Power To The Pedals
More Power, More Fun
The Idea: import the fun we had on rental e-bikes in Europe into our everyday lives, leverage our access to The Loop, Tucson's 130-mile dedicated bike path, get outside, get some exercise. Oh, and beer, cocktail and restaurant runs might, just might, be possible too. 😂
What to get? If you've ever started to research e-bikes, you'll immediately learn that there are now a gazillion brands/formats/price points, etc. We settled on a Trek FX+ 1S for me and an Electra Townie Go S for Krisanne. Trek owns Electra, so they actually share the same drivetrain and charger (a very clever MagSafe connector), a local bike shop (Fair Wheel) had mine in stock and could order Krisanne's, and they're both relatively light weight (48 and 52 lbs, respectively). Decent range too, about 50 miles max.
The Electra had another feature important to Krisanne: a "feet forward" design that allows her to flat-foot the bike at a stop while seated. Her old Electra Cruiser had this and she really likes it.
Trixie was donated to a local charity.
Her Surly Bridge Club, used exactly twice, was re-homed with an Armory Park neighbor.
My All City Space Horse is still hanging around, hoping for some future use. 😂
I got my e-bike first because it was in stock, thereby getting a jump on the required farkling. 😎
A cool Owl bottle cage.
New, slightly concave, pedals, also shown in the above picture. More comfort, more grip.
The big comfort upgrade: new Trek gel seat and Cane Creek eeSilk suspension seat post in...wait for it...carbon fiber! YES!!
Big, big, BIG improvement because...this:
Krisanne got her bike a few weeks after I did...she had already sourced a color-matched bottle cage.
You can see the MagSafe charging connector in the above photo...easy and quick.
Krisanne's carbon fiber is actually made of wood...a wine crate adapted for bike storage.
Very clever mounting system that keeps it slightly up off the rack and very secure. The canvas top rolls back; we lined the bottom in rubber matting to prevent things from rattling.
We also had Tannus liners installed on both bikes...thorns and goat heads are everywhere here in the desert and a flat is no fun.
Longest ride I've done is about 32 miles, that's a realistic range with some battery left.
Unlike our city streets, The Loop is fairly smooth. Fortunately, our entrance is only about 1.5 miles away.
Right at the Mercado District, post-ride coffee always available!
Looking forward to playing around with these!
Ciao!
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