I did try moving the chain to a lower gear (larger cog) but the spring tension in the derailleur kept shifting it back to the smallest cog. But I rode back very gently and the power assist made it possible.
No, that's not what caused the crash. It was ME who caused the crash! Dumb old me. A moment of inattention where I should have been paying full attention, especially at the speed I was moving. I hit the log (which was laid parallel with the trail to act as a sort of curb) with my front wheel while the bike was pointing too much towards off the trail and I couldn't stop myself from going flying when the bike stopped. Then the bike (and I) slid a bit and I think it was that sliding of the bike along the log that did the damage. I was really lucky that the ground was relatively soft and that there wasn't a big rock or tree trunk hitting my head when I fell.
Yes, Shimano Deore Shadow+. I didn't know about the lever. I came to work by car today but I'll look at the derailleur tonight when I get home. If you hadn't pointed that out I would have never known. I'm used to older derailleurs and I never had such a thing before. Thank you.
Just FWIW - While the spec'd derailleur is the Shadow+, my Explore E+ 1 came with an upgraded derailleur without clutch (sorry the exact model escapes me). The folks at the Giant shop where I bought it said that Giant will make an upgrade substitution when they have supply issues on the spec'd components. I found that surprising but since this is more of a road/gravel bike for me than an MTB, I was OK with the sub and I have been nothing but happy with the performance of that component.
Thanks for the heads up. "Upgraded"... I sure hope that really is upgraded (if not the Deore Shadow+) and not just substituted. I'll check it out tonight when I get home. But wait... I just checked the photo I posted earlier in this thread showing the shredded shift cable after my accident. The derailleur says Shimano SLX. I have no idea where that fits in the model hierarchy and if it has the clutch or not. Is this a "better" model than the Deore Shadow +?
Haven't been into mountain biking components for a while now, so what I am saying might be wrong, but deore used to be the rank below SLX, it went something like Deore -> SLX -> XT -> XTR, if it doesn't have the shadow+ (it might just be shadow without the plus aka the lever) one can make the argument it isn't an actual upgrade from a practical perspective, if it was the XT model without shadow+ instead of the SLX with shadow+ maybe it could be considered a definite upgrade since the XT had better pulleys.
Shimano Deore RD-M6000-SGS Rear Derailleur - long 10-speed - black
Shimano Parts â–¶ New DEORE M6000 has a capable wide gear ratio that delivers a smoother gear step in all riding conditions. â–¶ Model: blackwww.bike24.com
Shimano SLX RD-M670-SGS Shadow Rear Derailleur long 10-speed
Shimano SLX RD-M670-SGS Shadow Rear Derailleur long 10-speed
At least a few years ago the difference between the Deore and the SLX on the rear derailleur was weight, which didn't matter much back then, and it sure doesn't matter in a ebike, personally I would prefer a deore with shadow+ than SLX without it, but from a purely price perspective they have definitely upgraded it or at least sidegraded it.
EDITED: Oh yeah obviously if it ends up being the SLX with the shadow+ which it doesn't look to be by the photo, it would be a straight up upgrade.
Had no idea about that, thanks for the information, it is most definitely something I will look at when my bike arrives.
