Why I Bought the Bird A-frame E-bike

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Skip to 15:23 if you just want to know whether you should buy it or not but don't care to know why.

[@johnrohlfs1745]

How does it do on hills

[@GarthGoldberg]

I'm encouraged by your review. I just bought the V-frame version of this for my wife. Ocean State Job Lots had a smoking deal where you buy the bike for $1,000 and get a $500 gift card, good for almost anything in the store. So the bike only costs $500 plus tax, shipped to the local store. The V-frame is going to fit her fine, and she's confused by gears. So the single speed with five levels of assist is perfect. At 52 pounds, this is actually fairly light for an ebike. She's only going to ride with me occasionally and it doesn't make sense to buy a $2,500 or more ebike for her. I think the disc brakes will bed in and be a little quieter with use; the same was true with my Trek which has hydraulic Tektro brakes. At 20 mph or less the stopping power should be more than sufficient.

[@TurboNorm]

Excellent review. Nice photos and good quality images.

[@daviddeese]

Very informative. I most certainly will buy a bird bike. Thank you very much.

[@ryansherwood7136]

This is such a helpful and extremely well done video. Props for being straight to the point. I wish all reviews were exactly like this.

[@richardfisher8897]

Great review! I shared it on the Bird Bike face book page! I bought with out your review but you addressed EVERY issue I was concerned about. I do not regret my purchase one bit. and when the Battery does go...... I will rebuild, probably less expensive anyway

[@AMM118Honda]

Getting close to 10K sub - keep up this good work!!

[@jeanlafrance6350]

Salut Robert. Thank you for your review. Today i went to check for that bike and with your video that i just watch , i will buy the Bird bike tomorrow. That is a bike for me.

[@sethandrewberger]

I just bought this bike a month ago. Paid 500 for it. New in its box. Best 500 bucks ive ever spent. In fact the bike paid for itself in less than two weeks. It eliminated my use of uber to commute to and from work. Its a 25 mile round trip and i use roughly 65 percent of the battery for the entire trip. Couldnt be happier with this bike.

[@JagLite]

Excellent review. Honest and informative.. The price is amazingly low so I appreciate that you didn't expect the performance of other e-bikes that cost three times as much. Because of the very low price there are always going to be modifications and replacement of parts so telling us what you did is very helpful. Thanks Robert!

[@hoohoohoblin]

Great review!! I really like mine. Brakes are loud and the spokes on the back wheel got really loose after 300 miles, but it has been good otherwise.

[@ekaterinabankevitch8513]

Thank you, Robert, for this excellent review. I've got a chance to buy a lady's Bird bike for a very good price. In your video I found all the information to make up my mind and take a decision.

[@ekaterinabankevitch8513]

@@SerenitySmyles I didn't buy the bike, so can't tell you, sorry

[@AmorMori]

Best review of an e-bike I’ve seen

[@NeptuneSega]

The thing I look for in an ebike is self service and future battery retrofitting as companies will not always produce them eventually space

[@fawazhalloum3921]

Just bought this bike for my wife. We have the issue with the belt noise. I watched your video on fixing it and bought the tool. hopefully, it works out easily

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Did it work?

[@fawazhalloum3921]

It actually did! Great tutorial! I wouldn't say its 10 minutes tho, at least not for me with no bike repair knowledge or skill. it took me 2.5 hours because I ran into trouble with the brake touching the rotor after I adjusted the wheel. so I just loosened the breaks. Now another issue presented itself. the bracket holding the back wheel fender broke. I have to fix that. also, the tie downs holding the taillight cable to the fender are not holding up. a lot to fix in the bike. but it's good and fun. definitely worth what you paid for it. Here in Canada, I paid 1700 plus tax, but it least its from Costco and has a great return policy in case it breaks down completely. @@RobertAdairWorkshop

[@fawazhalloum3921]

Update: The bike suddenly stopped working. It turns on and the display turns on. But the PAS and throttle don't work. Taking it back to Costco.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

@@fawazhalloum3921 Yikes. Any idea what broke?

[@fawazhalloum3921]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop No idea. the screen turns on, the display functions. when I unplug the controller cable the display reacts. It all seems alright. But when we engage the throttle or pedal assist, no energy comes through. I have no idea. Starting to get a sense of why they dumped them on the wholesale market.

[@rechard-jb9cr]

Great review! I happen to be looking at this very bike.

