A. Helmets:
While not all States or regions require riders to wear approved protective head gear,
common sense dictates that you should wear a DOT, Snell, BSI or CPSC approved helmet. Most
serious incidents involve head injuries which might have been avoided if the rider had worn a
helmet
Section 1: Important Information
1.1
About this Manual
Why you should read this manual:
This manual was written to help you understand the operation and maintenance of your GoBike®
Power Rack. It’s important for you to understand your new GoBike® Power Rack, its features and
operations. So starting from your first ride you will get the most from your new GoBike® Power
Rack and keep it maintained for optimum performance and safety.
It is also important that your first ride with your new GoBike® Power Rack is taken in a controlled
environment, away from vehicles, obstacles and other hazards.
Even if you have previous experience with motorized scooters, vehicles, bikes, and the likes, it is
wise to still go through the manual to help better your understanding of safe operation, care and
maintenance.
General Warning: Biking can be a hazardous activity even under the best of
circumstances. Proper maintenance of your bicycle and Power Rack is your
responsibility as it helps reduce the risk of injury. This manual contains many
“Warnings” and “Cautions” concerning the possible consequences of failure to
follow instructions, perform maintenance, or inspecting your equipment. Any fall
can result in serious injury or even death, so operating within the guidelines
outlined in this manual will help reduce those risks.
Attention:
• The status of the GoBike® Power Rack as a “motor vehicle” varies from state to state and is
subject to drivers licensing, insurance requirements and registration.
• You should check with a reliable authority in your state to see if the GoBike® Power Rack must
be registered as a motor vehicle. Your police department or local department of motor vehicles
may be able to answer your questions or direct you to a reliable authority.
• Your insurance policies may not provide coverage for accidents involving the use of this device.
To determine if coverage is provided you should contact your insurance company or agent.
• The
recommended age
and
minimum weight
for the GoBike® Power Rack is
16 years of age
or older and 100 pounds
, but this is subject to the physical coordination of the rider, the ability of
the rider to wear protective gear, use good decision making ability, and to take responsibility for
their own actions.
1.2
A SPECIAL NOTE FOR PARENTS
It’s a tragic fact that most children are more likely to have an accident. As a parent or
guardian, you bare the responsibility for the activities and safety of your minor child.
Among these responsibilities are to make sure that the bicycle which your child is riding
is properly fitted to the child; that it is in good repair and in safe operating condition; that
you and your child have learned, understand and obey not only the applicable local
motor vehicle and traffic laws, but also the common sense rules of safe and responsible
scooting. As a parent you should read this manual and go over all key points with your
child before letting your child operate a power assisted vehicle.
Section 2: Safety
2.1
Equipment Safety
Warning: Many States or regions require specific safety devices or equipment. It
is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with laws of the state or region in
which you ride and to comply with all applicable laws, including properly equip-
ping yourself and your Bicycle.
B) Peddle assistance.
Your GoBike® Power Rack was designed to assist you as you paddle your
bicycle. Of course you are not required to peddle while operating your GoBike® but not peddling is
asking your GoBike® Power Rack to do all the work and its available range will be directly effected
by the work load you ask of it. Here are a few operator tips and tricks that will make a significant
difference in the available range of your GoBike®.
1. Get in the habit of peddling up to speed before applying power. This will eliminate the higher loads
the motor experiences that are created from starting out from a dead stop and accelerating under
power to speed and will make a big deference in usable range.
2. Peddle assisting the GoBike® dramatically reduces the energy consumption of the motor,
therefore the more you peddle assist the further the GoBike® Power Rack’s range will be.
3. Try to keep your speed constant as mush as possible.
4. Avoid using the power rack for climbing hills.
5. Stick to smooth surfaces whenever possible and avoid riding off-road to keep the rolling resis-
tance of the bicycle maximized.
6. Keep cargo weight as low as possible.
7. Do not operate the GoBike® Power Rack with your brakes applied.
C) What you can do to your bicycle to make it better suited for use with the GoBike® Power
Rack.
Naturally, some bikes and bike components work better with the GoBike® Power Rack then
others. A key bike component that works with the GoBike® Power rack are your bike’s tires. Knobby
tires work great in off-road conditions but reduce traction on paved surfaces as well as add additional
vibration and rolling resistance. Tires intended for use on paved surfaces will have an interlocking
tread pattern best suited for the GoBike® Power Rack, Off-Road knobby tires will still work with the
GoBike® but will add a vibration and reduced efficiency and range.
4.2
Gobike® Power Rack Initial Break-In
Like a gasoline powered vehicle your Power Rack does have a short break-in period. There are a
couple reasons for this. First the batteries will begin to hold more power after some usage. Second
the motor will break-in and start operating more efficiently. Break-in is best done by operating your
Power Rack in the “Econo” mode during the first complete charge.
4.3
Charging and Charging Safety
A) Charging Safety
Only charge your Power Rack in a clean dry space away from flammable materials.
Though we anticipate none, and have encountered no safety problems while charging the
GoPed® Li-ion polymer packs, there is always a remote possibility that unanticipated electrical
or electronic discrepancies due to unintended uses and conditions could possibly cause a
malfunction in the future without notice.
To minimize any and all safety concerns, it is recommended not to leave the charger on
(plugged in) long after the optimum charge has been reached.
To optimize Li-ion battery charging cycle life it is not recommended to store batteries longer
than 30 days without a fresh recharge each stored month.
To protect the packs from over discharging and damaging cell(s), the pack BMS will open a
circuit (shut down) if the voltage sensor detects < 22.5V. Should that happen turning off all
power to the Power Rack, and plugging it in will be needed to reset the circuit for recharge. As
long as the lights on the “flux capacitor” can be turned on, the on board charger will be able to
recharge the batteries.
CAUTION: All charging should be done in a safe location and should not be
left unattended for any length of time, should any unlikely safety issue arise
in the form of smoke or fire, it will not be possible to burn property or cause
injury to people, i.e. outside and away from flammable structures. DO NOT
charge the packs with any charging system other than what isprovided.
