Going Pedelec: the machine arrives this week😳

[Ridgeway]

Changed my job exactly 1 year ago and moved from home office working (previous 10yrs) to mainly an office environment that is 22km away from home. I saw this as an opportunity to get some pedals turned on the way to/from work a couple of times a week and was at first pretty set on getting a Santos built up specifically for the job but hesitated and decided to suck it and see. Been averaging max once a week for the commute on a road bike and just tried it this last year with a rucksack to carry each days clothes and usual work kit, weighed around 7kgs ie the same as the bike Anyway I’ve enjoyed it although have found it a pain to shower at the end of each ride and full kit change etc. That and charging decent lights, having multiple of them etc etc.

So gave this some thought, then some more….. considered a gravel bike that i could use for other fun stuff, something more heavy weight like a Santos again, and finally concluded that a Pedelec would be the way forwards:

- Built in decent lights
- Rear lights are actually brake lights
- Integrated horn
- Longe range batteries
- High average speed for the commute
- Reduced effort to avoid a full pre-work work out but still a mild work out

Well that’s the theory at least

So picked up the V5 doc (permis de circulation) for the bike yesterday so i can get my registration plates next week and then back to my LBS who’s prepping the bike for Friday. Already added the pannier rack and a pair of Ortlieb back roller panniers Bought a back up charger that I’ll keep with me or at the office (not sure yet), plus a decent lock although it’s very secure where it’s left at work but it’s just in case I’ll do any shopping on the way back home.

So my target is 2-3 days per week although that can increase in the better weather and decrease in the crappy stuff

Now i’ve got to start think about my clothes strategy, office trousers for the ride ? change shoes ? only put on shirt once i arrive there ? Etc etc i guess only experience will tell.

So here’s looking forward to:

- cold mornings (very soon)
- foggy mornings where i can’t see where I’m going (fog is a fact here in Nov/Dec)
- drying wet clothes at work…
- forgetting to charge the bike and then having to steal my wife’s car

Oh and some beautiful rides home where i can digest the day as well as those mornings on the road where being on 2 wheels is just the only place to be, what i have to then do some work

 

[CXRAndy]

Excellent idea speed pedelec. Is the limit 28mph~50kmh.

Unless you are running at maximum power, speed will be around 18-21mph or you're putting lots of effort

 

[Slick]

Great idea, why wouldn't you. Enjoy

 

[Ridgeway]

Yes almost 45kmh max assisted speed here, anything more needs gravity

 

[CXRAndy]

It will transform your commute. Totally sweat free if you use assistance properly. Great for work

 

[Slick]

It will transform your commute. Totally sweat free if you use assistance properly. Great for work

I've been contemplating it for a while, maybe in time for next spring.

 

[Ridgeway]

It will transform your commute. Totally sweat free if you use assistance properly. Great for work

That‘s my hope at least. Plenty of them here now, must be around 20 at work and see a few each morning on the way in. They can make a lot of sense if the commute is right and in the end it’s “one less car”

 

[steveindenmark]

I have a 20km ride to work and ride it most days both in winter and summer. I ride a range of bikes but have recently bought a Moustache Friday 28.7 electric bike with a range of about 130km. I use it a couple of times a week.

In my experience. You do not need an extra charger at work. You can see when you need to recharge it. Unless you use a throttle all the way to work, it will not be a sweat free ride. If you are anything like me, you will still put the effort in. If I wanted to just sit back and not try. I would take the car.

Your workplace needs to be on board . We did not have a bikeshed as nobody cycled to work. I asked if one could be provided and hoped for a little metal shed. Within a month we had a bike shed that takes at least 20 bikes and a smokers area with benches and tables. The showers and changing rooms were upgraded.

The bike shed is nearly always full now.

I get up an hour earlier than if I were driving and keep 3 sets of clothes in my locker. I always have panniers on my bike.

It is a bit of faffing to begin with. I have to be at work early enough to get a shower, change and grab a coffee. You need 2 sets of cycling kit or you will be riding home in damp kit. I had 2 punctues at 5am last week and so a head torch is useful.

It soon becomes second nature and is well worth it. The hardest part is getting out of bed when you can hear the wind and rain. But its never as bad as you expect, when you get out in it.

 

[Ridgeway]

Funnily enough i looked at the Moustache as theres plenty of their E-MTB’s here. Yes we have plenty that ride to my workplace, probably +50 most days and we have bike racks since a while. The clothing strategy is the bit i‘ll work out once i start with a the pedelec, hoping to not need to have 2 full changes and showers if i can but that will depend on a few things i guess.

 

[CXRAndy]

I've ridden a quick ebike and it's super nice to increase assistance to completely flatten hills or cancel out headwinds. I would from my experience say, use your gears and assistance and you could even stay in Z1 for heart rate. That should keep you fresh and non sweaty.

I did a 30 mile rolling ride to a barbecue and didn't change when I got there. Max HR 120bpm . Me and the Mrs regularly ride to restaurants upto 15 miles away in our glad rags

 

[Ridgeway]

Think that’s the key, staying in Z1 at around 110bpm then it will depend upon temp and clothing. It’ll be a compromise between battery vs BPM I can see the range not being quite to the marketing spec…..

 

[boydj]

I have a 20km ride to work and ride it most days both in winter and summer. I ride a range of bikes but have recently bought a Moustache Friday 28.7 electric bike with a range of about 130km. I use it a couple of times a week.

In my experience. You do not need an extra charger at work. You can see when you need to recharge it. Unless you use a throttle all the way to work, it will not be a sweat free ride. If you are anything like me, you will still put the effort in. If I wanted to just sit back and not try. I would take the car.

Your workplace needs to be on board . We did not have a bikeshed as nobody cycled to work. I asked if one could be provided and hoped for a little metal shed. Within a month we had a bike shed that takes at least 20 bikes and a smokers area with benches and tables. The showers and changing rooms were upgraded.

The bike shed is nearly always full now.

I get up an hour earlier than if I were driving and keep 3 sets of clothes in my locker. I always have panniers on my bike.

It is a bit of faffing to begin with. I have to be at work early enough to get a shower, change and grab a coffee. You need 2 sets of cycling kit or you will be riding home in damp kit. I had 2 punctues at 5am last week and so a head torch is useful.

It soon becomes second nature and is well worth it. The hardest part is getting out of bed when you can hear the wind and rain. But its never as bad as you expect, when you get out in it.

View attachment 659885

That mirrors my experience. Even the bad weather can be invigorating once you're out there. Mudguards, good waterproofs and overshoes meant it was never that bad. High winds or heavy snow were the only things that stopped me in 8 years of a daily commute.

 

[Ridgeway]

That mirrors my experience. Even the bad weather can be invigorating once you're out there. Mudguards, good waterproofs and overshoes meant it was never that bad. High winds or heavy snow were the only things that stopped me in 8 years of a daily commute.

I’ll be reading those words over in my mind on many an early morning i think “it’s not as bad once you get out there”

 

[CXRAndy]

I’ll be reading those words over in my mind on many an early morning i think “it’s not as bad once you get out there”

For really crappy rain, have a very wide front mudflap and wear a rain cape to cover you and the bike . That will keep the vast majority of weather off you and bike

 

[Ridgeway]

Mrs R has a poncho kind of thing, I always joke that she looks like a lollipop lady in it as it’s florescent yellow, but it keeps her dry on her daily dog rides😀

Hoping to keep these extra things in a pannier so I’m always prepared as I have visions of a nice ride into work and then it pouring down on the return leg.