Took the Creo out for my first group ride

[Deacon Blues]

What is it about the Evo version you want? Dropper post, flared bars or the tires?

There's not much difference so you can buy the aluminum and add the bits you want.

I like the wider tires. I often ride gravel pathways and our roads here on the Island are not in the best of shape, so wider tire would make the the ride more pleasant. I don't care about the droper seat post or the flared handle bars, so buying the aluminum model and changing the wheels and tire would make sense, money wise. I do like that blue colour, though.

 

[Captain Slow]

Do you need to change the wheels? There's only a 10 mm difference between 28 and 38, I'm guessing the rim is wide enough to support a 38 mm tire. You can just change the tires.

Having said that I have a spare set of 27.5" wheels for my mountain bike that I haven't used yet. The rear at 148x12 will fit no problem, but the front is 110 x 15 instead of the 110x12 the Creo is. So I'm trying to find an adaptor to make it fit.

I got these wheels really cheap from Chain Reaction Cycles because everyone is going wide and these rims were on the narrow side. So if I can get an adaptor for the front then I figure a 650 x 45 or 47 tire should fit and I've got a great gravel set up.

 

[StmbtDave]

I like the wider tires. I often ride gravel pathways and our roads here on the Island are not in the best of shape, so wider tire would make the the ride more pleasant. I don't care about the droper seat post or the flared handle bars, so buying the aluminum model and changing the wheels and tire would make sense, money wise. I do like that blue colour, though.

You don’t need to change the wheels, just the tires. On all the trim levels, the road and gravel models have the same rims. I liked the Ghost Pearl color so I bought a road model and the dealer swapped the 28 tires for the 38 gravel tires, no charge. I didn’t need either the dropper post or flared bars so for me it was a no brainer.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Guys, I read this and other threads related to the Creo with great pleasure. The Creo is not for me but I am so glad such a marvellous e-bike was created and you can enjoy it!

 

[Deacon Blues]

I didn't realize that I could fit a 38mm tire on aluminum Creo's rim. There goes my excuse to my wife for "needing" wider carbon wheels.

 

[Johnny]

Support was on the whole way, just on Eco for the entire ride except half the climb when I was somewhat trying to avoid getting dropped and then on the flats where I suspect that even in turbo mode I would have been dropped because in Canada the support cuts out at 32 km/hr. and the others were probably doing 40+ km/hr.

It's only been a couple of weeks but so far I've been happy with the Creo. It's the bike that I have wanted for years and now someone has built one.

The other reason for getting the Creo is that I have a family history of diabetes - generally type 2 when one gets into their 50s which is exactly what's happened to me. My Juiced CCS provided too much power, even on Eco and riding with power off the bike was just a tank. The Creo makes my work commutes such that I can do it 5 days a week, but riding in Eco on the Creo still gives a good workout and I can get pretty tired. But if I have sore legs then Sport or Turbo at least gets me out and spinning with some exercise. To me that's the biggest value in the Creo and although it's an expensive bike I'm viewing it as an expenditure to assist in my health.

I am just coming off basketball season where I didn't commute to work by bike because of coaching duties and my daughter wanting a ride home after practices. So I just started up commuting again 2 weeks ago. So I went from about 10-12 weeks of hardly riding to 400 km's in two weeks. My legs need time to adjust. So maybe in say April after I get more miles in my legs and they aren't as fatigued I'll respond with turbo on a climb and we'll see if I can hang with these guys on climbs. I am hoping so.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I was wondering how you would compare Creo with a good carbon bike? Especially when you turn off assist.

 

[Captain Slow]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I was wondering how you would compare Creo with a good carbon bike? Especially when you turn off assist.

I have not ridden my Cervelo since I bought the Creo, but will provide more detailed impressions in the summer when I anticipate riding both. Right now I'd say that although the Creo feels like a regular road bike, I'm sure the ride and handling of the Cervelo is probably that much better. But it's probably a subtle difference, unlike the difference between my Juiced CCS and the Creo where there is a huge difference in the way they ride.

