Cycling the Pyrenees on a high-end eBike

[OzGreg]

I recently completed a trip to cycle some of the Cols of the Pyrenees using a hired eBike.
The bike I used is a Wilier Cento1 Hybrid which is very similar to the Orbea Gain M20 and the Bianchi Aria e-road.
These are carbon road bikes all weighing around 12kg.

Its a fairly long review of the bike and the hiring experience so I am pasting this link to my article (I hope this is allowed).

https://1drv.ms/b/s!Aqp8RIWlkDJjgZAyqdlyAmls41BgCA

 

[Jaxx]

I recently completed a trip to cycle some of the Cols of the Pyrenees using a hired eBike.
The bike I used is a Wilier Cento1 Hybrid which is very similar to the Orbea Gain M20 and the Bianchi Aria e-road.
These are carbon road bikes all weighing around 12kg.

Its a fairly long review of the bike and the hiring experience so I am pasting this link to my article (I hope this is allowed).

https://1drv.ms/b/s!Aqp8RIWlkDJjgZAyqdlyAmls41BgCA

Excellent report Oz, made good reading. As a Orbea Gain M20i owner, I can confirm your findings. I also have fitted Mavic Cosmic wheels, these make descending even more fun.

 

[OzGreg]

Excellent report Oz, made good reading. As a Orbea Gain M20i owner, I can confirm your findings. I also have fitted Mavic Cosmic wheels, these make descending even more fun.

Hi Jaxx, I liked the ebikemotion setup so much, I considered coming over to the USA to purchase an M20i so I could have the 20mph boost limit. I have read that if I do that and connect the app back in Australia it will detect the country change and set the boost limit back to 25kph . Did you purchase the Mavic Cosmic rims and have them laced onto the existing hubs?

 

[Jaxx]

Hi Jaxx, I liked the ebikemotion setup so much, I considered coming over to the USA to purchase an M20i so I could have the 20mph boost limit. I have read that if I do that and connect the app back in Australia it will detect the country change and set the boost limit back to 25kph . Did you purchase the Mavic Cosmic rims and have them laced onto the existing hubs?

No, on the webpage Myo, you can bespoke certain features of your order. I went for slightly different paint scheme, wider bars, longer stem and different cassette and tyre options. Even had my name on the frame at no extra cost. The Mavics, are an optional upgrade. Believe they cost around an extra £700.

 

[Ebiker01]

Nicely written and very engaging review . I need to ride those mountains after reading it.
As a fan of e road bikes, i can add some of my knowledge of 2 great offerings: here in US they have the 28mph delimited Trek Domane e+. It’s a beautifully mAde toy and it will get even better for 2020 with the introduction of the newer , lighter Bosch. It has a 500wh battery.
Also Bmc E ROAD AMP LTD is a newer choice, i am not sure if it is delimted to 28mph. 500wh bat.
I would choose either one.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Terrific review and trip, thanks!

 

[Captain Slow]

Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed reading the write up.

I live in Canada and most bikes here are limited to 32 km/hr. not 25 km/hr. though there are 25 km/hr. bikes it is fairly easy to buy a 32 km/hr. bike. What we can't get are the 45 km/hr. bikes like the Domane+ or the SuperCommuter 8+. This is frustrating because in my Province (BC) I've looked up the motor vehicle act and Class 3 (45 km/hr) bikes are legal.

 

[vincent]

Great write up and sounds like an awesome trip! thank you for taking the time

 

[Mulezen]

Very interesting...far beyond my skill level...but you don’t have to go to the moon to appreciate the ride

 

[ChezCheese:)]

Terrific report, and timely, because we are going to precisely that area of the French Pyrenees in about 3 weeks. We'll be staying in Bagnères-de-luchon for several days, but we will be driving. After that we will be heading towards Carcassonne and are planning to rent ebikes, even though we won't be doing such a punishing route as the high mountains you just did. How was Bagnères-de-luchon?

 

[OzGreg]

Terrific report, and timely, because we are going to precisely that area of the French Pyrenees in about 3 weeks. We'll be staying in Bagnères-de-luchon for several days, but we will be driving. After that we will be heading towards Carcassonne and are planning to rent ebikes, even though we won't be doing such a punishing route as the high mountains you just did. How was Bagnères-de-luchon?

Bagnères is a fantastic place. Ski centre in winter, bike centre in summer and spa town all year round. Plenty of cafes and restaurants, a couple of supermarkets and lots of ride options. One of my favourite places.

