Website says 50-150 minutes, probably depending on if you're trail riding it or doing a slow section. Although I did hear that the production model will be more powerful and have greater range.
Technically its my kid's bike when he gets older and my 100 lb wife is riding it until then. I was hesitant to ride it but Kelly, the N. American rep assured me that he has a 260 lb employee that rides one all day around the warehouse and my 230 lbs would be no problem. Its a fun little bike even with my fat ass on it - but don't think I'll be taking it off any jumps!
It's gotten about 20 hours of use on the new controller and works perfect - very cool little bike. Only problem we're having is my son thinks he should be allowed to ride it now.
In case anyone wonders if this can be done with a Kuberg - I just did this conversion to a 24v Kuberg Start last night based on all the awesome info from this thread!
Used
(2) 6S Zippy 5000mah, 25c
(2) XT-60 Female connectors
(1) XT-60 parallel connector
(2) Lipo charge bags
Bit of solder and heat shrink
(optional) 2x Turnigy battery monitors
Kuberg already uses XT-60 connectors so it was just a matter of soldering the new female leads to the batteries then it was a straight drop in. I put each battery in its own bag but you could easily fit them in one. The stock battery strap works fine to hold them in place but I felt 2 bags offered better padding to protect the batteries. With the plastics there really isn't much that could damage the batteries besides vibration. I spent about 20 minutes soldering and about 10 more swapping the batteries. Its much easier if you put the bike on a stand, remove the upper shock mount bolt and let the swingarm hang. Then remove the 6 allen screws for the seat and side plastics. All the tools you'll need are in the tool kit that came with the bike. Batteries easily slide in/out the rear with the shock not in the way. Dropped 7.7 lbs or 17.5% total bike weight with 2x battery monitors connected to the lipo's. Range increased 20%.
I have a truck and for security I just run a 15 or 30 foot cable through the frame of the bikes and the ramp and then run my combination-locking hitch pin through the loop. I suppose people could get clever and start unbolting parts if they were resourceful enough but I find that most thefts are crimes of opportunity.
Lol yeah a Trex for $5,000 is pretty attractive. I couldn't convince the wife to go for that much so I'm looking at a Free-Rider. Its only been going a week and 18% there - hopefully they make it!
Wasn't sure where to put this but thought some of you might be interested. Plus I pledged so I'm hoping they reach their $100,000 goal so I can get one of those Free-Riders at a $1,500 discount.
Rear sag should be about 1/3 of the total travel so about 2.1" - that's measuring from axle to fender while on a stand, then with you + gear in riding position. Enlist a second person to help with this so you're not altering your ride position by trying to read a tape measure. More importantly, try to adjust the suspension so it reacts the same front and rear. Strange front wheel behavior is probably not related to sag and is more likely a result of having the front suspension not matching the rear.
Rebound is a matter of taste. Some folks prefer less rebound to give them extra spring action when hopping the tires. But too little and traction and control will suffer. Best to start in the middle and ride it that way for half a day. Then turn it 3 or 4 clicks one way and see if it feels better or worse. If worse than try 3 or 4 clicks the opposite direction from your original set point and see if it feels better or worse. Fine tune it until it feels right to you.
More pics from today. Take notice of the build quality - these things are very solid. The US rep told me they have a fleet of Cross (different model) that the adults use around the warehouse. Everything is rated for a 200lb rider but has, according to him, taken considerably more on a regular basis without issue.
The bike came with a decent tool kit which supposedly covers every nut and bolt on the bike. However I did these pics with just the 3mm T-wrench shown.
Speed adjustment (takes 2 hands to do it). 5 settings total. Lowest setting is fairly useless with a top speed of about 2.5mph on flat cement. 2nd setting is about 5-6mph on flat cement.
Lever adjusters. My just-turned-3-a-week-ago-kid can reach these without taking his hands off the grips no problem.
Figured this thread needed some pics since Kuberg is woefully underrepresented on this forum. Sorry for the quality, crappy cell phone, etc.
