eLife Ranger 950 review
29/12/2020
 |
| fig 1.2 freeze framed from the promo video |
Intro
Before I get into reviewing this bike I want you to know why I bought it which will give you a bit more of my angle on the matter.
 |
| fig 1.2 |
When that work placement ended I was looking at my next commute being more like a 30 mile round trip which although completely doable, I wasn't going to commit that many hours of my life to commuting no matter how nice it was to be out on the bike.
An electric bike seemed to be a sensible compromise between the speed of taking the car or a motorcycle against the near free to fuel bicycle.
The next issue was picking one. A small folding bike was not going to be suitable for the long distance. A mountain bike would cost me more in weight and rolling resistance than the motor would benefit me. Taking these two options out of the equation cut out most of my options out there. I was left with a home build or a couple of affordable options (I wasn't entertaining high price bikes at all).
After a bit of reading I decided to bin off the idea of a home build as they generally looked untidy and were almost exclusively designed with mountain bikes in mind. To be road legal I would need a 250w motor with an assisted speed limiter of 18mph making most kits not road legal anyway. The final straw was that; once I had found a motor, controller, battery, wiring and other accessories, I was looking at near £400 before I had even bought a bike!
 |
| fig 1.3 |
For me, the only bike I really liked that was even close to my budget was the Carrera Crossroad which was a road bike leaning hybrid selling for £999. There were a few second hand options coming up online but not for significantly less and all of them were miles away which was not great during the 2020 Covid19 lock down.
There was however one other bike that kept catching my eye...
eLife Ranger 950 Review
 |
| fig 1.4 |
A local seller had one of these bikes going for noticeably less than they were going elsewhere(£1199 was all I could see but they were sold at £999 originally on idealWorld). I wasn't completely wowed by it but I liked it enough that I slung in a low offer and he accepted it.
What struck me at first was its unusually tidy design for an ebike, especially at this price. The speed controller and battery are tidily hidden in the frame and thankfully they had gone with a slightly more road leaning hybrid design. 700c wheels would keep rolling resistance down, alloy road forks were lighter than suspension and the complete bike came in at only 16kg which wasn't bad. In fact I was a little surprised that something like this was being sold on a TV shop, it actually looked half decent!
The specs
- Light weight Alloy frame 16kg, making it easy to lift into and onto cars and trains
- 700c alloy rims and fork. Using CST tires
- Low rolling resistance mean this bike is fast and nimble
- Front and rear disc brakes Made by JAK, leading producers of bike components. Making it able to stop in the wet
- Alloy seat post with micro adjust Adding to light weight, but perfect for just getting the correct riding position
- LCD display with 5 modes of power Back lit for night riding and full function computer. Also featuring walk mode
- Uni sex design Two colours and designed with both sexes in mind. Modern lowered top tube gives confidence for all riders and all sizes
- 120kg maximum rider weight
- Comes with lots of extras Mudguard compatible, tool kit, full support call centre, bike stand built in, to name a few
- 36v 5.2h battery and motor 25 miles on one charge, only 2 hours to recharge. (rider weight and terrain dependant) Battery is hidden in the frame and should be mainly charged by plugging the lead into the bike. The battery can be taken out, but you have to do this with an allen key, from the base of the bike frame.
- Comes 98% built - you just need to tighten the handlebars and put the peddles on.
Content:
- eLife Ranger 36V 250W Hybrid Electric Bike
- 1 x elife Ranger
- 1 x Front and rear reflectors
- 1 x Charger
- 1 x Battery
- 1 x Battery keys
- 1 x Tool kit
- 1 x Manual
First impressions
To ride
The bike uses a fairly upright frame feeling more like a mountain bike but the low flat bars stop it from feeling too boxy whilst the seat also helps give purpose to the ride. It is far from intimidating to ride but on the other hand it is still focussed enough for me to get on with the job at hand.
Starting from the front: those flat wide bars are an interesting choice. They give lots of leverage to increase confidence but I find it leaves you stuck out in the wind a bit when you want to get on with riding. A good compromise for their target customers but this is something I would upgrade sooner rather than later. The brakes needed repositioning on my bike (bike comes 80% assembled supposedly, mine was assembled when I collected it) but are sharp whilst the display is clear and easy to use. More on the both of these later.
