Bikes are all working... knock on wood

I brought the rear rim of the Allegro 1X to the bike shop to get a spoke fixed. I had expected the work to be completed early Saturday so I could get in some riding but it didn't happen until after 4pm. $35.31 later it's fixed. What a cost difference in comparison to getting a spoke fixed on the Neo Carbon. Of course, it's too different shops; one specializing in electric bikes and the other regular bikes. They may claim that e-bikes are just like regular bikes, but they're not when it comes to repairs. That's something to keep in mind if you're thinking of getting one.

I discovered the obvious on Friday as I rode the Neo Carbon home and I saw that I had almost double the charge remaining in the battery than I usually do. Changing my riding style takes all the credit for that. I've started coasting as often as I can, whereas before I would always pedal, even downhill, to get to where I'm going faster. What a difference. This should have been obvious right from the start. Duh. :)

I need to ride 28.6kms per day, every day, for the entire month to catch up on my Great Cycle Challenge goal of 750kms. I've switched to a longer route to and from work that should help make up for lost time, but it's only going to help if the weather cooperates every day. Fingers crossed.

Bikes... the things I hate about them

After replacing the inner tube in the rear wheel of the Neo Carbon (and finding a third puncture on the old one) all was well up until yesterday.

About half way home I heard a spoke "pop" sound. If you've broken a spoke, you know that sound. Fortunately, the bike shop I got it at was along my route home. Unfortunately, after waiting half an hour, they told me it couldn't be fixed yesterday because it was more complicated than they first thought, with the spoke pattern and all. On top of that, it was going to cost around $55 to fix. I don't think I have much choice than to get it fixed there, since it's the rear wheel with the motor in the hub. I hope that estimate isn't higher today after they realized it was more work.

As if that's not bad enough, when I took the Allegro out for an hour on Saturday, I heard that familiar spoke pop. I couldn't find a broken spoke, but the wheel became untrue. I managed to finish my ride and had planned to take it to a regular bike shop yesterday after I got home from work. By the time I walked home, I wasn't in much of a mood to go back out and spend more money. I'll probably do that today.

What sucks even more is that today was suppose to be the first day of the Great Cycle Challenge.

Come on June, be good to me.

Update: the repair cost is $98.25 :(

More bike woes

This happens at least once or twice a year: flat tires.

It happened to me this morning, about 1½ kms from work. I walked it the rest of the way and checked it out when I got to the bike room. I lucked out and found a tiny thorn stuck in the tire. When I pumped up the tire I could feel the air leaking out where the thorn had been. Finding the leak is half the battle. Or so I thought.

I went down at lunch and attempted to repair the flat. The Neo Carbon's rear wheel is held on with 19mm nuts, and I don't carry wrenches with me, so I had to repair it without removing the wheel. That's not too difficult. Once I repaired it, and put some air in the tire, I examined the tire for any other punctures. I found a small metal sliver stuck in the tire. I removed it and air came out. Of all the shitty luck. Why me?

Once again, I removed the inner tube enough to patch the second hole. I was fortunate enough to find someone in the underground parking who had a portable air pump so I could inflate it to the right pressure.

I returned my bike to the bike room and crossed my fingers that it would stay inflated, but in the back of my mind I didn't have much confidence in my repair job.

I went back down an hour later to find it flat once again. If I had a 19mm wrench with me, I would have replaced the entire inner tube like I usually do and this probably wouldn't be a problem.

I hate taking the bus.

Ride comparison

After riding home from work yesterday on my Neo Carbon I decided to take my Jamis Allegro 1X for a ride. The weather was warm enough, so I changed quickly and headed out for a ~10km ride that I had mapped out earlier in the week.

What a difference.

I fully expected more of a workout, but it felt like I was pedaling with the brakes on. And to think that I used to ride ~40kms per day to and from work on this bike.

I need to do this more often for the workout. I'm aiming for a daily ride after work, weather permitting. First, I need to make a few adjustments to the gears this weekend.

Good time

I discovered another perk of riding a pedal-assisted e-bike; it's easier to get from one green traffic light to the next without hitting a red light.

I changed things up a little for this morning's commute and rode over to the Gatineau side bike path, and then crossed back over to Ottawa and continue along part of the Ottawa bike path. Compared with last year's time for the same route, I shaved about 4-5 minutes off the total time, and my average speed went from around ~21km/h to ~25km/h. However, I did find that I was still pushing harder than I probably needed to and I was starting to break a sweat when I arrived at work.

