Two bikes bought today! A small and medium frame size for me and the taller wife.
My only concern from our test drive is that at certain speeds the motor seemed to be sometimes "tugging" me backwards, almost as if it was adding resistance rather than removing it. I think this was simply an illusion and the tugging was me occasionally feeling the full weight of the bike as the motor cut out, rather than actually resistance but it was disconcerting. I found that if this happened and I dropped down a gear, the effect seemed to go away, but I was then pedalling with a higher cadence than I would normally. i'd appreciate any feedback from you experts on if this is normal.
Here's a brief summary of the experience.....
Halford's were brilliant. After a quick visit on Tuesday evening they ordered in two bikes of the sizes we wanted. Very quick delivery, they could have been ready as early as Friday, but we weren't able to get back to the shop until Sunday.
We were allowed a TWO hour test drive of the bikes and they even lent me a helmet as I had forgotten mine
We only intended to ride a couple of miles to the nearest hill (more of a slope really) to get a feel for the bikes, but ended up doing the whole of the 21.5 miles Guild Wheel. A cycle route that circles our home town of Preston.
I am a keen and competent cyclist. In fact I have been put off getting an ebike as I would normally average over 17mph on a 40 miles ride on my road bike and therefore didn't think I would get much assistance from an ebike.
Well "Big Smile on My Face" this was great to ride. To be honest both my wife and I did the route with the controller set in it's lowest 'camel' setting, just occasionally switching up to higher levels to experiment or to negotiate short sharp hills. After accelerating up and around a narrow set of steep hairpins my wife has decided she would never use the top "mountain goat" mode as it scared her too much!
On the plus side: They were great fun. We only really needed the lowest settings (I'm sure we will use the other settings on our holiday to Devon). The battery on mine had 3 bars when I left the shop but dropped to 2 bars within 0.5 miles. After a further 20 miles it was still on 2 bars. My wife seemed to get largely the same performance and to be fair she is heavier and less fit than I am. My battery indicator seemed to stick at 36 (percent?) for 10 miles. Then dropped to as low as 29% after a small hill, then slowly climbed back up to 35.8% over the next few miles. Tomorrow I will do the 38 miles round trip to work (hilly) and see how that works out. Comfortable to ride. My wife initially complained that she would need to switch to her normal gel saddle, but actually after 20 miles she actually changed her mind.
CONS: They have definitely minimised any expenditure on extras. No mudguards, no bottle holder (nor any space to put a bottle holder). No quick release on the saddle height (but easily purchased and added myself). The computer doesn't seem to be removable and only works in KPH rather than MPH.
There are 3 chaps waiting in the office to try my bike on Monday, two of whom already cycle to work regularly, with commutes of 10-20 miles each way. So these aren't unfit people, they (like me) want to take the pain out of the hills, so we don't arrive at the office (with no showers) super sweaty.
Halfords have confirmed an extra 10% for British Cycling membership so these bikes will cost £720 each. They even offer 12 months interest free.
Why are you reading this - you should be down at Halfords buying one of these?