[@everythingebike]

I like your video. Well done, well edited, photography is very good. Detailed shots are excellent.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Thank you!!

[@Guyguy4242]

Wow Bravo, c'est instructif et complet. De plus la vidéo est très bien montée!

[@CougarIIXT]

Great video! Thanks for all the details!

[@jackd8336]

Amazing review - thank you the fine details in real life matter when it comes to deciding whether a purchase should be made or not 🍻

[@Albertoortega-m2p]

What a great review,thank you very much for sharing

[@MrDonnyblaze420]

Nice !! Brooklyn Brawler shirt!!

[@criggie]

Consider the bike+rider has unlimited range, but the battery/assist has a maximum range. Pedantic I know, but you're not stranded if the battery dies completely.

[@Alfadrottning86]

good review .. there is something other on my mind though. That is .. how did they dodge outright copyright infringement of Vanmoof. More than the general shape of the frame design . even the seatpost screw is copy/pasted. Sure - the Bird bike frame is a bit stockier .. not quite as elegant .. with more plastic and a simpler screen. But aside from that .. and the "rougher" welding lines .. it seems .. ahem .. very inspired indeed. It does however come with a belt and a rear wheel motor, which is a stark departure. I love the belt (i have it on my second bike .. a Cowboy C4) - but i prefer the front motor that i have on my Vanmoof s3 ... it feels smoother, less forceful. Bird is - from what i know - a reputable company ... BUT .. since they are UK based and not EU based, replacement parts on bikes that have non standard propriety shapes can be difficult (thanks Brexit). So .. unless there are problems .. this is a real alternative at less than half the price of the obviously copied Vanmoof.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

I always wondered that too. They are a blatant knockoff of Vanmoof. Perhaps that's one of the reasons Bird stopped selling them? Maybe a contributing factor, some litigation or a stop-and-desist letter? You are right, very inspired.

[@metal_bloo]

It would be awesome to see if you found racks that work with this bike’s rack holes

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

The rear rack upper bolts have odd alignment because the stays aren't square. I have a rack that I think will work, made by Planet Bike, but it's going to require a custom front bracket to work with the bike. I'll share more when I have that done.

[@donnanderson42]

Wow, fantastic video Robert! Hey, I’m over 400 subscribers!🎉😝

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

I saw that last night watching your citation video. That's really, really cool. The hard work's paying off, slowly.

[@aroundtheway4887]

I just brought this bike and I found myself using the throttle only feature, all the time and it just give me 30. Miles on one charge, at the time every bike I was looking at, where I live ,was just pedal assisted only bikes, so I ran with the bird when I seen it , the man at the bike shop did show me a $2200 online price tag then was like just give me $800, and it will go 50 miles before charging it again lol,so I thought the battery was bad on going bad because the 30 or 35 on one charge I be getting depending if I pedal assisted or throttle

[@ty301herbo8]

Great Review

[@charliefunboy5210]

QUESTION please: Great review, I have the V-frame and like it. I'm over 65 so I needed the step thru. My tail light is on the fender so adding the rack in the back didn't cover it. I added a new saddle and that really smoothed the ride out. My only issues is that I would like to raise the height of the handlebar. I know they sell 'extenders/risers" but I'm not sure if they will work on the Bird ebike. The say it has to be a 1-1/8" diameter. Any thoughts on this? I would appreciate hearing from anyone that might be able to help. thank you

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

The Bird Bike's steerer tube is 1 1/8" so you should be alright there. Looking at mine, there is roughly 3/4" (19mm) of space above the top stem clamp bolt. I'd think you could muve it up that 3/4" without any issue and not use an extender. You'd need some sort of custom spacer that would fit between the one-piece handlebar and the head tube, otherwise, you wouldn't be able to preload the headset and you'd have a big gap there. If you need to go higher than that, I don't know why one of those extenders wouldn't work, provided it is well secured to the fork steerer. The big takeaway is that you'll need a spacer, the right diameters (inside and outside) that will fit between the frame and the handlebar assembly.

[@charliefunboy5210]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop Thank you so much. I greatly appreciate the time you took to help me. I understand what you're saying. Take care

[@metal_bloo]

Another thing to note is that a ton of people, including myself, have had problems with the battery. They only have a 1 year warranty for it and if your battery happens to die out or lose capacity before that one year mark you are out of luck. You can buy more from bird for about $400.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

That's really good to know. I had planned to disassemble the battery and replace the cells when the thing died. Didn't know Bird sold extras. But I'm suspicious of Bird, too, since it seems they dumped all of the bikes onto the wholesale market. I suspect they won't support any of them in the near future, which is a shame.

