20 mile commute on an Electric Mountain Bike...

D

Deleted member 4366

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Deal done. Picked up this afternoon.

Quick ride round the block. First proper ride tomorrow am.

Will keep you posted.

It’s a29er, which tyres? 1/3 off road, 2/3 on road.
I would wait until you see what your range is with the OEM tyres. You might struggle to reach 40 miles with 2.3" knobbly tyres, especially if you derestrict.
 

Trevormonty

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jul 18, 2016
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Well done. As for tyres ask other forum members doing similar rides.

Other things to consider adding to your shopping list are. Rack, quality panniers ( I've bought cheap ones and regretted it), mudguards. When comes to lights you have two options, detachable USB rechargeable lights or hard wired ones powered off bike battery. Hard wired is so much nicer, always there, don't have charge them or have them go flat halfway home, don't need to remove them when locking bike up.
You may still need extra battery helmet head light.

The USB lights are rated in lumens while fixed ones are quite often in lux roughly 1 lux = 10 lumens. For commuting on unlit roads and paths 800-1000 lumens (100lux)min.
If money no issue Lupine and Supernova do some excellent Bosch power lights.

Long term you will need spider tool to remove chainring for servicing bearing seal. See attached for bearing seal kit and tool, last two items on list. All PNs are for Bike.discount in germany. May want to consider stocking up on chains and chainrings while you are at it along with chain stretch measuring tool.

For 11spd chain expect about 1000-1500km depending on riding conditions and maintenance, replace bosch chainring with chain.

View attachment Cube Stereo Hybrid 140 HPA Race 500 27.5 2016 bike parts.pdf
 

Knobby

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 17, 2018
11
3
42
Uk
Just done work and back. Shattered!!!

32 miles total, 1hr 25 mins there, that’s with working out where I was going. Managed to knock off a big chunk of the trip by using Strava last night, loads of bridleways I wasn’t aware of. One section was perfect, cuts off a huge road section/detour and take you through a lovely woodland/fields. Great service offer by Strava I just couldn’t load it onto my Garmin Edge 800, guess a bit old now.

Used Tour mode most of the way there then on the way back was panicking as the range meter was disappearing quickly. So Eco most of the way home but then turbo on the home straight. 9 mile range when I got home.

Things I need to think about
Tyres - with route change I think it’s 50/50 road/off road now. The current Maxxis Forekaster seem to be an all off road tyre and you can feel this on the road.
Tyre pressures - need to come down, was shaking me around a bit.
Shoes - my Vans really didn’t cut it, new ones needed.
Charger - need to get another charger for work. No point carrying the extra weight and I think on a work day turbo all the way to start with.
Derestriction - would really help get me there quicker, any suggestions on which one to go with?

No to clean it!!

Thanks for all your input. Really chuffed!

Couple of pictures attached.
 

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D

Deleted member 4366

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The charger will be expensive. Why not wait a couple of weeks to see how your legs strengthen up. You probably won't need one until it starts raining, which will slow you down a bit on those paths.

The reason I mentioned the Oxygen is not only is it a very capable bike on paths like that, but a spare charger is £15 and derestriction is nothing more than entering the secret code, which costs nothing. That's a £250 saving from a Bosch bike.
 

Knobby

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 17, 2018
11
3
42
Uk
You are right. Charger is £100!

Thanks for for suggestion. I stuck to what I know. Always had Cube or Scott.
 

Parky

Pedelecer
Apr 9, 2018
109
25
Kent
Apologies to the original poster for your thread getting unnecessarily hi jacked :rolleyes: - I hope you enjoy your new bike :D

Please declare your rides as Ebike rides on Strava.
My comment regarding ruffling roadie bikers feathers was intended as a joke :(

I didn’t realise there was an ebike option on Strava!!

I can’t seem to find the 3 x heavier bike, post knee op setting or not as fit as some option either? Can someone please point me in the right direction o_O

I didn’t realise this forum was sooooooo serious and that some people take everything posted to heart :eek: Lighten up guys - life’s too short!!

See how many dislikes, don’t agree, not funny markers I get this time :p
 

chris_n

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 29, 2016
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I didn't think you knew about the ebike option, many don't. Nothing wrong with a bit of light hearted banter with 'lycras' but people do get upset when unrealistic times are set when they have worked hard for their achievements.
 
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Wicky

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RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
4,732
2,312
Just done work and back. Shattered!!!

32 miles total, 1hr 25 mins there, that’s with working out where I was going. Managed to knock off a big chunk of the trip by using Strava last night, loads of bridleways I wasn’t aware of. One section was perfect, cuts off a huge road section/detour and take you through a lovely woodland/fields. Great service offer by Strava I just couldn’t load it onto my Garmin Edge 800, guess a bit old now.

Used Tour mode most of the way there then on the way back was panicking as the range meter was disappearing quickly. So Eco most of the way home but then turbo on the home straight. 9 mile range when I got home.

