Hi folks,
New ebike owner. Have some older road bikes (Merlin Ti, Serotta CSI, Calfee Tetra Pro) which I usually have picked up from previous owners. This is my first new bike purchase since a hardtail Rockhopper eons ago. I find in the Bay Area that lots of wealthy cyclists treat bikes like laptops: disposable after 2-3 years, but I was not going to wait that long for an ebike (maybe for a 2nd one). Anyway, we moved up into the hilly part of SF so I haven't been riding much during COVID except on my indoor trainer.
Figured I try to get an ebike for the hills around here which my wife (who is also short) could also ride when I take my road bike out to Napa or Marin so we were only looking for a step-through. Basically nothing to test ride here in SF in a small size except some 2019 Bulls Cross Mover. Without a test ride in the hills, I just figured to take best motor for the steeps. Thought the Cube looked nice and basically priced out to a comparable Trek. Specialized is a 4 month wait for the Vado at a minimum. My wife looked at the Liv Amiti but the nearest one is in Idaho. No Cube dealers close to SF except one down in Santa Cruz and they're totally out but managed to find this one up in Oregon and they shipped it pre-built. Another well-known shop had the next two XS Easy Entry reserved in the spring with one possibly available in August. No Hybrid Pros anywhere.
Thoughts so far: lots of fun but hills can still be a great workout. Riding up to my house from our little downtown which is a constant uphill there's a 3 block 10% grade section, a one block at 12% grade followed by another 10% grade, or I can ride a long 3-8% grade with lots of stop signs. Tried a few 15-17% grades with ease. Maybe 85 Nm is overkill but it's better to have it than not. I'm usually getting home with a decent heart rate going.
This is also my first bike with hydraulic brakes which is a bonus. Think I would have preferred the blue verson with red accents but the lighting is pretty good and I pulled out that bright orange Nishiki bag from the 70s. Wish my Carradice Barley would fit but we're seated low in relation to the rack.
Here's a pic, the bike is shadowed so that the city is clear
.
Happy Riding!
New ebike owner. Have some older road bikes (Merlin Ti, Serotta CSI, Calfee Tetra Pro) which I usually have picked up from previous owners. This is my first new bike purchase since a hardtail Rockhopper eons ago. I find in the Bay Area that lots of wealthy cyclists treat bikes like laptops: disposable after 2-3 years, but I was not going to wait that long for an ebike (maybe for a 2nd one). Anyway, we moved up into the hilly part of SF so I haven't been riding much during COVID except on my indoor trainer.
Figured I try to get an ebike for the hills around here which my wife (who is also short) could also ride when I take my road bike out to Napa or Marin so we were only looking for a step-through. Basically nothing to test ride here in SF in a small size except some 2019 Bulls Cross Mover. Without a test ride in the hills, I just figured to take best motor for the steeps. Thought the Cube looked nice and basically priced out to a comparable Trek. Specialized is a 4 month wait for the Vado at a minimum. My wife looked at the Liv Amiti but the nearest one is in Idaho. No Cube dealers close to SF except one down in Santa Cruz and they're totally out but managed to find this one up in Oregon and they shipped it pre-built. Another well-known shop had the next two XS Easy Entry reserved in the spring with one possibly available in August. No Hybrid Pros anywhere.
Thoughts so far: lots of fun but hills can still be a great workout. Riding up to my house from our little downtown which is a constant uphill there's a 3 block 10% grade section, a one block at 12% grade followed by another 10% grade, or I can ride a long 3-8% grade with lots of stop signs. Tried a few 15-17% grades with ease. Maybe 85 Nm is overkill but it's better to have it than not. I'm usually getting home with a decent heart rate going.
This is also my first bike with hydraulic brakes which is a bonus. Think I would have preferred the blue verson with red accents but the lighting is pretty good and I pulled out that bright orange Nishiki bag from the 70s. Wish my Carradice Barley would fit but we're seated low in relation to the rack.
Here's a pic, the bike is shadowed so that the city is clear
.Happy Riding!
