19.05.2023 Need for speed.

 ~o~

Friday 19th 53F. Bright sunshine but a milky sky. With thin, high cloud. Back ache and painful knees are reminder of yesterday's little jaunt. The pain is already dissipating. It will improve further with a morning walk.

 Today I walked both ways. Doubling my distance without going very far. The birds were singing away as the farmers were spraying away. The air was heavy with the stench of pig shit.

 80km or 50 miles is not a huge distance by cycle touring standards. Though it should not be underestimated how much effort is required. An e-bike is certainly not for the lazy. Not if such distances must be covered in a few hours. 

 If I don't pedal I simply don't move. If I don't pedal quickly and with some force then I don't keep up the average speeds I aim for. Those who think an e-bike is an electric moped are completely mistaken. A moped rider can stop pedaling soon after pulling away. An e-bike rider needs fitness, agility and strength. If they are to travel at speed. Without rapidly depleting the battery. 

 I have chosen Sport mode to provide the assistance I need to complete my rides. Tour mode is fine for cruising gently through the countryside. Sport mode provides more impetus and higher speeds. At the cost of more rapid loss of battery charge. I used up 30% of the fully charged, second battery. Just to get home in Sport mode. The distance was less than 30km or twenty miles. 

 The first battery lasted only 50km or 30 miles. One could easily claim that this makes these faster e-bikes "45s" or "speed-pedelecs" a dismal failure.  The "range anxiety" with present  batteries is certainly very real. Particularly if both speed and distance are simultaneously required. 

 Now add the rider into this lopsided equation. I have gained distance and speed. Well beyond my years and present fitness levels. I am 76, with greatly reduced riding over the last few years. So I am no longer capable of cycling so quickly or remotely so far as the e-bike allows. On my touring trike I get so breathless on longer climbs now that my chest aches from panting. This is mainly because I can't slow down. I try to ride as fast as possible, within my limits, most of the time. 

 Battery technology is rapidly improving. As global competition, for a real breakthrough in energy density, is white hot. A patent will potentially, bring huge fortunes. Until the next chemistry magically pushes the boundaries even further. Lightness and huge charge capacity will make the present batteries look rather pathetic. 

 Whether these technologies filter down to the humble e-bike depends on take-up. Many governments are hesitant to allow e-bikes to achieve higher speeds. Speeds, which a race fit cyclist can manage for several hours, are not allowed, by law, for e-bikes. Or only within tight constraints. A faster cyclist has no need of a helmet. An e-bike rider is required to wear one all the time. Even if they dawdle at walking pace.

 Electric motorcycles are, like e-bikes, under rapid development. Electric motorcycles are in a completely different league. They demand full training, licensing, insurance, registration and normal safety rules. There is over a century of experience in their widespread use. At all levels of performance!

 E-bikes are a new hybrid and still unproven. They are neither a moped, a scooter nor a motorcycle. Governments fear that the young will modify their machines. To achieve speeds which the designs cannot safely cope with. Braking, suspension and the strength of standard bicycle components. Are all questionable as to fitness for purpose above "normal" cycling speeds. It depends what you consider normal.

 My own answer is to give each type of machine a distinctive class rating. Rider's age, licensing and insurance to match the speeds attainable. Speed increases must depend on the need to continuously pedal and the gear ratios provided. NO change being legally possible without moving up a type class. Registration plates could be colour coded according to speed class.

 Modification of e-bikes, for greater speed, is already rife and commercially available. Just as it is with internal combustion engine bikes and cars. How do the police discover these mods? Which show no external hint of the changes. Not even on the control computer display. It is no use saying that the maker's guarantee lapses. The excited owner doesn't care and the changes are easily reversible. Leaving no trace of the speed mod ever having been done.

 An annual official check might not show the more sophisticated changes. The e-bike doesn't need a foolishly noisy exhaust. To draw attention to the youthful owner's over-enthusiasm. Present MOT stations are poorly equipped to test e-bikes for safety and type compliance. It would need a whole new bureaucracy and specialist testing stations. Another burden on the poor taxpayer? To what purpose? 

 Existing laws seem not to capture the IC scooter tuning enthusiast. I was riding within the legal constraints the other day. As a motor scooter, without registration plates, screamed past and was soon gone out of sight. 

 There is a whole industry pandering to those who demand increased performance. Does a noisy exhaust really protect the public better than a silent e-bike? Who is most likely to be injured by youthful enthusiasm? The rider. Who can afford a fleet of tuned scooters. For the price of a single e-bike. 

 Where shall I go today? I need groceries but who wants to ride such a short distance?  I didn't desperately need anything from the shops. So I went for a ride around the local lanes in Tour mode before lunch. 20km in 54 minutes averaging 22km/hr. My average power output was 86W today. 

 Average cadence only 78rpm. This was deliberate. I wanted a more relaxed ride today. Just to remind myself how it feels. Not to be in a hurry. To just enjoy the scenery, birdsong and wildlife. I saw several hares and pheasants on my ride. Plus several birds of prey. The countryside is gorgeous at the moment. With some trees still bursting into leaf. Spotting the warblers, or other small birds, is becoming impossible.

12.00 16C/61F. I was not trying very hard. Changing gear becomes more important in Tour mode. It does not provide the extra power needed. To carry me up and over the hills. There were plenty of those. 220m ascent.

 Any failure to drop down the gears. Puts strain on my knees and my speed drops dramatically. Sport mode is far more forgiving of upward inclines. Though Tour mode is fine for descents. Amplifying what effort I put into the pedals to increase my speed as desired. Up to, but not exceeding 45kph/28mph. Only gravity will push speeds higher. In any mode. 

 My average top speed on a ride is always close to 45kph or 28mph. Only big downhill stretches push it up to 50kph or 30mph. Usually freewheeling after pedaling up to 45kph. There is no sense of increased friction or rolling resistance when freewheeling. There is a standard, wide ratio cassette on the back wheel. With quite a loud tick. 

 The greater weight, compared to my trike, probably accounts for slightly increased speeds downhill. The Magura disk brakes are incredibly powerful compared to the rim brakes of the trike.

 Dinner was boiled potatoes, chicken and mushrooms with peas.

 

~o~