My Electric Sam

[Sky Coulter]

I recently bought an ebike that was listed on my local craigslist.  I have been on the fence about ebikes for a while worrying that by riding one I would lose some of the fitness benefits of commuting under my own power.  And, if I'm honest, a lingering feeling that riding an ebike is a form of 'cheating'. What got me off the fence was a sam hillborne in my size with a bionx kit.  I figured I could buy it and if I didn't like it, I could separate the rivendell form the ebike parts and not lose too much money on the experiment.

In truth it's been a revelation.  I still get a pretty solid workout on the way into work - my heart rate is within 10 beats of what it is when I ride my atlantis.  But now, when I have a rough day or a day that goes too long (which seems to be happening w quite a bit of regularity lately) I have the peace of mind of knowing that I can just increase the assistance level on the bike and take it easy.  

In fact, I'm such a convert that I've ordered a Riese and Muller load 60 for my wife to take our youngest to preschool and run errands.  I'm coming to think that ebikes and cargo ebikes in particular make a great deal of sense as alternative transportation devices.  

Anyway, here is a picture of my electric sam from the ride in this morning.  At first I had planned on swapping out the moustache bars but now I find myself kind of liking them and of having three bikes setup w three different handlebars (atlantis=drops, sam+moustache, clementine=choco-moose).

Sky in new west

  

[Joe Bernard]

I've built a few eRivs, they're great fun and very useful. The extra juice is why those bars will work for you, it makes you want to lean forward over the front of the bike more. Enjoy!

[brendonoid]

That is one handsome electric bike! May I please enquire as to the exact Nitto model number for that fantastic rear rack? Somehow I have never seen that model before and it is exactly what I am after for a current project.

[Steven Sweedler]

Nitto R-15

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/963cf5e3-5236-4964-898d-36e219d23544n%40googlegroups.com.

--

Steven Sweedler
Plymouth, New Hampshire

[Sky Coulter]

Its the r15.

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/BANIR15/nitto-r15-rear-bag-supporter-rack

Sold out at that link, but available at:

https://www.benscycle.com/nitto-r15-rear-rack-rear-mount-rack-nitto-r15-870/p

Thanks for the kind words. Good luck on your project!

Sky in new west

On Oct 2, 2020, at 4:36 AM, Steven Sweedler <swee...@gmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALimyfJDPf4CYyiSfk%2BY9XsGpx2vk_Vc9At%3D21tgvtW1GNNcVQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Ash]

Very nice bike Sky.  Sounds like a fun project too.

While most electric bikes are not as much fun to ride as a Riv, some peddle assist does have real use.  If I ever end up having a 10-15 miles commute, I'd definitely consider converting my Susie to electric.  I love the simplicity of a normal bike.  I also love biking 10-15 miles with pure muscle power.  In reality, I'd probably end up driving more often than not, due to time constraints, needing to shower when I get to work etc.  An e-bike solves those problems.  When there are dozen of traffic lights/stop signs along the way, any quicker acceleration after every stop quickly adds up and shortens the commute time considerably.  If used wisely, peddle-assist makes the ride safer too.  I would not be lazy to slow down in iffy conditions (such as a car looking to enter the road, stop signs), because there's not much effort to regain the speed!

Enjoy your e-Sam!

[Sky Coulter]

Thanks Ash. So far i’ve found the electric riv has led to no car use in two weeks and i have no plans to drive to work ever again, unless conditions are such that biking is unsafe.

My roundtrip commute is just slightly over 15 miles. But its pretty hilly, similar to a fish bowl in having steep sections on either side of a flat middle.  My atlantis (thanks to Jamison) offers a much smoother, pleasant riding experience but it does take more time and energy.  The eSam makes for a ride that is still enjoyable and leaves me more invigorated than won out when i get home.  

I do think a susi/clem/wolbis would make a better conversion candidate, but i haven’t figured out a good means of mounting the batter on it yet. So it’ll be an eSam rather than an eClem for now.

