Sharing a dirty little secret

[Smaug]

I bought an acoustic road bike yesterday, a Trek Domane AL3 Disc.

"What spurred THAT on, Jeremy? Why waste perfectly good eBike money on an mBike?" Glad you asked; storytime.

I went to a road bike ride last weekend, figuring I could take my Aventon Level.2 on a bike rack and my Lectric XP Lite in a tote in the back seat for my daughter. There were 27 mile, 41 mile and 62 mile loops. Well, the Aventon wouldn't balance on my cheap strap-on rear rack. It's tail-heavy and wanted to swivel. So at the last minute, I decided to take my acoustic bike, a hybrid Trek Verve 3. I figured with its higher tire pressure and thinner tires, maybe I could keep up with my daughter on the eBike and the peloton of (mostly older) road bike riders. Boy was I wrong! My daughter stayed with the peloton and I was dropped almost immediately. I had a moment when I wondered: "Am I out of shape because I'm an eBiker and not a 'cyclist'? Is it the more suitable hardware they have? Or are they really just in top shape?"

When I finished the race, my daughter had already finished lunch and I found out she'd stayed with the group the whole time! (no worries about leaving Dad behind to ride with a bunch of strangers) She finished a 27 mile ride with about half the battery left, so she was definitely doing her fair share of work. (the bike is rated for 15 miles @ throttle-only, 20 miles at PAS3 and 31 miles at PAS2. I estimate the group was going about 15 mph)

Anyway, I decided after that ride that:
a) I need to get in better shape
b) I need a road bike if I'm gonna compare my fitness to that of others

So, I joined the local bike club and am planning to look like Prime Greg Lemond in a couple of weeks.

 

[JerryB]

Good luck with your goals.......everyone is different which is a good thing....when I got my ebike 1 1/2 yrs ago.....I needed to exercise my legs due to a new knee and new hip.....I ride 5 to 7.5 miles most evenings......we have many hills so that little bit of extra push really helps me......I love riding and now look like Greg Lemond's father.......maybe a bit taller........LOL!

 

[m@Robertson]

Remember that fancy old bike I pictured in the other thread? The one I just took out of mothballs from the 1990's (it was built in, I think, 1982)? That was my first custom build. Before that I had been using storebought bikes for all my riding and tinkering/upgrading them from there. But this thing was a miracle bike. I was commuting enormous distances twice a day with school in between work shifts and this was a bike whose parts group (dweebs called them a 'gruppo' regardless of whether they were Italian or not) was on something like all but one of the recent Tour de France teams - Mavic was a really big deal back then. Super dependable and way past the flashy Campy stuff.

So I get this bike, and its frame, saddle, crankarms, stem length, its all perfect as I did a custom fitting at a local bike shop (no internet in 1982 so bought everything locally). This bike is going to be the best bike, ever. And it was.

You know what I found out on the first ride? I still sucked. All the fancy parts didn't make me a better cyclist, and the ride wasn't noticeably different from the bike I retired. The benefits were gained after the bike put in tens of thousands of miles on the road without breaking, complaining or wearing out (the frame, at least... chainrings, chains and rear clusters died with their boots on). And it was light enough and efficient enough I never had heatstroke again.

Enjoy the bike! I'm sure you will love it... but put in some miles when no one is looking first to get yourself up to snuff.

 

[Django]

I bought an acoustic road bike yesterday, a Trek Domane AL3 Disc.

"What spurred THAT on, Jeremy? Why waste perfectly good eBike money on an mBike?" Glad you asked; storytime.

I went to a road bike ride last weekend, figuring I could take my Aventon Level.2 on a bike rack and my Lectric XP Lite in a tote in the back seat for my daughter. There were 27 mile, 41 mile and 62 mile loops. Well, the Aventon wouldn't balance on my cheap strap-on rear rack. It's tail-heavy and wanted to swivel. So at the last minute, I decided to take my acoustic bike, a hybrid Trek Verve 3. I figured with its higher tire pressure and thinner tires, maybe I could keep up with my daughter on the eBike and the peloton of (mostly older) road bike riders. Boy was I wrong! My daughter stayed with the peloton and I was dropped almost immediately. I had a moment when I wondered: "Am I out of shape because I'm an eBiker and not a 'cyclist'? Is it the more suitable hardware they have? Or are they really just in top shape?"

