An end of season mini (e)bike tour

[Pale Rider]

Taking advantage of this week's fine weather I decided to cycle from Sunderland to my static caravan in North Yorkshire.

Down one day, back the next, about 65 miles each way, so it's a job for my Rose ebike.

The caravan provides a fully facility overnight stop, so no need to take a lot of stuff.

I set off with two panniers, deliberately lightly loaded because I would need to buy some food for my evening meal.

The route is NCN 1 to Thorple Thewles, then mostly minor roads to Yarm, Catterick, and across to the caravan which is between Bedale and Leyburn.

First pic is about eight miles in, it's a long, steady drag uphill to this point on route one from Sunderland.

Next stop is the former railway station - now a teashop - at Thorpe Thewles at about 24 miles.

The station building is quite grand for a halt on a branch line.

The story is royalty used to visit the nearby Wynyard Estate, and whoever owned it at the time wanted something suitably grand for the arrival of his special guests.

It's an agreeable place to stop, but keeps short - and variable - hours.

A good thing is there is an outside tap, so you can always get a water bottle top up.

My next stop is at Yarm, about half way.

It's quite posh around here, although the high street is permanently strangled with traffic - the locals wouldn't walk across the road if they could drive.

I then stopped at the Co-op in Catterick for my microwave dinner/evening beer treat, then on to the caravan.

It was getting dark by this time, so I was glad of the B&M dyno hub on the bike.

It was also getting a bit chilly.

I set off a bit later than anticipated, and arrived a bit later than I wanted to.

Having said that, much as I like the caravan, there's not much to do there without a car...

This pic was taken the next morning.

The return journey was a retrace, although on both trips I failed find NCN 1 south of Thorpe Thewles.

The map says it's there, but it remains hidden from me.

It took nearly nine hours to get to the caravan, but just under eight for the return.

I stopped for about the same time, and I wasn't sure how my moderate fitness would stand up to consecutive 60+ mile days.

My conclusion is the return journey must be easier.

A lot of road work - for me - and I'm pleased to report no dramas other than some unwarranted abuse from a red van man outside Yarm.

Nearside electric windows have a lot to answer for.

The bike performed faultlessly, it's built like a tank and well up to loaded touring.

It was my first overnight with the bike, and it's something I'd like to do more of.

Using the caravan takes away a lot of the anxiety, but it's not quite what I would call proper touring.

I shall have to be braver next time and take my chances in bed and breakfasts or hotels.

 

[welsh dragon]

Nice looking bike, and nice write up. Well done.

 

[samsbike]

Sounds like fun. A home away from home!

 

[fossyant]

How did the battery last over that distance.

 

[Pale Rider]

How did the battery last over that distance.

I have a spare, so no worries on that score.

On lowest assist level, on a relatively easy windless ride which this was, one battery might have been enough.

Battery life is heavily dependent on hills, headwinds, terrain, rider input and selected level of assistance.

I flattened the first battery on this ride at 46 miles, which is about what I expected.

Could have changed it earlier, but it does no harm to 'cycle' them now and again.

 

[fossyant]

I've not bothered cycling down to ours yet. The journey is nice until after Chester then you have some shenanigans around Ellesmere before the boring coast road (it's not on the coast). Could go inland a bit but it's seriously lumpy if you get the route wrong.

It's mostly the Manchester Llandudno run from the CC ride, but I used to TT train up and down the coast road when on holiday when I was young and I am bored riding on it.

It's great getting away to a home from home though. You have clothes and food there. Just have to pick up fresh stuff on the way in.

 

[fossyant]

I have a spare, so no worries on that score.

On lowest assist level, on a relatively easy windless ride which this was, one battery might have been enough.

Battery life is heavily dependent on hills, headwinds, terrain, rider input and selected level of assistance.

I flattened the first battery on this ride at 46 miles, which is about what I expected.

Could have changed it earlier, but it does no harm to 'cycle' them now and again.

That's pretty impressive though. Do you use it just for hill assist. The bike looks a cracker, much better than the usual stuff, did I spot a Rose badge.....

 

[Pale Rider]

That's pretty impressive though. Do you use it just for hill assist. The bike looks a cracker, much better than the usual stuff, did I spot a Rose badge.....

The Bosch system has torque, speed and cadence sensors so is best left on all the time, cutting in and out as it wants to.

There's no throttle, only level settings - eco, tour, sport and turbo.

The idea is to replicate ordinary cycling, if you don't pedal, you don't go, and the sensors mean the faster you pedal and the harder you pedal, the more assist the system gives you.

Eco is little more than unpowered cycling, but does give the best battery range.

I tend to use tour all the time, which gives a reasonable compromise of range and assistance.

The Bosch system is also very smooth, the motor cuts in and out seamlessly, although you can hear it on a quiet path.

The bike is a Rose, effectively one of their trekking bikes with a Bosch motor instead of an ordinary bottom bracket.

