Ian MacLusky
New Member
- Region
- Canada
Summary- a gorgeous machine, perfect for anyone (like me) that used to love riding long distance (60 – 80 km) on an” analogue” endurance road bike but found, as a consequence of increasing age, and decreasing fitness, that bicycle riding was just not as much fun as it used to be- this bike brings it all back.
Background
I am a lifelong cyclist (73 years old). Over the last 60 years I have only ridden road bikes. My prior bike was a Pinarello ROKH endurance bike. Lovely bike. When I bought it 15 years ago it was a pleasure to ride- able to do 100 K rides. However, over the last few years age, weight (and various medical ailments) means cycling has become more of a chore than a pleasure. It also had become dangerous- stalled on a steep hill, couldn’t get my feet out of the clips, fell, and fractured a rib (thankfully no cars). At same time, really did not want to give up cycling. The Road Machine AMP One X has changed all that.
Thoughts.
1. Wish I had bought this bike 2 years ago (not sure it was available). This bike has bought the fun back into cycling. I generally set the power level at 1 (gives me about 100 Km range). At this level, riding the flat or slightly up hill simply feels like cycling down a gentle incline- now able to cruise comfortably at 24 – 28 km/hr for over 60 Km. I stull get a good workout (power meter says usually around 130 W/sec), but still feel have “something left in the tank”, whereas on my Pinarello, even doing 24 km/hr, left me feeling exhausted. Hit a real hill, change down, up power level to 3, still get a decent workout (up to 230 W/sec), but don’t have to worry about “stalling”
2. As noted by other reviewers, the motor is basically silent (TQ-HPR). In other Ebikes I have tried there has been a noticeable lag before the power kicks in. With the TQ motor, the power is just there. Increasing the power simply makes the pedaling easier, there isn’t really any other noticeable change, with no discernable lag. Other cyclists don’t believe it is an Ebike. Even at my advanced age, not sure the added power of the HPR60 is needed
3. I bought the Rhino Grey / Neon Red. It is a really nice-looking machine. As it happens, Trek does a 26 oz Voda water bottle in red+ black, the red being identical to the Neon Red of the BMC Rad Machine- have been stopped by people commenting on how great the bike looks!
4. Other Ebikes I tried weighed a ton. It meant that they felt extremely unwieldy, dangerously so when trying to move them at rest, and almost impossible to put in the back of car. Although the Road Machine is heavier that the Pinarello, only around 10 lbs difference, meaning (at my venerable age) it still rides just like a non electric bike, and I can, without too much effort, put it on a roof top car rack. Also, not that bad a ride even without power assist. Several times I have taken it out, thought it felt just a bit “sluggish”, only to find that I hadn’t actually turned the power on! Reassuring- if battery were to die, figure it would be possible to cycle home, minus power, without too much difficulty.
5. Smooth. With 35 mm tires, damping in the handlebar stem, carbon frame, after 2 hrs riding, don’t have to worry about sore butt / dead hands.
Things I would change
1. This is set up as a “all road” bike, with a definite gravel inclination
a. With 12X 10 -144 rear chain ring. This spacing between gears tends to lead to noticeable change in cadence when changing gears. My preference would have been a narrower range, but this is minor, not sure worth changing the cassette for. Perhaps when cassette needs replacing?
b. Since I rarely go off asphalt, once the included tires (35 mm Pirelli Gravel) wear out I am going to replace them with 32 mmm road tires (less noise / rolling resistance).
2. My bike came with the on the handlebar power switch, which (as I understand it) is an optional extra (power typically being adjusted using the power button on the digital display in the cross bar). Personally, I am eternally grateful it was included, and would recommend that as standard setup. Having to take your hands off the handlebar to change the power level on a hill strikes me as a recipe for disaster.
3. Biggest problem. The included rear light is great, except that it prevents attaching anything else to the seat post (rear camera such as Cycliq 6, or rear radar such as my Garmin RTL Varia RTL515). Online article talked about the light being connected by a USB connector. Given that the rear light plugs into the seat post grommet, and a replacement grommet, minus the hole for the rear light, is included, I presumed the rear light was therefore removable. Imagine my horror when, removing the seat post, instead off USB connector, the rear light came out with naked wires exposed, meaning that the connecting wires to the battery were therefore left exposed INSIDE THE FRAME! Further internet digging I found out that the USB connector referred to the rechargeable rear light for the analogue Road Machine, NOT the Ebike. In the Ebike, apparently the rear light is connected to the main battery with a clip electrical connector- to properly disconnect it looks like you have to remove both the motor and battery to get at the connector. This seems unusually complicated and expensive (need to take to a bike shop to do). Surely, I cannot be the only one wanting to attach other equipment to the seat post? Anyway, I am hoping the internal wires are still protected within the electrical connector. In addition, it is possible, using the power display to turn off power to the rear light. So far, there does not appear to be any shorting of the battery (though hasn’t helped my stress level). Attaching the rear light using a plug-in connector instead, so that it could be easily removed, would surely make much more sense?
