E-motion cadence
Hi all,
I've ressurected this thread, as I have recently tested a handful of e-bikes at OnBike. These were the first e-bikes I have ever ridden, so I wasn't sure what to expect.
Anyway, I tried the Ezee Sprint, Wisper, and e-motion (City and cross models). In summary, Ezee sprint = torquey up hills, poor handling. Wisper = ok up hills, less powerful, doesn't feel as well built, difficulty with gear shifter and throttle location, handles better than Ezee. Also found thottle control bikes in general a bit cumbersome to hold down throttle on full twist all the time.
E-motion bikes feel sharp, wasn't a fan of upright city geometry, preferred the more 'pointy' mtb style cross bike. The e-motion cross was the only bike that handled sharply enough for me.
Only downside with e-motion was, as described by a few posters here, the cadence issue. I hadn't read about it beforehand, but found due to the gearing and power vs cadence behaviour, I couldn't ascent hills as fast as I would like to. Not without standing up on the pedals anyway. In fact I'm sure I could go up hills faster on my lightweight mtb by using a more efficient gear. I also found I don't like being forced to pedal slower in general on the flat if I want assistance, it's less efficient and doesn't feel 'right'.
Basically, I've read posts about people suggesting 11 tooth sprocket mods and rear cassette mods, taking power up to 23 mph, and I have concerns about riding an illegal bike, and was wondering if there is a way to modify this bike without it becoming illegal...? Or 'noticibly illegal' anyway.
Anyone who rides a modified e-motion, please let me know what you have done and how it feels. How far do modifications need to go to get it feeling right?
I'm aiming to try a Cytronex at some point soon, to compare.
Andy