Impressions on the Conversion 10 Days Later

I've been getting used to riding an ebike and I must admit I really like it. It goes much further than advertised on a charge. The other day I rode it 15 miles and took lots of hills. It never fell below the "high" reading. I was quite amazed. Of course, it's the middle of summer. I'm sure that my range will become more limited in the winter months.

I got a big saddle with springs which has improved the comfort factor a lot. I also got a new lock so I can lock up the hub motor and the battery (although the battery is already locked to the frame). However, I found that I was unable to pry the lock from the lock mount (it fits too tightly and I had to have a large man take it out of the mount), so now I have to carry it in my pannier instead of on the frame

Everyone who has tried it out has given it good reviews. It feels plenty fast enough at 15 mph. In my weakened state, I was riding about 7-8 mph on the flat before the conversion so this has effectively doubled my speed. I love taking it up hills. It takes even steep hills without a fuss. I tend to pedal it as I ride and on really steep hills that's a good idea. I charged up a very steep hill coming home from the grocery store with fully loaded panniers today and the bicycle zoomed up at 9 mph. By the way, the mechanic at the Bike Gallery found a magnet that fit on my spokes so now my bicycle computer works again and I can find out how fast I'm going and how far I can go on a charge. And he didn't charge me for the magnet, bless his heart.

Today I rode it 11 miles and didn't pedal much since I was pretty tired; it worked just fine. It felt so great to be out on a bicycle and not cooped up in a car. It's so great not to wear myself out anymore.

The really great thing is that it's still a folder. If I take off the battery (not difficult) I can still fold up the bicycle and put it in the trunk of my car. Of course, the hub motor is so heavy that I may need help to do that, given my current puny condition. But it's very important to me to have a bike that I can take with me when I go on trips.