Introduction to Vanpowers Manidae MTB Test

• Scott is taking the Van Powers Manidae bike on a mountain bike trail.
• He had previously reviewed this bike and was excited to test it on a trail.
• The bike has 95 mm of travel and 203 mm rotors for the mechanical brakes.
• Scott is at the Wolf Creek Trail Woods, about an hour outside of Chicago.

“Well, I’m just now getting a chance to do it, so let me run over a couple of things that you may or may not know about this bike.”

Testing the Bike and GoPro Quality

• Scott encounters someone on a Trek mountain bike and decides to follow him.
• He is testing out the new GoPro 12 for improved video quality compared to his regular GoPro 11.
• Scott is confident in his ability to handle the bike on jumps.
• He attempts a jump but fails.

“I met a nice guy named John and he’s like, ‘Yeah, follow me,’ and then I realized I didn’t have my GoPro on so I stopped and then I lost him.” “I am more confident with this bike than I am my actual mountain bike because you know this thing when I did the review on this I talked about this bike being dangerous because I wanted to jump it, and well, I just did.”

Exploring the Trail

• Scott continues to explore various trails in the area.
• He is unsure of the trail levels and which specific ones he is on.
• He mentions the presence of black diamond sections and notes if he encounters any unsafe features, he won’t attempt them.
• Scott jumps off a small ledge successfully.

“John led me here to what this is called, Bullfrog Trail, and so we’re going to hit this for a while and it’s supposed to lead into a couple of other trails, so we’re going to see how it works out.” “I feel like the black [trail] is the advanced. I don’t know which way I’m going, but we’re going to lead into some other trails.”

Technical Difficulties and Pedaling the Heavy Bike

• Scott realizes his power has gone out on the bike, leaving him with a 77lb beast to pedal.
• He discusses the issues he has faced with this bike, including trashing the front forks and the controller going out.
• Scott acknowledges the weight of the bike makes it challenging to attempt serious jumps.
• Despite the technical difficulties, he continues exploring the trail.

“Now, I have to pedal this 77lb beast through this black diamond trail… I have no power.” “This bike had 18 miles on it, and the controller went out and the Cadence Sensor.”

Controller and Cadence Sensor Issues

• The narrator mentions that they received a new controller and cadence sensor.
• They recently put everything back together and were excited to get back on the mountain bike trail after eight months.
• The bike was working great until suddenly losing power.
• They are now in the middle of nowhere and need to pedal the heavy bike without power to make it back home.

“Now it’s dead, now there’s no power and I’m in the middle of nowhere. So time to pedal this heavy ass bike without power and try to make it through the rest of this black diamond trail or wherever I’m at back to home, and yeah that’s how this review is going.”

Riding without Power

• The narrator mentions that they are riding in a low gear, possibly first gear.
• They mention that the bike still rides well without battery power.
• Despite the challenges of pedaling a heavy bike, they are determined to make it through the trail.

“The world’s first nuclear reactor was rebuilt at this site in 1943. It was the first heavy water moderator… Oh, it’s all hilly, of course it is… So really, I am the reason that this all fell apart and then why it didn’t work, and I’m going to show you why.”

“This bike does ride really well with no battery power. I mean, since I’ve torn this bike completely apart and put it back together.”

Identifying the Issue

• The narrator discovers two screws that had fallen out, causing the controller to move and likely disconnecting the battery cord.
• They mention that initially, it was difficult to align the screws and they thought longer screws might be necessary for a more secure fit.
• The narrator realizes that they had installed the controller in the wrong position, leading to the screws falling out.

“I guess I just tried to line it up and I screwed them into there, which means that this would fall down. So I put it in upside down.”

“I’m the reason that this whole thing fell apart, so what we’re going to do is we’re going to put it all back together the correct way and then I’m going to hit you with round two.”

Reassembling the Bike

• The narrator figures out the correct way to install the controller.
• They secure the controller with two small screws and use a zip tie as an additional precaution to prevent the power from becoming disconnected.
• The narrator expresses confidence that these measures will ensure the bike remains properly functioning.

“Okay, I was able to find two small screws that I was able to put in there to keep it from moving now, and it is secure. But just as a double precaution, I have zip tied the power to the battery here so that if it does come unhooked, I won’t lose power the next time.”