Amazon is currently selling the Ezip Trailz at a remarkable price of $350 including shipping. This is the cheapest price we have ever seen on a basic electric bike. This price is for the step-through 2013 edition, 24V / 10-Ah.
Based on our experience, we think that Amazon is liquidating their step-through frames. If this appeals to you, don’t hesitate, because it will save you $150 over the $500 mens frame.
See this bargain electric bike here on Amazon (price may fluctuate). For $20 you can opt to get your Trailz with an upgraded controller making it 20-MPH capable (recommended; on flat ground the stock system will provide 17-MPH).
I rode the Ezip Trailz and was impressed with its reasonable power and smooth ride at this price point. To get my complete impressions of this bike (read my review on the Currie Trailz). This is the electric bike I highly recommend for anyone on a tight budget. It would make a great Christmas present or a “wife bike”.
It would also make a great emergency transportation for anyone who has had a DUI/speeding tickets, and has lost their license, and needs a way to get to work (instead of a bus) or for anyone who can’t drive a car for some other reason. Honestly, at $350 you cannot go wrong with this bike financially if you ride it semi-regularly instead of a car. (read our article on how an ebike can save you money)
Usually, this same bike sells on Amazon for around $500, which even then was probably the cheapest reasonable electric bike on the market. The more popular men’s version with the common diamond frame is still at the $500 price. The bikes are identical other than the frame. If you do not mind the styling on the step through bike, I recommend the step-through because it is much easier to get on and off the bike which is a big factor on a 70-pound bike. Also the step-through is a little bit safer in case you need to step off the electric bike in a hurry.
Speaking of the men’s bike, you can see here that on Amazon, out of its 40 reviews it managed to get an average of 4 out of 5 star rating, which is extremely impressive for an electric bike at this price. The $350 step-through version does not have as many reviews (10 reviews) but it also has a 4 out of 5 star average rating.
We can only guess at why the price has been lowered to $350. Its hard to believe that Amazon is making any money on this electric bike when you factor that this price includes shipping. We have seen many retailers in the past (ie: Best Buy) blow out their electric bike inventories for dirt cheap after they opted out of the ebike selling business.
I hope this is not the case with Amazon, but I do believe that an electric bike should be bought from a brick and mortar bicycle or ebike store, so that you can get customer support after the sale. Speaking of brick and mortar stores, in the past, Walmart offered this bike back in 2008 at their stores for $350 (read Treehugger review).
Buying an electric bike from on an online merchant such as Amazon can be an experience filled with peril. If anything happens to be wrong with the bike its probably a smarter idea to fix it yourself instead of going through the hassle of packing and shipping such a big and heavy item. However, the Currie Trailz is a simple bike that rarely fails and is easy to work on. Any bicycle shop should be able to fix 80% of the problems you will encounter.
Probably the biggest electrical issue you will ever face is the battery gradually dying if you don’t care for it properly. However its easy enough to buy a new battery from Currie and switch it out (or better yet upgrade to the Currie lithium battery). For those who are even semi-skilled mechanically, buying this electric bike from Amazon, especially at this price, can be a great idea.
If you are thinking about buying this electric bike, do not expect the price to stay at $350. The price has been wavering for the last few weeks and as inventory goes down its very possible that the price will go back up to $500.
So why is this bike so much cheaper than the electric bikes we review on electribike.com? We are mostly interested in the new lithium-powered bikes (read review of the Currie Izip Ultra). The Ezip trailz on the other hand uses a sealed-lead-acid battery (SLA), which is heavy and has a short life expectancy, but… is extremely inexpensive compared to lithium. The Ezip Trailz weighs in at a hefty 72 pounds because of this SLA battery.
It is possible to upgrade your battery to a lithium battery after the SLA battery dies. The lithium battery will offer slightly more range than the lead acid version, it will be better for climbing hills, and it will lower the weight of the bike by nearly 20 pounds. The lithium battery is pricey, in fact it’s as much as the price of this bike ($359 shipped). It is possible to install 2 of these batteries on the rear rack if you want to double your range. The biggest benefit to the more expensive lithium battery is that it will last many times longer than SLA.
Do you own a Currie Ezip Trailz? If so please share your impressions in the comment section below.
