As the title says!
In particular it would be interesting to know
What gearing does it have? (Chainset/Rear block)?
How heavy is it?
What range do you get out of it?
My own thoughts re an electric bike are for post-retirement, expecting to keep for many years. The intent would be to get the same exercise from cycling as I would a non-electric bike, but have the motor available for when I have planned a ride that overstretches my capability, giving the ability to get home, or deliberately to significantly extend personal cycling range, especially as I become older and more feeble. My unassisted ride limit on a manual bike might be, say 40-50 miles, involving 3000 feet of elevation gain, therefore wanting the electric bike to utilise the same human power, but maybe give 50-100% greater distance capability in similar terrain so that I can do maybe 60-80 miles in a day in hilly places at my present level of fitness, and still do at keast what I can now when my fitness drops. One way of looking at it is Iād be wanting assistance to be minimal until I reach near the end of my strength, and for the range to that point to be much as with a manual bike, the electric power tgen adding greatly to range.
My present manual bike has is nominally 21 speed but actually only about a dozen different ratios, 22/32/42 front 11-34 rear, gear ratios from 0.645:1 to 3.82:1 (700mm wheels). The best gearing Iāve yet found on an e-bike is approaching that, at 0.745:1 to 3.80:1 on 12-speed Scott (38 front, 10-51 rear). That top gear is fine, though I wouldnāt want it any lower as that would limit my ability to make adequate progress level or slightly downhill. But I really do need my lowest gear on some hills, and not sure whether the higher bottom gear ratio of this particular e-bike would be an issue (this e-bike lowest ratio is halfway between my two lowest gears)
The bigger problem is that the e-bikeās extra 11kg (it weighs 25.8kg), adds 10%+ to the gross loaded bike weight, plus whatever motor drag there is when not powered, meaning that inevitably the motor would be needed to some extent just to do what I am used to doing now, weaning there is less added capacity.
It is that last point that seems to me to be a significant limitation of e-bikes, but far worse if cycling on trails where there may be styles or locked gates. My present bike (15kg) I can lift over, and could probably do that with a 26kg bike, but as age creeps up the risk of injury doing that increases, or indeed inability.
As I donāt plan to retire for another year, I will wait and hope bikes will get lighter and battery power to weight ratio increase further.
However, having described my own thoughts and observations, I would be most interested to learn othersā experiences, of all sorts, good or bad, and to know some details of specs, especially gearing and weight, also range that you get. Photos would be good, too!
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