You must be quite strong or else I'm very weak. I'm not able to ride my EVO Street unpowered unless the terrain is completely flat and then only for maybe 1/2 mi to as much as 3/4 mi. It feels like a very heavy bike to me (and it is at 63 lbs with my panniers and the stuff I bring along), especially compared to my regular Specialized hybrid bike, which is 25 lbs. Now, on downhills I will turn off all PAS to save battery energy since I don't even have to pedal, but I turn it back on at the bottom as the terrain changes back to an incline, and I need it at Level 2 or Level 3 to get up to a speed of 15mph.
- What gear are you all riding in?
- What kind of terrain do you have?
My terrain is not flat, and the moment I encounter even the slightest incline, I have to use PAS or I'm crawling and struggling. Downshifting to the lowest gears has me rotating pedals but not getting much forward momentum. If the motor ever quit on me I would not be able to get myself back home by just riding the bike several miles. That's a discouraging thought, but I know it's true at my current level of ability/strength.
Well, I was used to riding a standard, non-ebike mountain bike before. And a regular 24-speed Schwinn. Nothing fancy or super-light. Probably a bit clunky, actually. But it was what I had, so I didn't notice. I'm also used to using all my gears and (without a motor) I never expected to make much speed going up-hill in my lowest gears. On a regular bike, going uphill is usually when I'd wonder if I could go faster getting off and walking it up.
But I
would make it up.
Now, with the ebike, I am not actually riding it completely unpowered, since power IS available. I do give it a little throttle on the steeper hills or the really long ones even when I'm trying to really conserve power to extend the range. (Because why not?) However, since I was used to going up-hill on my old unpowered bike, I can also do it on the ebike unpowered. (Yes, I have tried, just to see.) It's no easier than with the standard bike, but also not noticeably harder. I just shift to my lowest gears and forget all about going fast. Just concentrate on making it up the hill.
I don't actually feel like I
have to use power on moderate hills. But, of course, if I'm not trying to really conserve power I will turn on the pedal assist anyway because I did paid $3,000 for the ability to do just that.
No reason not to use it.
Of course, I'd never keep up, unpowered, with my husband on his trek racing bike. But I can easily outrun the kids with their 7-speeds. Speed isn't the point, though. The point is that if I underestimate the range on my EVO or something goes wrong with the motor or whatever and I wind up having to ride home unpowered or mostly unpowered, I can absolutely do it. I'll end up tired, of course, but I can do it. And that is quite a relief to know for me. It makes me much more confident about riding longer distances.
I know from other posts that you are fairly short, though I can't remember how short. I'm tall. Just that difference, rather than me being any fitter than you are (which I'm probably not) could make a real difference in strength. A 60 lb. bike probably seems heavier to a smaller woman than it does to someone my size and height. So, that could easily be a factor in this.
