.
So now you know I’m a prime candidate for using an e-bike, and so far I’ve done 2,000 miles on it. But how has it changed me?
I’m in desperate need of new (front especially) brake pads, and seeing as this is the first time I’ve ever done it, I thought I’d better get some pointers from Youtube.
This is a job that requires you to remove the wheel(s). But it looks dead easy and can be done in just a couple of minutes.
The brakes for the Carrera Crossfire-E are Tektro Vela. The second video is replacing the brake fluid.
My next 2 areas of maintenance are brake fluid replacement and a new chain.
The last good day was way back in January, and while I did go for a ride, it was just to discharge the battery for the upcoming cold months, I didn’t want it sat there with a full charge, after all, that kills Lithium Ion batteries fast!
I’ve also got a new camera, a Garmin Virb X, this records 1080p and GPS data from a ride, so I can now show you my speed, distance, pitch, roll, g-force, gradient and a whole hell of a lot more.
The layout I’ve used is…
I’ve held off updating the blog with the fix for the power cut-out on the Carrera Crossfire-E, I wanted to be sure that I wasn’t just fooling myself and to make sure it stays fixed. 300 miles later and I’ve had zero cut outs.
Way way back in April 2016 when I got this bike and experienced my first power cut I noticed that a zip-tie was around the cable and the frame. But just before going on my holiday to Fort William I gave my baby a damn good clean and service. During the service I removed the rear wheel and chain for a really deep clean, then reattached everything and put on a new zip-tie, a green one.
Just before my holiday to Fort William I emailed SR Suntour and asked if they have an update for 2016 and earlier bikes, to swap the display from KM to Miles, they didn’t and stopped working on updating the firmware some time ago. They did suggest that I contact Halfords and ask if they’ll swap the display to a 2017 model for me as it’s compatible with earlier bikes.
So I went to my local store and they didn’t hesitate to order one, unfortunately they only ordered the display and not the LCD holder, and while the display arrived in time for my hols, the holder didn’t.
But by the time I came back they had arrived and I’ve now got the display and buttons for a 2017 bike and they work perfectly, man it’s so nice to have miles per hour and miles total instead of KM.
So a big thank you to Halfords (Halifax) for sorting this out for me, and free of charge too.
Last week I had my first ever holiday on my own and my first holiday in nearly 3 years, my first day off, my first lie in and my first holiday with my E-Bike. Before I set off I planned a trip around Loch Linnhe and Loch Eil with Google Maps.
The maximum assist I used was 25%
One person (there are many more) who looked at my reviews bought the Crossfire-E and he rides it a hell of a lot more than I do, that person is Drewpyfz6, he’s just made a video of a commute and he’s achieved over 2,000 miles in 6 months. Not too shabby m8e 🙂
My last ride (yesterday) was 15 miles in 60 minutes (an average of exactly 15mph of course), and I loved it, and I’d only used 45% of the battery, so I’m getting a bit fitter, faster (my previous average was 13mph) and thanks to the new additions to my bike, comfier too.
I’ll get a video up of all my gadgets and toys for my bike pretty soon, but for now here’s Drewpyfz6 on a commute on his 2,000+ mile bike.
Further reading:
Video re-review at the bottom of the page.
Continue reading
This is an early video from my collection, and also it was just a few weeks after buying the Carrera Crossfire-E so I was still unfit and struggling with the hills.
You’ll see some gorgeous Yorkshire countryside and me having a hard time of it. There are a few serious hills to climb and one downhill that requires a LOT of breaking, there is one that is so steep and long it requires me to alternate front and rear breaking otherwise I get break fade and could crash if not done properly.
Please note, this video has been downloaded from 3D Gamer so the quality isn’t as good as it could be, it was downloaded and uploaded again, this doubles the compression.
I will no longer be using this channel to upload bike rides, I’ll now be using my new bike riding channel (The Bionic Cyclist).
