It’s brilliant. I do have to work. I get out of breath on steep climbs but rarely have to stop and as this is primarily for exercise that’s a good thing.
The Ride - It is stiff, but I’m used to it now. Weight - I know the SL is light for an e bike but unassisted it can feel heavy. I'm getting used to it/don’t notice much anymore. On flat or downhill I mostly have the motor off - or rather, on the setting for no-assist. But I don't torture myself, if it becomes work I just turn on eco and that feels great.
The bars are a bit straight & low for my liking, but I’ve acclimatised - I decided to make no major changes to the bike for a few months and I am getting used to the more aggressive riding position so I’ll see over time. Same goes for the pedals; they're flat sandpaper-type ones and usually they’d be the first thing I’d change but actually I’m getting on well with them, surprisingly grippy even in the wet.
Saddle - Jury is out. I’m suffering and it feels narrow, but that’s also my arse getting used to the milage! Plus the damn rear light is wired through the saddle so not so easy to swap out. I’ll give it another month of riding and see how I feel.
Grips - a revelation. I’ve never had these ergonomic type touring grips before and the pads come in brilliantly when descending providing a really stable platform for my hands when standing on pedals or leaning on bars, feel really safe on the rough potholed lanes here. Love them.
The brakes are brilliant. Just solid. Loads of braking on the steep and muddy hills here and they feel so secure. Used to either mechanical discs or v brakes so the hydros feel powerful.
Tyres - fine, no they’re good actually. The pathfinder 38s. With brakes and tyres if it works I’m not too fussy. Roads are terrible this time of year covered with a layer of greasy dead leaves and mulch and yet on the steep slopes I can stop fine and feel secure on corners with the tyres.
Gears - I’ve always liked Deore. It’s just reliable and solid. However I was shocked at how loud the THUD of changing gears is with the motor. Of course I ease off completely but it’s still a heavy gear change, shows immediately the extra strain the motor puts on the drive train. I’ve already degreased and completely cleaned the chain and will keep doing this regularly. Got some expensive e bike specific lube as well. It’s the future date of replacing the rear block has me concerned as that looks the expensive part of the train.
One BIG change I made today!! I replaced the 44T Praxis chainring with a Race Face 38T - it’s an experiment. On the steepest hills (gradient 20%) I struggle in lowest gear and can feel it in my knees, plus the motor is not at it’s best because I can’t get into a faster cadence. So I’m going to see if the 38T helps me spin more. At the other extreme I’m not overly concerned with 11 - 38 not being enough on the flats, because I just don’t have enough flat wide roads here where I can bomb along in the 11. As I get fitter and my rides get longer I may switch back to the 44T, lets see how it goes.
What else? I used my own mudguards off another bike, SKS Speedrockers - not as pretty but they work v well. I had to gerryrig the rear rack, used an existing narrow Tortec pannier rack i had but found a very clever Salsa seat clamp type mount to attach the rack, which works great. I love the lights always on, especially in this winter, it’s really reassuring.
And one other thing, in winter and on the mostly potholed lanes I ride, it feels robust, solid. The boost hubs and quality components feel tight and nothing rattles. Yeah, it’s a great bike.
The Ride - It is stiff, but I’m used to it now. Weight - I know the SL is light for an e bike but unassisted it can feel heavy. I'm getting used to it/don’t notice much anymore. On flat or downhill I mostly have the motor off - or rather, on the setting for no-assist. But I don't torture myself, if it becomes work I just turn on eco and that feels great.
The bars are a bit straight & low for my liking, but I’ve acclimatised - I decided to make no major changes to the bike for a few months and I am getting used to the more aggressive riding position so I’ll see over time. Same goes for the pedals; they're flat sandpaper-type ones and usually they’d be the first thing I’d change but actually I’m getting on well with them, surprisingly grippy even in the wet.
Saddle - Jury is out. I’m suffering and it feels narrow, but that’s also my arse getting used to the milage! Plus the damn rear light is wired through the saddle so not so easy to swap out. I’ll give it another month of riding and see how I feel.
Grips - a revelation. I’ve never had these ergonomic type touring grips before and the pads come in brilliantly when descending providing a really stable platform for my hands when standing on pedals or leaning on bars, feel really safe on the rough potholed lanes here. Love them.
The brakes are brilliant. Just solid. Loads of braking on the steep and muddy hills here and they feel so secure. Used to either mechanical discs or v brakes so the hydros feel powerful.
Tyres - fine, no they’re good actually. The pathfinder 38s. With brakes and tyres if it works I’m not too fussy. Roads are terrible this time of year covered with a layer of greasy dead leaves and mulch and yet on the steep slopes I can stop fine and feel secure on corners with the tyres.
Gears - I’ve always liked Deore. It’s just reliable and solid. However I was shocked at how loud the THUD of changing gears is with the motor. Of course I ease off completely but it’s still a heavy gear change, shows immediately the extra strain the motor puts on the drive train. I’ve already degreased and completely cleaned the chain and will keep doing this regularly. Got some expensive e bike specific lube as well. It’s the future date of replacing the rear block has me concerned as that looks the expensive part of the train.
One BIG change I made today!! I replaced the 44T Praxis chainring with a Race Face 38T - it’s an experiment. On the steepest hills (gradient 20%) I struggle in lowest gear and can feel it in my knees, plus the motor is not at it’s best because I can’t get into a faster cadence. So I’m going to see if the 38T helps me spin more. At the other extreme I’m not overly concerned with 11 - 38 not being enough on the flats, because I just don’t have enough flat wide roads here where I can bomb along in the 11. As I get fitter and my rides get longer I may switch back to the 44T, lets see how it goes.
What else? I used my own mudguards off another bike, SKS Speedrockers - not as pretty but they work v well. I had to gerryrig the rear rack, used an existing narrow Tortec pannier rack i had but found a very clever Salsa seat clamp type mount to attach the rack, which works great. I love the lights always on, especially in this winter, it’s really reassuring.
And one other thing, in winter and on the mostly potholed lanes I ride, it feels robust, solid. The boost hubs and quality components feel tight and nothing rattles. Yeah, it’s a great bike.
