Last year I developed chronic and incurable SI joint pain which has limited my bicycle commuting to once per week at most compared to every day a few years ago. I needed to avoid both shock and excessive pedaling torque, so I found a closeout Haibike SDURO FullSeven LT 4.0.
This thing makes commuting fun again! I run low assist in the morning for exercise with high assist when crossing intersections with busy streets.
Suspension is medium quality SunTour Aion front and Duair rear; not great but actually pretty good on moderate trail. Not enough low-speed compression damping on either end but less concern on an ebike. Biggest limitation of the bike on trail is the steep 68 degree head angle, but I went down an 18 degree slope no problem so good for easy trails.
Getting to work takes me 15 minutes compared to 10 by car, or 20 with my road bike (which led to a day in agony). I ride to the trail head again, but in 15 minutes instead of a half hour.
I’m riding slower on downhill sections, because Butcher Grid tires and Fox / Avalanche tuned suspension beats Smart Sam / Suntour in ability to stay on the trail.
Uphill is of course way faster - 8 to 10 miles an hour on the eBike where I would be cranking along at 3 before. Not really faster than me 30 years ago though when I could put out more power than me and the e-bike combined and with a lot less weight on both bike and body back then. The e-bike is like a physical time machine for me.
Hikers react no differently to the e-Bike than a normal bike. They don’t even notice the difference. (I have always practiced trail courtesy)
Overall, I’m very pleased with the bike, because I’m out riding again!
This thing makes commuting fun again! I run low assist in the morning for exercise with high assist when crossing intersections with busy streets.
Suspension is medium quality SunTour Aion front and Duair rear; not great but actually pretty good on moderate trail. Not enough low-speed compression damping on either end but less concern on an ebike. Biggest limitation of the bike on trail is the steep 68 degree head angle, but I went down an 18 degree slope no problem so good for easy trails.
Getting to work takes me 15 minutes compared to 10 by car, or 20 with my road bike (which led to a day in agony). I ride to the trail head again, but in 15 minutes instead of a half hour.
I’m riding slower on downhill sections, because Butcher Grid tires and Fox / Avalanche tuned suspension beats Smart Sam / Suntour in ability to stay on the trail.
Uphill is of course way faster - 8 to 10 miles an hour on the eBike where I would be cranking along at 3 before. Not really faster than me 30 years ago though when I could put out more power than me and the e-bike combined and with a lot less weight on both bike and body back then. The e-bike is like a physical time machine for me.
Hikers react no differently to the e-Bike than a normal bike. They don’t even notice the difference. (I have always practiced trail courtesy)
Overall, I’m very pleased with the bike, because I’m out riding again!