Sky in new west

On Oct 2, 2020, at 9:21 AM, Ash <ash...@gmail.com> wrote:



--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/0d989360-0cbb-47d0-93df-f4016adfd409n%40googlegroups.com.

[Chris L]

I spend a lot of time on a non-bike forum where everything under the sun is discussed, and e-bikes come up fairly often.  The consensus of e-bike riders there is that they work just as hard while riding their e-bikes, they just end up going faster!  

[Robert Blunt]

I have many bikes, two of which are ebikes. In truth, I ride them more often than my conventional bicycles due largely to what I can accomplish in an hour of riding in terms of exercise than I can on my conventional bicycles. You get a very a solid work out without the concern for being too gassed to make it home. My conventional bicycles, including a Sam, are for weekends when I have more time for leisurely cruises on the canal path on the Delaware. I first started on ebikes in 2018 when I was recovering from muscle atrophy related to accute parathyroid disease. For me, with their Bosch intuitive ebike systems, they were a way back from poor physical health and are key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle pocked by little time for longer slower bike rides. I encourage people to be open minded about these technologies. They aren't replacements for the steel bicycles we love, but valuable additions to our cycling enjoyment in new forms. 

Rob Blunt

Pennington, NJ

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/3ebf9183-56bc-4b4a-8a56-07e31ad8044dn%40googlegroups.com.

[Robert Tilley]

I record all of my rides with a Garmin watch and find my average heart rate on an e-bike runs about the same as on a "normal" bike.  So I put in the same effort but I get more speed out of the bike.

My riding these days all errand-based riding so if I take the e-bike I will get less of a workout since I'll spend less time on the bike due to the increased speed.

Robert Tilley

San Diego, CA

Sent from my BlackBerry - the most secure mobile device

From: clam...@gmail.com Sent: October 2, 2020 7:11 PM To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com Reply-to: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com Subject: [RBW] Re: My Electric Sam

[Jason Fuller]

I watched with keen interest as the price was lowered on that CL ad, since as you know it's very rare that a Rivendell pops up in the Vancouver area CL! It's the one and only keyword alert I have set. It was too big for me anyway but great to see it picked up by a Riv enthusiast.  

Also glad to hear your findings about the e-assist!  If I can't sell my Clem Smith I might keep it for an electric conversion once I'm commuting again; my work is moving and my commute will change from a flat-ish 20km each way to 16km up and over a big hill each way.  While I like getting there under my own power, the time savings alone would be huge! 

[Sky Coulter]

Ya, there was no chance of me going for it at 4000, but by the time he got to 3000, i decided to make a low but extremely polite offer at 2300.  He countered a couple days later and i picked it up for 2500.  Which had me thinking that at the very worst, i might lose a grand in the end.  Having owned it a couple weeks, i think it is a terrific value.

I think it has really barely been ridden before i got ahold of it. The frame is in pretty great shape and the odometer only had 160km on it.  I don’t know if that was the sum total of kilometers he put on it after the conversion, but it wouldn’t surprise me.  It’s got just enough minor flaws to keep me happy correcting them, but no major issues at all.

Sky in new west

On Oct 3, 2020, at 10:30 AM, Jason Fuller <jtf.f...@gmail.com> wrote:

I watched with keen interest as the price was lowered on that CL ad, since as you know it's very rare that a Rivendell pops up in the Vancouver area CL! It's the one and only keyword alert I have set. It was too big for me anyway but great to see it picked up by a Riv enthusiast.  

Also glad to hear your findings about the e-assist!  If I can't sell my Clem Smith I might keep it for an electric conversion once I'm commuting again; my work is moving and my commute will change from a flat-ish 20km each way to 16km up and over a big hill each way.  While I like getting there under my own power, the time savings alone would be huge! 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/898b4cac-77d5-4429-a02b-f0e621e56e71n%40googlegroups.com.