I’m a 65 year old man with failing knee joints and a medically fused ankle and also near retirement. I wanted to get an e-bike that allowed me to get out and easily traverse and explore the outdoors. I also thought that the e-bike could make some of my 10 mile commutes to work more enjoyable, especially as I approach retirement within the next year. I was hoping that it would also allow me to get to see a lot more countryside than a simple short painful walking hike.
As I was starting to search for e-bikes, an ad popped up on my Facebook page. I typically do not open these clickbait type of adds, but the Troxus one was offering an incredible price and be part of the promotion of the Ambassador Program. Actually, this incredible offer made it even more suspicious, as they say “if it’s too good to be true, that it’s very likely a scam. Anyway, this at least got me started in looking into Troxus further and after several days, I decided to accept the offer and make the purchase. I did read many reviews and comments on some e-bike forums, as well as the Troxus Users group and was more comfortable to make the purchase after that.
The original motivation was the special Ambassador club and then also the fact that I was preparing to go on a long adventure sabbatical to the Arizona Dessert. The off to have my bike shipped and delivered in less than 2 weeks “sealed the deal” for me, as my trip was going to begin in four weeks. The trip was going to last for 5 weeks and the idea that I would be out in the middle of the dessert with just my aching knees, made it crucial that I obtain some sort of better transportation and an e-bike seems like the most logical solution.
It was within the first week of ownership, as I was in the dessert dry camping, the Skyhopper allowed me to make made adventure trips into the depth of the dessert and the hills surrounding my camp area. After the first three days I realized that since I was using PAS and was pedaling 95% of the time, that my knees did not hurt anymore. The pedaling with the assistance of the Skyhopper motor allowed my knees to move and exercise, without undue and harsh forces, which then made them stronger and less painful. This was a HUGE gain from the Troxus e-bike that I never expected. I camped about 10 miles out of town (Quartzsite, AZ) and was able to go to town on occasion with the e-bike and get supplies, one day I even carried two stacks of firewood back to the campsite for several days’ worth of relaxing fires. On another days, I met some friends in town and was able to guide them back to my dessert campsite using the Skyhopper, they were impressed by how fast and consistent the bike was.
For me, the “step-through” design was critical, again due to my age and condition of my knees and having to lift my leg up very high. However, being an engineer, I was skeptical as to how well the frame would hold up to harsh rides with what I considered a weak point, that is not having the ‘top tube’ typically found on standard bicycles. In my research I had seen pictures of the frame welds and how good they were, as well as the mentioning of the use of good well known materials and components throughout the bikes build. To top it off, the fact that I could remove the battery and charge with my solar system was also crucial – I could hide the bike in my tent and take the battery and connect it to my solar panels as I moved them to optimal sun directions throughout the day – this was simple with just the battery. Also, the size of the bike for easy transportation in my minivan was critical, so that is why I selected the Skyhopper with its 20” fat tires. I could take the front wheel off and put it inside my minivan very easily.
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