Pro-Connect - My First Ride

[baboon]

I have my 9.5 mile (one way) commute down to 35minutes. This is with a pro-connect with the (essential, in my view) change to an 18t sprocket. I have even considered going to a 16t sprocket as I still use only 4 of my 8 gears, but am concerned about the effect it might have on battery life. So I'll stick with the 18t, I think.

Incidentally, the journey home takes about the same time, so the total time for the 19 mile round trip is 1 hour 10 minutes. Average speed therefore about 16 or 17mph.

Note this is almost all in high power mode.

Peter

 

[AdrianHi]

Thanks Peter.
I would go for the alternative sprocket too.
That would translate into 50-55 minutes for my 14.2 miles which is really at the edge of how long I want my commute to take. OK for now, but if I move work place again I could be looking at 20 to 25 miles+ which is too far to use the bike all the way.
May be I could get a bike carrier, drive half way, park and cycle the rest. Avoiding getting stuck in town traffic and doing enough miles for the bike to pay it's way is key. I'm not likely to use it much at weekends, too busy with children for that.

 

[baboon]

Adrian

The other thing to note is that with a 14 mile commute you will probably find the battery will not last you both ways if you use the bike in high-power mode all the time.

My 9.5 mile commute was at the limit of what I was happy to do on a pedelec. If it had been 14 miles I would probably have gone for a scooter or a car. Am I allowed to say that on here?

Peter

 

[Boo]

Took my first ride on the proconnect today.
It can certainly get me from A to B with much less effort then expected or believed.
I just need to get used to the traffic now as i dare not turn right yet, the cars don't seem to want to let me through!
having read that cars give a wider berth to females than males, I have invested in some girly panniers from basil.
Not having been on a bike since being a teenager and totally unfit but I got up the main hills with ease. Just need it to stop raining now so I can try some longer routes - anyone able to fix the weather?

can't get the cycle computer to work yet so don't know how fast i'm going yet.

 

[AdrianHi]

Adrian

The other thing to note is that with a 14 mile commute you will probably find the battery will not last you both ways if you use the bike in high-power mode all the time.

My 9.5 mile commute was at the limit of what I was happy to do on a pedelec. If it had been 14 miles I would probably have gone for a scooter or a car. Am I allowed to say that on here?

Peter

I've set out with the objective of removing the use of fossil fuels for my commute to work without increasing my costs when getting rid of the car altogether is not an option (nursery run on occasions, the need to do long business trips sometimes demands a car, wife requires her car for work).
I've learnt a lot about electric scooters lately too and they would all require a re-charge due to short range which involves dangling power cables out of office windows as batteries are not detachable - never going to be acceptable.
I need to plan for a commute of up to 30 miles really (I change work location a coupel of times a year on average).
Recharging the detachable battery of a Pro-Connect at work would be no problem, the issue is it's never going to be fast enough for the whole journey.
The best compromise I can think of is drive to within a few miles of my work destination, find some where to park, carry the bike on a carrier on the car and cycle the rest of they way. At least I get round congestion, relies on finding somewhere safe to park the car though.

In the end all these electric bikes / scooters are brilliant for shortish distances in towns and cities where I think a pedelec is all you would ever need. 30mph electric scooters is not really going to get you there quicker.
I'm very frustrated that all the options aren't quite fast enough and / or don't quite have a long enough range

 

[baboon]

...unless you go for a Vectrix! Pricey, though.

Peter

 

[AdrianHi]

...unless you go for a Vectrix! Pricey, though.

Peter

The Vectrix looks like a lot of fun, 0-50mph in 6.8 seconds, top speed 62mph, the range might still be too short. At 25mph it is 68 miles. I wonder what it would be at an average speed of 37-39mph (this is what the car is doing on my commute).
May be the range might be just about OK, I could find £5300 for it if it paid for itself over time, but I've done the sums. It cannot replace the car and assuming it would retain 50% of it's value at 36 months old costs way too much. Cheaper to run the car I already have to work.
I'm not sure my wife would find a "motorbike" acceptable either
I would have to trade down to a cheaper older car to make room in the finances for Vectrix, not ready to make that sacrifice yet. If congestion and road use charging forced the situation on me I might have to do it.

 

[flecc]

I'm very frustrated that all the options aren't quite fast enough and / or don't quite have a long enough range

Many do with two batteries though.

As long as you choose a bike with an easy instant battery swap, it should be no trouble as the best bikes run out gracefully, not suddenly cutting out.
.