[@GarthGoldberg]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop Isn't this going to be a problem with any of the no-name-brand Chinese ebikes? And a replacement Bosch, Shimano or Yamaha ebike battery is also going to be pricey.

[@jimbutler1300]

Very helpful, thanks

[@jaspervanestelfeen2173]

The frame reminds me of the early models of vanmoof bikes

[@boorayin2773]

Fabulous review - thanks! I'm hesitant to plonk down the money for a bike that I don't get to sit on first (as low as this price is for an e-bike) and I'm nervous that the company is about to go bankrupt (hence the dumping of their bikes onto the market) and service/spare parts will cease to exist - but thanks for the info.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

You're exactly right on all points. Each of these is a concern and I share them with you.

[@CRtube123]

Great video! Just bought mine. Do you think it will survive canadian winter or heavy rainy conditions? Thanks

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

I think it will. Two areas that could be a concern, though: The connector for the rear wheel and the connector that the battery slots into. I added some dielectric grease to mine to help keep the connections dry, but then never rode it in the rain. Otherwise, everything else is pretty well sealed.

[@tenshi509]

Hey man, I just bought the bike and I'm having some trouble setting up the front wheel. One of the axle nuts won't come off, do you have any tips fro that?

[@fr8hauler]

How big a change is the single speed vs a regular 7 or 18 speed bicycle? Just use the assist levels as your gears? Thanks for the video!

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

i've not ridden the 7 speed variant. But the 500W motor in this makes plenty of torque and does a good job getting it up to 20. You're totally right, the assist is the gears.

[@jimsvideos7201]

E-bike question for you if it's worth your time: My commute at the new job includes about 130 meters of elevation change over about a five kilometer distance. I figure it's about 150 kJ of energy if that helps. How much of that could I realistically capture via regen braking?

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Are you sure about the kJ estimate? Assuming an average speed of 12mph, I calculate only about 4 watts.

[@jimsvideos7201]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop 4? Huh. I had the energy correct there, but 4 watts for about 15 minutes is puzzling. Thank you for taking the time though, I remain intrigued by the idea.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

​@@jimsvideos7201 I did it based on units, assuming 12mph average speed to get time and 150 kj for energy. I'll bet there's a legitimate regen calculator that would be better.

[@lordtrini]

Do u think that u can swap the front fork to a suspension fork?

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

No, probably not easily. It has a built in steering-stop that hangs down and engages the fork. You'd have to find a way to work around it with a suspension fork. I think its doable, but you'd spend a lot of time and money doing it.

[@jimsvideos7201]

This bike in particular seems to be ok as long as you don't really want to change too much about it. I don't know how to feel about the price either but it's a place to start at least. Thank you for the insightful review; the questions are valuable for evaluating other types.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Totally agree

[@isisdaddy1]

Thanks for the measurements

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

You got it!

[@jotten3368]

Hey 😀, Is it possible to change the display in km/h instead of mp/h 🤔🕵️‍♂️ Thanks already 🙏

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

It's in the settings menu. Check out page 24: support.bird.co/hc/en-us/article_attachments/5236626092052

[@CowEdarngEighty]

My friend crashed it and I can't ride it because it wants to crash or it won't stay erected. What's your recommendation?

[@apatel1186]

Are you able to connect to the app? I can’t find the QR that is listed in the instructions to scan. Without the app uou can’t set an alarm right?

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Yeah, the alarm won’t work without the app. My bike didn’t have a QR code either. I had to manually type in the serial number (located on the underside of the down tube near the crank) into the app. I’m using the iPhone version of the app, if that helps.

[@Bioandroid2023]

Is the step through frame (woman’s bike) about the same size frame? Considering that bike over the a frame for comfort.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

It looks like the seat can go quite a bit lower on the V- frame, looking at photos and comparing it with the back wheel size. The forks look the same. I can’t tell for sure but it looks like it might be a bit shorter wheelbase too.

[@Bioandroid2023]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop thanks for the info. I’m thinking of buying the V and if I don’t like it, I’ll give it to a family member. IMO, Bird might not be around for long term support. They were in my area with rental bikes and scooters. A-holes made it there mission to throw them in any body of water they could find. The company pulled out.

