Ride Report: Duncan & Back On Our Ebike Posted by Justin | news & events | Thursday 22 August 2013 3:36 pm Vroom! So for quite some time Canadian Tire had a drill bit on sale that we really wanted but Nanaimo had none of them in stock. So I had the idea to take our e-bike to duncan with just one battery, grab the drill bit set, charge the battery at a cafe, than return home. As a pre-cursor to this report I will mention I was somewhat skeptical of the roles electric bikes play in the cycling sport and community. Another important thing to mention is I have suffered from tendonitis in my knee since last year, and the farthest I have ever cycled since without injuring myself was about 10-20 km max. It was a huge treat to get out and do a long distance ride with no concerns of my injury re-emerging. I was very suprised as I cycled to Duncan with a stiff south-east wind at an average speed of 25km / hour that I was still getting an incrediblely good workout. I was not just sitting back with my hand on the throttle, I was maintaining a proper high cadence! The ease of cycling uphill was such a treat and I reached up to 50km/hr coming downhill. I will admit my eye was constantly on our cycle analyst which gave me an accurate report of my energy consumption and allowed me to calculate at about half way that I would have enough power to make my destination. I am very grateful of our geared motor (compared to direct drive such as e-bikes) because my battery died just as I arrived in Duncan and I was able to pedal the bike the rest of the way to my favourite Duncan cafe. I sat down for three hours, read some good chapters in my book, was fully charged and headed back home. 100 kilometers is definitly the farthest I have ever biked in one day. I was also very pleastantly suprised that after my trip I had that same euphoric excitement and energy that I associate with long distance rides in the past. I can say with certainty now that I feel that electric bikes have a very important role to play in cycling esppecially those with injuries or those who want to exponentially increase their cycling distance. All and all I am happy that these incredible machines are available and hope they can help more people enjoy the wonderful world of cycling. comments (2) 2 Comments » Comment by Colin Batty — August 25, 2013 @ 11:49 am Nice to see you getting so convinced, I remember when I stopped in there with my old school Currie conversion kit a long time ago you guys may have been a bit skeptical about the whole e bike thing. Now you are carrying and enjoying the best brand out there and seem to be really liking it. I really like seeing how much distance you can squeeze out of a charge,your legs (and knees) gradually get stronger without even realizing it. Here on Gabriola my car stays parked for days, I can take it to Nanaimo for free and don’t have to worry about getting up the ferry hill loaded with stuff on the way back. The free wheel aspect of the E Zee brand is a huge bonus – great to have on those rare occasions when you venture too far and it seems very trouble free with no regen sensors and wiring all over the bike and brake levers to go wrong. I never use mine without pedalling – except for the time I had trouble with my chain – it was great to be able to cruise home and fix it there instead of by the side of the road without the right tools. Hope to upgrade to your superior system soon – they are great – really enjoyed renting it. Cheers Colin batty Comment by Nadia — August 26, 2013 @ 4:18 pm My husband and I have had our Ezee kits (from Grin) for over a year now and can say that we absolutely love them. One of the reasons for originally getting them was due to my husband’s knee injury, which made pedaling difficult. We also thought that we could get away with not owning a car and just use our e-bikes. I found it exhausting to commute on my regular bike regularly especially with Gabriola hills and carrying loads. The e-bike makes it easy and enjoyable. I can carry a massive load of groceries from the health food store in the north end of Nanaimo, get up the ferry hill on Gabriola and get home feeling good as opposed to completely wiped. We still don’t have a car and have enjoyed our e-bikes through rain, snow, sun, dirt roads, forest trails, uphill, downhill and everything in between. Comment by cjslater — September 15, 2013 @ 3:04 pm Thanks for the encouragement. Good to know there are others who are coping with knee and leg injuries by using e-bikes. Anyone have an inexpensive conversion available (I already have a bike, helmet, etc.), please call Chris 250 591-3845. One other thing, guess these conversions will fit the bike racks on the front of the Nanaimo buses? I’ve sold my GiO cause it couldn’t cut Albert Street or Wall Street Hill’s, mind I’m sure these Gio’s were made for a 150# Chinese in Peking, not a fat, unfit 235# Nanaimoite. - See more at: hubcitycycles.ca/2013/08/22/ride-report-duncan-back-on-our-ebike/#comment-7093
Posted on: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 22:07:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015