SDURO Trekking 6.0- Getting to know it

R

Riding High

Member
A year ago if you would have told me that the most expensive bike I have ever purchased would be an ebike I would have laughed, but it just happened. Have been loving bike riding for almost 50 years and live in the mountains, my knees convinced me to try an ebike.

I am big and tall and my rides tend to involve lots of elevation changes and some gravel. All of that led me to the Haibike SDURO 6.0. It has two chainrings to help me with maintaining RPM while climbing and a beefy frame. I hope to try a bike tour this fall so the Trekking made sense.

Have only had three rides, none particularly long so far but here are some first impressions.

Things I like- It feels a lot like riding a bike. The Eco+ setting and off have the feel of just going for a bike ride. My daily rider is a Fuji Crosstowne 1.0 that I have a few thousand miles on and love and it has a similar feel but I like the geometry on the Fuji better. I think part of that is that I have modified the Fuji over the years for me and have not yet done that with the Haibike. I can imagine 10 miles or so on the SDURO with a dead battery.

The only other ebike that I have ridden was a MTB with Bosch system and I like the Yamaha better so far. I felt like the Bosch penalized me when I stopped pedaling too much.

Haven't had a kickstand in a long time and I like it. I have not experienced much rattling. Only a little bit on washboard with the front fender so far.

Not so great- My butt is telling me to replace the seat. Will give it more of a chance first.
I bought a taller stem from the LBS when I picked it up and will end up buying another taller one and ergon grips as I need to get the bar higher and the current grips are a little cheesy.

More as I get to know it better.
 
Riding High said:
A year ago if you would have told me that the most expensive bike I have ever purchased would be an ebike I would have laughed, but it just happened. Have been loving bike riding for almost 50 years and live in the mountains, my knees convinced me to try an ebike.

I am big and tall and my rides tend to involve lots of elevation changes and some gravel. All of that led me to the Haibike SDURO 6.0. It has two chainrings to help me with maintaining RPM while climbing and a beefy frame. I hope to try a bike tour this fall so the Trekking made sense.

Have only had three rides, none particularly long so far but here are some first impressions.

Things I like- It feels a lot like riding a bike. The Eco+ setting and off have the feel of just going for a bike ride. My daily rider is a Fuji Crosstowne 1.0 that I have a few thousand miles on and love and it has a similar feel but I like the geometry on the Fuji better. I think part of that is that I have modified the Fuji over the years for me and have not yet done that with the Haibike. I can imagine 10 miles or so on the SDURO with a dead battery.

The only other ebike that I have ridden was a MTB with Bosch system and I like the Yamaha better so far. I felt like the Bosch penalized me when I stopped pedaling too much.

Haven't had a kickstand in a long time and I like it. I have not experienced much rattling. Only a little bit on washboard with the front fender so far.

Not so great- My butt is telling me to replace the seat. Will give it more of a chance first.
I bought a taller stem from the LBS when I picked it up and will end up buying another taller one and ergon grips as I need to get the bar higher and the current grips are a little cheesy.

More as I get to know it better.
Click to expand...

Great bike, best of luck with it.
Like you, my present ride is a "hybrid" type city bike.
One of the best changes I made was switching to a "butterfly" type touring handlebar, with an adjustable stem.

I was wondering if anyone would know if such a handlebar can be used with the Haibike trekking.?????
btw: I'm anxiously awaiting delivery on my 2018 trekking .
 
I have a tall adjustable stem on my hybrid and LOVE it! A game changer. Will definitely be adding one to the SDURO once I ride enough to know what I want.
 
100 mile check in. Still no rides over 20 miles as my butt tries to learn to love the seat. So far I feel like the Michelin Protek Cross are pretty good rides. Maybe half of my miles or a little less so far have been on gravel, including some high speed downhills and they feel pretty solid. Have been fiddling with the adjustments on the front fork to try to get it right and am pretty close. I think I can get 40 miles from the battery and hope to test that this coming week.

Liking the feel of the brakes, tapping them feels like a good speed adjustment. There is a fast downhill section on my regular loop and the Haibike is about 38 mph while my Fuji is 39, pretty close.

For me, the eco+ mode doesn't really feel different than turning it off.

Probably won't make any changes for another couple hundred miles but the seat is unlikely to survive the process.
 
