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bigshape
I took a Trek e-bike home tonight. It was a TM2+, a fairly lumpy commuter model but I wanted to get an idea. I just turned 56 last week and doing 26 miles a day is getting a bit much 5 days a week, tbh. Plus I have to climb Knights Hill in west Norwood twice a day.
Anyway it was interesting. My usual cruising speed is about 19mph but the e-bike motor cuts out at 15.6mph (25kph) and it feels like putting the brakes on. Over 15.6mph you’re just pedalling a very heavy bike. So I just stuck to cruise speed,kept it in turbo mode and used the power to get up to speed. Overall it wasn’t any faster but getting up the hill was a breeze.
One interesting point was that by the time I reached Angel from Stoke Newington I was feeling cold and had to change my top to a Windstopper and to put long gloves on. When I got home I wasn’t knackered at all and wasn’t sweating - normally I’d be glowing like a rivet. I guess I wasn’t pedalling hard enough to work up a sweat. That in itself is worrying - my ride is my only exercise and without it I’d be a fat bastard within a month. Hmm.
I’ll be riding it back tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to caning it up Norbury Avenue, a 1/2 mile steady gradient climb about a mile into my trip that I’ve had to endure each day for over three years now. Payback.