 

[OzGreg]

I've just ordered a Specialized Turbo Creo SL Expert for delivery in November 2019 and I'll post some real world reviews of that bike when it arrives.

 

[Deacon Blues]

I've just ordered a Specialized Turbo Creo SL Expert for delivery in November 2020 and I'll post some real world reviews of that bike when it arrives.

I'm looking at a the same bike, but the gravel version (Expert EVO).
The bike is very expensive in Canada ($10,100) and I still love riding my 2018 Giant Defy Advance Pro 0, but that bike looks to cover all the bases for me.
Mind you, I'll need to sell my Defy, my 2016 Specialized Diverge, and my Pedego Ridgerider e-mountain bike to justify buying this bike.

When you get your Creo you must write a review. I trust an owner's review over any other reviews on the internet.
I'm jealous!

 

[OzGreg]

Ha Ha, I'll have to sell my dog and my children, as well as my Specialized Roubaix to finance the Creo, but after riding the Wilier there were enough issues to make me look for something better. The main ones being: lack of dealer support in Australia for any of the ebikemotion powered bikes, poor support generally (eg the app was terrible and the bottle battery was still vapourware a year after its announcement), the noticeable (but not onerous) drag above 25km/hr and the issues with changing the back wheel if I want to use gravel tires. I was fortunate enough to have an extended test ride of the Creo in varying conditions before I ordered it and I found it ticked all the boxes and I couldn't fault it in (almost) any way. The only thing that made me a bit unhappy is they chose to use yet another thru axle axle/hub standard (110x12 Boost front and 148x12 Boost rear) so my existing thru axle disk brake gravel wheels that are set up for my 2017 Trek Domane SLR7 can't be used on the Creo. You will have the same issue if you want to put a set of existing road wheels on the EVO.

Interestingly the official Specialized list price for the Creo in various countries is £7,499, €9,000, $USD9,000, $CAD9,999 and $AUD12,000 which makes Canada the cheapest and Australia second cheapest places to buy one. No word yet on the arrival of mine. In 2020 I'll be taking it on a tour of Scotland, parts of Germany, Austria and Italy and finally Slovenia so I should be able to give it a fair test and review under a wide range of conditions.

 

[RichGoo]

In 2020 I'll be taking it on a tour of Scotland, parts of Germany, Austria and Italy and finally Slovenia so I should be able to give it a fair test and review under a wide range of conditions.

Hi Greg,
I look forward to hearing how you get on with this amazing bike. From what I remember, the battery isn't readily removable. As you want to take it all over Europe and the UK (presumably via Australia?) you'll have issues transporting the bike in planes with the battery installed. Are you planning on removing/reinstalling it yourself, as and when required? One thought I had was for trips abroad to do away with the internal battery altogether and just go with a couple of external batteries that can be switched over as required. I'll be interested in hearing what you have in mind.

 

[OzGreg]

Hi Greg,
I look forward to hearing how you get on with this amazing bike. From what I remember, the battery isn't readily removable. As you want to take it all over Europe and the UK (presumably via Australia?) you'll have issues transporting the bike in planes with the battery installed. Are you planning on removing/reinstalling it yourself, as and when required? One thought I had was for trips abroad to do away with the internal battery altogether and just go with a couple of external batteries that can be switched over as required. I'll be interested in hearing what you have in mind.

I have already researched the transport issues pretty thoroughly. The internal battery is easily removable, but it does require the motor to be removed. This is a fairly easy (10 minute) job (if you are reasonably competent on the tools). I am currently trying to find out if my internal battery can be shipped to Europe and the cost. The carrier required a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the battery and Specialized produced the MSDS for the internal and external batteries immediately upon request. BTW I just picked up my Creo today and of course its raining all day in Melbourne. First ride tomorrow I hope.

 

[OzGreg]

Hi Greg,
One thought I had was for trips abroad to do away with the internal battery altogether and just go with a couple of external batteries that can be switched over as required. I'll be interested in hearing what you have in mind.

My original idea was to take two external batteries as the Creo can be run on just the external battery (internal battery removed) but when I found it is relatively easy to remove and replace the internal battery I started looking at removing the internal battery and having it shipped to Europe ahead of my trip. I'll let you know how I go with this. BTW I also bought the Y cable with the bike so that I can charge both batteries at once. This would be important when travelling to ensure I don't have to get up in the middle of the night and change the charger from the internal battery to the external battery. Both batteries are charging now on the Y cable - I like how the mission control app shows the total charge available (see attached photo)

 

[RichGoo]

Hi Greg,

You were thinking exactly the same as me then (two external batteries instead), but it's good to hear that the internal battery can be removed relatively easily, and also that there is a Y cable charger (I had no idea!). Look forward to hearing how you get on.

