I bought an inexpensive electronic bicycle prior to moving to the island. I left it in the original shipping boxes, because otherwise there can be problems shipping the lithium batteries. So there was a delay between when I bought it and when we moved, and another delay for it to cross the ocean, another delay for us to get enough electricity to charge it, and then more time passed before I could get it assembled and start riding it. After all that happened, after riding the bike for only 55 miles the right side pedal fell off. Somehow, it had stripped the threads in the crank.
By then I was a month out of warranty, but I wrote the manufacturer and asked if they could make an exception. There’s no place on this island to get the bike repaired (with factory authorization) but they were willing to send replacement parts… to a mainland address. So they sent them to my father-in-law, who kindly forwarded them on to me. More delay. Then it took a while for me to have the time to devote to the bike, which I really enjoy riding but isn’t exactly a priority.
Today I got the new crank and pedal installed. It was pretty simple, and they even included the crank-pulling tool with the replacement parts. Everything seems to be back in order. I even tried riding to the mauka end of our road, a nearly 700ft elevation increase in a little over a mile, mostly over a quite rough dirt road. The bike almost made it before overheating. I think it’s possible that I could do it if I put more effort into pedaling and didn’t rely on the motor quite so much, though the gearing is a bit too high to comfortably pedal on those (frequent) spots where the road is really steep.
It’s good to have the bike back, and I feel good about the support I got from Lectric eBikes. I’m looking forward to frequent rides.
—2p