[@SuperBrad327]

Thanks for the video

[@Rick-p5l]

I had less than 50 miles on the bike and started getting a 037 code then the bike shuts down tried to make sure all connections were tight and supplier wants to send a new motor I’m not sure how tough that job will be

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Are they sending a new motor, or a new wheel? Hopefully, the latter. If they just send the motor, you'll have to re-lace the wheel, right? Check the wires where they enter the motor through the axle. I've seen them wear through there and ground out, causing error codes.

[@Rick-p5l]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop they sent a new wheel but had same issue

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

@@Rick-p5l Redit suggests it is 99% a loose or dirty connection. I hate to ask, but have you pulled apart all of the electrical connections and reinserted them? www.reddit.com/r/birdbike/comments/1c7r5d6/error037/

[@Rick-p5l]

I did try all the connections that I was aware of but the company I got it from said I could return it for a new bike I noticed a plastic cap on the bottom of the frame was cracked out of the box I took it off and there was another connection I didn’t realize was there but I already had the bike tore down and ready to ship back so I didn’t try it

[@pinkeye00]

thoughts on 29" inseam .. 5' 8 1/2" ?

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

It might be too big. The biggest concern is how high the top tube is and how low the seat will go. I thought it was just about right for me, at 5'11 with a 31" inseam. But it might not be, too, if you are comfortable leaning it over to the side when stopped. I'm not sure how you feel bout the step-through frame, but it might be the better fit.

[@richdavenport7751]

Looks like a good bike

[@GabrielKnight666]

No, it doesn’t.

[@tegrof245]

How much does a replacement battery cost? How long does it last before you need to replace?

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

I don't think you can get a replacement battery. You'd have to re-cell your original when it dies.

[@tegrof245]

Is the app still available considering the bike is discontinued

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

@@tegrof245 It uses their ride-share app. I was able to download it and install it on my iPhone this morning.

[@tegrof245]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop Thank tou

[@tegrof245]

Purchased vframe for my wife. It won’t charge and light stays green. Pressed button on battery and is not showing blue or green. Any ideas?

[@fahrrad-noerdlingen]

Hat irgendjemand eine Adresse wo man Ersatzteile bekommen kann? Ich suche den Sensor an Tretlager.

[@mytube30005]

Since this is a single speed bike, do you have to paddle very fast in order to get to 20mph?

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Yep, you do. At 20mph, I'm spinning 90-rpm. To go faster than that, you either need a big hill, or you need to go above 100 revs per minute. I'ts really geared to max out at 20.

[@mytube30005]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop thanks for the review. The price has dropped down so much but I don't think I will get one. I heard the European version has 7 speeds. That would be much better.

[@JoseAlvarez-if8tt]

I bought one but I cant figure out how to lock and unlock from the app I don’t see anything besides the light on and off button

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

I wonder if Bird changed their app to remove that feature?

[@stijn791]

Nice bike but they are stopping with the production of bikes and its really hard to find a repair shop.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

I noticed that. I read somewhere that Bird sold off their inventory to third-party sellers which is why so many people are selling them. Never a good sign when a manufacturer dumps their inventory. In this case, I think it's because they couldn't sell them at $2k each and instead of adjusting their marketing, just gave up. It's a shame.

[@Venturi11]

the company declared bankruptcy in december. I assume this will make the warranty pointless right?

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Yep. Were on our own.

[@rickkstir]

The trip meter is higher than the odometer???

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

It's dumb. The trip meter is measured in decimals where the odomotor is only in whole numbers, so it looks like the trip meter is higher. I thought the same thing first time I used it.

[@rickkstir]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop That will save me some confusion, thanks.

[@Richmondstein]

Is the bird logo a sticker or is it painted on?

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

It's painted on or part of the powdercoating, maybe? Not removable.

[@luxuryhomes8889]

so its basically trash... understood. thank you for the review

[@kvabskalle]

“Throttle-only”??? How lazy are you people??? Buy a motercycle if you dont want to work. 🙄🙄🙄

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

I’m an avid cyclist but not everyone is, so I covered the topic.

[@kvabskalle]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop I know! 👍 Im not asking you but everybody Else. 😉

[@peterweisshaupt6989]

Nie mehr wieder würde ich mir eins kaufen. Absoluter Flop.