After lurking on this excellent forum for some time and being inspired by tales of commuting success, I decided to take the plunge.
I ordered a Kalkhoff Pro Connect Disc 8 from 50 Cycles which arrived a couple of weeks ago. I had a couple of short trial runs to check the bike out and then went on holiday, so today was the first chance I've had to use the bike properly.
I managed just under 11 miles in about 35 minutes against a farly stiff headwind and was surprised to arrive reasonably fresh and sweat-free!
As an unfit 59 year old I had feared that I'd barely be able to get off the bike when I got to work.
The guys at 50 Cycles have fitted a 41 tooth chain ring which has helped reduce the cadence rate and I've found that I can maintain about 17/18mph on the level without too much effort. Norfolk terrain is reasonably flat so that helps.
I've ordered an 11 tooth drive cog to increase the maximum assist speed and it will be interesting to see how much difference it makes on the journey. The loss of range doesn't bother me as I have the large battery.
Many thanks to all on the forum for contributing their experiences and for anyone dithering like I was, I'd say go for it!
Russ
I ordered a Kalkhoff Pro Connect Disc 8 from 50 Cycles which arrived a couple of weeks ago. I had a couple of short trial runs to check the bike out and then went on holiday, so today was the first chance I've had to use the bike properly.
I managed just under 11 miles in about 35 minutes against a farly stiff headwind and was surprised to arrive reasonably fresh and sweat-free!
As an unfit 59 year old I had feared that I'd barely be able to get off the bike when I got to work.
The guys at 50 Cycles have fitted a 41 tooth chain ring which has helped reduce the cadence rate and I've found that I can maintain about 17/18mph on the level without too much effort. Norfolk terrain is reasonably flat so that helps.
I've ordered an 11 tooth drive cog to increase the maximum assist speed and it will be interesting to see how much difference it makes on the journey. The loss of range doesn't bother me as I have the large battery.
Many thanks to all on the forum for contributing their experiences and for anyone dithering like I was, I'd say go for it!
Russ