My new Cube ebike finally arrived on 1 April from Bikester, from whom I ordered it on 24 February. A word on Bikester - they have had a lot of criticism for delays and lack of communication since Brexit, but they do now have a system for dealing with the UK. They don't have any visibility of where the bike is when they have handed it over to Koch International, and enquiries are dealt with slowly and responses are sparse, but I eventually got a call from a company called Zeigler who arranged the date for a pallet delivery. I asked for assurance that there would be no demand for e.g. UK VAT and they assured me that part of their role was to get that billed to Bikester so there are no payments demanded from the UK buyer.
The bike arrived in good condition, minus the nut that had evidently unscrewed itself from the seat clamp and escaped from the box, a trivial matter. I have already posted here on my initial concerns about backlash in the drive, and those who reassured me were correct - it is not at all evident when pedalling with assistance.
I've been quite busy (I'm building a new house) and not had much chance to use the Cube, but a couple of days ago I did a 13 mile tour of local villages including some ups and downs. That doesn't sound much but it's more than I have been comfortably able to do for years. I've always liked and owned bikes but I've never been good on hills. Three years ago I found out why, when I went down with heart failure and was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy which I had probably had for decades.
I'm much better now but I have to keep my heart rate below 130, which means I can really only do hills in bottom gear and with more exertion than is good for me. The Cube is a real liberator for me. I can now cycle the 7 miles round trip to my site without discomfort or exceeding my limits. I've also got used to the size and raised the saddle to my old perching height.
I'm now starting to customise the bike a little bit, with a RAW flap for the slightly-too-short front mudguard, and I'm adapting a frame lock to fit - the seat-stay eyelets on the Cube being slightly too far apart (I've a more serious lock too, but the frame lock and cable will be much handier for quick trips to the village shop.)
The only niggle is the weight. This is a very heavy machine at 25-26Kg. The 625Wh battery and motor are a big chunk of that and it has a rack and mudguards,. The mudguards are essentital and the rack is useful. Maybe I'll just live with it, it doesn't make much difference to the ride. But it is a struggle to lift and move around, and any further accessorising only adds to that. I was astonished to see when looking at the specs for it that the basic sprung fork accounts for over 10% of the weight! Obviously I can't get rid of it entirely, but maybe there's a lighter alternative. I don't plan to use the bike off road so I could even go rigid. I don't think I'm getting much benefit from the suspension fork, it's a Suntour XCM without lockout, which I have set to maximum preload. Maybe I should consider a much lighter rigid fork? Is it a practical proposition?
Modern bikes are a bit of a mystery to me, I still need to find out how to maintain disc brakes and even the threadless headset adjustment was a new experience. I also want to swap the brake pipes over so I decided to check that the bleed nipples and reservoir caps would all move before I started, just in case I got some air in. Unfortunately I can't shift either of the caps with all the force I dare apply to a t-handled Allen key! I have no wish to find the breaking strain of the tool. They are both ludricrously tight, is there a trick to it or should I just mangle them with water pump pliers and buy some new ones?
The bike arrived in good condition, minus the nut that had evidently unscrewed itself from the seat clamp and escaped from the box, a trivial matter. I have already posted here on my initial concerns about backlash in the drive, and those who reassured me were correct - it is not at all evident when pedalling with assistance.
I've been quite busy (I'm building a new house) and not had much chance to use the Cube, but a couple of days ago I did a 13 mile tour of local villages including some ups and downs. That doesn't sound much but it's more than I have been comfortably able to do for years. I've always liked and owned bikes but I've never been good on hills. Three years ago I found out why, when I went down with heart failure and was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy which I had probably had for decades.
I'm much better now but I have to keep my heart rate below 130, which means I can really only do hills in bottom gear and with more exertion than is good for me. The Cube is a real liberator for me. I can now cycle the 7 miles round trip to my site without discomfort or exceeding my limits. I've also got used to the size and raised the saddle to my old perching height.
I'm now starting to customise the bike a little bit, with a RAW flap for the slightly-too-short front mudguard, and I'm adapting a frame lock to fit - the seat-stay eyelets on the Cube being slightly too far apart (I've a more serious lock too, but the frame lock and cable will be much handier for quick trips to the village shop.)
The only niggle is the weight. This is a very heavy machine at 25-26Kg. The 625Wh battery and motor are a big chunk of that and it has a rack and mudguards,. The mudguards are essentital and the rack is useful. Maybe I'll just live with it, it doesn't make much difference to the ride. But it is a struggle to lift and move around, and any further accessorising only adds to that. I was astonished to see when looking at the specs for it that the basic sprung fork accounts for over 10% of the weight! Obviously I can't get rid of it entirely, but maybe there's a lighter alternative. I don't plan to use the bike off road so I could even go rigid. I don't think I'm getting much benefit from the suspension fork, it's a Suntour XCM without lockout, which I have set to maximum preload. Maybe I should consider a much lighter rigid fork? Is it a practical proposition?
Modern bikes are a bit of a mystery to me, I still need to find out how to maintain disc brakes and even the threadless headset adjustment was a new experience. I also want to swap the brake pipes over so I decided to check that the bleed nipples and reservoir caps would all move before I started, just in case I got some air in. Unfortunately I can't shift either of the caps with all the force I dare apply to a t-handled Allen key! I have no wish to find the breaking strain of the tool. They are both ludricrously tight, is there a trick to it or should I just mangle them with water pump pliers and buy some new ones?
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