This is about ebikes generally, not a particular one (given that I've just got my first one and without trying any first). So it was all beyond my ken apart from theories I acquired from reading here.
Bloody hell! I'd heard about the weight but when you actually manhandle one first time it still comes as a shock. And all the weight was concentrated at the back which probably makes it seem a little worse. I even found myself wondering if it would be bad for the saddle/post if I lifted it the normal way so I tried lifting the back from a rear frame point...but there wasn't any need for that...the saddle and post are OK. And this one's not that heavy at 21kg. I find the bike hard to handle in small movements like when you want to make a small turning circle at slow speed. The weight seems to make this more awkward.
The first time you use it you think the oomph is fab and you think the pedalling is so easy. And you think 'blimey, if this is how the pedelec system works the throttle may be unnecessary.' I was so impressed by the easiness of the pedalling that I decided to try a hill that I'd been intending to leave until later once I'd practised on some normal ones. It wasn't much of a problem really. So that left me optimistic that I could do most of the essential hills and some of the elective ones.
I always try to get from A to B via the most quiet, easy and peaceful route possible which basically means avoiding traffic unless unavoidable. And yet, I now find when I do need to be on a road with cars I'm a fair bit more relaxed about it. Although my top speed is still not very high, my average speed is much higher than it was with a normal bike making me feel more comfortable on the road and less of a nuisance to cars. On the old bike, even when doing decent speed I'd be thinking 'God, I hope this road doesn't start rising up and my legs go weak and cause me to ride in a wobbly fashion at 3mph in this traffic.' That's not a worry now because I have my poor man's motorbike. I reckon the comfort in traffic will increase even more when I get a rear view mirror because I'm still glancing over a lot. Though I sometimes use a glance over the shoulder as a way of letting a driver know that I know he or she is there.
It goes down hills like an elephant on roller skates. Descending involves tons of braking; it gets pretty tiresome and I find myself craving some sort of engine braking like on a car.
I can confirm that the fantasies people have about ebikes liberating their lives are true. It's not just an idle dream. You'll go out more; you'll feel more autonomous; you'll fee more integrated and related to your locality and community; you'll feel more competent. I once read an article by two psychologists who said that the three core pillars of human happiness—there are other littler ones but three main ones—were autonomy, competency (feeling that you're good at things) and relatedness (feeling connected to others). I think ebikes help with some of life's essential requirements.
I'll post about my specific bike later I suppose.
Bloody hell! I'd heard about the weight but when you actually manhandle one first time it still comes as a shock. And all the weight was concentrated at the back which probably makes it seem a little worse. I even found myself wondering if it would be bad for the saddle/post if I lifted it the normal way so I tried lifting the back from a rear frame point...but there wasn't any need for that...the saddle and post are OK. And this one's not that heavy at 21kg. I find the bike hard to handle in small movements like when you want to make a small turning circle at slow speed. The weight seems to make this more awkward.
The first time you use it you think the oomph is fab and you think the pedalling is so easy. And you think 'blimey, if this is how the pedelec system works the throttle may be unnecessary.' I was so impressed by the easiness of the pedalling that I decided to try a hill that I'd been intending to leave until later once I'd practised on some normal ones. It wasn't much of a problem really. So that left me optimistic that I could do most of the essential hills and some of the elective ones.
I always try to get from A to B via the most quiet, easy and peaceful route possible which basically means avoiding traffic unless unavoidable. And yet, I now find when I do need to be on a road with cars I'm a fair bit more relaxed about it. Although my top speed is still not very high, my average speed is much higher than it was with a normal bike making me feel more comfortable on the road and less of a nuisance to cars. On the old bike, even when doing decent speed I'd be thinking 'God, I hope this road doesn't start rising up and my legs go weak and cause me to ride in a wobbly fashion at 3mph in this traffic.' That's not a worry now because I have my poor man's motorbike. I reckon the comfort in traffic will increase even more when I get a rear view mirror because I'm still glancing over a lot. Though I sometimes use a glance over the shoulder as a way of letting a driver know that I know he or she is there.
It goes down hills like an elephant on roller skates. Descending involves tons of braking; it gets pretty tiresome and I find myself craving some sort of engine braking like on a car.
I can confirm that the fantasies people have about ebikes liberating their lives are true. It's not just an idle dream. You'll go out more; you'll feel more autonomous; you'll fee more integrated and related to your locality and community; you'll feel more competent. I once read an article by two psychologists who said that the three core pillars of human happiness—there are other littler ones but three main ones—were autonomy, competency (feeling that you're good at things) and relatedness (feeling connected to others). I think ebikes help with some of life's essential requirements.
I'll post about my specific bike later I suppose.
