Until Pigs Fly

You'll Never Guess Who Bought an eBike

Ross Sherman's eBike

TREK DUAL SPORT

More for the Rogue's Gallery

This is Danny's maiden ride after many months in the hospital and recuperation. Steve Boling is accompanying him. They said that I am supposed to say,"Steve is on his spanking brand new Creo SL Como carbon."

Danny's New Ride

Danny celebrates his end of therapy and is anxious to bike again thanks to his new Creo

FOGBEE eBike Lineup

Specialized Creo

• Woody W
  
• Harry P
  
• Ronnie P
  

Specialized Vado SL 5.0

• Ann P
  
• Mark H
  
• Doug D
  
• Phil V
  
• Tom E
  

Specialized Vado 3.0

• Jerry D
  

Giant

• Brett D

 Tandem

• Mike and Sherry K
  

 

Ronnie Proctor's Creo

Ronnie's Specialized Creo SL Expert

Woody's Creo

 

Woody rode his new Specialized Creo at Lindsay's going away party. 

My eBike by Tom Evans

New eBike owners exhume hyperbole with their recent investment. These battery-assisted two-wheelers aren’t cheap. I could have purchased two quality road bikes for what I paid for my new Specialized VADO 5.0 SL. Nevertheless, I opened my wallet with great expectations.

Fifteen years ago, as a serious 62-yo bicyclist, I routinely racked up 5000 miles annually. That’s when I had the legs and the heart to average 16-17 mph on Tennessee hills. But time took its toll. I became the anchor on most group rides. I accepted my diminished place in the turtle “bale, nest, turn, or dole.”  I was the turtle amongst the turtles. I was lucky to average 12 mph for an annual 1000 miles. I decided to accept the obvious. No, not quit riding – to get an eBike.

Phil Reports

The most insightful reports about eBikes come from long time avid bicyclists. Phil Vickery, one of the FOGBEE co-founders has been riding a bicycle for over twenty years. He like many of his comrades are finding "keeping up" has become a challenge. Gone are the days when 60 miles would have been an average Saturday afternoon ride followed by lunch and a pitcher of beer at the FOGBEE club house. In late April he purchased a Specialized VADO 5.0 SLEQ. I was looking for a candid report from him .

Phil and Tom Get Vado 5.0 SLEQ

Phil and his Vado

eTurtle Group on Vados

Doug's New eBike

Not to be left behind (literally) Doug Depew buys a Specialized VADO 5 SLEQ.

He no longer needs a hill to ride along at 28 mph

Experiencing Mark's Vado 5.0 SL

On our ride today, Mark had his future Specialized VADO 5.0 SLEQ. Both Phil and I had ordered one and were interested in a trial run. My experience with Mark's new ride was both positive and negative when comparing to my road bike. I suspect the negative aspects that I noted would evaporate with experience. (See the Specialized page on this blog for the bike's spec's)

First, while pedaling it around the parking lot it was remarkably smooth. Mark said, "You don't have the motor turned on." Most likely, the great ride was due to the 37-mm tires versus my 28's.   Plus the Future Shock 1.5 suspension was a noticeable benefit. The VADO SL is advertised to weigh 33 pounds, but at the bike shop, the "large" EQ version came in at 37 pounds.

On our ride, when we got to the corner of Hollis Chapel and Moore Lane, I jumped on the VADO and rode it down Hollis Chapel to the Wilson Road. I then pedaled it back up the hill on Hollis Chapel. 

I noticed a lot of steering play in the VADO hybrid handle bars partly because they were slightly misaligned and partly because they were about 12-inches wider than my road bike handlebars. Also, my road bike steering tends to lock in place when the wheel is centered. (Helpful for sleeping while riding.) Nevertheless, I was uncomfortable with the excessive play in the VADO steering.

The VADO had three levels of motor assist. Down the hill on Hollis Chapel, I set the motor for medium assist. Reversing course once reaching the bottom, I engaged the motor at full power and adjusted the gearing, a step at a time, to higher granny levels. 

The bike had twelve-gears in its cassette with a 45-cog at the top. I don't think I got is all the way to 45.  I was trying to feel the benefit of the electric assist at each gear selection.

The motor provided far less help than I expected. Crap! I still had to work on the climb. I eventually conceded, "It's an eBike, not a moped." 

Nevertheless, at the top of the climb, where I typically tire out and sometimes debate whether I needed an off-the-bike rest, the motor assist became noticeably welcome. I powered down to medium assist and was surprised how quickly and comfortably I was back at my starting point. That day, both Phil and I put the VADO through its paces on Hollis Chapel and Mark rode it an additional 24 miles. 

On most rides, Mark struggles to keep up. Not this day. He was always at the front (I assume because many times he was out of sight). We drained the battery to 42%.  Phil and I figured on a normal ride, with our fat butts, that 60 miles and not the advertised 80 miles would be an upper limit.

Back at the Bike Shop, we related our experience to David Hardin, especially about not coming near the advertised 80 mile range. He thought that once we got used to the bike that the 80 mile range was possible. He also said that the VADO has a feature in which we can set our desired range, approaching 80 miles, and the bike would manage our ride appropriately.  I thought, "Maybe."

An important consideration is the "assist" of the VADO SL.  It is advertised to provide 180% rider assist (whatever that means). It is not a moped. I interpret it to mean, "If I am comfortable doing 30 mile rides, with the VADO I will be comfortable doing 54-mile rides" That target is reasonably in range of the battery and of our typical daily tour distance. Phil said, "If in 3 to 5 years we need additional assistance, we can buy an upgraded version."

