Good Day to all who follow my blog and a big THANK YOU.
This year I turn 67 years young and my wonderful husband decided to surprise me with an electric bike for my birthday. In the recent years I have done a lot of research on electric bikes, interviewed people who either own one for pleasure or commute to work on a daily basis on electric bikes. On a recent trip to Vancouver, BC, I was overwhelmed at how popular electric bikes were for commuting to work. That’s where I saw my first BLIX Electric Bike in action. I’m only 5 feet tall and my husband is 5″ 8″ , in my researching I felt we required something that fit us and would also fold up nicely for our RVing travels. The Blix Vika+ met all of our criteria, including an option for upgrading the panasonic 36 volt, 620 wh lithium battery which extended our range from 35 to 55 miles.
Total weight of bike – 49 pounds
Recommended total max weight is 220 lbs (rider and cargo)
Accessories included:
LCD Display water resistant
Heavy duty rear rack
Front and rear LED lights
Battery Charger
Fenders
Option for Travel bag $69.00
Extra fuses
PROS:
The bike is very stylish with a classic design
Stability
Very fun to ride
Blix E-Bike has to be the most user friendly and well thought out Swedish design, with Beautiful, Smart, Easy, Practical and Reliable technology. The panasonic Lithium-ion battery is located under the saddle, locks in place which allows for a low center of gravity for better stability when cycling.
We went for a short night ride in the neighborhood and the headlight did a pretty good job of iluminating the street and the rear tail light is very bright so you can be seen by night traffic. The lights are powered by the battery so will last as long as you are charged.
The process to fold this bike down has to be so easy, it’s just what we were looking for. We modified the folding process by adding some small pieces of swimming pool noodles in strategic places so when you fold it up there is no damage to the beautiful paint and decals. See pictures.
The other really nice surprise was when folded these bikes fit perfectly in the back of our classic 2000, 4runner. When we are on the road Rving they fit perfectly inside our 25ft travel trailer or plenty of room in the back of the truck. When folded up it forms a cube, 34 inches long, by 27 inches high and 20 inches deep. Super compact. See pictures.
CONS:
To soon to give any cons if any, the one thing I have noticed is the seat is a little hard after a 15 mile ride. That could be because I am not used to riding that far , so time will tell. Otherwise so far nothing to report. I will give it several months of riding and enjoyment and review again.
WARNING: I did have a little mishap my fault entirely. You have to be very cautious of the accelerator knob when standing next to the bike. Its located by the readout unit on the left side. The switch sticks up a bit and if you accidentally move it the bike will take off and take you with it. The bike accelerates very quickly and has a lot of torque. I rubbed the switch by accident and was ran over and knocked down by my own bicycle. If the bike is turned on it is ON even if the peddle assist is on zero. Be very cautious of that switch if you are not mounted on the bike. The bummer is I scratched my paint and scraped the seat up ,so much for brand new.
When we were in Campbell River on Vancouver Island BC there was a free foot ferry over to Quadra Island. The Island is one of the larger Gulf Islands and has many a country roads that beckon to be explored. April Point Resort rented electric bikes but the 3 hour time would not have been enough to experience the beauty of Quadra Island. Had we had our Blik Vika + with us with the 55 mile range we probably would spend 2 days exploring the island and meeting the super friendly Canadian People.
I could go on and on about how wonderful and fun this bike is but instead we are going to take off and go for a morning ride. See you on the trail.
CHEERS FROM JUST AROUND THE BEND ♥♥♥♥♥
A big Thank You to Marc and Renge’ for their expert help and customer service at Backcountry Recumbent Cycles located in Tumalo, Oregon.
Copywrite
Thank you for sharing my creativity! However, unauthorized use and/or duplication of content on this blog without written permission from me is not allowed. You are welcome to use a couple photos, given that you link back to the JUST AROUND THE BEND blog post you are using it from. Any free printables I share are for personal use only. Please feel free to pin anything you see on this blog, using the handy “pin it” button when you hover over a photo. Thank you!
JUST AROUND THE BEND 