getting a regular bike after my battery fails?

[fooferdoggie]

The bigger cassette helped. I had to replace it as the 8th cog was too worn, and the chain was jumping. but I was able ot spin more and not push as hard.

 

[fooferdoggie]

it was about 39 today I always need my electric gloves below about 45, but now, even without power, they are too much real light gloves are more than enough. Yesterday I put on my usual base layer and long sleeve tee shirt and and wind jacket and balaclava when it is below 42 and was was sweating like crazy. so today my sweatshirt it was almost too much even though it was a bit colder.

 

[fooferdoggie]

took a 10-mile spin on the e-tandem today after work. Now it feels easy so I had to turn it down to eco mode. burned 300 calories more than usual on that ride. so today, about 1000 calories riding.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I have gone up this hill for years 5 to 6 times a week. its about 17% grade. even on the tandem. on my new bike, I can do it with 400 watts at about 4.5mph without killing myself. Today I went around it to see how that goes. I don't know if that's why I only averaged 122 watts as I burned 400 calories.

This little slope is about 18% with a hump of 20% and man its a bear to get up. I have to put out 500 watts at 4.5mph, and when I am done, I have to stop and catch my breath as my heart is about 160. Ican do it, but it's not fun so I will just bypass it. lower gearing would help but any slower andi ts hard to not wander too much. we can get up on the tandem. Coming down is always fun because of cross traffic. I can get up in tour with about 400 watts as I go as fast as I can. but I found when I had to follow someone up if I go slow, it only takes 250 watts.

only 120 watt avrage but still 400 calories.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I rode 4 miles on my trek to get some blood drawn, and it's like a new bike. I rode on eco, and I can push far harder. or maybe now I know I can push harder. i think with e bikes they can cause you to not really push hard because you don't need to. Went on a 30 mile ride on the tandem and the 8th cog started skipping after the new chain. That's the gear that we use on city streets or to get up tp speed. So I had to jump over it and work harder. for the first time I had a HR of 130 without hills on the tandem. its easy to slip into less work on a e bike, especially if its all you ride for 5+ years.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Crap, the longer rides and maybe the lack of suspension is hurting me, making sitting on the bike painful. its the same saddle and angle and all I have on all my bikes. I have always been able to handle the two 35-minute commutes without padded shorts and maybe an errand or two. But other then that, I always wear padded shorts. Now my rides are doubled in length or close to it. so for now, padded underwear I guess, till I can afford another suspension seat post.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I only got 4.5 hours sleep so I figured this would be a good day to ride the trek I rode on eco the whole ride and exactly the same route. I rode a little bit without power to see how it felt. The ride felt about the same on the trek, and I felt about as warm. If I go by calories and heart rate they are about the same. I did not get the peak 150HR on the 10% grade but it felt close to the same effort. but the watts are far different I really had to keep the watts at 200 to keep my heart rate up. I have never gotten 165 average on the trek.
I only made 3mph faster on the trek, and the motor still did 50% I dont think I could get that workout on my usual tour I jsut cant go fast enough.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

The ride felt about the same on the trek, and I felt about as warm. If I go by calories and heart rate they are about the same. I did not get the peak 150HR on the 10% grade but it felt close to the same effort. but the watts are far different I really had to keep the watts at 200 to keep my heart rate up. I have never gotten 165 average on the trek.
I only made 3mph faster on the trek, and the motor still did 50% I dont think I could get that workout on my usual tour I jsut cant go fast enough.

So your power numbers diifer significantly but all other exertion indicators are the same. Could at least one of your power meters be off?

 

[fooferdoggie]

So your power numbers diifer significantly but all other exertion indicators are the same. Could at least one of your power meters be off?

That's what I am thinking. Most likely the bosch. or the way it's set up. its not made to measure your watts but to make the bike work well. but it could also just be the difference in bikes. it could be my cadence is higher; I tend to get 85 to 90 on the acoustic, but usually only 80 on the trek. since this is a commute all the starting and stopping throws off the cadence.
here is something interesting I wore my added underwear today and the seat feels the same or close as it does without on the trek. It's actually better on the acoustic with the padded underwear but worse than the trek without.

 

[stompandgo]

In my experience, drive unit power meters read low. I've also seen crank and pedal based power meters read high. The only way to be sure is to calibrate it with a known weight.

 

[fooferdoggie]

In my experience, drive unit power meters read low. I've also seen crank and pedal based power meters read high. The only way to be sure is to calibrate it with a known weight.

Ya I am not too worried about it I just want the daily average to know how my energy levels and health are. Now that I know o can push more the tandem and the trek are more enjoyable and I get a better workout. I would not mind 100 or so watts of help on the steepest hills they are miserable without help.

