When I saw the Bafang readout showing 271 miles on the odometer I was a bit surprised. I really enjoy ebiking, and I honestly feel like I don't get out often enough, but since I've got a couple of hundred miles in, I figure I'd share my thoughts and findings on my Ultimate Commuter.
On my homebrew ebike I avoided dirt roads, especially wet, muddy roads. The wheels were 700 x 32 size. Over the holidays I took my Ultimate Commuter out one morning with a little rain, and onto a muddy back road. I had no problems thanks to the tires, and the fenders kept me mud free.
The larger front chainring, and smaller rear sprocket is working out great. I'm into actively shifting gears when I'm ebiking, and putting more of the gear ranges of the Rohloff into use. Looking back, I should have requested this when my Ultimate Commuter was being built.
My confidence and riding ability with my Ultimate Commuter has grown quite quickly. The first time my Ultimate Commuter took me up a steep incline my reaction was "whoaaaaaa, this motor is a beast!" Now that I've gotten used to the power of the Bafang Ultra my reaction zipping up a steep incline is now, "Weeeee!" I think one other thing I would have changed from the start of the build besides the chainring and rear sprocket would have been to have gone with the 1000w motor instead of the 750w.
Since my last post, I also changed my handlebar. I liked the width of Origin8 Strongbow, and the grips towards the inside. The issue with the Strongbow was that the hand grips in the center were enclosed and limiting some real estate. The new handlebar has the same width, with a slight rise, but I added my bar ends towards the middle to give me the different hand positions offered by the Strongbow. However, with the bar ends not enclosed there's a little more real estate to move my items around. I find this a personal thing, and I think for some the Strongbow may take care of their preferred riding position.
In closing I can say I'm still in awe of my Ultimate Commuter, and always looking forward to my next excursion. I plan to get a Gopro or figure out a way to safely shoot some video for inclusion on my next Ultimate Commuter follow up review.
Happy New Year!
On my homebrew ebike I avoided dirt roads, especially wet, muddy roads. The wheels were 700 x 32 size. Over the holidays I took my Ultimate Commuter out one morning with a little rain, and onto a muddy back road. I had no problems thanks to the tires, and the fenders kept me mud free.
The larger front chainring, and smaller rear sprocket is working out great. I'm into actively shifting gears when I'm ebiking, and putting more of the gear ranges of the Rohloff into use. Looking back, I should have requested this when my Ultimate Commuter was being built.
My confidence and riding ability with my Ultimate Commuter has grown quite quickly. The first time my Ultimate Commuter took me up a steep incline my reaction was "whoaaaaaa, this motor is a beast!" Now that I've gotten used to the power of the Bafang Ultra my reaction zipping up a steep incline is now, "Weeeee!" I think one other thing I would have changed from the start of the build besides the chainring and rear sprocket would have been to have gone with the 1000w motor instead of the 750w.
Since my last post, I also changed my handlebar. I liked the width of Origin8 Strongbow, and the grips towards the inside. The issue with the Strongbow was that the hand grips in the center were enclosed and limiting some real estate. The new handlebar has the same width, with a slight rise, but I added my bar ends towards the middle to give me the different hand positions offered by the Strongbow. However, with the bar ends not enclosed there's a little more real estate to move my items around. I find this a personal thing, and I think for some the Strongbow may take care of their preferred riding position.
In closing I can say I'm still in awe of my Ultimate Commuter, and always looking forward to my next excursion. I plan to get a Gopro or figure out a way to safely shoot some video for inclusion on my next Ultimate Commuter follow up review.
Happy New Year!
