Commuter Log

[Brambor]

Yeah. You are right. I haven't thought of that. It may depend what bike culture weaned influence on you. I'm somewhat influenced by the bikepacking culture where custom sewn frame bags are the cat's meow.



But most importantly I wanted something to store items that I usually carry in a backpack and I did not want the extra weight of a bike rack. It works perfectly for me. The zippers are on both sides. This gives me two large pockets to store my stuff in. Currently I carry: bike lock, my keyring, wallet, wind jacket, a couple of bicycle repair wrenches and sometimes a snack and I think I'm less than 50% full.

 

[opimax]

Hope I am not raining on your parade, I am so much into stealth as I like to ride on smooth paved paths /trails and some states are just nasty! I actually put on my paniers just to cover the motor, frequently at least 1 is empty or not needed.

Yours is much more convenient and centered for weight

Mark

 

[Brambor]

nah. I got walrus skin. fwiw the frame bag covers the LED's of the battery so if you don't notice the MOTOR in the back wheel there is nothing else to indicate this bike is an ebike. The lcd on the handlebars is the size of standard Specialized lcd's for speed.

 

[James]

At the speed you whip past regular cyclists they don't have the time to figure out your "Cheatin"!!

 

[opimax]

I pass them nicely , ring my bell, and proceed when safe. It is the non regular cyclist I worry about , w/badges and guns . To me the only one I am cheating is the Angel of Death

sorry to get so OT I will stop

Mark

 

[Vern]

EVERYDAY IN MAY-BUSTED ALREADY-But I'm still trying to do my best!!!

I have been trying to achieve my goal of bike commuting everyday in May. I already lost my streak. I took my car on Tuesday. It was drizzling, and it was my daughter's birthday, so I gave into the carbon spitting beast(I actually drive a Honda. It's hardly much worse than my e-bike). Other than Tuesday, it has been all bike power for me. In the past the most I had done was 2 days in a week. 4 days on the bike this week and it is starting to get to me. My legs, knees, back, and bottom are a all bit sore, but honestly I feel pretty good. On Wednesday, I actually took my regular bike. I knew that I was able to hitch a ride home with my wife who had a ortho appt in town for my kids. The ride to work isn't too bad and I would honestly take my regular bike more often if I didn't have to pedal home. The way home is a pain and the e-bike really comes in handy. I hadn't taken my regular bike since getting my Neo Carbon. I made it to work in a new record time for my regular bike of 47 minutes, which is only 10 minutes more than my e-bike record. In the past, I REALLY tried to break 50 minutes and could never do it, so taking the e-bike is absolutely getting me in better shape. I did notice that my legs were sore after riding my regular bike and in fact they still are, but that also might be due to the frequency in which I am bike commuting in general.

Ways a Regular Bike is BETTER
I must say that there is something special about a regular bike. The following is a list of things that make a regular bike BETTER!
Downhill Speed: -I don't know why, but I am actually able to go faster downhill on my regular bike. Go figure!
Weight-I have to carry my bike up and down a flight of stairs during my commute. WOW it was really nice carrying my regular bike instead of my e-bike, and I have one of the lightest e-bikes around. Good luck to those of you with 60+lb. beasts.
Sound-I appreciate the quietness of my regular bike. It is much more peaceful.
Feel-On my regular bike I feel more like a part of the bike. It is more responsive to pedal input, lean,...

Just my thoughts.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my e-bike. The feel, speed, and power of it are awesome. It honestly makes commuting practical and something I can do everyday. My journey home: Reg bike 80 minutes VS e-bike 48 minutes is NO contest! I just hope that the technology continues to improve so that an riding e-bike does not diminish what makes biking so special.

 

[MarcD]

Brambor - what size Tangle did you get from Revelate? I have a medium on my touring bike (Salsa Vaya 55cm), but I just bought a Turbo and am thinking about how to outfit it. I love frame bags.

I also love my Turbo. I tried the Stromer, the Dash, the Zuma, and an A2B, but I guess I am just a road bike guy and the Turbo was the closest to a road bike I could find! Have 20 miles on in on the first day. Will be my daily commuter (28 miles r/t) while I continue to ride my other bike on the weekends.

I bought a 2013 model, because they offered it with the 500 wh battery as well as the 320 wh battery. So I couldn't pass up the free battery. They also didn't have a 2014 in stock. Anyone in the Indianapolis area should check out Gray Goat Sports to ride one. I drove up from Cincinnati and was glad I did.

 

[Brambor]

I have size L and I think it is a pinch too large on a size L bike frame.

the 2013 with the larger battery is a great choice. I think the plus/minus buttons are more practical than the 2014 joystick.

 

[jwdkhan]

Congratulations Marc, great choice. One thing missing on the 2014 computer is lack of time count for a given ride. I believe the 2013 has the option to see how much time elapsed for your ride in addition to distance. I have to check my watch to keep track of ride time. I am surprised they did not include such a simple feature in the computer.

I've had my Turbo 4 weeks now and am very happy with the bike. Commute to work 4 days a week and just love the fresh air on my morning rides.

 

[MarcD]

Brambor & jw - Friday will be my first commute day on the new bike - I am traveling on business now - and can't wait. I did the commute on a borrowed Stromer and can't wait to try it on the new Turbo. I'm glad they had the 2013 because I got 2 batteries included, but that matte black of Brambor's is a sharp looking bike!