My offspring is pretty solid on his Strider bike but had some confidence issues when he got the Kuberg so I ended up making him a set of training wheels. I suspect the weight is the biggest issue so I'm planning on lightening it up a bit. We're having an active discussion (at a 3yr old level) about ditching the training wheels and wearing his full face helmet. Hopefully soon but I'm letting him choose his pace - he only recently graduated to speed setting #2 (of 5 total) on pavement. On grass/dirt setting #1 is pretty much useless so he's been on #2 since his 1st trip to the park.
Kid discovered he could slide out the rear wheel in the water the other day. Notice the tire tracks...
A glance under the bonnet. Planning on switching to LiPo's in the next month or so for a 9.5 lb weigh savings (and lowering the center of gravity). That little black box mounted to the front of the top battery (left side of the pic) is a remote cutoff switch. The separate 4AA battery pack for it is mounted just behind the lower battery. My kid thinks its funny to try to ditch us so we have a remote that we can hit to turn the power off to the motor. Got it here: http://www.3built.com/UniversalSwitchInfo.asp'>http://www.3built.com/UniversalSwitchInfo.asp
Notice the heim joints for the swingarm attachment.
A good carb cleaning is never a bad idea - especially if you're stuck using the crappy ethanol enriched fuel we have in the states. Even after a couple weeks that ethanol will grab enough moisture out of the air to start plugging pilot jets. I run a good quality fuel filter, run the carb dry when the bike is back in my garage, and add Sta-bil fuel stabilizer to every can of gas I get, as soon as I fill it up. Helps a lot.
Where's the ignition source? I suppose if you were dumb enough to leave the plug in the boot and left it sitting in contact with the head you might have an issue. So let me rephrase:
Leave the plug off the bike and sitting on the bench. Kick the bike over 10-15x to clear the flooding.
If the pipe was full of fuel then most likely you stored the bike with the fuel on which would have been okay if the needle valve in the carburetor was closed. Either your needle valve is bad or the bike was oriented in such a way that the floats were open. Not sure about the Techno but on the Rev 3 if you point the front wheel downhill the floats open up the needle valve and you flood, point it uphill and you run lean. If the old plug is clean you might be able to reuse it for a bit. Just make sure you kick it over a bunch with the plug removed to blow out all the accumulated fuel.
Leave the fuel off, kick it wide open throttle about 10x with the plug removed. Put a fresh plug in and start it normally. Let it warm up, run it through the gears, and pull the plug again and check the color. Should be a cinnamon brown.
Yeah the TRex. Haven't seen it in person yet and no list price on the website. I'm suspecting its gonna be in the 10k range just because that's the price of the competition + ability to ride anywhere. As much as I'd love to have one, I just can't see myself dropping that kind of coin.
On the original topic, I suppose pedigree counts for something but I tend to favor whatever product has the most bang for my buck. At this time I feel that Kuberg has the definite advantage. I realize that a 3-5 year old is probably not going to stress the bike so much as to pop even lousy welds, but if I can get clean welds and better construction for the same price, I'm gonna go that route. I'm hoping Oset cleans up their quality issues so I have a more competitive choice when it's time for my offspring's next bike.
I was familiar with the history of Oset before my purchase. While a nice story, the bikes are clearly made in China. I'm not going to get into a globalization debate, I'm just more interested in any potential merits of one brand vs. the other as far as performance, value, longevity, ease of use, etc.
Just curious why this forum is 99% Oset. After looking at the two smallest models for my 3 year old I was pretty unimpressed with the build quality on the Oset. Ended up getting a Kuberg Start and he's rocking it.
Don't get me wrong, both are great bikes and I'm very pleased to have a choice of small electric bikes for my son. Just curious if there was some reason unknown to me why Oset seems to be the preferred brand.
Just bought a 2004 and doing some maintenance. Noticed that my crankcase vent is just open to atmosphere with no hose connected. Is that normal or did the previous owner lose something? Can't imagine this is a good way to run in dusty conditions.
T-Rex Video
in OSET Electric Trials Bikes
Posted
Yeah according to the Kickstarter comments a long range seat/battery kit will be offered.