Carrera Crossfire E

[Joey Shabadoo]

Well, I was thinking about it and I'd booked a test ride but tonight I thought I'd fill in the C2W bumpf in the expectation that it'd be a week or so before it was approved when, to my surprise, it was approved immediately! A wee shufti at the Halfords website and there was one available for collection immediately just 8 miles away - click, click, click and it's booked.

90 minutes after saying to Mrs D "I'm thinking about getting..." and her saying "ok", here I am back at the house with my new Carrera Crossfire E -

First things first

Then, 45 minutes later -

Took it out for a wee spin - handlebars at the wrong angle - but first impressions are good. It got me up the big hill to my door without much fuss so let's see what it does taking me to the football tomorrow.

Impetuous? Moi?

 

[Bobby Mhor]

Enjoy

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Nice!
Would have been a bit lighter without suspension forks, but, hey ho ...
Enjoy!

 

[mustang1]

I told SO I'm going out for a walk and came back from Halfords with a bike (it was ordered/arranged so not spur-of-the-moment). The strange thing is the guy asked me if I would like the handlebars pointing forward (at the time the front wheel was pointing forward and the handlebars pointing perpendicular the right). I thought that was an odd question like err how else am I gonna ride it?

I was thinking maybe I'll get my SO an e-bike. That Crossfire looks good. Let us know how it goes. Enjoy!

 

[gbb]

Did a quick 10 miles trail and road riding tonight, you'll find it copes quite well on not so smooth stuff. Watch as you start off, as it kicks in it can kinda destabilise you if the handlebars aren't straight or you're not concentrating.
But all round, I've no regrets getting mine, it feels good under you. Enjoy.

 

[Turdus philomelos]

Nice!
Would have been a bit lighter without suspension forks, but, hey ho ...
Enjoy!

Totaly agree, not to burst anyones bubble but why are pedal assist bikes that are not intended to be used for hurtling down a mountain weighted down with these. Took some searching to find my ebike with carbon forks.

But hey @Diogenes I will gaurantee you will never stop having fun on your new stead.

 

[Smudge]

Totaly agree, not to burst anyones bubble but why are pedal assist bikes that are not intended to be used for hurtling down a mountain weighted down with these. Took some searching to find my ebike with carbon forks.

I have 2 Ebikes, one with steel rigid forks and one with suss forks. Even though its cheap pogo stick suss forks, its still far more comfortable to ride along canal paths and any less smooth surface than the rigid fork bike. This is why many Ebikes have suss forks and why people buy them.
Although i do see the advantages of the less weight and less complexity of rigid forks.

Also, the Crossfire E does have lockout..... which is something my self build doesn't.

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Had a wee run down to get a pannier rack and mudguards, steering is a bit vague and floaty I suppose. Not worried about weight too much - I'm pushing 17st so a few kg on the bike isn't really here nor there and the idea is to start losing weight and getting some strength back in my ankles and knees anyway.

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Did my commute to the football yesterday, 26 miles round trip so a good shakedown.

Two points - pedals have to change quickly and the fat padded saddle has to go! The bike is heavy, which you discover trying to get it going on a steep hill - I was standing on the pedals and it wasn't moving! The electric assist doesn't kick in right away so it's just muscle v gravity + bike and the muscles lost.

However, once it's going it's lovely. A more upright sitting position but that means I don't get the ache in my neck from peering up to look ahead - if you know what I mean. It basically flattens out the route, making the small hills unnoticeable and the big hills achievable. About 3/4 of the ride was on 50% assist, a few times I gave it 75% to get up hills on the way back when I was tiring anyway and a few minutes at 100% to tackle the big hill to my house and I finished with over 30% still in the battery so I'm quite happy with that.

Aching and sore today but I think I made a good purchase.

 

[Smudge]

Had the same saddle on my Carrera Crossfire when i bought it. Its an uncomfortable terrible saddle and i wanted rid of it straight away. Lidl were doing some cheap Wittkop saddles at the time, so i bought one as temp measure, but its been so good its still on my bike.

 

[Sjw]

Not sure what controls you have on the left but mine has walk assist on the bottom left corner. Love mine! Makes the hills so easy.

 

[gbb]

Not sure what controls you have on the left but mine has walk assist on the bottom left corner. Love mine! Makes the hills so easy.

Pretty sure the Crossfire has a walk assist button, a small button just below the Minus button.

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Ah, never spotted that. Bottom left?

 

[Sjw]

View attachment 429386

Ah, never spotted that. Bottom left?

Almost bottom left, the smallest. You can reset trip distance but I think the total stays. I've changed mine from km to miles (18.1 today, just saying!)
I used walk assist up the garden path cos I was flagging. Loooooooove it

 

[Incontinentia Buttocks]

@Diogenes, what's the range on it? Does it go down when loaded up with rack and panniers?
I commute 10 miles each way on my road bike through some very sketch traffic and this takes about 45mins, but I've been ran over and had a few incidents lately where if I didn't anticipate it I would have been dead and I'm nearly at the stage of stopping completely.
Instead I've come up with a cunning plan of using my old carrera mtb with city jet tyres and using the canal and parks to do all but the last 2-3 miles, it's a longer route making my daily commute 13 miles each way (138 weekly)and Its also a fair bit slower even though the towpath is really good.
Looking around I saw your post and @jowwy s and think this may be a solution, I'm going to book a 48hr test ride but wanted to have your take on it.
Cheers