poorplayer
Active Member
Took probably the last major trail ride of the year this afternoon. A little minor knee surgery and winter's arrival will probably shut me down on trails until spring. Today's thoughts:
- Today's stats: 14.56 miles, 10.76 average MPH, 376 elevation (1213' - 1371'). 887 calories burned (not nearly enough). Stats via Runkeeper on phone.
- About 1/3 battery left. PAS 1-2 on trail. Gear range varied from 4-7. Had to do a little experimentation to find the right relaxed combination of PAS and pedaling to go slow, sure and steady so as to enjoy the scenery. This was more difficult to do that I had imagined.
- From Prospect Station Road in Portland NY to Mayville NY and back via the Chautauqua Rails to Trails. Surface a mix of charcoal, hard-pack dirt, soft field grass, pavement.
- The bike handled the trail in great fashion! It felt stable and rugged. I have so far made only one change to the stock bike, and that was to put a Cloud 9 seat I had on an old Electra Townie on to the XP. I need to adjust that seat forward a little, as I did find myself scooting back on the seat constantly.
- I rode with the handlebars up as high as possible, and I tried to keep the seat a little high as well. But after this ride I think I am going to lower the seat more and sacrifice leg extension for less pressure on the wrists and hands. Even with gloves my hands began to tingle at time, due I think to too much pressure leaning over the handlebar grips.
- The ride overall was rough, and I bounced around quite a bit. A suspension seatpost is clearly in the future, as well as a wider saddle and a toprack bag (the free panniers sort of suck, but for now are serviceable). I miss a front suspension fork. Air pressure on the tires was 25 PSI. Perhaps I should lower that as well on trails. At one point I abandoned the trail to ride on pavement for a bit and give the old bones a break. My hope is that XPv2 will have a front suspension fork.
- One thing I did not expect to experience - I did not like the speed of the bike as it passed along the trail. I walk/hike as well, and I'll be damned if I did not find that traveling through the scenery and the woods at the pace of an XP was not as aesthetically enjoyable as walking. When I am walking, it is so easy to take in the scenery around you and reach a nice, relaxed, contemplative feeling. Not so on an ebike. I had to pay far too much attention to the actual act of riding. I laid the bike down only once, trying to get through a large puddle, and my phone got jarred out of its holder once as well (which I did not notice until about 300 yards down the trail). Navigating the ruts and bumps takes far more attention than walking. While I can travel further and see more scenery, the experience overall is not as pleasing. Paved bike trail mitigated this somewhat.
- I'm not usually one to document my rides or much else in my life, but I did stop to take some photos for you all, as so many people have been so kind in sharing information as we all have been getting these new bikes. My overall impression of the bike itself is still quite positive, but at this point I am pretty sure its use will be relegated to RV travelling and trail riding. My Surface 604 will continue to be my "daily driver," as it has a smoother ride overall (love that torque sensor and hydraulic brakes!). I'm an $899 guy, and the value this bike has for my intended purposes is hard to beat. If only it had a suspension fork (sigh). The large lake is Chautauqua Lake. Behind the bike along the shoreline across the lake is Chautauqua Institution as well as the paddleboat the Chautauqua Belle.
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