Gone and done it. Merida e-Scultura 400.

[Brandane]

After much consideration and reading of reviews on different e-bikes I finally decided on the Merida e-Scultura, and collected it on Friday.
First ride was yesterday, 22 miles 452 metres climbing. Then today, 52 miles 726 metres climbing. After today's ride I was pleasantly surprised to find I had 54% battery charge remaining. So it should be good for most distances I will be covering.
Really enjoyed both rides over the weekend, despite the wind.
No pics yet, but it's this bike:

 

[Slick]

Looks a peach, the Ayrshire alps will be toffee now.

 

[Brandane]

Looks a peach, the Ayrshire alps will be toffee now.

Fairlie Moor from the Fairlie side today was almost a breeze. Likewise the climb from Inverkip to Loch Thom yesterday. You still have to work, the motor just makes it a bit quicker!

 

[Slick]

Fairlie Moor from the Fairlie side today was almost a breeze. Likewise the climb from Inverkip to Loch Thom yesterday. You still have to work, the motor just makes it a bit quicker!

I was going to mention Loch Thom as I knew you would be on it. Enjoy the new machine, perfect country for it, might even see you tackle the Hayley Brae now.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Nice bike. Enjoy

 

[ianrauk]

great stuff @Brandane
You now just have to get a nice dry day to ride it in

 

[Slick]

I didn't realise the OP was moving.

 

[mustang1]

@Brandane that looks good. I was checking out Merida e-bikes the other day.

How do you feel about the Mahle battery and motor? Iirc, Mahle supplies battery equient to the motor industry so my guess is they are good but I have not heard about them in the bike industry.

I like the idea of a lighter e-bike like your Merida. Is it alright on the hills?

 

[Brandane]

@Brandane that looks good. I was checking out Merida e-bikes the other day.

How do you feel about the Mahle battery and motor? Iirc, Mahle supplies battery equient to the motor industry so my guess is they are good but I have not heard about them in the bike industry.

I like the idea of a lighter e-bike like your Merida. Is it alright on the hills?

Hi @mustang1 .... as you will appreciate, I have only had the bike 3 days, and so far done about 75 miles on it, so really just getting acquainted with the bike.
First impressions are really good. It has 3 levels of assistance, and using the Mahle app you can personalise the percentage of assistance each level gives you. I currently have mine set at 40, 60, and 80%. I have covered a variety of terrain, including some hills. To compare to my normal road bike (another Merida, carbon framed Ride 4000 model), my route to work over a long and steep climb takes about 1 hour 40 mins... on the ebike in Saturday, into a strong easterly wind, it took me 1 hour 25 mins...
As I said, it's early days, but so far no complaints. After the 52 mile, 726 metres of climbing yesterday, the app was telling me I still had 54% of the battery charge remaining. Admittedly, I was keeping assist level as low as I was comfortable with, to preserve battery, as I had no real idea what the range was going to be.
The operation of the motor really surprised me. It is pretty much silent in operation, and you are not aware of when it kicks in or cuts out at the 15 mph assist limit. Very smooth and unobtrusive.
Even the weight of the bike, officially 14 kg I think, is hardly noticeable. Lifting it, it feels no more heavy than my alloy framed MTB.. so if the battery WAS to run out of charge, it's not going to be a huge problem to ride home.
Safe to say that so far, I am very happy with the bike .

 

[Brandane]

great stuff @Brandane
You now just have to get a nice dry day to ride it in

I didn't realise the OP was moving.

I got new guttering, downpipes, and soffitts for the house recently. And surprise, surprise, it has hardly rained in the 2 months since then! So you can all thank me for the dry spring and summer we are about to have .