Initial Impression
Just picked up this bike in the same Satin Black. Was curious why an awesome color had most inventory still available online while the other colors were sold out. Also noticable in the 1st photo in this thread, there are areas of this bike that appear unfinished particuarly where cables would enter the frame. I imagine this would not be visible on a painted version but it looks like this bike is "stained" black rather than painted so you will see how the carbon fiber is molded which could be somewhat offputting. Yes, this is a totally clean bike wiped down with a microfiber towel and can be accentuated when lit from certain angles.
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Being 5'5", I ordered a size Small for those 5'4" to 5'7". With sizes being unpredictable by manufactuer was hoping it wouldn't be too large but seems to be perfect. Actually, it seems slightly smaller than my 50cm road bike by Kestrel and about the same as my 48mm bike. The angle I'm at while seated seems a bit aggressive and resembles that of my racing bike so I will be leaning over more than I'm accustomed to for longer rides rather than being more upright on my endurance bike. Later after checking the box of accessories I see that they have stem extenders for a more upright position. In terms of weight, way lighter than my other eBike but compared to an analog carbon road bike, still quite heavy. I like the stock wheels but if the bike can be a pound lighter then I may consider upgrading.
Really cool how easy it was to setup the "eBike" sensor with my Wahoo Bolt to get power, cadance, assistance mode and battery power. The stock tires feel good and smooth, I'll be keeping those until they wear out then probably move to Continental GP 5000's. I have a Giant Quick E+ and while it's like "4x you" instead of "2x you" like that of the Creo, I was able to go faster on flats being more aero, light, and nimble. I made 5 eKoms on this maiden voyage -- beating my previous eKoms made on my Giant bike. Huge difference is going over bumps at high speed, the heavy aluminum Giant bike is painful and those body shocks build up over the course of a ride. The carbon fiber of this Creo just absorbs the bumps at high speed even without use of the shock stem. Wasn't familiar with the Shimano gravel derailleur nor shift levers but the precise shifting reminds me very much of Ultegra gears on my racing bike.
Will need to try assist modes on full battery power, picked it up from the shop at 44% capacity. After doing a good ride around the bay, I was crawling home up a 500 foot elevation at 3% battery capacity in what I thought was Turbo. Reading the docs, the motor defaults to Eco when the battery hits the 20% mark. Barely seemed like I had any assist and thought my regular analog bike of 18lbs may have been easier going up that same hill.
Did 21 miles, but thought it would be a quick 8 miles thus didn't put on any chamois cream under my padded shorts. Note to self, if I stay with this seat I'll definitely need to wipe myself down before going out.
Excited about doing tweaks in the mission control App, charging full power, and giving it another go.
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Second Ride on Full Charge
Did another ride on full charge the next day, liking this bike even more.
Found that Eco mode is sufficient in most situations if you want to look like a normal cyclist. Going in Eco into headwind, I've found that percentage only drops maybe 1.2% per mile. So this bike could do a 100 mile trip on flat terrain if you turn off assistance, especially when you get a good tailwind.
Going Super or Turbo, you will draw stares from other cyclists speeding so fast as if you're in some Olympic time trial. Turbo is fast, and on the flats with tailwind it's easy to hit the upper 28mph limit. Hills were my main concern the previous day when I was stuck in Eco due to low battery power. This time, once I hit the hills I went from Eco to full Turbo and it was simple and similar to my high wattage Giant Quick E+. Still broke a sweat on the hills but never hit near my maximum heart rate.
One thing I've noticed is the drop off in power on lower cadance. If peddling hard at high cadance then tapering off to lower cadance I can feel the motor drop off quickly. Similar drop in cadance is more subtle and not really noticable on the Giant Quick E+ with a Bosch motor.
More of a bug with the Wahoo, and not the Creo but the Wahoo connection to the sensor "eBike" has failed to auto-pause this and the previous maiden voyage. I was wondering why my average was like 13 mph while making so many eKOMs. Hopefully this does not affect rides on my analog bikes.
Despite slapping chamois cream on my bottom, felt better than yesterday but my posterior is still slightly sore. Factory seat is good for short rides, but for longer rides I may need something more forgiving.
Total distance is 60 miles after two days so I'm somewhat sore and may need a few rest days. Or not.
(Editing as I recall more things)
. How much weight did you shave with TI fasteners?