When I finished the race, my daughter had already finished lunch and I found out she'd stayed with the group the whole time! (no worries about leaving Dad behind to ride with a bunch of strangers) She finished a 27 mile ride with about half the battery left, so she was definitely doing her fair share of work. (the bike is rated for 15 miles @ throttle-only, 20 miles at PAS3 and 31 miles at PAS2. I estimate the group was going about 15 mph)

Anyway, I decided after that ride that:
a) I need to get in better shape
b) I need a road bike if I'm gonna compare my fitness to that of others

So, I joined the local bike club and am planning to look like Prime Greg Lemond in a couple of weeks.

Best of luck with your ambition to look like Greg Lemond.

I still enjoy my road and gravel bikes, but the ebike is a real pleasure. It’s all good.

 

[addertooth]

In the early 80s I put down thousands of miles doing training rides for races. I am no longer in my 20s. Even my youngest children are adults. My oldest children are starting to get a bit of grey in their hair.

I utterly respect your effort, but it is one which I feel no need to match.
Every now and then, I do still itch to buy my 1980s dream bike, with a double-butted fluted chrome moly frame (Gianni Motta), even back then, those frames were about $5000. You could buy a new car in 1980, for what JUST the frame cost.

I raced on a comparative "cheap seats" bike. It was a Bridgestone Kabuki, which was also double-butted fluted Chrome Moly. It was light, but not as light as the Gianna Motta bikes were.

 

[biknut]

After 45 years of motorcycle riding, one day I too decided it might be time to buy a bicycle for the a little exercise. That was the plan anyway. Then while waiting for it to arrive I decided to look at some reviews of my bicycle to see what others thought of it. One reviewer said these are great bicycles, we use them in our motor bicycle business, and left a link. I never heard of such a thing so I followed the link, and the next thing I know I ordered all the parts needed to turn my new bicycle into this.
I named it the, Atomic BB. this was about 5 years before going electric.

 

[HumanPerson]

After 45 years of motorcycle riding, one day I too decided it might be time to buy a bicycle for the a little exercise. That was the plan anyway. Then while waiting for it to arrive I decided to look at some reviews of my bicycle to see what others thought of it. One reviewer said these are great bicycles, we use them in our motor bicycle business, and left a link. I never heard of such a thing so I followed the link, and the next thing I know I ordered all the parts needed to turn my new bicycle into this.
I named it the, Atomic BB. this was about 5 years before going electric.
View attachment 11949

That actually how i started in the 90's lol

Lookin good @biknut

 

[biknut]

That actually how i started in the 90's lol

Lookin good @biknut

 

[DieselTech]

Here is my Dirty lil secret! 60mph all day long if you want to.

 

[Smaug]

Here is my Dirty lil secret! 60mph all day long if you want to. View attachment 13447

Geez, that looks like a real death trap! Brakes?
How does it steer with two forks?

 

[addertooth]

The dual forks are configured like a Harley Davidson "springer" fork. Only the rear fork runs through the frame at the headset.

 

[DieselTech]

Geez, that looks like a real death trap! Brakes?
How does it steer with two forks?

Steers just fine with that springer fork. Brakes single mechanical drum on the the front. Death trap no! Only if you worry about putting your tights on before riding your bike!!!

 

[WHEELZ]

I love riding my analog bikes, the newer machines are so light, easy to pedal gearing, and handle great. With the abnormally warm weather here, I've been all over the county with my hard tail bike. No worries about batteries or making it home, just air in the tires, and lube on the chain (and plenty of water). I've did a few 35-40 milers and it's not even spring yet.

 

[Jbangs]

Hi Smaug, I keep in my garage my roadie bike. It is nothing special but at 18 lbs it is my thought that someday I might want to ride it again. But, I admit, two years into riding an ebike I'm not sure that will happen. The stinkin' fun I have on the ebikes does not match the mBiking. Good for you to keep after the mBiking!! The fate of the roadie??? just might get passed down to a child or grandchild!!

 

[scrufy]

I have a 2003 stumpjumper hardtail that I refuse to give up.
Ride it about once a month to remind me what hills really feel like haha.
I ride my ebike every night after work for an hour or so.

 

[MWRider]

Here is my Dirty lil secret! 60mph all day long if you want to. View attachment 13447

I really like your well thought out build! Great work!

 

[Smaug]

I re-read my first post and went back and added all the miles from my Strava account on this bike. 1602 so far, and I'm sure there is another 100 miles I didn't log in Strava. To me, that's not bad, having had the bike less than 9 months. It's about 189 miles per month, just on that bike.

Here's a recent shot of me on the Domane in the local velodrome.

