IZIP Express First Impressions

By: Stephen Wray at Danville Community College

Ok, so if Batman had a bike it would be this one. I rode it yesterday immediately after riding my personal bike from RCATT to Angler’s Park then along the Riverwalk trail to Biscuitville and back. I figured with the horror of climbing the hill from Angler’s Park up to Slayton Avenue (approx. 1 mile) still fresh in my mind it would be a nice comparison.  After a bit of a break I left RCATT and took the IZIP Express up Slayton Avenue.
 
I could already tell that this was going to be a much easier ride. I entered the trail at the top of Slayton Ave. and went down the windy path to Angler’s Park. I did a hot lap around the circle there which is about a half mile and then re-entered the trail to make the long climb back up to Slayton Ave. This bike made that long grade a joke. There was plenty of power available and never once did it feel overmatched by the hills, twists or turns. The bike handles very well, seems to have a relatively low center of gravity that helps when you lay into turns at a good clip. The paddle shifters are good quality and feel substantial. It took some getting used to but was easy to understand how to work them.
 
The bike seems to operate best when you are in an appropriate gear. In other words, if you feel resistance in the pedals and feel like you are actually providing input the bike really takes off. If you are in too low of a gear and are just spinning the pedals like a crazy man then it doesn’t do much, or so it seems. I would guess that climbing that same hill when compared with with my regular bike I was getting three times the speed with less that half the effort. That would be hard to quantify here but that’s just my guess.
For more information about the IZIP Express click here