I Am Jon

First motor was replaced under 2 year warranty after 3,000km. Wasn’t really bad but bearings had some wear so shop swapped it out. Still riding year round in all weathers but don’t bother cleaning with hose as often as I used too. Now I’m past 3,000km on replacement motor so wasn’t sure how much life left in it. But seems to be running nice and smooth after shop service so guess I’m good for now. New bikes do look nice though, will probably have another look next year. Not bothered about dongles. Very hilly round my way, 15mph is enough for climbing and can manage 35mph on way down without assist.

My Bergamont full suspension (Bosch cx) is 5 years and has done over 6,000km (3,000km on second motor). Still seems to run ok but has fair bit of wear and tear. Currently in shop to replace bearing on drive pulley-wheel and a few other parts on drive chain. Was looking at latest gen 4 bikes while I was there. Cube stereo hybrid 140 SL 750 is looking pretty tempting. How long are you keeping emtb’s for? Does 5 year old bike have any resale value?

Sounds like a lot of this is general ebike / Bosch issues rather than problems with Bergamont. Although I think they may have cut a few corners on the wheels, the spoke nipples at least seem to have been a poor choice. Does sound like quite a high mileage for only 12 months on a mountain bike. I assume the motor problems got sorted under warranty? Is it 2 years Bosch cover them for? Kinda hoping mine gets replaced before the warranty is up. My cassette is on the way out, hoping to get a few more weeks out of it before i have to replace. Will get another chain and chain-ring at same time. Will probably just get the cheaper XG-1150 (still £85) as don't think the more expensive ones will last much better. I am enjoying the range 11 speed 10-42 gives, can hit 35mph on the roads and still managed to ride up a few hills in granny gear when I ran out of battery. Really not been cleaning my bike that thoroughly. Partly worried about over-cleaning getting water into the bearings and also just a bit lazy.

Now the weathers getting better I thought I'd do a quick update. Coming up to 2,000 km. No major issues just had to replace some wear and tear parts: rear tire, chain, chainring, pedals, chain guide sprocket bearings, pads etc. Did have a problem with spoke nipples breaking, got through about 5 on the rear. Think it was an issue with the aluminium nipples failing prematurely so had them all replaced at LBS for £10. Managed to keep up my work commute through most of the winter but not so much proper rides except for a couple of fun outings in the snow over Christmas. Looking forward to some longer rides now weather is improving and days getting longer. Bike looks a right state at the moment as given up trying to keep it clean. Too much hassle washing it down in the dark, seems over cleaning can do more harm than good anyhow. Just scrape away the of the worst of the mud and apply a little oil when it sounds like it is needed. Will give it a proper spring clean and switch to dry lube when the weather is drier.

Just dropped bike off to get a spoke fixed. Will probably be getting the upgrade at same time.

Is it the same 2016 C 9.0 version? Sure your going to love it. Makes such a difference knowing you can power up any hill you want. Nearly up to 500km on mine now. Unfortunately went and crashed it earlier this week. Will cost me a few quid to fix but could of been much worse. Entirely my fault, went too fast round a blind corner and got caught out by a car blocking the track. Grabbed a fist full of brake and ended up on the ground in front of the car. Got a few bruises and a smashed up the front brake lever so waiting on a replacement now. Was impressed how well my MTB gloves stood up, really saved my hands and still good to wear. Here's a pic from one of my better rides:

Just seen this article about a new Bosch eMTB mode via software update? http://ebike-mtb.com/en/emtb-mode-bosch-cx-review/ Sounds like it's a dynamic assist mode that replaces the sport mode. Not sure if they have released the update to retailers yet, has anyone got the update already? Need to take my bike in for repair on Monday after I had a little mishap, so will ask about it then.

Home insurance is cheapest option. Don't rule out switching home insurance, could end up saving you a load of money. I found switching to Aviva reduced my home insurance cost while adding cover for my £3,500 ebike.

Think i'm ok on the road but off-road was too hairy to be checking where my feet are. Everything was making rubbing grinding noises by that time anyhow. Probably got a bit ambitious for my first long ride. There was one track that I was really starting to regret half way up. Steep, long, muddy, deep ruts and torn up by a stream going down it. Going to be feeling it tomorrow.

Enough about mudguards already. That wear is from me stomping on the pedals in my muddy size 12 boots. Probably should be watching my foot placement a bit as shouldn't really be rubbing that much, can see it getting worse throughout the ride in the photos. Was going to happen sooner or later anyhow.

Yeah, probably all on tarmac Look closer, there is a bell.

Not another one, keep getting grief about them of a colleague Their here to stay anyhow, keeps my backside clean and mud off the forks. I reckon it's only fair weather cyclists who are anti mudguards.

