NBD – but don’t get excited

Following helpful threads here, I have talked myself down from a second car, to a motorbike and finally to an e-bike for my 11 mile / 200m ascent each way commute (not a great distance but enough that I would not enjoy weekend running and riding if I did it most days).

Settled on the Boardman 8.9e hybrid, treated myself to new panniers and a new coat while I was at it.

Timed it nicely with the 25% off, and went through C2W so payments of just over £100 per month for a year and it’s paid for.

Feels good on the quick ride up and down the street, looking forward to work next week.

Nice mate!Think you might require mudguards next week though.

looking forward to work next week.

said very few people ever…

nice looking bike though, congrats on the new commuting weapon

😂 yeah. I bought some but they didn’t fit properly (SKS cross race 55 I think). I’ve ordered another set of SKS full length old school ones, can’t cope with a wet arse….

Nice but I don’t think you’ll be able to join the local motorcycle chapter with that

I’ve put some spokey dokeys on the back wheel…sounds like a 125 🏍️🏍️

I’ll have to adjust my morning commute slightly to see if I can spot you.

Your dog’s valve and logo aren’t aligned.

Might want to check you have the latest firmware. It just had a new firmware released 3 days ago which is a big improvement.

So far on my bike, it’s smoother, quicker reacting and more powerful support. Range seemed to have improved slightly as well. Also allow users to self calibrate the BB which used to be a dealer only function.

I have the drop bar version and been using it for my commute which has been great. Helps going up hill and getting up to speed from standing start, then no different from riding a normal bike once over 15.5mph.

Don’t get excited? One less car is the best kind of NBD IMO.

Out of (serious) interest, I’m assuming the BB is the bottom bracket (?) so what needs calibrating?

Yes, BB is the bottom bracket, it has torque and cadence sensor in there. It’s apparently really sensitive and needs calibrating every time you touch the bottom bracket bolts.

For reference, on mine, the threads in the frame were full of paint so the bottom bracket never achieved the correct clamping force and came loose very quickly. Hence the bottom bracket needing re-calibrating after the threads were cleaned up and was re-tightened. This is apparently quite common.

It used to be a call to the Fazua team and they will do it for you remotely, but you can do it yourself now.

Like that a lot.  👍

More eco friendly commute, nicely proportioned bike.  Good stuff.

Sensible choice.

This is where ebikes make sense, imo…. When they replace a car journey. They make less sense when driven to the trails.

Well, just got into the office after my first commute on the new bike.

I reckon I put the same effort in, but took 9 minutes off my average journey time for the 11 miles.

I’m sold, it was a pleasure to ride and knowing I can take it a bit easier on the way back will keep me out of the car I reckon.

I agree, this is a real benefit of ebikes that isn’t being capitalised on.

My commute was 12 miles each way, between 50-60 minutes depending on wind and hills. I had no desire for evening or weekend rides after 3-4 days of that, and this was before Covid/hybrid working so didn’t need to worry about carrying laptops, chargers etc.

Beginning to wonder if an ebike might make it doable again.

Enjoy. That looks ace. I really like this kind of bike.

I have an orbea vibe. Hub motor so not super powerful but saves me using the car for the 5 (hilly) mile run to the two local towns. It’s 18 months old and I’ve clocked just under 1500km.  Every one of those would have been by car and I’ve enjoyed every trip a lot more by bike.

It does struggle a bit on the biggest hills, but I like the stealth looks and it keeps me a bit honest fitness wise. Best thing riding it back from the pub in turbo along the Wye in the summer. Lovely 🙂

Oh not sure if yours is, but I changed mine to tubeless. Prob not as big an issue with a gearbox motor but there was no way I was changing that rear tyre out on the road!