Had a chance to take the bike for a longer ride today. 36 miles with about 2,000' elevation. The ride ends with a 750' climb over two miles. I started full and ended at 20% with a lot of riding in eco mode, which is harder than riding me regular hybrid bike. Part of the reason for the ebike is that many rides we like end with that climb. Today in addition to the climb, there was a good headwind and I am a heavy rider. Was at 46% at the bottom of the hill.

My wife, who is normal size and weight, has a Juiced Cross Current S and had more than 50% of battery left after the ride and she used more battery assist than I. I really think that bike could go almost 100 miles on a charge in a flat area. She has the 650w 19Ahr version.
 
Fire and smoke cost me about a month of riding but I have snuck in a few rides including one that was really better suited to my 29er. The Haibike made it but it was a rough ride. Time for the break in adjustment visit to my bike shop.

Have decided not to change anything that I have been thinking about until next spring just to make sure that it is a good idea before spending more $$.

Will keep an eye out for a deal on panniers.
 
Very interesting thread, the info on adjustable stems and rised handlebars are gold to me, in my quest for the perfect fitting :)

May I ask you exactly how tall you are and which frame size did you choose? Do you happen to know your inseam too?

Thanks!
 
Ran out of battery on a ride for first time. Was 31 miles in and had climb to my house left when I was at 15%. Decided to see what would happen when I ran out so I started the incline. At 10% it started flashing and seemed to cut power. I pedaled for a while and then realized that I would not get up there on his bike without assist. Rode back down and sat in the shade for my ride on the bike rack home. I was at about 92% when I started and thought I had been pedaling hard to minimize using juice but a headwind on the last stretch finished me and battery off :)

Wife's Juiced CCS has 750 w and she is normal sized so not a problem.

My plans to use the bike for touring are looking less likely.
 
Another thing that I have come to appreciate is the low cadence start. I stopped on the side of a steep slope recently on a somewhat busy road and appreciated the ability to take off straight uphill.
 
I am planning to get a second battery and tour it a bit next spring. Will probably start out with two or three days hopping from B & B to B & B in western Colorado or Utah. I would need to go 50-60 miles a day with some climbing. I had hoping to be able to hill climb enough on this bike without power but when you deduct the 20% for the bottom end and my height/weight and climbing, it will require two 500w batteries to feel good.

My plans that I was referring to in the above post were to trek the Natchez Trace Parkway in October. I have realized that I have more work to get to know this bike and get it set up before trying a 500 mile ride without a second battery.

As noted, a second battery is a big financial investment and I need to ride the bike enough to feel like I am optimizing it use over another of my bikes before relying on it in the middle of Mississippi.

I have been slowing increasing my cadence but still in the 80's. I have used 75-85 for a long time and it will be a shift to get into the 90's for extended periods of time.
 
Another experiment that has not clicked yet is the Bodyfloat seat post. I weigh more than the maximum but others had said it still worked for them. For me, when I set it to were I do not feel a bounce, then there is very limited space for taking out the bounce and thus little benefit. Going to lose more weight by next spring and if it doesn't do more, then I will get rid of it.
 
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Re touring, I did the Erie Canal across NY last fall on my Trek with a Bosch Powerpack 400 - not even a 500. While I would not recommend it without a second battery, I’m certainly glad I went. Libraries, some town parks, convenience stores and, along the Erie Canal at least, dockside power points... there was always someplace to pick up a few miles. Still, it added a lot of range anxiety to the trip, that’s for sure! It also added a good hour or more to any day in charging time. On the other hand, I had a lot of nice conversations with people while charging that I would have missed otherwise.

These days I always carry a charger in the panniers if I’m going any more than 30 miles with any hills or softer surfaces, but I haven’t had to buy that second battery yet. I will buy one before the next multi day trip, a 500 for sure.

One of my favorite rides is just under 40 miles out and back with a nice riverfront park right at the halfway point. Though I could make it on a charge if I stay in Eco most of the way, I always bring a Kindle and just hang around for a half hour in that park picking up some electrons before the ride back. Very pleasant.

Definately more touring in my future with this bike though, no question about it.
 
First issue (minor) very slow leak in tube valve, which was hard to diagnose. New tube on rear, trying Sunlite Thorn resistant for a heavier duty tube. We will see.
Over 400 miles now but still learning.
 
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