So now the car drives less (New Bike)

[ewep]

I started picking up that the cyclists on the cyclepath next to the road to work were the winners for getting into the city.  Initially I thought of using the Dried Tomato (it is NOT pink) Grizl, but DAMN.  I'm old and I have to carry a lot with me.  A backpack with laptop, rain suit, my "skaf-tin" and a bike lock which is heavy enough to use as self defense tool.  Fortunately (or unfortunately) I am subscribed to Canyon newsletters and I got the news that there were some specials on bikes around the time of the World Bicycle Day.  Unlike in the RS of A e-Bikes are a common sight this side of the sea.  It is actually encouraged to rather use eBikes than cars for various reasons.  Congestion, health and doing the environmental thing. I've seen some weird people who ride in mid-winter (snow on the ground) with a little trailer with the dogs in.

 

One thing to remember, these are not the same as the e-Bikes in the USA.  In Europe they are called Pedallec. Max 250W of power and max speed of 25km/h.  And if you stop cycling the motor stops.  Quite surprising if you stop on an uphill!

 

Unfortunately the bike process was not as smooth as with the Grizl.  After unpacking the bike did not switch on (ja ja, ek het die battery gecharge!).  So the bike went back to Canyon.  After ANOTHER week of waiting the bike was, once again, delivered to my home.  And this time it worked.  I went for my first ride on Saturday.  Net 25km want ek ken hom nie die ding nie.  Actually quite surprising how much easier it is with the motor on. 

 

The downhill near home was as per normal, nothing weird.  There is a false flat about 4km from home and here I heard the strange hum of the motor kicking in.  Up to this point I was riding at over 25km/h so the motor was off.  When I hit the uphill it kicked the motor kicked in and just helped me along.  I fooled around with the modes and found ECO to be best on flat/false flats.  Just a nice easy assitant keeping you going.  TOUR+ I had on once in a while but I'm not sure what it does. Then there is AUTO which I used on the uphill back home.  This tries to keep you at the speed you start on.  So if you hit an uphill more power, or if there is a headwind, more power.  Finally TURBO.  Kyk, met my dikgat en die swaar minder-sukkel (die is nie n baie-sukkel tot die batterie vrek, dan voel jy daai 28kg!) trek daai motor 'n KOEK hou teen 6%.  25km/h al die pad! Maar die battery gaat nie hou nie.

 

So I did my first commute this morning.  The way to the office is mostly downhill so I will test the bike this afternoon.  But that false flat, no problemo.  And I got to the office all fresh and ready for the day.  What I have to learn though is that this is not a training/jaag session.  I have linked my Fruit Watch to the bike app and will try and keep my HRM in high level 1, low level 2.  

 

 

The uncle that dropped the bike.

Bloody box is 30kg!  I had to drag it into the basement as the uncle dropped it at the front door!

Canyon packaging is good!

I carried the bike to the 4th floor.  It is "fun" when there is no elevator!

Testing the pannier bags

Die ding het tot 'n pomp!

The return of the bike, once again on the way to the basement!

Both pannier bags on and, if you look carefully, you can see the lock mounted on the carrier.

Die ligte werk!

Saturday's cruise.

Edited June 24 by ewep
Captions

[W@nted]

Luuks! Geniet ervan! 

[Robbie Stewart]

I was granted the opportunity to ride an e-bike up the mast climb at Contermanskloof over the weekend. That was the first time I managed the full climb non-stop to the top in one go in a decade of riding there. Now all I need is to find a buyer for my one kidney ...

[ewep]

Day one of testing. Commute by car on Mondays normally took my 35 mins to the office (average). Today the bike to the office was 20 minutes. The time started as I left the front door to where I stopped at the office building (in front of the parking garage or the office entrance). 

My concern was this afternoon though. Mornings downhill, afternoons up. My usual time in the car was 25 minutes if I leave the parking at 16:55. So I left around 16:55 and had a photo and pannierbag issue stop and still got home in a respectable time of 24:41.
 

The bike might not have the niceties of my tjorriw like the AC and draadloos, but man, I got home in such a good mood. I can really start to enjoy this sh*t. 
 

Now for economy figures. I’m a wee few kg under an hundred. The bike is 28 and then my laptop, skaf-tin and the locks add another 5kg. So dis ‘n total som van so by die 130kg. Ek het Saterdag gaan ry maar ek was weer soos die happy Vaaldriehoek tappit wat ek was in my Ford Escort. Mode of use - Turbo en spin hom. Haai kyk, ‘n rooi lig, kap hom op turbo hy moet wheely. Vandag was nou meer normaal gery. Dalk nog bietjie djaag as die mense oor hullese skouertjies vir loer en my tjellins. Maar verder lyk die verbruik heel skaflik. Battery het net met 38% geval (die slim mense se dit vat bietjie tyd om optimale laai te kry). 

Ek is 15km van die werk af. En my koppie smokkel met my. Ek moet dalk more hom Turbo steek al die pad werk toe en terug. Net om te try. (Hallo julle vannie vuildriehoek af)

 

So maybe I should do a Turbo Day….. jaaaaaag all scientific and stuff though  

 

Edited June 25 by ewep

[The Ouzo]

11 hours ago, ewep said:

I got home in such a good mood. I can really start to enjoy this sh*t. 

