Solrighal

That's not so good mate, I hope it improves for you. My injuries are relatively minor in comparison.

Hi Dom. It's healing pretty well I think, thanks. It stings like hell when I attempt to walk right now though. I was pretty lucky to be fair, as I was going way too fast for that section. I thought I had recced the route fairly well on the way up but this bend didn't have a berm in it like all the others do. When I got the e-bike it reminded me what it was like to be 12 again. Unfortunately I forgot that aged 12 I fell off a bit. Lesson learned.

Ouch..! http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i393/heyzorro/Bikes/Giant/20180204_153008_1_zpsfnenq6wn.jpg

I could certainly have used those shin-guards.

I decided today was the day I cycle to the top of the hill here. I've made some climbs previously but nothing as adventurous as this wee trip. It got off to a good enough start, the e-bike makes me smile every time it gets a bit difficult. To conserve some battery I went up the main part by road then at the top turned onto a gravel track that's signposted to Les Baux-de-Provence. The views from up here are absolutely breathtaking and the tracks are generally wide & always dry. Makes for some really chunky loose stones though, as I was to find out on the way back down. Here's a photo of the bike with La Caume in the background... http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i393/heyzorro/Bikes/Giant/_DSC3281_zpsn7vvrm9w.jpg In this photo Saint-Remy-de-Provence is in the foreground with Avignon in the middle distance. The far-away hill is one you all might have heard of, Mont Ventoux... http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i393/heyzorro/Bikes/Giant/_DSC3273_zpsgyfqghie.jpg And then, on the way down, I crashed. The bike's relatively ok, one bent pedal axle & a broken and torn seat. Both items are just the cheapie stock Giant parts so I've replaced the pedals with Shimano Saints & the saddle with a Sportourer. Both my legs are pretty battered though, even walking is difficult. I think what I did wrong was not appreciating just how much mass is involved when bikes like this are hurtling downhill. The front end just started to wash away. There was a brief moment where I thought I'd caught it but there were just too many loose boulders for the tyre to regain grip. Luckily I was only 9km from home & it was all downhill. Lesson learned but I have to say, I love this bike even more now.

You know, I'm sitting here looking at glorious (if cold) blue skies and wanting to get out but the wind is howlin'. I can't see myself going much further than the boulangerie. And the pub. I love this bike.

I've not been in the Alps or the Pyrenees but there are some incredibly steep gravel roads around here & I can tackle all of them in either chainring. I'm going to tackle Mont Ventoux next month though so we'll see how that goes. Still interesting to note that all this bikes apparent competitors largely make do with just the one chainring up front.

Excellent! Way to go with the welcome wagon. Is it because it's a Friday?

A long time ago my Dad told me to deflate then reinflate my tyres every month or so, specifically to avoid the bead sticking to the rim. I still do it.

Hi all, new here. I don't actually own my own e-bike but a couple of weeks ago my boss asked me to use & maintain his one while he's out of the country, on the proviso that I keep it healthy and make sure it's available to him when he is here. It's my first experience of e-bikes and it's also my first experience of full-suspension. I'm blown away. I've had bikes all my life so I'm no stranger to life on a saddle but this bike has transformed my lifestyle. My commute to work on my own Cube Hyde Pro takes around 25 minutes on the dedicated cycle path that takes me pretty much from my front door to that of my work. On the E-bike I just continue uphill through the town and join the canal towpath that takes me all the way to the back gate of my workplace. 17 minutes for 1km further. And so much more fun. I had the bike for 10 days there and my first day cycling to work on the Cube was like pedalling through treacle. So now I have the bike for another 23-day spell & I'm plotting more trecks. For me that's the real joy of e-bikes. The ability to take a chance on a track that you don't know where it leads but in the knowledge that if it doesn't work out turning around isn't a disaster. And there's loads of tracks around here. Far more than I knew of before I started on this e-bike. Downsides I've noticed? There are a couple. Despite being a very hi-tech bike it's also very heavy. The battery & motor don't help but it's fundamentally the full-suspension geometry and the knobliest tyres I've ever ridden on. 27kmh is like hitting a brick wall. In fact on tarmac, with a neutral wind, I'm quicker on the Hyde Pro. On anything other than tarmac the Giant just eats it. The only other slight issue I have with it is the power delivery. On the canal path I commute on there's a couple of bridges where the only way across is via a maybe 80cm wide stone path which has an iron fence on one side & a drop into water on the other. It requires a hop up onto from the earth and if I have it in *Power* mode it can result in a bot too much power & consequent understeer. I think that could be a peculiarity of the Yamaha motor. Oh, one other thing - there's two chainwheels & I have no idea why. If it were my bike one of them ( and the consequent derailleur & levers) would be gone. I'm going to be buying my own pedelec eventually though. I've went from generally considering electric bike to be for cheats to fully embracing them. On that first day I couldn't get the smile off my face. I felt like I was 12 again. Anyway, if I can be of any assistance to anyone I'd be happy to help. Ta for listening. Sol.