Sduro hardseven SL!

[pxpaulx]

After a patient wait (and a bit of an understandable delay due to the fire at @Crazy Lenny Ebikes ), my haibike sduro sl arrived yesterday! It was just sent on Thursday, but when I saw it was at a local freight location just after lunch yesterday I immediately called knowing I'd have to pick it up.

Luckily they were open late enough I was able to go after workand grab it, but I was feeling under the weather and only got to putting it together...after doing some spring lawn work first!

Got everything setup, adjusted the brakes, swapped my spd pedals and favorite seat from my easy motion evo snow, and it was good to go.

Took it out for a short 5 mile ride, and it is perfect! The mid drive, and for me in particular the sduro, feel like an extension of my legs when I'm riding. I even feel like it pushes me to ride harder, which makes for some decent exercise (much needed).

After a back and forth I reluctantly went with the 45cm frame, at Lennys recommendation. Turns out, it is perfect. I'm 5'10 and it is perfect on clearance for me.

When I was at Lenny's last month (4 hour drive, worth it if you ever have the chance....so many ebikes in one place!) I rode an xduro and wasn't that enamored with it. My wife rode the hard life sl, liked it and we went home with it for her. I tried out her bike when we got home, and immediately regretted not getting one myself. Long story short, I ordered one a week later and in the garage it now calls!

Looking forward to many rides this season.

 

[George S.]

When they announced these sDuros last Fall, I thought they would be a real shot in the arm for the bike shop type bikes. With your sponsorship they will probably take off! It does seem like a lot of bike for the money.

It's an interesting concept, how they sell these bikes. It distills down to 'the bike will respond and seamlessly magnify your efforts'. I don't know that there is anything wrong with "I twist this little dingus and the bike does what I want, and I mostly pedal at a steady but not very athletic rate".

It's obviously an appealing way to ride, but I'm confused by people who can't get exercise (not you, in general) on a bike without a complex pedal assist.

I wish the sDuro was a killer bike that sold in the hundreds of thousands. It's what you would want in a mid-drive type bike, and a bike that works on a lot of surfaces. The price is OK. If the sDuro succeeded I could say "Look, this is what 500 watts does, and look where it can go. Now take your 1500 watt bike with a huge battery and tell me why it is better." You talk about adding a 1500 watt motor to your Rad. Maybe you can answer the question, at that point.

The thing is that there is now the Biktrix Monte Capro and the Flux Attack. It's not that hard to do what Haibike is doing with the sDuro. I mean gee, Mr. Haibike, after the Storm bike, with the writing on the wall, why didn't you get this bike out there, do some broad promotion, push the price point?

What's it to me, anymore?

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

I'm confused by people who can't get exercise (not you, in general) on a bike without a complex pedal assist.

That's because E-bikes help you stay in the aerobic respiration zone and truly provide a terrific workout. Our bodies know this... take a look at this article.
http://www.sciencemusicvideos.com/aerobic-and-anaerobic-respiration/

You should read what Haibikes are doing to people across the world.
Here is one example: http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/news/haibike-electric-bike-making-impossible/

They have a large team of dedicated engineers working on several projects. Haibike will be successful even if you and me suddenly disappear from the face of this earth.

It distills down to 'the bike will respond and seamlessly magnify your efforts'

That's where the magic lies. Human brain is wired for something called "cognitive ease". People like using iPhone because you don't need a manual to know what is what.. you just know intuitively.
Similarly, when you're using pedal assist, the sensor does all the job of sync'ing your input with the machine and that leads a seamless behavior of this human-machine combo and it is truly pleasurable.
Just pedal and bike knows what kind of watts to push through the drive train.

take your 1500 watt bike with a huge battery and tell me why it is better

A BBSHD is lot of fun but it is well beyond the limits of human power and it doesn't feel like a riding a bicycle anymore.
One of the major benefits of E-bikes is that they offer tremendous health benefits. If you take away the PAS option, the usage will go down because it is not that much anymore.
May be you can use it for commuting. But it is hard to produce this kind of smile on a throttle only bike.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1708138742743469

 

[EddieJ]

Ravi, I haven't seen that clip before. Brilliant.

pxpaulx, enjoy the new bike.

Hardtails have alot going for them.

