Eric0976
Member
- Region
- USA
Extras on the bike:
Two Ortlieb back rollers (carry bike tools, backpack with work items, lunch and work clothes)
Cane Creek Thudbuster G4 ST Seatpost
About me: I am mostly in shape and exercise regularly, 5.10ft, 160lbs. (male, 45).
Use: Bike is used mostly to commute to work as quickly as possible with little to no sweat (some grocery shopping too, not used for recreation as I use a normal bike for that).
The route: This is what my route looks like, all of it is paved and mostly in good shape (slopes are in red). Google Map estimates that with a normal bike it takes 46 minutes to do the route. The hills are the reason I bought an ebike. I enjoy them only for recreation and when I don't mind sweating, I don't want to sweat (or only very lightly) while commuting to work and I want a quick commute.
Level of assist used: On a dry road, the 5.2 miles are currently done in 20 minutes at a sustained cadence. Level-5 assist used to go up 5%-or-more slopes. Level-3 or level-4 assist used to go up slopes with 4% grade. I use no assist when going down slopes graded 5% or more. I use assist 1 or 2 when going down slopes that are less than 5%. Given my route (and my level of fitness), I use a level of assist of 4 or more about 35 to 40 percent of the travel time. On flat, rare as you can see, I use 2 or 3. In addition, I also push hard on the pedals to maintain a good cadence so the motor also works harder for any given level of assist (it is a torque sensing motor). Overall, I demand quite a bit from the motor but I also do my share of the effort (no throttle on the bike so the harder you pedal the more the motor helps).
Battery range: I get a range of 15 miles with a full charge so not enough for a 1.5 trip. I tried my luck once and ran out of power about .5 mile from work, not fun even on a small incline, manageable on flat but you do feel the 50+ pounds so not enjoyable. I recharge at the end of everyday (i.e. every 10.4 miles). I use a Luna Mini charger and charge at 80% (to increase battery longevity), which is about just enough for a round trip. A flat route and leisurely ride will greatly increase the battery range but I am not using the bike that way. The low range does not bother me as I am not trying to use the battery efficiently but rather I want to get from A to B asap while dealing with steep hills. A bigger battery would only help marginally while adding weight.
Shifter: Enviolo shifter is great and I think a necessity if you have traffic stops and traffic lights (I have one light and a few stops). You don’t need to think about being in the proper gear before you start pedaling because you can adjust gears while stopped, this is VERY convenient (especially if you are crossing a road with cars going at 40mph+). The gearing range is good enough for me. I will struggle going up a 15% slope (about 8 mph with significant effort) and a 8% slope gives you some work, but compared to bikers with normal bikes it is easy (You notice that when you pass them easily). Going down slopes, I can’t complain that pedaling cadence is too fast, it is fine. 30 mph is achievable with about normal pedaling cadence and some effort, I do reach regularly 35 mph down 5% slopes with medium-high pedaling cadence (my top speed has been 37.8 mph per the computer, which was achieved early on when I was fooling around with the bike down the 15% incline).
Overall: I personally like the bike design but the main reason I bought this bike was for the high torque and the low maintenance features. The bike is very quiet and enjoyable to ride with some assist (not enjoyable without assist). Don’t expect the Current to be a bike that requires no work from your part, it provides pedal-assist only (no throttle). I specifically chose such bike as I do want to have some workout while commuting (my legs are sore at the end of the day) but I do not want to have to take a shower at work (a 5 minute rest and change of cloth will eliminate the bit of sweat and potential odors). I also want to stay as close as possible to the bike experience so torque sensing is a must and throttle is unnecessary to me. Bumps on road are noticeable but not bothering to me, especially with the Cane Creek seatpost. An excellent ebike for people physically fit and wanting some exercise but limited to no sweat when getting to work while also staying close to a normal biking experience.
Two Ortlieb back rollers (carry bike tools, backpack with work items, lunch and work clothes)
Cane Creek Thudbuster G4 ST Seatpost
About me: I am mostly in shape and exercise regularly, 5.10ft, 160lbs. (male, 45).
Use: Bike is used mostly to commute to work as quickly as possible with little to no sweat (some grocery shopping too, not used for recreation as I use a normal bike for that).
The route: This is what my route looks like, all of it is paved and mostly in good shape (slopes are in red). Google Map estimates that with a normal bike it takes 46 minutes to do the route. The hills are the reason I bought an ebike. I enjoy them only for recreation and when I don't mind sweating, I don't want to sweat (or only very lightly) while commuting to work and I want a quick commute.
Level of assist used: On a dry road, the 5.2 miles are currently done in 20 minutes at a sustained cadence. Level-5 assist used to go up 5%-or-more slopes. Level-3 or level-4 assist used to go up slopes with 4% grade. I use no assist when going down slopes graded 5% or more. I use assist 1 or 2 when going down slopes that are less than 5%. Given my route (and my level of fitness), I use a level of assist of 4 or more about 35 to 40 percent of the travel time. On flat, rare as you can see, I use 2 or 3. In addition, I also push hard on the pedals to maintain a good cadence so the motor also works harder for any given level of assist (it is a torque sensing motor). Overall, I demand quite a bit from the motor but I also do my share of the effort (no throttle on the bike so the harder you pedal the more the motor helps).
Battery range: I get a range of 15 miles with a full charge so not enough for a 1.5 trip. I tried my luck once and ran out of power about .5 mile from work, not fun even on a small incline, manageable on flat but you do feel the 50+ pounds so not enjoyable. I recharge at the end of everyday (i.e. every 10.4 miles). I use a Luna Mini charger and charge at 80% (to increase battery longevity), which is about just enough for a round trip. A flat route and leisurely ride will greatly increase the battery range but I am not using the bike that way. The low range does not bother me as I am not trying to use the battery efficiently but rather I want to get from A to B asap while dealing with steep hills. A bigger battery would only help marginally while adding weight.
Shifter: Enviolo shifter is great and I think a necessity if you have traffic stops and traffic lights (I have one light and a few stops). You don’t need to think about being in the proper gear before you start pedaling because you can adjust gears while stopped, this is VERY convenient (especially if you are crossing a road with cars going at 40mph+). The gearing range is good enough for me. I will struggle going up a 15% slope (about 8 mph with significant effort) and a 8% slope gives you some work, but compared to bikers with normal bikes it is easy (You notice that when you pass them easily). Going down slopes, I can’t complain that pedaling cadence is too fast, it is fine. 30 mph is achievable with about normal pedaling cadence and some effort, I do reach regularly 35 mph down 5% slopes with medium-high pedaling cadence (my top speed has been 37.8 mph per the computer, which was achieved early on when I was fooling around with the bike down the 15% incline).
Overall: I personally like the bike design but the main reason I bought this bike was for the high torque and the low maintenance features. The bike is very quiet and enjoyable to ride with some assist (not enjoyable without assist). Don’t expect the Current to be a bike that requires no work from your part, it provides pedal-assist only (no throttle). I specifically chose such bike as I do want to have some workout while commuting (my legs are sore at the end of the day) but I do not want to have to take a shower at work (a 5 minute rest and change of cloth will eliminate the bit of sweat and potential odors). I also want to stay as close as possible to the bike experience so torque sensing is a must and throttle is unnecessary to me. Bumps on road are noticeable but not bothering to me, especially with the Cane Creek seatpost. An excellent ebike for people physically fit and wanting some exercise but limited to no sweat when getting to work while also staying close to a normal biking experience.
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