Things I need to think about
Tyres - with route change I think it’s 50/50 road/off road now. The current Maxxis Forekaster seem to be an all off road tyre and you can feel this on the road.
Tyre pressures - need to come down, was shaking me around a bit.
Shoes - my Vans really didn’t cut it, new ones needed.
Charger - need to get another charger for work. No point carrying the extra weight and I think on a work day turbo all the way to start with.
Derestriction - would really help get me there quicker, any suggestions on which one to go with?

No to clean it!!

Thanks for all your input. Really chuffed!

Couple of pictures attached.
Allowing a bit more time will have two benefits - more comfort and lower battery consumption.

Taking it a bit steadier also means less chance of a tumble and more chance of getting away with shallow tread tyres for a longer part of the year, if not year round.

Some of those tracks will be a bit dicey in the wet, so there's no point in timing your commute to rely on warp speeds if there's any bad weather about.
 

Warwick

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 24, 2015
731
225
Warwick
Regarding tyres, Schwalbe Land Cruisers and the Plus variant are competent on road and also pretty good on non-technical off-road stretches, such as towpaths and bridleways. The puncture protection is not up to Marathon Plus standards, but they do have some protection and the Plusses might even have more. They have the added bonus of being cheap too. Slime added to the inner tubes would add protection, but mine have been pretty robust over a couple of thousand miles without it.
 

Plodder Bob

Pedelecer
Dec 15, 2017
71
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Manchester
I didn't think you knew about the ebike option, many don't. Nothing wrong with a bit of light hearted banter with 'lycras' but people do get upset when unrealistic times are set when they have worked hard for their achievements.

Hi , wondered if you could tell me where the ebike option is on strava iPhone app , I’ve never come across it . Other than enter bike description as cube reaction didn’t think there was a choice to select ebike as option ? I don’t feel too guilty about it my bike weighs 23kg with knobbly wide mtb tyres and plenty of rolling resistance . I don’t ride with a dongle so over 16mph it’s my own effort unassisted. Hopefully one day I’ll be fit enough to earn KOM’s on strava on a normal bike we will see ;-)
 
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Parky

Pedelecer
Apr 9, 2018
109
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Kent
Hi , wondered if you could tell me where the ebike option is on strava iPhone app , I’ve never come across it . Other than enter bike description as cube reaction didn’t think there was a choice to select ebike as option ? I don’t feel too guilty about it my bike weighs 23kg with knobbly wide mtb tyres and plenty of rolling resistance . I don’t ride with a dongle so over 16mph it’s my own effort unassisted. Hopefully one day I’ll be fit enough to earn KOM’s on strava on a normal bike we will see ;-)
So to select Ebike - at the bottom of the screen you select your activity, a bike symbol there already I assume, touch the bike symbol and a drop down list should appear, where you can choose Ebike - which up to a couple days ago, I too never knew existed either :confused:
 

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chris_n

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 29, 2016
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Hi , wondered if you could tell me where the ebike option is on strava iPhone app , I’ve never come across it . Other than enter bike description as cube reaction didn’t think there was a choice to select ebike as option ? I don’t feel too guilty about it my bike weighs 23kg with knobbly wide mtb tyres and plenty of rolling resistance . I don’t ride with a dongle so over 16mph it’s my own effort unassisted. Hopefully one day I’ll be fit enough to earn KOM’s on strava on a normal bike we will see ;-)
I guess it depends what you are recording on. For me on Android I have to open the activity, go to edit activity and select the drop down arrow next to ride. Ebike ride is at the bottom of the list.
 
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Plodder Bob

Pedelecer
Dec 15, 2017
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Thanks tried but no joy no option shown might be cos it’s iphone or possibly cos I’m on free version and not premium ? Might be worth checking if there’s an update available on App Store ...
 

Parky

Pedelecer
Apr 9, 2018
109
25
Kent
Thanks tried but no joy no option shown might be cos it’s iphone or possibly cos I’m on free version and not premium ? Might be worth checking if there’s an update available on App Store ...
I’m on iPhone but Premium - if that matters? @Plodder Bob :cool:

Check the screenshots I posted :D
 

Kinninvie

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 5, 2013
907
415
Teesdale,England
Its on the free version too...
 

Warwick

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 24, 2015
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I quite like the idea of MAMILs wondering how someone like me can be so high up the leader boards...
 
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Plodder Bob

Pedelecer
Dec 15, 2017
71
29
56
Manchester
Right thanks all got it working on iPhone you have to edit ride after completion I can’t select E-Bike before ride starts . Unfortunately when you select ebike it no longer records any segment details . Rather annoying as I like to see which segments I’m getting quicker on during my daily commute so makes strava on the E-bike setting rather pointless in my opinion . Think I will go back to using normal bike setting and face the wrath of the Lycra clad , carbon fibre brigade !