I got up to around 20 mph but it was not fast enough to really get up on the banked walls. (I was already a bit tired, as we rode 18 miles already to get there)

 

[Smaug]

Got a bonus at work for last year. I ordered another mBike yesterday:

PRIORITY APOLLO GRAVEL

The Apollo is our internally geared, belt drive, go anywhere gravel bicycle. Now available in TITANIUM!

www.prioritybicycles.com

↑ Mfr. photo

It's a gravel bike, which is similar to a road bike, but with chunkier tires, usually somewhat knobby. They have more tire clearance, so this one will take up to 42 mm wide tires. The special thing about it is the Gates carbon belt drive and internal geared hub (IGH) instead of chain & derailleur gears. No more chain maintenance, and the belts are said to last 3X as long as a chain. The IGH just needs an oil change every 3,000 miles or so.

As opposed to a mountain bike, which can have very low gearing, these are geared more like a road bike and are more aerodynamic than a mountain bike as well, so that on a ride on which I could average 15 mph on my road bike, I could probably average 14 mph on this. (12-13 on a MTB) Since I don't ride any trails that would demand a mountain bike, but I do ride gravel trails, I figured this would be a good compliment to the Domane. It should be faster on gravel than the Domane and it should give a smoother ride on bad paved roads as well.

Lastly, if I want to ride with a slower group in my (roadie) bike club, I can just take this and it should give me that bit of extra challenge.

The only thing that won't be good (I hope) is I probably won't be able to use it in winter, as the oil in the IGH will freeze. (I had it happen before on a 3 speed)

 

[LarryG]

I bought an acoustic road bike yesterday, a Trek Domane AL3 Disc.

"What spurred THAT on, Jeremy? Why waste perfectly good eBike money on an mBike?" Glad you asked; storytime.

I went to a road bike ride last weekend, figuring I could take my Aventon Level.2 on a bike rack and my Lectric XP Lite in a tote in the back seat for my daughter. There were 27 mile, 41 mile and 62 mile loops. Well, the Aventon wouldn't balance on my cheap strap-on rear rack. It's tail-heavy and wanted to swivel. So at the last minute, I decided to take my acoustic bike, a hybrid Trek Verve 3. I figured with its higher tire pressure and thinner tires, maybe I could keep up with my daughter on the eBike and the peloton of (mostly older) road bike riders. Boy was I wrong! My daughter stayed with the peloton and I was dropped almost immediately. I had a moment when I wondered: "Am I out of shape because I'm an eBiker and not a 'cyclist'? Is it the more suitable hardware they have? Or are they really just in top shape?"

When I finished the race, my daughter had already finished lunch and I found out she'd stayed with the group the whole time! (no worries about leaving Dad behind to ride with a bunch of strangers) She finished a 27 mile ride with about half the battery left, so she was definitely doing her fair share of work. (the bike is rated for 15 miles @ throttle-only, 20 miles at PAS3 and 31 miles at PAS2. I estimate the group was going about 15 mph)

Anyway, I decided after that ride that:
a) I need to get in better shape
b) I need a road bike if I'm gonna compare my fitness to that of others

So, I joined the local bike club and am planning to look like Prime Greg Lemond in a couple of weeks.

I was in denial for 18 months, but now I'm confronting it - my ebike has taken a toll on my fitness. It's not been severe, but clearly noticeable.

I mounted the captain position on a tandem last week to test the build, without a rear rider. I kept looking back because I figured there had to be a 200-lb person in the stoker's seat, weighing me down. Of course, no one was there.

I'm starting a regular program on the acoustic gravel bike later this week, when it turns warm. I've got to stop the decline.

 

[addertooth]

I was in denial for 18 months, but now I'm confronting it - my ebike has taken a toll on my fitness. It's not been severe, but clearly noticeable.

I mounted the captain position on a tandem last week to test the build, without a rear rider. I kept looking back because I figured there had to be a 200-lb person in the stoker's seat, weighing me down. Of course, no one was there.

I'm starting a regular program on the acoustic gravel bike later this week, when it turns warm. I've got to stop the decline.

I will take the opposite approach. I no longer rode bicycles at all. Getting an ebike has encouraged me to get out, and get light exercise I otherwise would not have exposed myself to. It has helped my range of motion and give light and tolerable exercise to my knees and other joints.

Even lifting and moving my heavier eBike has forced me to make more use of my upper body strength. The same is true for my spouse. When I ride my eBike to work, I don't "throttle" it. I pedal along giving modest assistance to the motor.