Maybe that is going too far?
A 17 euro Acera is plenty strong enough. Then again I haven't tried kicking it to death...
A 17 euro Acera is plenty strong enough. Then again I haven't tried kicking it to death...
Yee-Ha! My new bikes have arrived!
- Thread starter ocb
- Start date
LOL. Indeed! I am 75kg and it was pretty much all my force down onto chain/derailleur.
I checked, and my Dahon foldy 26" has the Acera - but again I suspect that would be seriously bent out of shape with what I did.
I prefer going up a level though, I do at least 600km a month on a bike to commute. Lesson learned though - use the effin throttle to get going!
My Acera came off the bike I am about to put it back on... Don't know how many kilometres it has done before but I put 3000 on it. For the price (free...) I think it is the cat's pyjamas
Right, so - tomorrow is "go-live" with the 20".
I tried it out tonight. Man - it's fun! It reminds me of those daft 70s bikes like a Chopper, with it's high handle bars and very quick change up to highest gear.
It's only 7 speed. That might sound useless - except I went up what can only be described as "the mother of all ascents" without batting an eyelid.
Ok, it's only about 50m long, but it's an ascent of more than 25m within those 50m. With full throttle, I wasn't even wobbling - going slowly yes, but the bike just happily lapped it up.
I actually couldn't believe it was that easy, so I did it about 6 or 7 times. I know I've put on a couple of kilo of leg muscle the past few months - but this was insanely easy. If anyone wants, I can do a "fly-by" video.
Build-wise, nothing much to say. A couple of post-production very cheap touch-ups on paint chips that could have been done a lot better.
It remains the cheapest of cheap rear derailleur.
It has a bar-mounted "beep-beep" that the MTB doesn't!
The main post centring was out every so slightly. That took a bit of figuring out, what with the off-centre folding main post. I think I got it though.
I tried it out tonight. Man - it's fun! It reminds me of those daft 70s bikes like a Chopper, with it's high handle bars and very quick change up to highest gear.
It's only 7 speed. That might sound useless - except I went up what can only be described as "the mother of all ascents" without batting an eyelid.
Ok, it's only about 50m long, but it's an ascent of more than 25m within those 50m. With full throttle, I wasn't even wobbling - going slowly yes, but the bike just happily lapped it up.
I actually couldn't believe it was that easy, so I did it about 6 or 7 times. I know I've put on a couple of kilo of leg muscle the past few months - but this was insanely easy. If anyone wants, I can do a "fly-by" video.
Build-wise, nothing much to say. A couple of post-production very cheap touch-ups on paint chips that could have been done a lot better.
It remains the cheapest of cheap rear derailleur.
It has a bar-mounted "beep-beep" that the MTB doesn't!
The main post centring was out every so slightly. That took a bit of figuring out, what with the off-centre folding main post. I think I got it though.
Attachments
Interesting ride to work with the 20”.
I will definitely not be giving up my 26” folding electric MTB though.
It’s a 15km trip for me, with a 130m descent and a 90m ascent.
I only had my eMTB a couple of days – but as mentioned earlier with that I had the assist turned off about 85% of the time. With the 20”, I’d say it was down to about 20% of the time. This really is a bike where it’s not pleasurable without the assist.
Don’t get me wrong - it’s surprisingly fun. I can see those who live in a city apartment, and want to commute in their office suit liking this type of bike. Unlike the A-Bike Electric, this did the 15km with ease. It is certainly more comfortable than my non electric 26” Dahon (which has no suspension at all).
Some comments:
The crank arm is annoying short. I have no idea if this is common for 20” bikes.
I am a “high cadence” guy, but I felt a bit like a circus clown
The ride position is more relaxed, although I wasn’t brave enough to put my backpack on the rear pannier; I will buy some bungee at the DIY store at lunchtime.
There is a public transport strike here today; and a few more people than normal were out on their bikes. I had a rather large grin as I went flying past at 30km/h. I normally don’t do that; but it felt so ridiculous breezing by on this silly little commuter thing!
I tried out the assist levels. In the end I just stuck at 5. I did do a bit of a workout earlier to get my heartrate up, but I decided by the end that this is more an electric runabout than a classic bicycle with assist. Why not just enjoy it!
Nothing else to say really. I’ll be using this until Friday (hopefully).
And on a personal note, after 9 months of asking – I got a permanent locker in work! Woohoo!!! My colleagues will be so happy I don’t leave my sweaty kit hanging to dry in our office anymore
I will definitely not be giving up my 26” folding electric MTB though.
It’s a 15km trip for me, with a 130m descent and a 90m ascent.