 

[MLB]

Well said Ravi.
I think much of it boils down to whether you found biking magical BEFORE E bikes. If you did, then you love riding for riding sake. And you want that "real" bike feeling.
The Stromer I had was a wonderful bike. Fabulous commuter. But it was so strong and fast (32mph with peddling) that it didn't feel as much like a bicycle and more moped-ish almost.
My Haibike is much slower but feels like a real bike all the time. That's worth $$ to some of us. Add in the quality components that all cost extra and it's not that hard to justify the price difference if you can swing it.
My Falco equipped Catrike Expedition has a throttle and it's nice, but it's a whole different feel and ride experience.
Good torque sensor and multiple sensing imputs separate the nice bikes from the really nice bikes. JMO

 

[pxpaulx]

Well said Ravi.
I think much of it boils down to whether you found biking magical BEFORE E bikes. If you did, then you love riding for riding sake. And you want that "real" bike feeling.
The Stromer I had was a wonderful bike. Fabulous commuter. But it was so strong and fast (32mph with peddling) that it didn't feel as much like a bicycle and more moped-ish almost.
My Haibike is much slower but feels like a real bike all the time. That's worth $$ to some of us. Add in the quality components that all cost extra and it's not that hard to justify the price difference if you can swing it.
My Falco equipped Catrike Expedition has a throttle and it's nice, but it's a whole different feel and ride experience.
Good torque sensor and multiple sensing imputs separate the nice bikes from the really nice bikes. JMO

Well said! I've always been a big guy - in high school I was strong enough to overcome that! I rode fast and often, and enjoyed it very much. That was 20 years ago however, and some of that strength is gone. We've had crumby bikes for a long time, but never really used them - they just weren't enjoyable. The extra kick makes me feel 20 years younger, and pushes me harder that I would ever think on a regular bike. Finding an e-bike that feels like an extension of the work I want to put in is worth the price.

 

[George S.]

What you say, Ravi, has been the marketing strategy from Day One with this line:

The classic mountain bike for the young generation-e: the stiffness of our Hardtails
provides a classic riding experience that transmits the power of the pedals and drive
unit directly on the ground. And all this for an unbeatable price-performance ratio, which
is why the SDURO HardSeven was voted as the must have bike by our electric bike
dealers!

Why would a company say a bike is for, like, 'young generation-e'? It's older folks like me that have money, after all.

I'm still confused about what role a PAS can play. I have three bikes with a cruise control. Cruise is what you do 95% of the time. So I get a speed and a cadence and a gear and I punch the cruise control and just pedal until I have to stop. Everything stays the same. No one says I have to work harder. The harder I pedal, the less the motor does, which seems pretty nice. If I hit a hill, it applies more power. If I am going downhill, it applies less power. Now, as far as I know, this has no fancy name (ooh, torque sensing) but maybe we could think one up. Infinitely selectable power integration module (ISPIM), something like that. I know when I am getting 'enough' of a workout, and that's where I set the cruise.

Maybe my reaction is why they aren't marketing to people in their 60's. Perfectly reasonable. I'm not sure why people need 1500 watt bikes and it would tend to devalue any effort the rider made. It needs some study, in a lot of different directions. A 700 watt mid-drive is what is legal, basically, and it would do most of what an ebike is supposed to do. That actually has nothing to do with torque sensing. TS makes more sense on dirt, obviously, but on streets or bike paths?

 

[J.R.]

That's because E-bikes help you stay in the aerobic respiration zone and truly provide a terrific workout. Our bodies know this... take a look at this article.
http://www.sciencemusicvideos.com/aerobic-and-anaerobic-respiration/

You should read what Haibikes are doing to people across the world.
Here is one example: http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/news/haibike-electric-bike-making-impossible/

They have a large team of dedicated engineers working on several projects. Haibike will be successful even if you and me suddenly disappear from the face of this earth.



That's where the magic lies. Human brain is wired for something called "cognitive ease". People like using iPhone because you don't need a manual to know what is what.. you just know intuitively.
Similarly, when you're using pedal assist, the sensor does all the job of sync'ing your input with the machine and that leads a seamless behavior of this human-machine combo and it is truly pleasurable.
Just pedal and bike knows what kind of watts to push through the drive train.

A BBSHD is lot of fun but it is well beyond the limits of human power and it doesn't feel like a riding a bicycle anymore.
One of the major benefits of E-bikes is that they offer tremendous health benefits. If you take away the PAS option, the usage will go down because it is not that much anymore.
May be you can use it for commuting. But it is hard to produce this kind of smile on a throttle only bike.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1708138742743469

Just think all those newbies in the video are getting all that power and speed, "This is fast", on bikes likely with Euro spec 250 watt motors and speed limited to 15 MPH. It doesn't have to be a monster motor to get job number one done, fun! This is a great time of year to be reading these forums with all the posts from new ebike riders.

Thanks for posting that video Ravi!