took the plunge this weekend. got a pretty good deal on this bike. It's a class 1. I know, some of the purist will not agree with this, but hear me out. I still ride my regular Felt gravel, but when group riding, I seem to be the oldest one and get dropped some times. Plus, riding into these Oklahoma winds can just wear you out and believe it or not, we actually do have some cat 3 and 4's. I average about 60 miles a week and from what all I've been reading, with an assist, I'm still going to have to be doing a lot of the work. I didn't want a throttle because I know I'd use it too much.
Scott Addict eride 30
- Thread starter Schmoe
- Start date
AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
You can dial in the amount of assist so you can work as hard as you want. Will be interested to hear in a couple of months if you think your fitness level is better or worse with the ebike.
I think that’s great!
I’m a former road racer and group rides are a big part of the joy of cycling and are a meaningful and satisfying part of a cyclists social experiences. At some point, it gets harder for all of us to keep up on various group rides and it’s not like group rides are perfectly stratified by age group/ability.
On my former (highly competitive) racing team the guys in the older age groups would eventually stop doing the hardest training rides and then ultimately stop riding with the team. That was an uber-serious and focused group (Cat 1,2 primarily) and electric bikes were just not part of that scene. I think that’s a specialized situation and that’s probably not relevant to you.
But for all the other group rides in my area, electric bikes are not only accepted, but are welcomed because the large social element of those rides is understood and appreciated and we didn’t want our older friends to be excluded when such a great solution (the EB) is available. It also allows less able spouses to do group rides with their wives/husbands. You can dial in whatever amount of assist you need or want… the fitness level you choose to maintain is your call.
Etiquette is important when riding an EB with non-EB riders… you ride toward the back and don’t use the EB to “beat” other riders, pass them on hills, etc… it’s just about hanging out with the gang and having fun staying fit - mentally and physically.
I’m a former road racer and group rides are a big part of the joy of cycling and are a meaningful and satisfying part of a cyclists social experiences. At some point, it gets harder for all of us to keep up on various group rides and it’s not like group rides are perfectly stratified by age group/ability.
On my former (highly competitive) racing team the guys in the older age groups would eventually stop doing the hardest training rides and then ultimately stop riding with the team. That was an uber-serious and focused group (Cat 1,2 primarily) and electric bikes were just not part of that scene. I think that’s a specialized situation and that’s probably not relevant to you.
But for all the other group rides in my area, electric bikes are not only accepted, but are welcomed because the large social element of those rides is understood and appreciated and we didn’t want our older friends to be excluded when such a great solution (the EB) is available. It also allows less able spouses to do group rides with their wives/husbands. You can dial in whatever amount of assist you need or want… the fitness level you choose to maintain is your call.
Etiquette is important when riding an EB with non-EB riders… you ride toward the back and don’t use the EB to “beat” other riders, pass them on hills, etc… it’s just about hanging out with the gang and having fun staying fit - mentally and physically.
I will chime in on the e-bike findings.
I can tell you that ebikes have a couple of good purposes in my riding world.
yes the afternoon rides with the headwind on the way home is great to have assist and save your knees.
During a normal morning ride keep your Cadence High and let the assist just do that.
You will burn a lot of calories with keeping a good Cadence and at the same time keep a good pace.
I can tell you that ebikes have a couple of good purposes in my riding world.
yes the afternoon rides with the headwind on the way home is great to have assist and save your knees.
During a normal morning ride keep your Cadence High and let the assist just do that.
You will burn a lot of calories with keeping a good Cadence and at the same time keep a good pace.
Whatever keeps you riding !
Well, after about a 100 miles...wow. That bike is fast even without the assist. Found myself using low level assist going up hills or during a high head wind, pretty common here in SW Oklahoma. Took forever to figure out how to update the X-20 and charger software, but I got it. Lot's of things you can do with that like set the type of power you want, how soon...etc. etc. Kind of thinking about selling my gravel Felt. Got a feeling I won't be riding it anymore. But, glad I bought it. Taking a little time adjusting to riding coming off a gravel bike, but not that bad.
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