I'm a little concerned that I'm not getting the suggested distance off a full charge of the battery. For a 15km ride, with a few steep hills, the battery went from 100% to around 60%. That's good enough to get home using the same route, but apparently I should get close to 80kms on full charge using the lowest assist level. Hopefully this is due to the pretty chilly mornings and it'll get better as the weather warms up. I know I'm also a little bigger and heavier than the person this bike is designed for. I'd be fairly happy if I could get 60kms on a full charge.

So... it is a little faster

My ride home from work yesterday was fast. I'm pretty sure it was faster than any previous ride on the same route, at just over 31 minutes.

I checked my average speed for the route and compared it to last year. Most of my rides last year were in the 18-19km/h range. So far, this week, it's 21-23km/h.

So, whatever I said about an e-bike not being faster, I take I take it back. I'm anxious to get back to riding along Ottawa River path where there are almost no stops. Once the Ottawa Locks open for crossing, that'll be my route.

First Ride

I rode to work on the Neo Carbon today and it went well.

Despite how uncomfortable the seat looks, it wasn't bad at all. I do feel like I'm leaning more than on the Allegra, but I don't think it's going to matter for commuting purposes.

The new placement of the year paddle and brake lever work well and don't feel awkward at all. I found a video review of the bike that zoomed in on the right handle bar controls and I can't figure out how they work without hitting each other while mine didn't.

Snapshot from the video review

The downshift paddle that you can't really see in the photo hits the throttle.

The acceleration of this bike is great. I found that I can take off from a stop in the highest gear without any problem. I rode it on the lowest assist setting for nearly the entire ride. I was just starting to break a sweat when I arrived at work. My brain is still stuck in a "go fast" mode, despite the assist.

One little thing I need to get used to is the sensitivity of the sensor that detects when you pedal. When I stop at a light, I usually have the right pedal up and my foot on it. On this bike, it detects the pressure on the pedal and sometimes makes it want to assist and the bike starts to move on its own. I need to remember to keep a hand on a brake to kill the power to the motor.

The weather forecast for this week looks good, so I should be able to ride for the rest of the week. I hope.

Done deal

I walked to the bike shop on Saturday morning to check out the Neo Carbon I was offered as a replacement for the defective Ion; I even took it for a test ride. It didn't take me long to see that getting it as a replacement for the Ion was a no-brainer.

It was a great ride. The seat was more comfortable than I expected, although I suspect I'll still replace it at some point. The pedal assist and throttle control are amazing; way better than the Ion.

I agreed to the swap and they got it ready for me while I waited and enjoyed a coffee.

When I was riding it home, I had some trouble changing gears. The shifter was hitting the throttle control. I had to really force it to shift down. Once I was home, I had a closer look at it. Surely, this wasn't the way it was designed? They had told me at the shop that they tuned it up, and replaced the grips, so I'm guessing parts were removed and put back on and somehow this was overlooked. Anyway, I swapped the order of the brake lever and gear shifter on the handle bar, which made more space for the shifter and that fixed it. I haven't taken it for a test ride, but I'm confident that'll do it.

I also moved my carrier rack from the Allegro to the Neo Carbon without a hitch. The flat carbon look of the rack really goes well with the bike. :)

I'm really anxious to start riding it to work. Seeing as how this is also used, I've got a 60 day warranty to ride the hell out of it to work out any issues.

Bike update

I received a call late yesterday from the bike shop and they left a message asking me to call them back when I had a chance. Because it wasn't a "bike is ready, pick it up" kind of message, I suspected something was wrong.

I called back when I got home. They apologized for the delay in getting back to me and explained that it took them a while to figure out what the problem was.

It turns out that there was a hairline fracture in the motor hub, and it's not repairable. To get a replacement motor would take months. So, he provided me with two options. I can get my money back, or they would exchange the bike for another used bike of better quality at no extra charge.

The bike is the Easy Motion Neo Carbon. It's a very similar style to my current Jamis Allegra 1X.  He said it's in immaculate condition and they're currently selling it for around $2400 (original price ~$4000) He said the original owner had back issues and had to exchange it for a different style.

I looked up details and there appears to be two models, one with front shocks and one without. I'm not sure which one they have. The reviews I've read and watched are all great and I really like the specs on it; it has more gears and features that the ION Commuter. But, it doesn't have a carrier rack and the seat doesn't look too comfortable. I could move the rack from my Jamis over to it, and buy a more comfortable seat so that's not a deal killer for me. This would also let me use my Ibera PakRak bag that is built for the rack. The biggest concern is the frame size. It appears to be designed more for a 5'10" rider and I'm 6'2".

I'll definitely have to take it for a test ride and see how it feels; that will be the deciding factor.