Specialized Turbo Tero Demo Ride
I'm exhausted. Too cold & windy cycling day, too long a distance ridden on two e-bikes with three distinctive ride segments. And I don't want to make a review of the Tero here, so let me be curt.
I set off for a Vado SL ride at 7:12 am, to reach Specialized Warsaw at 9:05. Strong tailwind let me reach my destination effortlessly and with very low battery consumption. Yet, I re-charged my batteries at the store, as I was painfully aware my ride back would be against dramatic headwind... Besides, I didn't need to bring my charger and Y-cable to Specialized: they would have immediately helped me with their own gear.
I liked the technician (who was the only person present at the store at 9:00). He let me put my SL inside the store, then approached my e-bike with a measuring tape. "It's 72 centimetres" - I remarked helpfully (he was about to measure my saddle height). "Are you returning the bike on Monday?" -- he demanded -- "No, returning it by 14:00 hours" -- "Ah, good. I was asking because I would need to handover the charger to you". It was all quick: the Tero's battery was fully charged, wheels inflated; as a verified customer I just got a one-page chit to sign. "The bike is not insured. Please do not make damage to it, don't let it be stolen or lost, OK?"
Still in the lobby, I connected Mission Control to the Tero, and guessed how to operate the e-bike's electronics (the MasterMind system is quite intuitive; I only could not guess how to reset the daily trip meter -- it's the "-" button long press). With Mission Control -> Smart Control I instructed Tero to be able to ride for 50 kilometres with 150 m of elevation gain with 10% battery left as spare at the end of the ride, and rode I off, choosing mostly off-road terrain.
The MasterMind TCD (new display) is certainly interesting. You get a lot of information in its five data pages. The current assistance level is indicated by the theme colour (Smart Control is indicated by pink). The indicator below the speedometer is the cadence meter. Once you pedal over 70 rpm, the bar becomes green (may many cyclists finally learn what cadence means and what the gears are for!) You can adjust the assistance (tune the motor) as you ride. And there are two dedicated buttons on the remote, marked F1 and F2 now. All very practical.
Specialized Turbo Tero ST 3.0. The e-bike in its habitat. Tero just loves to be ridden off-road, and gladly accepts the fact some people need to ride from the city to the trail 
Shortly: there was no surface Tero could not ride through, including shallow sand. It was not as hopeless as e-MTBs typically are while on the pavement.
I Got Lost In The Forest
I actually hate what lumberjacks do to the forest. They damage fire-roads and paths. They litter the forest with tree-branches and twigs. As I had the bad luck to ride into a deforestation area, I could not ride, had to walk Tero (it liked being walked!), carry it over obstacles (Tero 3.0 seemed to be surprisingly lightweight, with the centre of mass forward -- because of the heavy Suntour fork). I lost a lot of time in the forest and -- afraid I might not be back at Specialized on time -- I shortened my trip. I just rode straight to Zimne Doły (Cold Pits).
An Exhilarating Police Story
As I reached Cold Pits, I could see a police exhibition stand, and several men and women in blue around. Intrigued, I approached them and asked what they were doing there:
-- "We're here with an educational action for Boy/Girl Scouts. We could demonstrate it to you but will you remove your helmet, goggles and glasses?"
-- "Well, my e-bike (which is actually not mine) has no kickstand, and I don't know how to support it safely not to damage it"
-- "Not yours?!" -- "A rental one"
To which, their Captain asked me with the utmost interest: -- "Is it an e-bike?!" -- "Yes, it is" -- "I apologize for my insolence but would you let me ride it? I've never ridden an e-bike!" -- "Please, do!"
Meanwhile, a policewoman handed one of
their goggles to me. I wore
their goggles and was asked to walk along a row of bollards. The vision was the most strange to me! I was stumbling over the bollards, and felt erratic very much.
-- "Now you see. These goggles simulate how you behave after taking LSD..." -- "Oh. I wouldn't take LSD in my life after what I have seen! Do you have some alcohol goggles?" -- "We have no alcohol (hur, hur, hur) but yes, please try these alcohol simulating ones!"
The action was to show Scouts how fatal driving under the influence would be.
Meanwhile, yet another policeman was riding the Tero!
-- "Sir, I am totally impressed with the e-bike! The best thing I rode in my life!" -- the Captain remarked -- "I am an avid cyclist myself but I can feel the burden of my age, and seem to need an e-bike! Tell me..." And I told him a lot
And no single picture taken! (That's me).
A surreal villa on my return way to Specialized.
A Specialized Turbo Levo Expert. (Another customer has just returned it after his demo ride). I could not show it in the picture but that e-bike is a monster. It is 'far too much of a bike'. Of course, advanced MTBers riding technical singletrack need such a heavy tank but the rest of us is rather intimidated with the premium full suspension (off-road only) e-bike. That's precisely why Tero has been met with such great interest: it's "the e-MTB for the rest of us". (Note: Kenevo -- an Enduro e-bike -- is beyond any belief).
If I needed a Tero, that would be the version 5.0 (but Step-Through if such a combination exists). Not that the 3.0 is to be thrown under the bus, no. My expectations are simply set by the Giant Trance E+ 2 Pro I used to own. The yellow one is Levo SL: How lightweight it appears compared to both Levo and Tero!
I was very hungry, so I visited a nearby outdoor bar under the name META (Finish Line). And I ate a full lunch there!
Despite of adequate clothes, I was cold. Tried to warm up my body with the bonfire.
Isn't Poland a cycling nation? So many bikes on such a cold day!
My Saturday's trip. I still am cold! Or, at least feel so!
(Note: Google Drive -> My Maps let you combine multiple maps into one).
Post!
three years ago and no relapses since I started ebiking. Today I was having anxiety issues and riding alleviated it.
