Commuting in London on an E-Bike - First Efforts

With the conversion all finished, it was time to actually use the converted bike "in anger" last Friday.

I rode a quick circuit of a 6.6 mile local route including a very big hill and managed to take 4 minutes off my best (fit) time so I was immediately impressed.

The commute to my office in Great Portland Street in the West End of London from my home in Stanmore is another matter. This is a 10.5 mile journey including some significant traffic - and in the early morning there is also the cold to contend with.

For the first trip in to work I probably picked the foggiest day in London for a very long time and it was also a cold one.

Despite the cold, it was a good trip. The motor applies power smoothly (and swiftly from standing start) and fades away unobtrusively as it hits the 15.5mph (25kmh) limit to ensure it stays within the EPAC (Electrically Power Assisted Cycle) regulations. Five minutes faster (in both directions) than my previous best times for the journey and I think there's an even greater time saving possible with some changes to my riding style.

Firstly, although the power from the 250Watt front hub motor is entirely "adequate", it does not have a great deal of torque available. As someone with a reasonable degree of power in my legs but a low level of aerobic fitness, I have always stuck to "grinding a higher gear" rather than "spinning a lower gear".

The other thing to get used to is the fact that I do not have "brake switches" to cut the motor power when braking. This is because my bike has combined brake and shift levers (it's the apparently "odd" Shimano "Megarange" "Rapid Rise" system). It also explains why I think every bike shifts the "wrong" way as this system is thumb push to change up and finger flick to change down.

Shift direction is irrelevant here anyway as the issue is that the combined brake and shift levers prevent the use of replacement brake levers with a cut out function. This means that as long as the pedal is rotating, the motor is running even if you are braking. As you need the pedals to be turning to change down the gears with a derailleur system it means modifying my riding style further to change down before I start to brake as I come to a halt.

So with 2 changes to my riding habits I should be fine - tomorrow will tell what effect that has on journey times.