I only had my eMTB a couple of days – but as mentioned earlier with that I had the assist turned off about 85% of the time. With the 20”, I’d say it was down to about 20% of the time. This really is a bike where it’s not pleasurable without the assist.
Don’t get me wrong - it’s surprisingly fun. I can see those who live in a city apartment, and want to commute in their office suit liking this type of bike. Unlike the A-Bike Electric, this did the 15km with ease. It is certainly more comfortable than my non electric 26” Dahon (which has no suspension at all).
Some comments:
The crank arm is annoying short. I have no idea if this is common for 20” bikes.
I am a “high cadence” guy, but I felt a bit like a circus clown
The ride position is more relaxed, although I wasn’t brave enough to put my backpack on the rear pannier; I will buy some bungee at the DIY store at lunchtime.
There is a public transport strike here today; and a few more people than normal were out on their bikes. I had a rather large grin as I went flying past at 30km/h. I normally don’t do that; but it felt so ridiculous breezing by on this silly little commuter thing!
I tried out the assist levels. In the end I just stuck at 5. I did do a bit of a workout earlier to get my heartrate up, but I decided by the end that this is more an electric runabout than a classic bicycle with assist. Why not just enjoy it!
Nothing else to say really. I’ll be using this until Friday (hopefully).
And on a personal note, after 9 months of asking – I got a permanent locker in work! Woohoo!!! My colleagues will be so happy I don’t leave my sweaty kit hanging to dry in our office anymore
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So far so good with the 20”. Every day this week it’s either been one way or both way mad dashes, and the bike has done better than expected!
The bike is happy doing 30 km/h on flats. Cyclemeter says overall I’m doing 25+ km/h on what is most definitely not a flat profile.
Only two annoyances, I bust the connector for the front light and horn by turning the front post the wrong way when unfolding. Poor design, it should be a bayonet-style connector to avoid that very predictable occurrence. 2nd issue is the stand-off for protecting the frame whilst it’s folded fell off en-route yesterday. It’s a rubber thing that fits over the rear wheel retaining nut. It fell off my 26”, but I recovered it from the driveway. It fell off yesterday when I took this one out the boot. It didn’t survive the commute though.
This morning was a classic example why I eBike now. Late yesterday afternoon the (French speaking) rail unions decided to go on indefinite wildcat strike. Legally they have to give 10 days notice. They do what they want here, so in the midst of high school/university exams – and after major disruption on Tuesday due to union action, the roads this morning were blocked in every direction with rather stressed drivers.
My boss, in his enthusiasm, booked a 9am meeting – which we all knew wouldn’t happen even on the best of days. I was on my way at 7.55. Did the 15km in 43 minutes including 9 mins of traffic light stops! Shower, office kit on and at my desk by 8.50. My boss called at 10 to say he was stuck in traffic about 10km from where I started. He was hoping I’d be stuck as well to save face, but I reminded him I commute by bicycle – specifically to avoid relying on the whims of the ultra-militant public service workers here (ok, I didn’t say that last part exactly like that on the phone, but it’s what I was thinking)
The bike is happy doing 30 km/h on flats. Cyclemeter says overall I’m doing 25+ km/h on what is most definitely not a flat profile.
Only two annoyances, I bust the connector for the front light and horn by turning the front post the wrong way when unfolding. Poor design, it should be a bayonet-style connector to avoid that very predictable occurrence. 2nd issue is the stand-off for protecting the frame whilst it’s folded fell off en-route yesterday. It’s a rubber thing that fits over the rear wheel retaining nut. It fell off my 26”, but I recovered it from the driveway. It fell off yesterday when I took this one out the boot. It didn’t survive the commute though.
This morning was a classic example why I eBike now. Late yesterday afternoon the (French speaking) rail unions decided to go on indefinite wildcat strike. Legally they have to give 10 days notice. They do what they want here, so in the midst of high school/university exams – and after major disruption on Tuesday due to union action, the roads this morning were blocked in every direction with rather stressed drivers.
My boss, in his enthusiasm, booked a 9am meeting – which we all knew wouldn’t happen even on the best of days. I was on my way at 7.55. Did the 15km in 43 minutes including 9 mins of traffic light stops! Shower, office kit on and at my desk by 8.50. My boss called at 10 to say he was stuck in traffic about 10km from where I started. He was hoping I’d be stuck as well to save face, but I reminded him I commute by bicycle – specifically to avoid relying on the whims of the ultra-militant public service workers here (ok, I didn’t say that last part exactly like that on the phone, but it’s what I was thinking)
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