Archive for January, 2020
IT LIVES
Hello. It’s been a stupidly long time since I put any content on this site.
I’ll attribute that to the lack of riding e-bikes, mostly. Which seems pretty reasonable in my mind. And probably to you, too.
But now, dear reader, I have returned to riding e-bikes, and thus it feels rather appropriate to return to blogging about it.
So, a bit of a Cliffs Notes version of what I’ve been doing…
2010-2011
In the e-bike arena, things started to slow down when I moved to Wellington in NZ for a couple of years, everything went into storage, and I just wasn’t on a bike for a couple of years. I had one DIY bike that needed repairs after it was shipped from Perth to Melbourne: I gave it to a local small bike/scooter business who said they could repair it, but after several months, they didn’t do anything, despite claims that they would get around to it… it wasn’t a priority, and eventually, I checked up on them, and the damn place had shut up shop – disappearing with my bike, no less! No way to find them, not answering their phone. Not impressed.
2012-2013
Fast forward to November 15, 2012. Ingress was launched, and my trusty eZee torq was revived and back in service – I began playing the game within the first few days of launch, and was known locally for my ruthless enthusiasm and dogged dedication. I eventually spent more time playing further afield on a 150cc scooter, but initially my gameplay was all on the Torq. A very social game, and quite a few cyclists – from memory I was the only e-cyclist though!
Around this time the Torq also got some use as a cargo workhorse, I got a trailer and managed to stack it with a variety of things!
2014-2017
After a couple of years the Torq was again left to its own devices, and I didn’t ride for some time. The battery surely died some more. I got out of storage & de-constructed & shipped from Perth to Melbourne my converted Giant which had a (DIY c/o Chris) mid-drive which achieved incredible speeds (see very old posts) but unfortunately constantly had chain issues. Used a few times as a non-ebike, especially for Bike Rave.
2018-2019
In the last couple of years, e-bikes have become ubiquitous with food deliveries. Fast and cheap to run around an inner urban area, they are the perfect solution for this kind of work. So they had become MUCH more visible.
By 2013-14 the Torq’s battery had pretty limited range, so even contemplating using it in 2018 was a no-starter. I didn’t even get it out of storage initially, though I did make some enquiries about getting a new battery: and ouch, they were not cheap!!! They had however increased in oomph dramatically.
I decided instead at that point to look around to see how the market had changed in the decade-plus since I was last paying attention. And yes, it’s changed hugely.
Eventually, after much umming and ahhing, I decided to plonk down $550 on a brand new Fortis 10aH (now $730) foldie e-bike. It arrived in October 2019. And it took me a few weeks to even get around to getting out on it! I did not go far in the latter part of 2019.
2020
But now, I’ve managed in the New Decade, to finally really start to see it as my new primary mode of transport.
I’ve had a few fun rides around some of the lovely Melbourne bike trails, including the Upfield Bike Path, Main Yarra, Moonee Ponds Creek, Merri Creek, and Inner Circle Rail Trails. The great thing is once you know the main trunk bicycle routes, you realise how easy it is to get to the main parts of Melbourne in a much greener way (figuratively and literally.)
See:
And now, I contemplate some more serious rides into the rural surrounds of Melbourne. That will likely be the topic of my next post – for today though, very happy to finally be back in the saddle and sharing my experiences again!
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