 

[Brambor]

stromer ride is more bouncy/softer
turbo is quieter, geometry slightly more aggressive

 

[Brambor]

Brambor - what size Tangle did you get from Revelate? I have a medium on my touring bike (Salsa Vaya 55cm), but I just bought a Turbo and am thinking about how to outfit it. I love frame bags.

I also love my Turbo. I tried the Stromer, the Dash, the Zuma, and an A2B, but I guess I am just a road bike guy and the Turbo was the closest to a road bike I could find! Have 20 miles on in on the first day. Will be my daily commuter (28 miles r/t) while I continue to ride my other bike on the weekends.

I bought a 2013 model, because they offered it with the 500 wh battery as well as the 320 wh battery. So I couldn't pass up the free battery. They also didn't have a 2014 in stock. Anyone in the Indianapolis area should check out Gray Goat Sports to ride one. I drove up from Cincinnati and was glad I did.

is the 2014 battery heavier than the smaller capacity 2013 battery?

 

[MarcD]

I am out I of town right now but I will weigh them when I get home and get back to you!

 

[MarcD]

I weighed both packs - each are identical physical dimensions, and both weigh 8.2 lbs.

 

[Brambor]

impressive. Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[Bike_On]

the ride back today was fun. I kept ahead or with the traffic for 4 miles while in the city. Fun. Speaking of fun...Turbo is fun. Before I started riding an ebike I thought I would mostly ride in eco mode and use turbo on some occassions but nahah'...i now really just love it in full assist. It is fun to go fast.

I also want to comment on lack of suspension...i just stand up to ease the bumps and it's fine like that but it does slow me down a little to make a safe compensation.

I find myself looking forward to the end of the work hours ...wanting to get out and ride.

Brambor-

I'm following your commute thread for the first time. It is exciting to discover the thrills and challenges of ebike commuting, and I'm enjoying reading your experience.

Want to ride in Turbo most of the time? Yeah, the power and speed is addicting. It is great to have the option to blast or chill.

Bike_on

 

[Bike_On]

This morning I turned on my camera to record a video on the way to work. It recorded for about 80% of the trip before it ran out of 'patience' Let's see if it embeds :

Brams-

I checked out your map on google maps - and see you live near Portland, ME? No wonder you are facing so much snow and ice! So at first, I thought you were hard core with newbie enthusiasm. Now I see you have no choice! lol. No, I jest, as Court said, you are an official BA commuter, my respect well earned.

Checking out your commute video... I see how the Specialized Turbo is a great fit for your distance and road conditions. With a hard tail and carbon forks, I'm sure the weathered road rumble is felt some, but you do have thse nice 2" tires. If you had hybrid or road bike tires, it would be worse, and I don't think that initial trail ride would be too enjoyable. You really needed a semi off road/road commuter and the Turbo looks to be a good fit. There are not too many ebikes that have: big tires, no 20mph limit, good disk brakes. Possible contenders : Grace, e3 dash/peak, Optibike, Stealth Fighter, with the last two offering full suspension.

What kind of top/ average speeds do you see?

Bike_on

 

[Brambor]

at first my avg speed was 18mph now I'm close to 20mph. OTOH I also think about biking on ECO instead Turbo - that would reduce my average mph. Grace MXII looks interesting to my profile. I like the design of the bike. For some reason, optically, I haven't seen a bike with suspension fork that I liked. I'm warped in that direction I guess. So the Grace MXII with carbon fork looks great to me. The only thing I would really like to test is the Bosh noise. The Turbo is really completely silent. It is amazing. They did a great job with the motor.

 

[Bike_On]

Yes, I forgot about Haibike w/ Bosch. The mid drives with reduction gearing, won't be silent. I agree that the silence of the ddhubs are nice. Removing them during a flat is not. I think the 250-500W dd hubs, if well designed, seem to meet the power/weight ratio people are looking for. To go bigger requires more bike, and weight, and the sub-50 lb bike feel gets lost quick.

I tested the Turbo in a parking lot. Never had a chance to get it up to speed, but I enjoyed it. The slick tires looked fast, but also dirt magnets. Do you need fenders?

SP did well with the Turbo. The integrated lights, solid frame, disk brakes (hydraulic I think), and a water bottle cage - big points with Court! Their motor rating (250W) must be for the Euro market, since every review says the peak power is much higher (1000W ish) and the average power must be too (500W ish) to reach 28mph speeds.

I have a dd Falco and see about 580-600W from battery and can cruise at 28-30mph and average in the 21-23mph range. But that is with 28mm tires - Specialized armidillos at that! So the average assist with the Turbo might be in the 350W range if you are doing 20mph ave.?

You should have great riding with warm weather coming.

 

[Brambor]

Could you elaborate on that you never got it up to speed? It interests me as one other review stated he could not get up to 28mph easily. Did you not have the opportunity to get it up to speed or were you just not able to get up to speed even though you tried as hard as you could.

I seem to be able to get to 28 mph easily on flats although I have to be in the fastest gear and pedal pretty fast - disclaimer I might have a relatively slower top cadence compared to real cyclists.

On the subject of flat tire. I'm with you on that. The mid drive is much more user friendly in that respect. It's the way to go into the future I think although I think they need to make a few further improvements...