Introductory post from 82 year old Maine rider.

[ReedM]

Hello all. Due to a bunch of medical problems, my biking speed was reduced by about 3-4 mph. T=7 will do that. I rode a Bike Coalition of Maine ride in Machias in early September. It was very windy. I had to pedal down the hills! First day was 35 miles. I did it and survived. Second day was 62 miles. I made it 25 miles to the first checkpoint, said this is not fun, and loaded my bike onto the car that my wife had brought by. Finished the day hiking. The one thing I noticed was that the ebike riders were all smiling, where-as most of the pedal bike riders were not. Since that ride was all on roads, class 3 bikes were allowed. I made up my mind to get an ebike. My road bike is a 2012 Specialized Roubaix. I had previously bough Specialized Crosstrail for MUPs and off road riding.
I decided what I needed was an again electric Crosstrail. For a couple of years, I had been watching Specialized's line of ebikes, and not seeing anything I felt appropriate. I did not want a full up mountain bike. I am too old and fragile for that. I looked again in November and saw the Turbo Tero. It looked perfect for my needs. I was able to locat a size large at a nearby bike shop. Went over and took a test ride and was convinced. I had the bike shop, Sidecountry Sports, in Rockland put on a kickstand and a couple of water bottle holders. Put the bike on my 1UP-USA rack and drove home
I installed a Topeak 29er rack, a headlight and a taillight, my GPS mount, a mount for my cellphone, and my Selle SMP PLUS seat. Two things of interest regarding rack installation - the mounting holes down by the rear axle were 6mm not the 5mm as supplied with the rack. Had to drill out the rack mounting holes and make a trip to the hardware store for a couple of 6mmx25mm Allen head bolts and a couple of 6mm washers. The other point of interest is that the Tero really has no mounting location for the front of the rack. I had to get a rack lock seat collar assembly. The on I got was the 35.4mm size from Salsa. It has 2 5mm tapped holes to which the rack mounted perfectly.
Installing the new seat collar was a bit of a challenge, since the Tero comes with an internal cable actuated dropper post. I was able to loosen everything, including the dropper post actuator enough, slide them along the handle bar and create enough slack so that I could slide the existing Specialized seat collar off over the cable and slide the new Salsa clamp on over the cable. Everything went back together just fine.
So now, when we get some warm weather, I am ready to go riding.

 

[tomjasz]

Stellar first post thank you and welcome!

 

[retiredNH]

Welcome aboard! I'm in the first state west of you, waiting for spring. We're very hilly around here, and the non-numbered roads are either covered in sand (the paved ones) or dirt covered in slush and ice. So no riding right now. You're right, ebikes are a game changer for those of us in our senior years. Riding should be fun, not a struggle, and ebikes bring back the fun.

 

[Art Deco]

Congratulations and Welcome to EBR ... you will find others of your age peers here. But very few with a new Tero (so far, anyway). It looks like a fun bike for when the weather breaks.

 

[Catalyzt]

Welcome! A lot of us have health issues of one sort or another, and are still getting out on some very cool terrain. My only regret is not getting into the sport sooner, but the technology wasn't quite there yet. I get what you're saying about not wanting a full-on eMTB, and for me at 64, there's not much difference in comfort being fully locked out for the rear shock (though even locked out, the rear shock has a much softer ride than my cheap-o suspension seatpost on my other bike). I do appreciate the additional traction from the rear suspension when I'm on intermediate/advanced trails, though that's not as often as I'd like!

I bet you're going to love the Tero-- and probably, like so many of us, you'll find yourself doing a lot more with it than you thought! I've found some wonderful-- and mostly deserted-- spots within 4 or 5 miles of my house-- that I'd never have explored otherwise!

 

[Nomad]

Did you u say u were 28 oh wait that can't be true you'd be sitting around playing video games. Keep the wheels turning welcome aboard!

 

[Latitude]

Welcome and enjoy your new ride!

 

[dodgeman]

Enjoy the e bike and it’s a beautiful state you live in.