Ralph
We're a late 50's couple who haven't ridden in many years
who bought two of these about 3 months now and put on a bit
over 300 miles so far. Bottom line is that I highly
recommend them if this is your kind of bike. If you're a
purist, don't read any further.
How they work: These are not electric motorcycles, you have
to pedal to move. What they do is provide an electric
assist, up to 130% of your effort (torque) in normal mode,
100% in eco mode, 0% if switched off at which point they are
47 lb comfort bikes. The motor drives through the same 4
speed hub the pedal effort goes through, so shifting changes
the motor's gearing also. The assist tails off as your
cadence increases, dropping to 0 at about 70 rpm in each
gear - about 18 mph in 4th with stock gearing. One odd
effect of this is a massive assist at 0 rpm, i.e. when you
are starting off from rest. You need to be careful of this
at first, although it's great for crossing an intersection.
Because you get more assist at lower cadence, it's easier
and faster to go up hill in a higher gear and lower cadence
than on a non-assisted bike. On steep hills, I'm normally in
2nd at about 50-55 rpm, about 8.5 - 10 mph in eco mode.
What they're like to ride: As a friend put it: "They make
you feel like superman!". When you pedal, the assist comes
on automatically, instantly and proportionally to your
effort, so the effect is to lower the pedal pressure you
have to exert. There is a slight gear sound when the power
is on which tapers off as the assist decreases. On level
ground the bike quickly gets up to about 17.5 mph where it
is providing a slight assist, just enough to make it very
easy to maintain speed. Hills are the real win though. When
we started with these, we were not cyclists at all, but even
so were able to go up an 11% hill at about 7 mph in full
power (now we do it at about 10 mph in eco). We were in
Quebec City recently and biked along the St Lawrence about
20 miles out and back, mostly with power off. However, we
then had to climb back up to the upper ville which is a very
steep ascent, plus we were getting pretty tired. Turning on
to full power let us get back to our hotel in a few minutes
and without cardiac arrest. We were both surprised at how
well this worked.
The other time we use power a lot is in traffic. It
allows much faster acceleration and sustained speed, so
we can cross intersections and maneuver in traffic much
more confidently.
Currently we're at the level of casual cyclists, that
is, with the power off, we easily stay with people (much
younger) who ride on level ground a few miles per week,
but get passed by everyone who's a serious cyclist. We
normally ride with the power off on level ground up to
about 20 miles at about 11 mph, turning the power on
when going up hills or into a stiff headwind. However,
after about 20 miles, we're both pretty pooped, so we
use the eco mode as a "get home" assist. On reasonably
level ground, we find switching on to eco mode is much
like stopping for a break and often will do that for
awhile then switch off again after we've recovered a
bit. Of course, you're still moving at 12-14 mph during
this break. Another use for power is that if you go
somewhere and stop for lunch your muscles cool down and
getting started again can be a real drag even on level
ground. Again, turning on eco mode lets you start
pedaling to warm up, but with very low pedal pressure,
so soon you're feeling good and can shut the power off.
We use these to get to our commuter bus, about 5.5
miles each way, and are pretty much always a bit later
than we'd like, so are trying to make time riding with
eco on. This is a moderately hilly road with two 100 ft
climbs and descents, one the 11% hill mentioned above.
Currently, carrying over 10 lbs of laptops and
miscellaneous junk, we average about 15.3 mph and
arrive only slightly sweaty if the air temps are below
75F or so.
Range and fitness: When we started, with full power on over
terrain like our commute above, averaging 13+ mph, the range
was about 18 miles. In our current state, in eco mode,
averaging 15+ mph the range is about 27 miles. On level
ground in our current shape the limit is our endurancesince
we don't really use the power much. On the above Quebec ride
we rode over 20 miles and used less than 20% of the battery
and both felt we could have gone another 10 miles or so if
we were in eco mode. I doubt we would have used more than
half the battery at that point. For someone with good
endurance, on a reasonably level road, the range would be
very large if they only used the power for hills.
The real limit to range is the rider's endurance, how
many hills you use power on, and how fast you want to
get somewhere. We like riding with the power off both to
get some more exercise, and for the silence. The motor
isn't that noisy, but it's there. One effect we've
noticed is that with the power on, the speed is
seductive. You are tempted to pedal harder than you
otherwise might because even with the minimal assist at
the top end the speed is great and the motor noise keeps
lessening at you get up to and exceed 18 mph. For people
like us who are decidedly not athletes, the bikes make
getting out a lot of fun and we've both noticed our
pants getting looser (although I haven't seen any weight
loss). As they say, the best exercise is the one you
actually do.
who bought two of these about 3 months now and put on a bit
over 300 miles so far. Bottom line is that I highly
recommend them if this is your kind of bike. If you're a
purist, don't read any further.