Apart from this hiccough, this bike has completely revived my cycling. Love it (my son has inherited the Pinarello).
Background
I am a lifelong cyclist (73 years old). Over the last 60 years I have only ridden road bikes. My prior bike was a Pinarello ROKH endurance bike. Lovely bike. When I bought it 15 years ago it was a pleasure to ride- able to do 100 K rides. However, over the last few years age, weight (and various medical ailments) means cycling has become more of a chore than a pleasure. It also had become dangerous- stalled on a steep hill, couldn’t get my feet out of the clips, fell, and fractured a rib (thankfully no cars). At same time, really did not want to give up cycling. The Road Machine AMP One X has changed all that.
Thoughts.
1. Wish I had bought this bike 2 years ago (not sure it was available). This bike has bought the fun back into cycling. I generally set the power level at 1 (gives me about 100 Km range). At this level, riding the flat or slightly up hill simply feels like cycling down a gentle incline- now able to cruise comfortably at 24 – 28 km/hr for over 60 Km. I stull get a good workout (power meter says usually around 130 W/sec), but still feel have “something left in the tank”, whereas on my Pinarello, even doing 24 km/hr, left me feeling exhausted. Hit a real hill, change down, up power level to 3, still get a decent workout (up to 230 W/sec), but don’t have to worry about “stalling”
2. As noted by other reviewers, the motor is basically silent (TQ-HPR). In other Ebikes I have tried there has been a noticeable lag before the power kicks in. With the TQ motor, the power is just there. Increasing the power simply makes the pedaling easier, there isn’t really any other noticeable change, with no discernable lag. Other cyclists don’t believe it is an Ebike. Even at my advanced age, not sure the added power of the HPR60 is needed
3. I bought the Rhino Grey / Neon Red. It is a really nice-looking machine. As it happens, Trek does a 26 oz Voda water bottle in red+ black, the red being identical to the Neon Red of the BMC Rad Machine- have been stopped by people commenting on how great the bike looks!
4. Other Ebikes I tried weighed a ton. It meant that they felt extremely unwieldy, dangerously so when trying to move them at rest, and almost impossible to put in the back of car. Although the Road Machine is heavier that the Pinarello, only around 10 lbs difference, meaning (at my venerable age) it still rides just like a non electric bike, and I can, without too much effort, put it on a roof top car rack. Also, not that bad a ride even without power assist. Several times I have taken it out, thought it felt just a bit “sluggish”, only to find that I hadn’t actually turned the power on! Reassuring- if battery were to die, figure it would be possible to cycle home, minus power, without too much difficulty.
5. Smooth. With 35 mm tires, damping in the handlebar stem, carbon frame, after 2 hrs riding, don’t have to worry about sore butt / dead hands.
Things I would change
1. This is set up as a “all road” bike, with a definite gravel inclination
a. With 12X 10 -144 rear chain ring. This spacing between gears tends to lead to noticeable change in cadence when changing gears. My preference would have been a narrower range, but this is minor, not sure worth changing the cassette for. Perhaps when cassette needs replacing?
b. Since I rarely go off asphalt, once the included tires (35 mm Pirelli Gravel) wear out I am going to replace them with 32 mmm road tires (less noise / rolling resistance).
2. My bike came with the on the handlebar power switch, which (as I understand it) is an optional extra (power typically being adjusted using the power button on the digital display in the cross bar). Personally, I am eternally grateful it was included, and would recommend that as standard setup. Having to take your hands off the handlebar to change the power level on a hill strikes me as a recipe for disaster.
3. Biggest problem. The included rear light is great, except that it prevents attaching anything else to the seat post (rear camera such as Cycliq 6, or rear radar such as my Garmin RTL Varia RTL515). Online article talked about the light being connected by a USB connector. Given that the rear light plugs into the seat post grommet, and a replacement grommet, minus the hole for the rear light, is included, I presumed the rear light was therefore removable. Imagine my horror when, removing the seat post, instead off USB connector, the rear light came out with naked wires exposed, meaning that the connecting wires to the battery were therefore left exposed INSIDE THE FRAME! Further internet digging I found out that the USB connector referred to the rechargeable rear light for the analogue Road Machine, NOT the Ebike. In the Ebike, apparently the rear light is connected to the main battery with a clip electrical connector- to properly disconnect it looks like you have to remove both the motor and battery to get at the connector. This seems unusually complicated and expensive (need to take to a bike shop to do). Surely, I cannot be the only one wanting to attach other equipment to the seat post? Anyway, I am hoping the internal wires are still protected within the electrical connector. In addition, it is possible, using the power display to turn off power to the rear light. So far, there does not appear to be any shorting of the battery (though hasn’t helped my stress level). Attaching the rear light using a plug-in connector instead, so that it could be easily removed, would surely make much more sense?
Apart from this hiccough, this bike has completely revived my cycling. Love it (my son has inherited the Pinarello).
