Ah that lovely feeling when you've been fighting what you assume is the headwind for hours only to turn around to come home - and face straight into the actual headwind.
Another new TQ motor: hpr40
- Thread starter Calcoaster
- Start date
Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
Same variability here. In maybe 2,000 mi of coast riding in San Diego County, I can only remember 2-3 steady headwinds stiff enough to wear me down on my SL. All were around big winter storms off the Pacific.
Wind's seldom a factor on inland hill rides here. That includes the northerly and northeasterly Santa Anas we get in fall and winter. By the time they get this far south, the winds aren't bad from an ebike perspective.
Steady headwinds can be very draining and exhilarating at the same time. I'd much rather put 200W of rider power into, say, a steady 5% climb than into the equivalent steady headwind on the flat.
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stompandgo
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
And I am the exact opposite. Pound it on the flats.
Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
The flats do have their charms— even in fitness riding. Gobbling up the road in front of you with no wind or slope to help or hurt your effort can be very satisfying. Adding motor assist just ups the ground speed, which generally only adds to the fun.
mschwett
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
wind blowing down a hill is just horrible. it’s quite rare here since the hills tend to block the wind, but the occasional hot, dry “diablo” winds which blow out of the cursed Central Valley and set everything on fire make for miserable hill climbing in parts of the Bay Area. I got stuck in it once, probably a steady 20mph headwind that was 10 degrees hotter than the 80 degree day up a 6-10% grade.
the headline would have been something like “local cyclist absolutely relieved to die when e-bike battery combusts in diablo wind
“
Asher
Well-Known Member
Not clickbait to call road e-bikes pointless, in the UK. When you can do 22+ mph on flats, a heavier costlier ebike that maxes out at 15 mph under assist is of limited appeal.
I just wish the Canyon Endurace Onfly came to the US as a Class 3 ebike. The cheapest Scott Fastlane is still $7k thanks to baubles like carbon wheels and electronic shifting, vs $5.1k for the cheapest Canyon Endurace Onfly (though some of that price difference is due to Canyon's D2C pricing). I'd even take a quality alloy frame (eg a CAAD 14 ) if it came with the TQ HPR40.
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
I would almost agree with you but in all the honesty, you would not ride very far on a smallish battery with the Class 3 limitation
I personally think road e-bikes make little sense (gravel e-bikes do a lot of sense!) but on the other hand a road e-bike is a great equaliser on the hills and against headwind.
There is e-Giro race in Italy. A TQ HPR40 e-bike is a perfect motor for that race.
Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
The flats do have their charms— even in fitness riding. Gobbling up the road in front of you with no wind or slope to help or hurt your effort can be very satisfying. Adding motor assist just ups the ground speed, which generally only adds to the fun.
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Catalyzt
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Funny this came up. I've been saying over and over that there are no relatively flat routes near my house, the mythical low-zone-3 or mid-zone-2 ride (that @stompandgo suggested I try to work into my fitness routine) is impossible where I live, and it's mostly true. But just today, I had to run to the ATM and stop at the aquarium store to pick up turtle chow, and I thought, "Driving and parking in Hollywood is getting too annoying. And they're not going to throw me out of the aquarium store for bringing my bike in, the turtle food is right behind the counter."
It was a muggy 78 degrees out, and the whole run was just over 7 miles with about 400 feet of vertical total-- roughly half the climbing of most of my rides. It was a fantastic workout, I broke a sweat, but it wasn't nearly as arduous as my usual 4.1 mile slog with 385 feet of vertical, and a lot of that steep, when I'm deliberately pushing a lot harder. Traffic was not bad at 11:00, either. I felt great afterwards, kept the motor off a long time, and used only 10% of my battery power. Still feeling refreshed hours later... and interesting that under more normal conditions, the Grizl ON: Fly 7 would deliver about 70 miles of range.
stompandgo
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
@Catalyzt, you're getting it!!
I used to do a lot of group rides with my club in western MA. Saturday rides were about getting into the Berkshire mountains and climbing. We would do about 60-80 miles and 5-6K feet of climbing. On the longer, steeper stuff, I'd be at the back or off the back of the group, and they would usually have to wait at the summit for me and a few others, usually for less than a minute. On the way home, though, I'd be on the front with another strong rider or two, and we would pull the group home at 22-24mph so they could just sit in. The key was to always look back and make sure they are comfortable and not dropping off the back. I used an Italian bar end mirror for this.
I used to do a lot of group rides with my club in western MA. Saturday rides were about getting into the Berkshire mountains and climbing. We would do about 60-80 miles and 5-6K feet of climbing. On the longer, steeper stuff, I'd be at the back or off the back of the group, and they would usually have to wait at the summit for me and a few others, usually for less than a minute. On the way home, though, I'd be on the front with another strong rider or two, and we would pull the group home at 22-24mph so they could just sit in. The key was to always look back and make sure they are comfortable and not dropping off the back. I used an Italian bar end mirror for this.
Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
So you were saving yourself on the way to the top to pace them on the way home? Good a way as any to feed your stated need for speed.
When I rejoined the local Wednesday road ride last week, after many months away, I also rode off the back most of the way, mostly in OFF and ECO. And I was the only ebike.
Had every reason to believe that I was now paying for riding less than usual in the interim. And for weighing more — especially after the holidays.
But this being the post-truth era, where the best spin wins, I decided that they'd just gotten a lot faster since last time.
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stompandgo
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
I wasn't saving anything for later. I cannot climb like the rest of them. I never was a climber, no matter what my weight and FTP were. It was more about recovery from coming back down from the hills, and having something left for the flats, where I am in my element.
