The massive 777's engine. Very impressive when you can get out of the jetway and stand near it.

I waste no time to pick up this ebike. You first have to pick out your bike, then the sales person will make a sales ticket. Then you must go in the store to pay a different cashier. It must be stamped by the security guard before departing the store. Then you must go to the receipts counter to obtain a sales receipt which must be stamped twice. You take this back to the salesperson. Then she will make you another ticket and give you your bike. You must take that ticket to get your bike registerd in the city somewhere. Yeah, I know right...

Yep, I am the proud owner of this beast. 1,699RMB ($249USD) was the cost. It even included this lock and a raincoat. The key for this lock feels as flemsy as a small piece of foil paper folded over a few times, But it does work. The sales lady told me not to use it or your bike will be stolen. I use it anyway. 

First impressions: It's heavy as all hell. 48V removable SLAs. Lots of cheap plastic which does not fit too well together. There is a layer of what appears to be thin plastic wrap over the transparent plastic parts. The front brake does not work very well and the rear brake does not work at all! But I will find out why later. The front fork is not a real suspension. Top speed is 15-16mph after "hopping" it up by removing the 12mph speed limiter. The process involves removing one wire which is exposed anyway. Torque is fine for the very flat streets here, but it is lacking. If you pedal even just a little, the "PAS" system will pin the throttle which makes it difficult to control unless you use the throttle only. There are working turn signals, horn,  and a LED headlight which is about as bright as the "flashlight" app I had on my iphone. With a passenger on the back and you take your hands off the handle bars, you will get a massive tank-slapper...but it works!

It was nice to have some wheels just to get around town and not have to walk or take some public transport.

The next day I took it to the shop to investigate the rear brake. The problem was that when the rear brake was applied, it could not be released until you came to a full stop! This is dangerous. I took it to this place which was about 10 min ride away. Here at the factory service center, the service person invistigates this bike that I bought only one day prior.

He goes to work with no waiting around.

I go into the shop to investigate what else is going. Looks like this pack is  getting swapped out. It turns out that the man to the far right had his bike stolen and is getting new one prepared.

A poster of the Citify factory is proudly displayed on the wall behind plexy glass. I imagine several hundred thousand ebikes get pumped out of this company a year.

These bikes have seen better days.

Citify!

Wires hanging everywhere. 

Bike getting repaired. 

I return to find my bike nearly fully disassembled! I love this work stand made from pipes. 

china_trip215.jpg

The rear brake is replaced.

The other workers busy at work. 

The controller is just sitting on a pile of wires! It is not mounted in any way.

The worker whips out a soder iron and fixes a faulty key switch.

My bike is back together as quickly as it came apart. 

I am off on my way while broken parts are strewn about. 

Already lunch time as evident by this man kicking it back on his center stand.

This security guard admires my bike. I got a lot of compliments so far and EVERYONE ask how much I paid. Apparently I got a great deal. The prices for these bikes have fallen in the past years. I will soon discover that this type of bike out of fashion. 

This is the security guard's bike. He told me he calls it the "Chatalak" because it rides so smooth. Don't ask.

 It's always the SUVs drivers on the phone.

I give the battery a charge overnight.

I grab a quick lunch.

It does not tastes as terrible as it looks.

I make my way to the night market to find some deals.

I find no deals, only this store that claims to sell Blue-Ray Disc. There are no Blue-Ray disc. 

This trike was modified with a hub motor.

The controller is mounted on the handle bar and covered with a empty cooking oil jug. I understand it is not technically legal to make such a modification to this type of vehicle.

It's not raining.

Nice Pano of Wujiaochang. map

Tracking things down on my phone's GPS.

I give some directions. The front basket can hold lots of stuff. 

I suffer another setback. A screw came out of the seat springs. No worries, I just pop into the nearest repairman shop.  

It is so nice to have wheels to see the town.

The pack gets another charge. 

I happen to find a scale... seems like a good chance to weight the battery. I got a few odd looks, but found the battery to be 18.05 Kg (40lb). That works out to be heavy. Just this battery is the weight of 2 bikes!

You must pay the attendant 0.5 RMB ($0.07) to park your bike, there is no time limit, but if you leave you bike past 9pm, no one will look after it. It might get stolen. 

Huge malls that can go up several floors. They are quite typical. 

A fleet of KFC delivery bikes. These guys are by far the best ebike riders on the streets. Unlike most riders, they actually pedal. They risk their lives so you can get your chicken strips in a timely manner. 

Taking the subway. It's fast and cheap, but packed and stuffy. 

Bike parking lot. Imagine if these were all cars! Such sized lot could only park about 10-15 cars. 

Typical city view.

This guy was selling rabbits (as pets) from the back of his bike. Here he is putting the trashbag on the cage to protect them from the wind. 

Total exhaustion. If you are not tired, you did not work hard enough!

Shopping markets with checkout rows as "far as the eye can see." It's not odd to wait 30min in thses lines at peak times.

Yes there is a folding bike in this suitcase. I prepare to take the folder to another city. I am sure 6 suitcases can fit on this bike. I saw someone carry ten 5-gallon (40lb each) water jugs on the back of a similar bike.