Comments on: Wilderness Electric Bike Kit Review

By: Tina DiFeliciantonio

Tina DiFeliciantonio — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:04:26 +0000

I purchased the kit and had it professionally installed by the company that sold me my trike—adult sized with a chair in the back that can carry an adult or kid. Even my dog loves riding on it.

I’ve had troubles wit the system…mostly cheap wiring connections. I’ve owned the system for about 6 months and it has lost its capacity.

When calling, emailing and faxing Wilderness, it has taken weeks to even get a response. Customer service is almost non-existant and rather rude when someone finally gets back to you. VERY frustrating!

Can anyone recommend a better battery replacement? I just can’t bear to deal with Wilderness anymore.

Thanks in advance!

By: Glenn

Glenn — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 23:04:47 +0000

Purchased a BL-36 a little over a year ago. Really started using it allot this year. After only 6 months of riding it 20 minutes every other day, it stopped working while traveling to work. I was so upset. I got of the bike and started jiggling the wires and then the front wheel just started turning on its own. I couldn’t stop it until I turned off the controller switch. Waiting for a reply from bernson ev for wilderness on how to troubleshoot. Has anyone else gone through this?

By: manny1025@aol.com

manny1025@aol.com — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:10:10 +0000

I really like the B-L 36 kit I bought one and liked it so much I bought the girl one to.
we really enjoy riding on the bicycle trails again. she is a little bit over weight and I have had back problems and the legs are not working as well as they use to. my question is does anyone know is there away to extend the distance maybe by regenerative brakes or a small generator that works when I pedal. is there anyone making something like this.I have 36 volt system I can go about 18 miles when i pedal. I would like some how to extend the bikes distance to be able to travel 50 miles and still have it look like a regular bicycle. does anyone have any ideas thanks manny1025@aol.com

By: Eric Hanson

Eric Hanson — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:41:31 +0000

Having problems with Wilderness Electric myself. No customer service, wiring designs are faulty, installation manuals for kits are severely lacking.

Be careful what bikes you use. The welds on department store bikes and Schwinns are sub-par. Giant and Fuji are to companies that cost money, but their bikes have solid welds and reliable components.

By: David C.

David C. — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:56:18 +0000

I purchased my Wilderness Energy kit through a company called TAPEWORM phone number 1-800-245-6000.I have the BL36,since purchase the charger had too be replaced,they FED-EXed the charger in 3days under warranty,the wiring going into the motor wore through because of friction,they are sending me new motor in rim under warranty.I know now to check mounting nuts daily and wrap wire coming out of hub with additional elec. tape before mounting.I love this conversion kit,it is past expectations!I paid $359.00 which included tax&shipping by FED-EX!Everytime I’ve had question or problem TAPEWORM had answer in 3hr.s max!Nothing but praise for TAPEWORM!

By: tom black

tom black — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:29:03 +0000

you have to use a wheel puller to remove the side hub..

tom

By: bingamar

bingamar — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:36:55 +0000

Purchased the BL-36 kit almost three years ago. In less than a year the hub motor broke the aluminum suspension fork on my 700c Trek mountain bike, severing some of the hub motor wiring harness. Cost me ~$150 for parts to replace the fork (non-suspension) and had to convert to threadless system because couldn’t find threaded replacement fork. Motor is difficult to get apart to replace the harness. (Anyone have instructions? WE won’t respond.) System worked great before all these problems. WE finally posted a warning about suspension forks after I broke mine. (No warning with the kit.) Not happy with their service, which is apparently non-existent.

By: Shawn

Shawn — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:57:36 +0000

I have had this unit on a 7-speed comfort bike for about two years. Everyone should have one just in case there is no gasoline at the gas station.

Bought the non-suspension-fork bike on clearance at Sports Authority for $25. It sometimes doesn’t get power to the wheel, and I don’t know if it is loose connections or a faulty throttle lever. But normally I get it going again with a little jiggling here and there.

Be careful about the bike falling over. (It’s prone to it because of the battery weight.) It doesn’t like the impact. My battery will stay up going full speed for 6 miles or so.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 13:46:27 +0000

I have had BL36 for over 2 years and ride about 5 miles per day with original batteries. Never let it get wet. Mine seized up with rust and I had to disassmble and clean it. I wish they would provide locking washers with the little hooks so I wouldn’t need to drill out original ones. Otherwise, I am very happy with it.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 16:50:30 +0000

Bought the Wilderness Kit, and one year later the motor is having problems. It is binding and what sounds like gears meshing, also speed is slower. They do not repair them and replacement cost for the motor is almost as much as a whole new kit. The original batteries are too small and run down quickly. I had to go to 17ah batteries. In installing on an adult trike the axel is just a hair to large for the dropouts so you may need to grind a little, not enough to hinder replacing the original wheel if you change systems.