 

[stompandgo]

Ya I am not too worried about it I just want the daily average to know how my energy levels and health are. Now that I know o can push more the tandem and the trek are more enjoyable and I get a better workout. I would not mind 100 or so watts of help on the steepest hills they are miserable without help.

Perfect. You are not training for racing with a coach that needs accuracy. As long as it's consistent.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I think I may have to ride the Trek more. I am really doing 32 miles a day that I used to on the Trek on my commutes, and it is wearing me out. Doing that daily has my HR higher for longer on the regular bike. But I plan on turning assist way down to get a better feel. If I could spend the money, I would get a smaller chainring too so I could ride with little power more than I do now. My budget is gone right now .

 

[fooferdoggie]

well I tuned the assist down to 30% well that was a mistake I burned the same calories in 37 minutes versus 50 minutes. up to 45% see how that works.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Playing around with assist levels. I had them too low, and I was actually working harder. I got it dialed in so I put a little less calories than my regular bike, but of course, I go faster. I think I am wearing myself out, so I need to take some days off on the regular bike, as there is no way to ride it easier, as I don’t try to work hard on it. But it did feel a little easier the last day, and I burned a little less in calories and averaged .5 miles faster.

Glad I got my Peal like soup colored frame as the new ones are fugly, Grandpa's kackys, and they went up 250.00

 

[RunForTheHills]

I don't know,. That might have gone better with the blue cable housing.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Well, I have 500 miles on this bike so far. I lost over 2 weeks because of COVID or something. Now I can ride it 3 days a week, but it is more tiring. I am still burning about the same calories: 300 going to work, 400 or more coming home on average. So that’s about 30 miles a day on the trek, versus 16 miles that my commute is. I think the power meters are somewhat close to each other, but my HR is not. But with commuting, all the starts and stops, the e-bike gets going with a lot less effort. Plus, hills are less work. To even get close to the same average HR on the trek, I really have to work at it. I don’t work at it on the regular bike; it's just what I get. I did put a suspension seat post and stem on to make life a little smoother. I realized I don’t need all the tools and crap I carry with the e-bikes because I can hop on a bus with just a little walking. I keep the pump and plug kit and little parts in my messenger bag, and now I just carry a bottle of sealant and chain tools (though I am not sure why since I have never had to repair a chain on the go so far). And a simple tool kit, with just Allen wrenches. The only time I need tools is when I work on the bike and then realize I did not have something right and have to adjust it. No more spare tubes and tire tools and all that. A nice little bag for it all.


The bike is more stable with a load on the back on the trek. I don’t get that feeling I usually had with the trek or most other bikes I have had.

 

[Art Deco]

I weigh 212 so I am not light. and I am 62 years old. The bigger tires would be for comfort. but its been so long since I rode a regular bike I dont really know. but it is nice to know how many watts I can put out. I usually coast down steep hills anyway or use the brakes. my commute only had one just steep hill each way. for most of my non-commuting riding, I have the tandem. plus I often carry groceries.

Your one steep hill ( I've seen the pictures. ) is enough tp justify a small motor and battery like the conversions @PedalUma makes. I think Trek makes something like that, a proper lightweight road bike with an electric boost. Worth considering maybe.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Such a step hill requires a good several hundred of watts to climb at a reasonable speed.

Bike Calculator

Useful calculators for estimating your speed on a bicycle velocity from various parameters.

bikecalculator.com

 

[fooferdoggie]

Your one steep hill ( I've seen the pictures. ) is enough tp justify a small motor and battery like the conversions @PedalUma makes. I think Trek makes something like that, a proper lightweight road bike with an electric boost. Worth considering maybe.

I avoid the steepest one. There is a way right before it to go and end up on the same road that only has about 9% or so grade at the worst for a block; the rest is a bit less. My HR still gets to 150 doing it, but it is a bit easier. If I walk the bike up that steep part, my HR is about the same. I can also avoid the climbs altogether by going a different route. It is about .5 miles longer. Coming up there is a 3 to 5% grade way that’s about 3 blocks I can go too. There is a longer way with a slight slope I can go too. But I would like maybe 100 watts of help on those hills to make life a little more fun.
The thing is, I want to ride it 3 days a week, but Monday I was tired from our 50 miles on the tandem, and Friday it would be good not to ride it so I am not tired on the weekend. But that means 3 days in a row on it; I don’t know if I can handle that yet. The more tired I get, the more calories I burn. I also want to not ride it on Mondays so my wife and I can ride the tandem like we used to since she does not work that day.