Bike issues on the trail

• The narrator is at Soldiers Memorial mountain bike trail for a second round with the Manidae bike after fixing it following previous power issues.
• The narrator chooses this trail because they are familiar with it and can quickly get home if there’s another problem.
• The narrator straps up and prepares to test the bike on the trails.

“I figured I’d bring it out to this Trail because I’m familiar with this Trail so if I do end up getting stuck and out in the middle of nowhere well at least I’ll know a quick way on how to get home”

Starting the trail with power issues

• The narrator starts off on the Advan Trail but experiences power issues with the bike.
• The battery keeps popping out and losing power, indicating a problem with the battery connector.

“uhoh and we just lost power again what the hell make sure the battery’s in there all the way all right might have just just had the battery not in there all the way”

Continuation of power issues

• The narrator continues to experience power issues with the bike.
• The battery keeps popping out even after being secured correctly.

“battery why does the battery keep popping out all right I just slammed the battery in is it me or is there something wrong with this uh battery connector let’s see if it all right let’s go let’s try it again”

Conclusion on the bike’s ability to handle the trail

• The narrator expresses frustration and disappointment with the Manidae bike and concludes that it is not suitable for off-road use.
• They mention that people use velcro straps to keep the battery in place, but they believe a bike marketed as off-road should not require such modifications.

“I’m kind of done with with this bike this thing has been nothing but problems I don’t think I’ve had any other bike that I’ve had more issues with than this one right here… no I should not have to do that to be able to ride a bike like this right I know people put velcro straps on their stuff no I’m not doing it which tells me that this bike can’t handle this Trail so that’s fail number two for the Manidae and we’re done with this puppy”

Recap of bike issues and lack of recommendation

• The narrator recaps the various issues they have faced with the Manidae bike, including fork seizing up, controller failure, and battery problems.
• They emphasize that they cannot recommend the bike for off-road use due to the constant issues.

“I can’t recommend this bike if you want to take it Offroad… anytime you feel like you have to put a velcro strap around your battery to keep it from coming out well you know they they kind of Market this thing as an off-road bike but it’s not very off-road if your battery keeps coming out”

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.”

• Scott is testing the Troxus Explorer MTB trail bike on a mountain bike trail to see how well it performs.
• He has removed the fenders and back rack to minimize potential damage during the test.

“Right guys, I am out here with the Truxus Explorer and we’re gonna hit a mountain bike trail today because I want to see how well it’s going to do.”

Initial Impressions of the Bike

• The bike feels heavy and lags when going uphill, which surprises Scott.
• The throttle and pedal assist are immediate and aggressive, causing the bike to launch forward even with minimal pedaling.
• Scott finds it challenging to control the bike due to its aggressive power delivery.

“And it’s kind of lagging as it’s trying to go up some of these Hills which I’m kind of surprised with.” “This bike kind of launches forward whenever you’re doing this stuff. So that’s not very great when it comes to controlling how you’re going through.”

Challenges with Motor and Display

• Scott experiences issues with the motor launching forward unexpectedly when he doesn’t want it to.
• He also notices that a screw in the display came off, causing it to move around.

“Right now, my biggest challenge is making sure this motor doesn’t launch me forward when I don’t want it to.” “Also, one of my screws in the display came off. I didn’t realize it probably didn’t want to trip over here.”

Adjusting Pedal Assist Levels

• Scott decides to lower the pedal assist level to see if it reduces the aggressive power delivery.
• He finds that even at lower levels, the motor still kicks on aggressively when going over bumps or jumps.

“Let’s try something here. I’m gonna go lower in pedal assist because I went on three and see if it kicks off just as aggressively and it did.” “Seems like every time I go over a jump or it feels like a bump, then the motor kicks on. Not ideal.”

Overcoming Challenges and Adjusting Riding Style

• Scott is getting used to the bike’s aggressive power delivery and surging forward.
• He mentions burning through the trail quickly due to the bike’s aggressiveness.
• Scott becomes more comfortable with the bike as he adjusts his riding style.

“Getting used to the how it just surges forward in power, but one thing I’m doing is I’m burning through this trail because of the aggressiveness of this bike.” “I was concerned at first on this power delivery, but I’m good with it now. It just took a bit to get used to.”

Concluding Thoughts 

• Scott feels that the bike’s power delivery felt unsafe initially but now he understands how to handle it.
• He appreciates that the bike doesn’t cut off the engine when braking with throttle, which he can use to his advantage.
• Overall, Scott begins to like the bike more as he gets used to its characteristics and adjusts his riding style.

Riding experience and control

• The Troxus Explorer MTB allows for controlled rides, especially when going into turns.
• The bike offers both power and braking control, making it easy to maintain the desired speed.
• This feature is a game changer and enhances the riding experience.

“You still get the power as you’re going into, but you also have the braking to just make sure you’re hitting it at the speed that you want.”

