Quote:
Originally Posted by Trendseeker
It’s fun to ride, the motor assists based on the pressure you exert on the pedals so it responds like you’ve got an unusual amount of extra strength.
The bike shop has a few models available for test drives. I took two of them (Norco and Merida) out for a run before I ordered a new one.
It has a Bosch electric motor that provides 4 levels of assistance: eco, tour, sport and turbo. The selector is next to the left hand grip and you can change the assistance level up or down by pressing the + or - symbol. It has a small display mounted in the centre that shows assistance level and speed as well as one of the following that you can select in the lower part of the screen: odometer (total), odometer (this trip), trip time, current time or estimated range (distance to empty).
You ride it and change gears as you normally do, but it accelerates up to 25kph quickly, it’s quite effortless to maintain that speed on the flat or into a headwind and you can go up hills faster than usual and without much effort. The assistance starts to fade when you reach 25kph and by 27kph it drops off completely. But at that point it’s easy to pedal harder to go faster if you want to.
I’ve only had it a couple of weeks but, based on the range indicator and my riding so far, it can travel about 50 to 60 kilometres in turbo mode and about 70 to 80 km in sport mode in a mixture of hills, flats and a strong headwind one day.
Go for a test drive if you get the chance you’ll enjoy it.
|
The shop has thought of so many interesting ways in an effort to get me to try one. I recall a rider whilst we were riding some of the great mountain climbs in Switzerland came over to our table for a chat . We were the only riders on "normal" bicycles . The climb was covered in ebikes - most were mountain bikes with all carrying a extra battery pack. The Swiss rider said " the ebike allows him to do these climbs and with the extra battery he can do a 100k ride without getting caught out with a flat battery. There were riders whom had brought their partners - with some clearly having some cycling fitness - but not enough to do the 10% gradient without the aid of the ebike. A older gentleman and his partner said without the aid of the ebike they wouldn't be able to tour together. The riders had said that their bikes were around $7500 francs. Those who know - would know Switzerland is very expensive.
I refrained from riding one - because I have a feeling once tried there will be no going back.