Well that was a fun ride, got out to a few tracks I've never been on before although not quite as far as planned. Managed 48km today, still had 1 bar battery when I got home but used it up getting odometer to 150 km Bit disappointed I only got 48km out of the battery, was out for 3-4 hours mostly in eco / tour with the odd burst of turbo up a few killer hills on the way back. Think it is the hill climbing that's killing it, about 1,100 meters according to view ranger tracking. A fair bit of that was up steep muddy rocky tracks, had the rear wheel spinning quite a few times. Think I underestimated how bad some of the tracks are at the moment, had to abandon one route as it was looking more like a bog, even the canal path was fairly muddy. Anyhow here's a few pictures: http://my.viewranger.com/track/details/NDQ3MDQ1NQ==

Booked afternoon off work, bags packed & weather forecast looks good. Bikes with me in the office and got a 35km (1,000 meter) route planned, setting off straight after lunch. Should be a good afternoon

I use View Ranger for this allows the wife to check up on where I am, although no auto crash alerts. Reassuring to know someone can locate you should anything happen, especially on a isolated night ride. Route planning and tracking with OS maps is nice too.

Still not managed a proper long ride, only up to 89 km so far. Here are a few pictures from today's ride home:

Don't need it for the ride. Just too much hassle messing about with phone to take pictures in dark / wet.

1 week and i'm up to a total of 62km. Trying to get the mileage up to something respectable before its 6 week service. Just rode home the long way, a hilly and slightly muddy 21km. It's fun to get out on a night ride again but a pain having to clean off the bike in the dark. Learning to use a mix of assist levels, spent good chunk in eco but nice having the extra boost when needed. Still used some turbo as didn't want to get home too late. Will try and get some ride photos if i ever get to go out when daylight and dry. Only had about 1/2 battery left (still 3 bars), after doing 26km. Guess thats good for about 50km then. Was a particularly hilly ride with 650+ meters gain and i'm sure I could improve that if I wasn't rushing so much and was a little fitter. The range estimate seems to be all over the place, 60+ before setting off from work then 18km by the end (both in eco). What does it base the estimate on? Is it just the last 5km? seems to change very fast depending on if I just went up or down a hill. Edit: Just worked out how to share viewranger route: http://my.viewranger.com/route/details/MTE1MzU1

Not ridden much in the last 12 months but getting back into it now I have an ebike. Never had a road accident but have had a number of close calls, some my fault and some down to bad / impatient drivers. Making a conscious effort to be a good / safe rider on the road. I have found the extra assist gives me much more confidence to adopt a prime riding position while riding up hills without worrying so much about holding traffic up. I sense drivers are more accepting if i'm doing 10+ mph rather than 5 and less inclined to force their way past me. I still let them pass when it is safe to do so. Having an ebike also opens up more routes that avoid busy roads.

Maybe someday but prefer to keep it legal for now. More about dealing with the pennine hills than speed for me, besides 25kmph feels pretty fast off-road. 35mph is about my fastest on a bike, that was plenty scary for me.

Yeah they looked pretty old when we moved in over 10 years ago. Could do with a refit but spending the money on a emtb is more fun. Prefer Kms when on the bike, the big numbers make it feel like i'm going further and faster. Seriously the assist cutting out at 15.5mph feels annoyingly slow but doesn't bother me so much at 25kmph

Currently using View Ranger, do a lot of off-road so the OS maps are really handy for tracking down bridleways. Found the website route planner for View Ranger to be quite good, not tried importing routes from other sources. Have phone mounted on top-tube but it can be tricky to check where i'm going without stopping to study the map. A turn by turn style navigation would be easier to follow but not sure if there is one that copes well with off road routes. Generally I navigate by memory and only use the map for finding my way along new routes and recording where I have been.

Was a close thing but ended up choosing the Bergamont over Cube HPA 160 Race after trying it out at LBS. Picked up on Friday, only managed a windy, wet and muddy 24km so far. Weather and real life prevented me from getting out as much as i'd of liked so only managed to ride home and nip out round a few local tracks and hills. Flew up some killer hills that would normally leave me walking at a steady 10mph in turbo. Handled some local tracks that had become rather muddy and washed out great, think I was the only thing holding it back. Still felt pretty tired after the first few rides, I was working just as hard only going up hill much faster than usual. Sure is tempting to try and ride everywhere at 25kmph in turbo, guess I will settle down to a more steady pace on lower assist levels once I start getting out on longer rides. Here it is all gleaming after it's first bath and polish.

I got a top tube mounted phone case that holds the phone well and has space for a USB battery pack so can charge at the same time. I have heard the Intuvia charging port can be temperamental for phones due to the limited amperage.

That's a shame,would be good to know if anyone has found a good policy that does go higher. Home insurance does seem to work out a lot cheaper if they will give you the cover. Think I would rather risk it than pay out the specialist insurance rates which all seem to be 6-7% of the bikes value. Aviva does allow multiple bikes worth up to £3,500 each for the same price as one which is a bonus for me as my wife is now looking to get one too. Seems to be higher than most providers offer and nice that they specifically include Pedelecs in the policy. Not sure i'd trust myself on a bike worth much over 4k. Would end up stressing too much about scratching it or worse. As it is I expect i'm going to be overly protective of my precious new bike for a good few months. Edit: Don't mean to sound like an advert, not on commission. Shows that it can pay to shop around on home insurance though, especially if you haven't reviewed it for a few years.