Initial uncertainty and performance on trails

• Initially, there were doubts about how the Troxus Explorer would perform on trails.
• However, as the test ride progressed, it became evident that the bike performed exceptionally well.
• While it may feel squirrely compared to other bikes, it offers features that no other bike on the trails had.

“It’s squirrely, don’t get me wrong. It is not the power as controlled as it is with some other bikes that I’ve done, but it has that feature that none of the bikes that I’ve taken on here have had before.”

Aggressive and fast-paced riding experience

• The Troxus Explorer is an incredibly aggressive bike on the trails.
• Once you get used to its handling, you can expect to fly through the trails.
• While it may take some time to adapt to the bike’s aggressive nature, the rewards in terms of speed are worth it.

“Number one, it’s a super aggressive bike when it goes on the trail. So, this is the most aggressive bike I put on this mountain bike trail to date. Um, it takes a little bit to get used to, but once you get used to it, you’re going to be flying through the trails.”

Unique features and improvements to the riding experience

• One standout feature of the Troxus Explorer is that the throttle and brake can be controlled simultaneously.
• Unlike other bikes, hitting the brakes does not cut the power from the throttle, resulting in a smoother ride.
• This feature significantly improved the rest of the ride experience.

“If I had this in the beginning and I knew about it, it probably would have made the ride more aggressive.”

Conclusion and recommendation

• The Troxus Explorer is highly recommended for those seeking an aggressive mountain bike.
• It offers excellent control, especially when going into turns.

Riding the Palos Single Track Loop

• The video begins with the narrator at the Palos Single Track Loop in Willow Springs, Illinois, which is a 9.7-mile single track site.
• The narrator expresses his intention to test the Engwe Engine Pro on this challenging trail to see how well it performs.

“Today, we’re gonna try to take this thing on this single track and see how well it does because, you know, Engwe says that this is an all-terrain mountain bike that’s foldable, so we’re gonna put it on a single track trail that I should probably not be on and see how it holds up.”

Initial Impressions and Adjustments

• The narrator mentions that he has never been to this trail before and has no idea what to expect, but he notices that the Engwe Engine Pro stands out among the other bikes he sees.
• He adjusts the seat and sets the bike to power mode, noting that the handlebars and stems are higher than he is used to.
• He hesitates but decides not to attempt a difficult section of the trail right away to avoid damaging the bike early on.

“I have never been to this trail before, so I have no idea what to expect. I just know that I haven’t seen anything even close to a bike like this on the trail. Oh, here we go… Now I’ve lowered my seat some, and right now I have it on the power mode, but to me, the most sketchy part is going to be these handlebars and these stems because they’re so high… Oh yeah, we’re not doing that… Or are we? Don’t want to wreck this thing in the first 30 seconds of the video”

Riding technical trail

• The rider mentions that they are pedaling to help the motor as they navigate the trail.
• They encounter a hill and continue to pedal to assist the motor.
• The rider successfully tackles a section with roots.

“We got a pedal with that one, we’re helping the motor…we’re good.”

Technicality of the trail

• The rider compares the trail to “The Little Engine That Could” due to its technical nature.
• The rider acknowledges that this trail is more challenging than others they have ridden.

“I see why this is the more technical trail.”

Need for tightening bike components

• The rider anticipates the need to tighten some parts of the bike after completing the trail.

“We’re definitely gonna have to tighten down some stuff once we’re done here.”

Challenges on the trail

• The rider encounters a section that is bigger than expected, causing gear trouble.
• They mention people cutting across that section of the trail.

Purpose of the ride

• The rider clarifies that their goal is not to purposely destroy the bike, but rather to test its endurance on the trail.

“I will tear this bike up…the goal is to see if it can survive this kind of stuff.”

Acknowledging the bike’s performance

• The rider praises the bike’s lightweight and the assistance provided by the motor.
• They mention that they have not been pedaling much due to the motor kicking in.

“Well, you know, this bike’s super light…the motor’s kicking in, so it’s not really pedaling.”

Evaluating the bike’s durability

• The rider reflects on their ride and observes that the bike has held up well.
• They mention that the bike can handle the trail but note that they wouldn’t do it frequently.

“I’ve kind of proven the point that this bike can handle it…I wouldn’t want to do this all the time.”

Completing the ride

• The rider celebrates their successful completion of the ride, feeling satisfied and in one piece.
• They mention riding a little over 10 miles and express that they had a good time.

“We did it…I’m in one piece…I really enjoyed myself.”

Fixing the electrical tape

• The narrator mentions that the issue can be fixed with a little electrical tape.
• They plan to use a zip tie to secure it in place.
• This solution will prevent the problem from reoccurring.

“To do is fix that with a little electrical tape we’re going to zip tie it right here and that’ll totally fix that problem so it doesn’t continue to do that.”