Orbea Gain

[ebikeerwidnes]

Mine is an M but Orbea never appear to publish weight on any bikes, normal or electric.

I would much rather have the power back in my legs than an e bike but needs must.

I know there is an argument that e bikes are "cheating" but I looked at an uphill segment I did the other day, it is a continuous uphill lasting about a mile and I was only 5 seconds faster on the Gain than my previous personal best on my leg powered Orca.

The time I notice the weight is when you pass the cut off for the motor on a flat road, it is at this point I would love to jump off the Gain and get back on the Orca!

I hardly notice the cutoff for the motor if the road is flat and smooth and there is no wind (or a tailwind)
I just notice the speed and lack of noise
I have noticed my speed stay up around 17/19 mph for a significant time on decent cycle paths and the like and I have not noticed any drag

however this is the Bosch Activline - I have heard other motors have a noticeable drag when not providing power themselves

 

[Dadam]

So I would much rather loose it on the hills rather than the flats and if I get desperate there’s always the option of a compact chainset.

Even more happy for you. Remind me why you're so interested in the electric bike forum?

I've got two leg powered road bikes as well as the Gain. Thankfully I'm not suffering injury or joint conditions, but haven't got the base level of fitness for a long ride with lots of climbing. However I can happily go out on the Gain not worrying about being able to get home again. I haven't found any noticeable drag from the motor over the cutoff or with assist off. The weight is irrelevant at a constant speed on the flat.

 

[Webbo2]

I originally replied to chislenko about his wobbly front end.

 

[gzoom]

When I go out on our clubs wednesday ride, there are few on ebikes of various descriptions. So when the gradient gets in to double figures and your speed is in single figures. It’s quite something to see those on the ebikes engage turbo power and disappear in to the distance. However once we get on the flat and unless it’s a 30 mph block head wind, you are usually waiting at every junction for the ebikes.
So I would much rather loose it on the hills rather than the flats and if I get desperate there’s always the option of a compact chainset.

Why would an eRoad bike be slower than a normal road bike on the flat. The extra weight on the flat is barley noticeable, my Specialized Creo will happily sit at 20mph on the flat with no motor input.

Analogue bikes have zero appeal to me these days, cannot wait to add to my n+1 eBike collection later this year ?

 

[Webbo2]

Why would an eRoad bike be slower than a normal road bike on the flat. The extra weight on the flat is barley noticeable, my Specialized Creo will happily sit at 20mph on the flat with no motor input.

Analogue bikes have zero appeal to me these days, cannot wait to add to my n+1 eBike collection later this year ?

Because that’s what people who are riding them tell me. Next you will telling me that bike weighing 10 k is no harder to pedal than one weighing 6.8 k on the flat.😉

 

[gzoom]

Because that’s what people who are riding them tell me. Next you will telling me that bike weighing 10 k is no harder to pedal than one weighing 6.8 k on the flat.😉

Given what we know about 'aero' I suspect we probably do the answer to that question

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Because that’s what people who are riding them tell me. Next you will telling me that bike weighing 10 k is no harder to pedal than one weighing 6.8 k on the flat.😉

There is also the point that if you are not freewheeling then there must be extra friction in the motor as you are spinning "stuff" in the motor whether or not there is any assist being supplied

They have to be slower and use more energy to pedal unassisted

it is just a case of how much and how you can tell

 

[Chislenko]

There is also the point that if you are not freewheeling then there must be extra friction in the motor as you are spinning "stuff" in the motor whether or not there is any assist being supplied

They have to be slower and use more energy to pedal unassisted

it is just a case of how much and how you can tell

I have limited experience of an e-bike, only done 200 mile on it. The thing that strikes me when you go past the cut off is not motor lag (for want of a better term) but just how heavy the bike feels. Obviously this is something I need to adapt to.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I have limited experience of an e-bike, only done 200 mile on it. The thing that strikes me when you go past the cut off is not motor lag (for want of a better term) but just how heavy the bike feels. Obviously this is something I need to adapt to.

yes - that is probably the main point

I have not ridden a "normal" bike for many years - just my ebike that I bought in 2011 and then my current one - with a few excursions on the folder

however a couple of years we were on holiday in Cornwall and there was a trail nearby and a place where you could hire a bike to ride on it

so I went along and the bike turned out to be a Raleigh Pioneer - no assists or anything
I was a bit worried about how it I would feel on it but it felt wonderful - light and actually felt like I had motor assist in a lot of flat places

When I looked at Strava afterward it looked like my average speed was as fast ot faster then my normal ebike speed
although the trail was wide and there were not many bends whereas I normally ride on narrow canal paths so that would have been a factor

I had done a fair number of longer rides at home before we went away so my legs were reasonably fit (for me)

does make me wonder if I should get a normal bike for slower rides in good weather

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

I wish my weight increase over the last couple of years or so was as small as the extra 6Kg of my Bolt over my customised Attain GTC Disc. Unfortunately, it's more like 16Kg and I feel that every time I reach the little hills, that the ebike is allowing me to reach again like when I was ~80Kg three years ago (and as low as ~73Kg in '17).

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I wish my weight increase over the last couple of years or so was as small as the extra 6Kg of my Bolt over my customised Attain GTC Disc. Unfortunately, it's more like 16Kg and I feel that every time I reach the little hills, that the ebike is allowing me to reach again like when I was ~80Kg three years ago (and as low as ~73Kg in '17).

To me that is one of the main points in an ebike
in allowing you to get out and go further then it makes the rides better and encourages you to go out more

if you put on a load of weight and could only manage a 4-5 miles ride around the nearby roads then the incentive to keep doing it is less than if you can go on several different rides out into different areas

 

[Chislenko]

There is also the point that if you are not freewheeling then there must be extra friction in the motor as you are spinning "stuff" in the motor whether or not there is any assist being supplied

They have to be slower and use more energy to pedal unassisted

it is just a case of how much and how you can tell

I think you have something there about the friction in the motor. I was on a ride today and when the motor reached it's cut off speed I switched it to no assist and it was a great deal easier to pedal and felt more like a normal bike.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I think you have something there about the friction in the motor. I was on a ride today and when the motor reached it's cut off speed I switched it to no assist and it was a great deal easier to pedal and felt more like a normal bike.

I think it depends on the motor
mostly because that wasn;t what I meant!!

On mine (Bisch ACtiv Line) doing that makes no difference I can feel - and I have tried it
so if I am on roads where I can manintain 18-19 mph (i.e. flat tarmac and a tailwind that I won;t admit to!!) then switching to "OFF mode) makes no difference

BUT I have seen reports from people that say that other bikes DO make a difference - including some reports - but only on social media - that the Performance Line does it

What I meant was that even though I can;t feel anything - between my foot and the wheel I am turning a lot more "bits and pieces" that a "proper" bike would be turning
and evyer cog, junction, pin and whatever that has to move adds friction


it s a bit like people who ride fixies say it is more efficient
with a motor involved you are just adding more "stuff" to turn however well designed it is

but some certainly are more designed to run under assist all the time and so the concept of making them efficient after a cutoff speed wasn;t a priority to the engineers that designed it
(probably)