Cranks and pedals are cheap. They creak whilst riding and the bearings in the pedals feel like they are made from rocks. Another thing that will need replacing soon.
The seat as already mentioned is a good choice for me as it is focussed and very comfortable. I would expect a bike like this to come with a big spongey thing which thankfully they didn't do. The seat is height adjustable with a long post and adjustment for reach and tilt are also available.
The wheels are 700c double walled with road hybrid tyres which are supposedly puncture resistant. I can't say I feel strongly about them either way, they do look good.
Being a fixy, there isn't much to say about the gear set and freewheel is just okay. It is worth noting here that the chain tension adjusters are two tiny m3 bolts. They are probably going to be a weak point and whilst we are here; rear wheel removal is a pain in the arse thanks to these adjusters and the rear brake calliper position binding on the wavy disc.
Seamlessly onto the brakes, they are cable operated disc brakes and do the job well if incredibly noisily. Some upgraded pads might help reduce noise in the future.
Overall the bike feels a little hard on the ride with the large frame tubing braced by the battery transferring vibrations and bumps to the rider. The seat does help soften bumps though and the front forks had a surprising amount of give in them helped by large tyres. It doesn't take you long to get used to how this bike feels.
Assistance from the motor comes in 7 flavours. It can be switched off entirely should you so wish. You then have a choice of 5 assistance levels open to you after a short press of the power button. These kick in from about the second pedal stroke as you set off accelerating you up to a point which increases with the levels selected with the +/- buttons, peaking at 18mph. Once cruising you are alone till something slows you down like a hill or the wind and the motor kicks back in when it figures out you are struggling. The response is proportional and can even be imperceptible sometimes with a tiny whisper of help slipping in when you think you are doing it all yourself.
The final assistance option is a walking mode which is accessed by holding down the (-) button for as long as you want it running. Supposedly this is helpful for setting off but I have not tried it yet.
 |
| fig 1.5 |
You can see the power the motor is kicking out on the display or optionally a selection of odometers/ trip distance by pressing the power button momentarily. You also get your speed on an easy to read screen with the remaining battery power left above it.
Pressing and holding the power button will switch the screen off along with the motor or if you forget to switch it off, it will turn itself off when not used for a while. The screen has no backlight so night riding will have you snatching glances under street lights.
Back to the frame briefly in closing: charging is possible by a standard round plug hidden under a rubber boot. I do wonder how well this bike will do when fording but I have had no issue with puddles yet. There is also a lack of mounting points for pretty much anything! this does help keep the bike looking clean and tidy but it does limit your options with regards to a bike rack, mudguards or hydration. Also a lack of paint protection around the chain is something you would want to look at if you want the bike to stay looking nice.
Conclusion
Remembering the price point and target customer of this bike, it is a surprising little gem of a bike. it wont set your world on fire but nor will it empty your bank account.
Some suspect Chinese wiring has been the only really big issue for me so far.
The bike has successfully done a 30 mile round trip with 236 metres of climbing and still had 2 bars of battery left which is a result for a bike with a 25 mile range. Even if you did go on a bit of a longer ride, the bike isn't too heavy to use without assistance.
You really have to measure your expectations with what this bike can do. The key to this bikes advantage over a traditional road bike is maintaining average speed rather than being much faster than you otherwise would.
You could ride this bike hard and go further just as you could lazily pedal along and let the motor take on more of the work. It is pretty flexible like that.
For me it has done better than I expected. I still really miss having gears which is especially true on down hills. On the other hand, breezing up hills or into headwinds at a respectable pace is something I could get used to. Even with me putting in a decent amount of effort I finished my ride having not over exerted and able to enjoy other activities. Isn't that what this is all about?
As you can see I did not own this bike long. I had intended to update this blog as I got more time with the bike but realising it wasn't quite what I wanted, I decided to sell it and buy something more suitable for my needs. Thank you for checking out this rambled review.
Comments
Post a Comment