Weaknesses: -Heavy frame, but it has to be for the extra weight of the motor and battery.
-heat build up on climbs causes the saftey switch to flip on and then you are left motorless for 10-20 minutes until it cools off.
-batteries die and have to be replaced
-would be nice if they had a dual suspension option
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Bottom Line:
Have owned two Currie Freedom bikes for about 3 years. I bought the first and bought a second within a few months for "buddy rides", since you normally blow away your unpowered friends on the hill climbs. These are wonderful machines. I put knobby off road tires on them after I bought them and I think the manufacturer has since recognized the wisdom and put similar tires on them. I have open, steep hills behind my tract of homes, with trails climbing 500-700 feet vertical. It was always a real blow to get to the top, but these bikes make it much easier. I can get to the top and then ride along the ridge top for miles. The motor takes away some of the difficulty of the ride, but you still can pedal and ultimately expend the
same effort, but go higher and further than you would otherwise.
You have to be carefull not to go too vertical, because the safety switch will shut down the motor if it gets too hot; still it would be nice if they could find a better torque/heat disappation option for prolonged mountain bike climbs.
Both batteries just died recently and I have been looking to replace the batteries. Looking at other reviews, I suppose that three years is a long time for battery life.
Weaknesses: The bike frame is a little on the heavy side.
Bottom Line:
I purchased this bike three months ago, completely assembled.
I'm surprised to hear that some people have had problems with their bike.
I have not had any. The bike has plenty of range and power. My speeds
have been no more than 15 mph on flat grown ( Plenty fast enough)
and a range of about 7 miles per charge with little peddleing.
I hear Currie is coming out with a new motor for 2004. I'm waiting for
their new conversion kit to put on one of my older bikes. I have nothing
but good things to say about my Currie.
Strengths: For the week or so that it might work between catastrophic failures, it saves time for short errands. On long trips, take your regular bike, it is easier in the long run. If you completely rebuild the bike with standard components, it is somewhat usable, if you are very careful with it. The instructions say to not take it off road. I have never tried. Except for the initial motor burnout and several broken chains (it uses standard ANSI #25 roller chain) the power drive part is pretty good. The chain has a working load of 140 pounds, and I weigh 150 (and the bike 70) so it has a short life.
Weaknesses: The basic technology is sound but the components are the worst I have ever seen. After a year, only the frame and a few minor parts are original. I tried one of their power drive kits on three of my old bikes, but it would not fit. None of the four major bike shops in town had a bike it would fit either. None of the professional bike mechanics I consulted at these firms knew of any bike that it was likely to fit either. Only by bending the frame would the kit fit the new bikes they had, and they all said that was dangerous, and I agree. Currie could have made the unit thinner to fit any bike, but they deliberately made it too thick to fit between the dropouts of any new mountain bike I could find, and I looked all over. My favorite bike, a Specialized Rock Hopper is ten years old and I have only replaced tires, tubes, and brake pads in that TEN years of hard riding. I use a bike as my only transportation, so that is a lot of miles. The Rock Hopper I sometimes use off road on slickrock and rough terrain, but the Currie I pamper. Too bad I can't put a Currie power drive kit on my old bike. That part is not too bad.
Bottom Line:
Like any product, if you treat it with kid gloves, it will last forever. In the real world of Moab, Utah (the Mountain Biking Capital of the World) forget it. It is a toy. Which is too bad, because it contains some very fine engineering and comes very close to being viable. In an urban setting, used occasionally, it might be just fine. Combine Currie's lack of proper product support with rampant flimsyness and daily use in the country and it becomes an expensive knick-knack. I am a fifty-three year old retired mechanical engineer who pampers his things, yet this is the only product I have ever purchased that definitely cannot last for its warranty period, and makes me feel like a destructive gorilla. I should have guessed this when the motor burned out the first day as I was pulling out of my driveway. Currie took three months to replace it, and could only ship me a used motor. A day later the throttle assembly fell apart (It did work until I was half way to the grocery store). They took another month to cough up a new one, and wanted to bill me for it. After that, they refused to replace anything. Even when I read them their warranty, they insisted that somehow it did not apply to whatever part had summarily died that week. How can an almost new seatpost break on a flat road with a 150 pound rider? Mine did and nearly killed me. How can new crank bearings freeze up in a month? Mine did. And on and on and on..... It should be called the "Titanic E-Sled." Although if the Titanic had been a Currie, I think it would have exploded when they hit it with the bottle of Champagne and never made it to the mid-Atlantic. This is my first, and last Currie bike. I also tried one of their power add-on kits, without success. If they made an effort to produce a power kit that would adapt to any bike (read the rest of the review - it must fit something, but what??) and make it two speed so it could climb hills (it does not need to go faster) as well as using a chain with a realistic rating, they would have a winner even if just the kit (without the next to useless bike) cost $1000.
Bottom Line:
The USPD Power Drive kit is the better bet, if it fits your bike, but forget the complete Currie E-Ride Mountain bike unless you live in a flat city and only ride to church for funerals.
Bike Setup: Standard Currie E-Ride with new: crank and bearings, pedals, chainrings and main chain, rear cassette/freewheel assembly, front and rear derailleurs, brakes, seat and post, handlebars, stem, and front forks/shocks. Well, basically, new everything except the frame and power components, except for the power drive component failures noted in the rest of the review. The battery is next to fail, but a high tech pulse charger has helped it last beyond its usual life. The wheels have also not failed, nor the tires, brake levers, cables, or shifters. Not wanting to waste money, the replacement parts are the cheapest generic parts I found at either Nashbar or Bike Parts USA, and they all have outlasted the original ones. There has not been a subsequent major failure for four months after replacing all failed or nearly failed parts. And I am still alive, thank God.
Strengths: Motor in hub and freewheeling is a good design. The electric bike really makes a difference going up hills.
Weaknesses: Lead-acid batteries don't last long when nearly depleted on each trip. Also, Currie's wiring system on batteries was very unreliable. To be honest, on level ground, a regular and lighter bicycle will go as fast as the electric bike.
Bottom Line:
For $599 (including shipping), I bought a demo Currie Freedom Bike which had the motor and battery already installed. During the first year, I had problems with the inner wires in the battery coming out. After one year, the hill I go up in Spokane caused the lead-acid batteries to wear out. I replaced them with NiMH batteries for $200 through www.powerassist.com and the bike has worked like a charm ever since. Only once in over a year, has a wire slipped off. While the lead-acid batteries should last a long time for people who only use the top energy of the battery, they do not last long if you end up using most the energy on each trip. The NiMH battery on the other hand, stands up very well to such energy depletion on each trip.
