Rootman

I'm afraid the Ozark hills were just getting the better of me. I just needed some help, so an ebike was in order. I wanted something similar to my tried and true Giant Roam 2, 29" wheels and hydraulic disc brakes. This filled the bill nicely. Did a short jaunt tonight and went 19+ miles .

I didn't want speed, and I didn't want something to do all the pedaling for me, I just wanted to go up the hills without spinning like mad and getting totally wiped out in the process.

The price was right, it had the fit I wanted and it really brought the joy back to riding. I am in love!

qbiker

I didn't want speed, and I didn't want something to do all the pedaling for me, I just wanted to go up the hills without spinning like mad and getting totally wiped out in the process.

This is how I feel about electric bikes too. I have a 2 tenths mile 15% hill going to my house I can peddle hard till I hit a metaphorical wall on my rides legs hurt trying to catch my breath but can still ride home. I'm not trying to save a certain amount of energy for the hill. It's like weights in the gym you can control your load for your benefit or hard day at work and want to relax feeling the cool evening without worrying about getting up that hill going home. Very nice bike enjoy it.

Rootman

OK, got about 70 miles on her since in less than 24 hours. I can't believe how much fun this ebike has made riding again. I found I would use the lowest setting on the way out on my rides, with the exception of going up hills and I found myself using the highest setting when crossing streets - so I can zip across before the light changed or the goofs making left hand turns decided to go. On the way back I started using the middle assist setting and take it a bit easier. In general nearly every way back home is uphill.

I have also found that I tend to pedal MORE consistently on this bike then I did on my regular bike. Instead of spinning like a mad man up the hills and wiping myself out and coasting down the hills I can pedal in a higher gear going up and then since I am not so fatigued I can mash the hell out of the pedals on the way down, picking up speed to get up the next hill with even less effort. Even on the straight and level areas, instead of coasting trying to catch my breath I can continue to mash and stay upwards of 20 mph. And anything over 20 mh on this bike is all me, the assist drops out at 20 mph.

My ride times have dramatically improved. While this in itself is not very important to me, it does mean that I have more time in my day left for other things. Including, perhaps, another ride. When I arrive home I am certainly not fresh as a daisy, but I am feeling a whole lot better than I did before. On my way back from this morning's ride I took a couple of side paths I'd been wanting to, since I was usually pretty fatigued I just skipped them before.

I really wish I had more time to devote to riding, but with work and stuff around the house I just don't have time to devote to steady training to make riding easier on me. An ebike is a great compromise and allows me to really have fun again while riding. It was one of the best investments I have made in a long time.

kcflyer

I've had a Giant Road E for almost 18 months,. I've ridden it over 3,000 miles in that time, and you are right - it brought the fun back to riding. I find myself pushing even harder on the ebike than I did on a "real" bike. I've also gotten quite fit in the time I've had it. I tried posting a picture, but I'm too much of a newbie and it won't let me, I started a regime of riding 12 miles before work every day (longer on weekends) and here's my results:

Total cholesterol - 148 - down from 258
LDL - 67 - down from 179
Triglycerides - 137 - down from 203
Non HDL choloesterol - 89 - down from 213
Hemoglobin A1C 5.9 - down from 6.6.

Those numbers are from June - and they are basically from riding my bike - e assist or not.