 

[OzGreg]

First ride on the Creo earlier this week. I was very pleased when I turned on my Garmin 1030 and it immediately recognized the bike and set up a new (eBike) profile with metrics like Power, Cadence and Speed and bike battery level visible. I didn't have to do anything except shuffle some of the positions around. The battery level displayed is the sum of the internal and external (range extender) battery when the external battery is plugged in which made it very easy to keep track of total battery level. The Creo was set with the default setting where the internal and external battery discharge together.
I rode 150km with a couple of climbs in the middle. Total VM is 1700m (sorry for the metric measurements)

The ride was started with the internal battery and the range extender fully charged. For the first relatively flat part of the ride I used the Eco setting at 15% Support/25% Peak. After 75km the combined battery was showing an amazing 92%. For both climbs I used Sport at 50%/60% which used up some more battery but I was still over 50% when I commenced the ride back home at about 110km. It was getting late and I was a bit weary so I left it in the sport setting all the way home. At the finish of the 150km ride battery was 28%. Remember this is the combined internal and external battery so if I had just been on the internal battery I would not have reached 150km. I did not use turbo (100%/100%) at any time.

Much of the ride was on poor quality bike paths and the Creo felt smooth and comfortable. I was a little worried about the large jumps in gear ratio on the 11 x 1 Shimano Ultegra Di2 gearing but this was not an issue at any time as the power assist compensates for the large change in cadence. The first climb was an average 5% and the second climb was average 9%. I did not have to use the lowest gear (46-42) or turbo level assist on the climbs but I did find the top speed was limited on the descents by the 46-11 top gear. All in all I'm very happy with the bike after the first ride. Its smooth, the futureshock 2 works well at ironing out bumps. The handling on fast descents is safe and predictable. Brakes are great, gear change on the 11 x 1 is very smooth and precise. I definitely noticed the weight when lifting the bike over gutters or manoeuvring in tight spaces but once moving the weight isn't a problem at all. The transition from power to no power at about 27km/hr is imperceptible, I just noticed the hum of the motor would stop.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

First ride on the Creo earlier this week. I was very pleased when I turned on my Garmin 1030 and it immediately recognized the bike and set up a new (eBike) profile with metrics like Power, Cadence and Speed and bike battery level visible. I didn't have to do anything except shuffle some of the positions around. The battery level displayed is the sum of the internal and external (range extender) battery when the external battery is plugged in which made it very easy to keep track of total battery level. The Creo was set with the default setting where the internal and external battery discharge together.
I rode 150km with a couple of climbs in the middle. Total VM is 1700m (sorry for the metric measurements)

The ride was started with the internal battery and the range extender fully charged. For the first relatively flat part of the ride I used the Eco setting at 15% Support/25% Peak. After 75km the combined battery was showing an amazing 92%. For both climbs I used Sport at 50%/60% which used up some more battery but I was still over 50% when I commenced the ride back home at about 110km. It was getting late and I was a bit weary so I left it in the sport setting all the way home. At the finish of the 150km ride battery was 28%. Remember this is the combined internal and external battery so if I had just been on the internal battery I would not have reached 150km. I did not use turbo (100%/100%) at any time.

Much of the ride was on poor quality bike paths and the Creo felt smooth and comfortable. I was a little worried about the large jumps in gear ratio on the 11 x 1 Shimano Ultegra Di2 gearing but this was not an issue at any time as the power assist compensates for the large change in cadence. The first climb was an average 5% and the second climb was average 9%. I did not have to use the lowest gear (46-42) or turbo level assist on the climbs but I did find the top speed was limited on the descents by the 46-11 top gear. All in all I'm very happy with the bike after the first ride. Its smooth, the futureshock 2 works well at ironing out bumps. The handling on fast descents is safe and predictable. Brakes are great, gear change on the 11 x 1 is very smooth and precise. I definitely noticed the weight when lifting the bike over gutters or manoeuvring in tight spaces but once moving the weight isn't a problem at all. The transition from power to no power at about 27km/hr is imperceptible, I just noticed the hum of the motor would stop.

Fascinating!
Thanks for sharing your experience of this amazing road bike.
Please do share some pictures when you can...