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A2B Downhill Fast Blog

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Tim Pestridge

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Things are spiraling downhill fast for the Ultramotor Hybrid A2B. After PM enjoyable 18 miles, and without having even had a recharge yet - the battery still registering 2 bars of juice left in it, the bikes computer has thrown up a warning light (see photo) and has promptly gone into sulk mode. My Dan Dare steed has transformed for the worse: Dormant. Powerless. Clumsy.

And it couldn't have conked out at a more tedious moment. I'd decided to slide the bike into my MPV boot, as I was working with a client who I knew would want to jet around all over the city, but would also be suitably impressed by my hi-tec eco transport.

I parked up and proudly lifted out the bike, to cover the last mile or so into the city, accessing places I'd never get to on foot with all my camera gear in tow. Switched on, pedaled away, and soon realised the bike was in trouble.

There was no time switch plans, so all the effort was coming from me. But with a defunct rear brake, this seemed even harder than I'd imagined. Without the joy of the enjoyable power surges, the bikes worst traits were thrown into ugly focus. It was clunky and heavy over the cobbles, due to the large battery hanging over the rear. It was heavier than a normal bike to pilot, and without the motor working I was ultra-aware of the weight of the battery hanging over the rear.

An error code showed up a few days later on the computer, which was sufficiently serious enough to warrant a return to the importer. Here's another thing to think about. The entire bike has to be disassembled, repackaged, and re-posted back. Which believe me, can take a big chunk of your day.

I'm sad that the bike has failed so quickly, the importer has been nothing less than helpful and professional, but if it had been my cash spent on the bike, I'd be considering getting a refund and trying a different manufacturer.

And having had our previous lithium battery fail after 2 years use, our family is now feeling very wary of electric vehicles. I hope our confidence can be restored - with fuel price rises just around the corner this April, we need reliable and dependable alternative transport now more than ever.

Guest review by Tim Pestridge


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Tim Pestridge wrote this Bike Gamer article under the watchful eye of Tim Pestridge.

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