It has Rose's usual selection of decent quality components, Alfine 11 hub, B&M lights, Magura discs, Mavic wheels, Abus pavement lock, Tubus rack, etc.

When I bought mine in 2012, ebikes were on the Rose .co.uk page.

The current range is only on the German site.

Not sure why, but it might be something to do with problems airfreighting batteries after that fire.

My bike was sent via DHL.

http://www.rosebikes.de/produkte/fahrraeder/e-bikes/

 

[galaxy]

Where in Sunderland are you from, now living Hampshire , i was born in Roker, moved to Hastings Hill, then Shiney Row.
Had a amazing Holiday this May/June time just outside of Leyburn in our tourer, lovely roads and tracks for cycling and amazing walking.

 

[Pale Rider]

I've not bothered cycling down to ours yet. The journey is nice until after Chester then you have some shenanigans around Ellesmere before the boring coast road (it's not on the coast). Could go inland a bit but it's seriously lumpy if you get the route wrong.

It's mostly the Manchester Llandudno run from the CC ride, but I used to TT train up and down the coast road when on holiday when I was young and I am bored riding on it.

It's great getting away to a home from home though. You have clothes and food there. Just have to pick up fresh stuff on the way in.

Spot on about statics.

@nickyboy mentioned yours when we did the recce for the CC ride - is it on the large site we cycled through?

Looks nicely kept and maintained.

My static is reasonable spec, but it's not quite as cosy as I thought it might be.

OK if there's an overnight frost, but no fun in seriously cold weather.

Where in Sunderland are you from, now living Hampshire , i was born in Roker, moved to Hastings Hill, then Shiney Row.
Had a amazing Holiday this May/June time just outside of Leyburn in our tourer, lovely roads and tracks for cycling and amazing walking.

I'm not from Sunderland, but came here 20 or so years ago for work.

Things for and against it, as you will know.

I like the relative absence of traffic and cheap cost of living - my house is paid for which it wouldn't be in a dearer part of the country.

The locals are friendly enough, a bit more direct and upfront than I was used to from the south, but I think that's generally a good thing.

You know where you stand with a Mackem, if you hack off a mate you know about it, nothing is left to fester.

The caravan is in a lovely spot, but the cycling is hard work even with the ebike.

The constant ups and downs are wearing, but they also make the landscape the glorious area that it is.

My Sunderland cycling group did a car assisted loop from Masham to Pateley Bridge and back.

Everyone was walking at some point.

I managed to keep going, despite pulling a couple of involuntary wheelies on the two nastiest climbs.

 

[RichardB]

That has the same drive system as my wife's Raliegh Motus. I've used it to commute a couple of times and liked it, although I felt it was hard on the gear shift mechanism. Even backing off and easing the pedals through a gear change made some awful crunches. Mind you, I was in a hurry and in Turbo most of the time. My Wisper has a rear hub motor, which makes for easier gear changes, but on steep hills it tends to bog down into an inefficient speed (running at wheel speed, not pedalling cadence) and you end up doing a lot of the work yourself. On gentle hills, it's awesome. I'd like to do something like you did, just an overnighter somewhere, but I have no idea of ultimate range. I know it will do the 26 miles to and from work, but I have never gone beyond that without a recharge. Makers reckon it is good for 50-60 miles, but ... Also, I'd need to get a static caravan.

Nice bike, and nice write-up.

 

[Pale Rider]

I soft pedal changes, but changing down under load from an incline and/or turbo setting is going to produce some clunking.

Avoiding doing so is the only sure answer.

I rarely use turbo because I'm content to trundle along at push bike speeds - about eight hours for the 60 mile caravan trip is comfortable touring pace.

In the same vein, I change down before a hill kicks in and then spin up, as I do with a push bike.

Works well with the Bosch system which is designed to be assisted ordinary cycling rather than a mini-moped.

A hill that ramps up unexpectedly can take me by surprise, but again that's no different from ordinary cycling.

When that's happened I've hopped off and pushed on a couple of occasions, although as you will know, pushing an ebike up a hill is the worst of both worlds.

 

[RichardB]

Does your bike have a 'walk' function? The Motus has a little switch on the left handlebar which will run the bike at about 2 mph without pedal motion. It's intended for getting the bike up slopes to park it etc, perhaps for elderly riders. I imagine it would be great in getting the bike (without the rider's weight) up a hill if you were prepared to walk along side. I once mistakenly charged the Wisper at 39V instead of 42V which, according to D8veh on the Pedelec forum, only gives about half the total charge. It ran out a mile from home one morning, and that mile includes the steepest hill of the trip. I completely failed to pedal up it and the push home was hard work. A 25 kg bike is a lot of metal when you are tired.

 

[Pale Rider]

The bike does have a walk function, but it is relatively weedy.

As it's a crank drive bike, it works through the gears so you get a bit more speed - but even less power - if you use a higher gear.

Another problem is the pedals turn under motor power, which is a calf scrape waiting to happen every revolution.

My bike is a 2012 model, I'm told the walk function on the latest Bosch bikes has more grunt.