This is one of those un-quantifiable benefits of commuting by bike, especially after a stressful day at the office. 

[ewep]

Soooooo, day 2 of e-Bike commuting.  The route to work is mostly downhill/flat.  With the combined weight of my dikgat and the bike (they don't add SUV to the name of the bike for nothing) I found it quite easy to sit at anything from 27-36km/h, even on the flat parts.  The assistance setting on the e-Bike at this stage was OFF. 

The plan was to keep my HR as low as possible but also to try and use as little of the motor as possible.  I used the motor on TOUR+ (a bit more support than ECO) as soon as I saw the HR kreeping higher on the few upward kicks in the route.  

Comparing the figures from the Bosch app to rides previously done with my Garmin shows that the following figures are quite accurate. 7.4km ride, avg speed 21,4km/h (this however includes some stop/go "happiness" in town and here skipping the red lights is just not an option), ascent of 52m with average power of 156W (my output, not the motor) and an avg HR of 119bpm. 

 

As the road in the city itself is flat I switched the assitance to OFF.  I found that commuters around me with assistance on had a huge acceleration.  Een jonge dame het die ROOK uit my gery, maar ek het met die volgende stop gesien dat haar fiets op RACE is.  It is quite nice to get to the office without looking like a just had a shower!

[NotSoBigBen]

Surely if you use it as a pure commuter, meaning not to see how quick you can get there, not race every Oom, Tannie, housewife or schoolkid, you might as well use as much assistance as the bike can give

Or am I wrong? It's mos not a training/racing session!

Maar wat weet ek 😜

[Shebeen]

3 hours ago, ewep said:

Soooooo, day 2 of e-Bike commuting.  The route to work is mostly downhill/flat.  With the combined weight of my dikgat and the bike (they don't add SUV to the name of the bike for nothing) I found it quite easy to sit at anything from 27-36km/h, even on the flat parts.  The assistance setting on the e-Bike at this stage was OFF. 

The plan was to keep my HR as low as possible but also to try and use as little of the motor as possible.  I used the motor on TOUR+ (a bit more support than ECO) as soon as I saw the HR kreeping higher on the few upward kicks in the route.  

Comparing the figures from the Bosch app to rides previously done with my Garmin shows that the following figures are quite accurate. 7.4km ride, avg speed 21,4km/h (this however includes some stop/go "happiness" in town and here skipping the red lights is just not an option), ascent of 52m with average power of 156W (my output, not the motor) and an avg HR of 119bpm. 

 

As the road in the city itself is flat I switched the assitance to OFF.  I found that commuters around me with assistance on had a huge acceleration.  Een jonge dame het die ROOK uit my gery, maar ek het met die volgende stop gesien dat haar fiets op RACE is.  It is quite nice to get to the office without looking like a just had a shower!

you're comparing ebiking to car driving. did you never bike commute to work?

[JayLow]

7 hours ago, ewep said:

snip

Comparing the figures from the Bosch app to rides previously done with my Garmin shows that the following figures are quite accurate. 7.4km ride, avg speed 21,4km/h (this however includes some stop/go "happiness" in town and here skipping the red lights is just not an option), ascent of 52m with average power of 156W (my output, not the motor) and an avg HR of 119bpm. 

snip

When I commuted with a Titan Transporter a few months back I had similar specs - 25min of commuting for 12 km at HR under 130bpm. Was a joy but then changed jobs and started working from home:

 

[ewep]

7 hours ago, NotSoBigBen said:

Surely if you use it as a pure commuter, meaning not to see how quick you can get there, not race every Oom, Tannie, housewife or schoolkid, you might as well use as much assistance as the bike can give

Or am I wrong? It's mos not a training/racing session!

Maar wat weet ek 😜

Very true sah. But at present I am fooling around to see how far I can go on one charge. Ek neuk eintlik rond. And what fun is it in any case to just sit on TURBO all the time when max assisted speed is 25km/h?

 

o and btw, now that I have an ebike it’s PAYBACK time for the Oom, Tannie and everyone that was so cheerful while I was bleeding through my eyes on my analogue bike. The race is on b*tches!

Edited June 25 by ewep

[ewep]

7 hours ago, Shebeen said:

you're comparing ebiking to car driving. did you never bike commute to work?

I actually did yes (I have the scars as proof of Jhb commuting). But having to put out and then having to clean up after the ride was always a challenge, more so here. So the ebike is a comfortable solution.

Edited June 25 by ewep

[ewep]

Upgrade time!  I made 2 upgrades to the e-Bike.  The bloody plank that was on the bike to sit on was just not on.  Daai ding het holles en knolles seer gemaak.  En dan ry ek nou nog met 'n jean pant ook.  So upgrade een was 'n nuwe saal.  Die nuwe Selle Italia ST5 Flow is hemels man.  Die holles en knolles se elke dag dankie. 

En MTB tyres vir commuting, nope, not on.  I replaced the Maxxis tyres with a set of Schwalbe Big Ben Plus.  The usual summer days are great!  It is a quiter and more comfortable ride compared to the old tyres.  Did a ride or 2 in the rainy weather as well and they do what they are supposed to.  I would not go racing with them in the wet though.  Taking the Maxxis off and putting these on were however quite a story.  As my moeder my gehoor het tydens die proses sou my gat nou nog gebrand het! 

Edited July 30 by ewep