I thought, "If I am still riding bike tours in five years, it wasn't the bike that got upgraded."

Tom

Another FOGBEE Crosses Over.

 As we left Mark today after a ride, he was on his way to buy this baby.

It''s a Game Changer

John Cummins Tom, I'm a former Fogbee now living in BG. I've had an ebike for over a year now, and I wholeheartedly call it a total game changer. Mine is a Trek Allant 8+S, (pedal-assist) with a Bosch Performance Line Speed motor delivering a 28 mph max speed (+Class 3, the max), and importantly, 85 newton-meters of torque! I would advise anyone considering an ebike purchase to examine the specs as above and several others. But again, this bike is a GAME CHANGER for me. Hills are no longer a problem for me, and I usually can't wait to ride it again. (I was beginning to lose interest in riding). Oh, and I have gotten 50+ miles on a full battery charge, with almost 20% of battery power remaining. Of course distance is affected but several factors. I love ebikes! They're not cheap, but a hell of a lot of fun.

FOGBEE Acquisitions

 Ann shares a picture of her new ride (check out the bike's NAME)

Phil and Tom have ordered its two big brothers.  They are assuming their bikes will not be called Ann's Big Brother but Specialized Vado 5.0 SLEQ

eBike Comments (from Canada)

I confess that I built an electric for doing quick trips around town without breaking into a sweat.  That was a number of years ago.  I gave it away when I moved.

Some club members feel that the electric aspect those bikes diminish the purity of the GHG reduction compared to regular bikes but most don't make a big deal about that.

There are a lot of e-bikes in our city now, my guess is about 1/3 of the bikes on the street today here are electric.  The regular bike riders can have a snobbish feeling of superiority, the e-bike riders can go up hills faster.  There are also many electric scooters, skate boards and unicycles as well on the bike paths.  I think however rollerblading has seemed to have declined from past years.  Perhaps the name bike path should change to miscellaneous path. 

The are only two reservations the club has about e-bikes.  First, because they are much heavier, they may be difficult to carry on to trains for some of our rides.  This has not been tested yet.

Second, on long rides, 50 miles plus, the range of the bike may be a problem. On a ride recently one of our eBike owners did 45 miles and the battery I believe was just under 1/2 power left. An e-bike without electric power is a truly a dog to ride.

In terms of enjoyment, my experience is that e-bikes are great when you just want to get from A to B quickly with minimum effort.  However because they are heavier, they lack the feeling of quick response and sense of accomplishment one gets with a regular bike.

My Response

Regarding the bike snobs, I have adopted the same attitude toward eBikes as toward scooters. It puts more people on the road NOT in cars and, in the long run, provides more leverage for funding of bike facilities and safety. It also provides more people who want to speak positively about biking and fewer who think we don’t belong on THEIR road.

One more bicyclist; one less motorist.

Carey's New Toy

From: Carey Rogers 

I’ve been there since 2016. I give unsolicited advice all the time.  I bought one of these just for fun and I’m waiting on delivery.

https://www.swytchbike.com/

Mine is a Trek with  a Bosch mid-drive and it’s been great.

---

From: David T Irvine  

Hi Carey, I like the Swytchbike concept and low weight, I can see this on my venerable Trek 520 which has touring gearing adequate to get me home if I ran out of battery juice. 
Thanks for the link!

---

From: Tom Evans  
Here is a video on the Swytchbike 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FroqiezWWAM  

and a review
https://electrek.co/2019/10/31/review-swytch-electric-bike-conversion-kit/ 

The company is offering discounted “early bird” prices. The Eco kit is listed at US $394, the Pro kit is listed at US $490 and the Tour kit is listed at US $738. All of these prices are around 50% of the MSRP.

Ross's eBike Thoughts

From: ROSS SHERMAN Date: Jun 17, 2020 Subject: Re: H2O 2021
To: David Shumaker

Dave:
      Well its not too early to start considering an e-bike, I researched them 1 and half years before ordering mine. You are so right about fast changing technology. A number of people that I know still oppose them but when its time for you their comments will not bother you, I promise. Now rather than being limited to the streets around my house, i am back to touring and enjoying it. I like to ride and the e-bike has extended my ability to ride and hopefully for a few years. You will know when its time for you.
      I looked at and researched bikes by Giant and Trek. I had nearby dealers who could service them. I got a Dual Sport Plus made by Trek. This bike is not offered by Trek anymore, but I really like it, it sold for $3599.Works well for me. Its compares somewhat to the Trek Verve 3 Plus but has suspension fork, and 10 speed 11-42 and 700X 38 tires. I liked the Bosch motor and controller over the Shimano system on the Giant, so I went with the Trek. I put on a pannier rack and haul my gear in either one or two panniers and strap a gear bag on top of the rack. I have made 2 trips without SAG.
      I have no problems on the mountain roads in Virginia and have ridden some hard headwinds. This is working for me. Go to your local bike store, I am sure they will be happy for you to test ride several models.

Sincerely,
Ross Sherman

Dave Asks Ross about eBike

Ross

What brands did you consider and what bike did you choose?  Would you have any specific bike or feature recommendations now from your experience?    There are a lot of us that are coming to this point.  But this technology is so new and changing that at least I am still learning. 

Hope to see you pretty soon.

David Shumaker