How they work: These are not electric motorcycles, you have
to pedal to move. What they do is provide an electric
assist, up to 130% of your effort (torque) in normal mode,
100% in eco mode, 0% if switched off at which point they are
47 lb comfort bikes. The motor drives through the same 4
speed hub the pedal effort goes through, so shifting changes
the motor's gearing also. The assist tails off as your
cadence increases, dropping to 0 at about 70 rpm in each
gear - about 18 mph in 4th with stock gearing. One odd
effect of this is a massive assist at 0 rpm, i.e. when you
are starting off from rest. You need to be careful of this
at first, although it's great for crossing an intersection.
Because you get more assist at lower cadence, it's easier
and faster to go up hill in a higher gear and lower cadence
than on a non-assisted bike. On steep hills, I'm normally in
2nd at about 50-55 rpm, about 8.5 - 10 mph in eco mode.
What they're like to ride: As a friend put it: "They make
you feel like superman!". When you pedal, the assist comes
on automatically, instantly and proportionally to your
effort, so the effect is to lower the pedal pressure you
have to exert. There is a slight gear sound when the power
is on which tapers off as the assist decreases. On level
ground the bike quickly gets up to about 17.5 mph where it
is providing a slight assist, just enough to make it very
easy to maintain speed. Hills are the real win though. When
we started with these, we were not cyclists at all, but even
so were able to go up an 11% hill at about 7 mph in full
power (now we do it at about 10 mph in eco). We were in
Quebec City recently and biked along the St Lawrence about
20 miles out and back, mostly with power off. However, we
then had to climb back up to the upper ville which is a very
steep ascent, plus we were getting pretty tired. Turning on
to full power let us get back to our hotel in a few minutes
and without cardiac arrest. We were both surprised at how
well this worked.
The other time we use power a lot is in traffic. It
allows much faster acceleration and sustained speed, so
we can cross intersections and maneuver in traffic much
more confidently.
Currently we're at the level of casual cyclists, that
is, with the power off, we easily stay with people (much
younger) who ride on level ground a few miles per week,
but get passed by everyone who's a serious cyclist. We
normally ride with the power off on level ground up to
about 20 miles at about 11 mph, turning the power on
when going up hills or into a stiff headwind. However,
after about 20 miles, we're both pretty pooped, so we
use the eco mode as a "get home" assist. On reasonably
level ground, we find switching on to eco mode is much
like stopping for a break and often will do that for
awhile then switch off again after we've recovered a
bit. Of course, you're still moving at 12-14 mph during
this break. Another use for power is that if you go
somewhere and stop for lunch your muscles cool down and
getting started again can be a real drag even on level
ground. Again, turning on eco mode lets you start
pedaling to warm up, but with very low pedal pressure,
so soon you're feeling good and can shut the power off.
We use these to get to our commuter bus, about 5.5
miles each way, and are pretty much always a bit later
than we'd like, so are trying to make time riding with
eco on. This is a moderately hilly road with two 100 ft
climbs and descents, one the 11% hill mentioned above.
Currently, carrying over 10 lbs of laptops and
miscellaneous junk, we average about 15.3 mph and
arrive only slightly sweaty if the air temps are below
75F or so.
Range and fitness: When we started, with full power on over
terrain like our commute above, averaging 13+ mph, the range
was about 18 miles. In our current state, in eco mode,
averaging 15+ mph the range is about 27 miles. On level
ground in our current shape the limit is our endurancesince
we don't really use the power much. On the above Quebec ride
we rode over 20 miles and used less than 20% of the battery
and both felt we could have gone another 10 miles or so if
we were in eco mode. I doubt we would have used more than
half the battery at that point. For someone with good
endurance, on a reasonably level road, the range would be
very large if they only used the power for hills.
The real limit to range is the rider's endurance, how
many hills you use power on, and how fast you want to
get somewhere. We like riding with the power off both to
get some more exercise, and for the silence. The motor
isn't that noisy, but it's there. One effect we've
noticed is that with the power on, the speed is
seductive. You are tempted to pedal harder than you
otherwise might because even with the minimal assist at
the top end the speed is great and the motor noise keeps
lessening at you get up to and exceed 18 mph. For people
like us who are decidedly not athletes, the bikes make
getting out a lot of fun and we've both noticed our
pants getting looser (although I haven't seen any weight
loss). As they say, the best exercise is the one you
actually do.