I'm planning on doing a lot of rides with friends this year and I'll post more impressions as I get more mileage on the bike. This first thread was sort of initial impressions. After I get say 2,000 to 3,000 km's on the bike I'll post a more detailed review and I'll compare it to both the CCS and Cervelo.

 

[Johnny]

I have not ridden my Cervelo since I bought the Creo, but will provide more detailed impressions in the summer when I anticipate riding both. Right now I'd say that although the Creo feels like a regular road bike, I'm sure the ride and handling of the Cervelo is probably that much better. But it's probably a subtle difference, unlike the difference between my Juiced CCS and the Creo where there is a huge difference in the way they ride.

I'm planning on doing a lot of rides with friends this year and I'll post more impressions as I get more mileage on the bike. This first thread was sort of initial impressions. After I get say 2,000 to 3,000 km's on the bike I'll post a more detailed review and I'll compare it to both the CCS and Cervelo.

Thanks a lot Captain, I think you have a great selection of bikes for every occasion hence one of the few who make a good comparison between them.


Btw I am leaning towards completely switching to a nice carbon bike for leisure riding on tarmac in the near future since I am just turning off the motor almost all of such rides.

 

[Captain Slow]

Johnny that makes sense. I considered just buying a conventional bike before I got the Creo.

But I got the Creo for a few reasons:
1) I wanted to go riding with my racing buddies without making them wait too much
2) I was going to get a gravel bike anyways and that meant buying a new bike. The logic was the Creo could replace the CCS and Cervelo and be 3 bikes in one. That would free up space in the garage.

Reason 2 is ironic as I'm planning on keeping the other bikes. The CCS is useful for running errands and if it gets stolen I won't care all that much as it's not worth a lot. Plus with the bigger motor it's better for carrying a big load of groceries. For now I'm keeping the Cervelo, but it may go in the future.

 

[Captain Slow]

Today, I rode with a different group for my 2nd group ride on the Creo. This group is not nearly as experienced or as fast as the other group I first rode with. It was a 60 km ride and pace was slow at 21 km/hr. average speed. Because this group is slower I rode in Eco the entire way and I only used 29% of the battery. At that speed the motor is barely getting used and at that usage rate I'm guessing I could have gone 180 to 200 km's

I posted a message in Bikeforms.net and fortunately someone indicates they were able to put a different chain ring on their Creo. They replaced the stock 46T with a 50T.

 

[Scott Adams]

Thanks for your continued reports.

It sounds like one or two of the external batteries would be adequate for at least some if not many of your rides.

Have you considered flying somewhere with your bike (minus the internal battery)?

It would be nice to have that freedom back...

I upgraded the chainring on a levo and liked the results.

 

[Alaskan]

I have heard that internal battery removal on the Creo entails first removing the motor and then the battery can slip out the bottom of the downtube, something that must be done by a Specialized shop while the bike is under warranty. Given the price of the bike, internal battery removal and re-installation should be performed without charge for people wanting to travel with their Turbo Creo.

 

[Oberst]

Picked up my SL Comp E5 yesterday. This morning took it for a quick test ride around the neighborhood. I now have a Vado, a Levo and the Creo. The first 2 are like tanks and very much torque sensitive as compared to the Creo. The Creo reacts to cadence and, as long as you are in the right gear to allow you to spin, the assist is very effective. As soon as you slow your pedaling, the assist drops off a cliff. Once you learn that, though, it is great. I have a couple really steep hills in the neighborhood that, without assist, I would be walking. On the Vado and Levo I can power right up them. On the Creo, you have to ride them like a regular bike and get the right cadence but do not feel like you are grinding up the hill like you would without assist. Overall, I love it so far and it truly is, as the tagline says “me, only faster”. And with a lower heart rate on the climbs.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Congrats, Colonel!