Newbie To E Biking

[RoadEman]

Hello everyone,
Just thought I'd introduce myself. I am new to the e bike world and have just literally come in after my first ride on my new e bike that I received on Monday. The bike I have purchased is a Giant Road E+ 2 and this switch to e biking is due to a combination of factors including age, leg & knee pain, really hard breathing on the hills as well as the terrain where I live being hills everywhere and very very few wind free days. I have just last week sold my last normal road bike which had Di2 and I really liked but alas the hills etc were getting the better of me, the week before I sold my Cube road bike. Both these bikes were carbon fibre so the weight of my new Giant is a bit strange to say the least. Got to say after doing one of the bad hills tonight I am really impressed with the effort required to conquer it . Hopefully be posting regularly on here as this has got me excited about cycling again as no more battling force 8 headwinds with just my puny legs for power.

Roademan

 

[LeighPing]

this switch to e biking is due to a combination of factors including age, leg & knee pain, really hard breathing on the hills as well as the terrain where I live being hills everywhere and very very few wind free days.

Ah those old chestnuts.. welcome aboard cheater.

 

[RoadEman]

Thanks for the welcome LeighPing, not sure about the cheater bit though Got to admit though I am going to have a wind up at work with a colleague who stays beside me and is a Strava junkie, also a lot younger. I used to pass him on the good old manual road bikes but he's in to it big now. So a few days of my Strava times will egg him on a bit before I come clean and tell him I have a Yamaha logo as well as Giant logo on my new toy. If anything it will help him up his game.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Welcome. I've gone the other way. I was so unfit that i could only use a powerful electric bike. o gradually worked my way down in power. Now at 64 I've started on a road bike. I notice the difference in weight too. It's weird how I can pick it up with one hand and hold it upside down in the air to walk it past my car. I'l still be using electric bikes for shopping, etc.

When I'm I'm out on my road bike, I look for electric bikes to shout "cheat" at.

 

[soundwave]

he will destroy you on the flat and down hill on a road bike i cant beat them even with a dongle on the road.

 

[soundwave]

 

[RoadEman]

Thanks for the welcome and glad to hear you are starting on a road bike at 64. I am 58 and i was hoping to get some of my fitness back again and get a normal road bike as I do feel more satisfied knowing it is 100% of my effort that get me there. having said that though I did notice tonight that other than uphill my motor was idle and it was me pumping the power in just like the good old days, this of course due to exceeding 25 Kmh.

 

[LeighPing]

Thanks for the welcome LeighPing, not sure about the cheater bit though Got to admit though I am going to have a wind up at work with a colleague who stays beside me and is a Strava junkie, also a lot younger. I used to pass him on the good old manual road bikes but he's in to it big now. So a few days of my Strava times will egg him on a bit before I come clean and tell him I have a Yamaha logo as well as Giant logo on my new toy. If anything it will help him up his game.

There's lots of banter to be had in all walks of the cycling world. Ebikes are getting to be pretty much accepted now. Although, it's been difficult from some to do that. They're a technological advance, made to be used and enjoyed. You seem to be getting the best from yours. Enjoy the forum. It's a good'un.

 

[RoadEman]

he will destroy you on the flat and down hill on a road bike i cant beat them even with a dongle on the road.

That's a pity, I was thinking downhill I may have had a bit of advantage with the extra weight plus I can power along on the flats. Not really a lot of flat road on daily commute though. Still he will be wondering how an old codger like me has all of a sudden got my times down.

 

[soundwave]

you will spin out unless you up the front sprocket size if its a bosch motor down hill as they gear them for 15mph.

a dongle will remove the speed limit tho as other wise over 15mph you are riding a 20kg plus bike.

and remember with all that extra waight you got to slow it down as well they do bite if ur not careful

 

[RoadEman]

Yes, I suppose there will always be individuals who look down their noses at Ebikes but I suppose they are more than likely to be the younger ones that are in to it in a big way with all the Lycra etc. Got to say I always try and go as fast as I can on my bike but was never into racing anyone, only doing it to satisfy myself. I am of the opinion if the Ebike allows people to carry on cycling when they struggle on conventional bikes it has to be a good thing. Those that sneer may themselves appreciate power assistance some day. Read a report on the Giant E+ 1 in Cycling Plus this month (more expensive model of my bike) and they had nothing but praise for it.

 

[RoadEman]

It's a 34/50 crankset which is classed as a compact and is pretty much standard on the road bikes, rear cassette is 11/32 which is what I had on my Dolan Di2. Probably will spin out right enough as I used to do it on my road bikes.

 

[LeighPing]

They're all great. When you figure out how, some pics would nice.

Click, click.

 

[soundwave]

he had a 1min head start

 

[RoadEman]

I agree with the stopping side of things as I did notice tonight that the brakes were not that great, hoping they will improve as the pads bed in but it is only mechanical discs whereas the E+ 1 has hydraulic discs.

 

[RoadEman]

Yeah, I will try and get some pics up tomorrow night if the weather is good before it gets dirty, though I do have a nice shiny Park Tool PCS 10 stand to stick it in to clean it. It's a job hiding the stuff from the wife as the stand came today and I already have a Park Tool PRS 20 stand that is only 6 months old and now surplus. Need to keep her out my shed.

 

[soundwave]

id put her in the shed and move all the bike stuff in to the front room

 

[RoadEman]

Brilliant idea that. She didn't like it at first but she packing her stuff in shed now, seems a right shame mind you but these bikes aren't cheap. I'm sure she understands!

 

[soundwave]

 

[RoadEman]

Not had time to log on over the last couple of days and last night was a flop as I only had an hours sleep and had to be up at 5:00 am to cycle in to work on my new toy so did nothing but doze in the chair yesterday evening. What is the easiest way to add photos, if someone lets me know I will post a couple of my bike. Thanks in advance for any advice.