This was “mine”. But just for a few hours. If you see what I mean.
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Flyer C8.1
Panasonic Mid-drive 36V/250W
648 Wh Battery
Shimano Nexus 8 speed.
Max load: 149 kilos (329 pounds).
This is the worker-bee of e-bikes in Switzerland. You see them everywhere. I rented this particular one.
I’m starting to understand why so many people like these bikes. When you hop on the saddle everything about the bike's operation is instantly obvious. To change speeds, you twist the right handle forwards or backwards via a "grip shift” type mechanism. The computer display is also very easy to understand. It has an assist button that cycles through 4 modes: eco, standard, high, and no assist. There is a “mode” button which toggles through stats such as daily distance covered, odometer, battery remaining, projected kms remaining.
I have used Flyer bikes quite a bit, but this one was brand new and comes from the 2016 catalogue. Some of the older Flyer models I had rented in the past have sometimes felt clunky and unrefined. But this was a somewhat different experience. As soon as I started riding the bike two things immediately struck me. The first is that, for a mid-drive, the power delivery is almost instantaneous. A mere caress on the pedals and the power kicks in. The second is how smooth and refined the drive feels. For those who hate the sound of mid-drives, this one barely makes a whisper. If I had been blindfolded, I would have sworn that it was using a belt drive. Perhaps it’s because the bike was brand new and had been factory tuned...
As I progressed along my ride, I toggled through the various assist levels. When I selected the highest level of assist I was reminded of everything that annoys me about EU laws. The higher your level of assistance, the quicker your speed reaches 25 km/h - at which point the assist cuts off. Due to this, I felt more comfortable using eco mode with a lower gear in order to maintain a constant speed of around 24 km/h. I only used the highest levels of assist for hills or in heavy traffic. As is the case on mid-drives, you need to be in the right gear in order to get the full benefit of the electric assistance. The constant shifting of gears really annoyed me as I’m more used to hub type drives. The grip shifts can get tiring to use after a while and I felt that the Shimano Nexus lacked precision. On the other hand, one thing I loved about this bike is that the chain is almost fully enclosed. You could ride to work in a three piece suit and probably wouldn’t get dirty. I also enjoyed the relaxed geometry which places the rider in an upright position. This allows you to concentrate on the traffic ahead with out straining your neck and back. I was pleasantly surprised with the Magura hydraulic rim brakes. They were progressive but offered all the necessary stopping power when needed.
The bike was not fully charged when I rented it, so it’s difficult to accurately assess range. I covered 40 kilometers using up about 42% of the battery. The terrain was fairly flat with a total vertical ascent of about 600 feet. Most of my little tour was in ECO mode, but I used Standard mode and High mode for about 10 kilometers. Based on that, I would estimate the range at about 100 kilometers (62 miles) in ECO mode for a travel weight of about 220 pounds (I weigh about 205 and had a backpack with some “luggage”).