Two Wheels and a Battery

I've taken the first ride on my electric bicycle! In this post, I'll report on my selection process, assembling the bike, and my first impressions. 

Early in my planning for a RV lifestyle, I realized an auxiliary vehicle of some sort was desirable. It would solve two potential problems. The first was: what if I break down in the middle of nowhere? If you look at the coverage maps for even the best cell phone providers, the no-coverage areas are where I'll be spending a significant amount of time. I will be carrying a SPOT device that can summon help as long as I'm in satellite coverage, but I expect the response it might bring would be slow and/or expensive. The second problem to solve is that while my Sprinter van will be easier to park than conventional motorhomes, there will still be situations where I have to park a significant distance from the point of interest.

Many RV'ers pull a car behind their motorhome (called a "toad" in the vernacular). This solution has never been attractive to me. I don't like worrying about "How's it doing back there?", and I don't like the way it complicates backing up. If I didn't have such an aversion to towing, I probably would have chosen an Airstream trailer and a pickup truck instead of a motorhome. So, towing was never an option.

A motorcycle would fit on a rack on the back of the van, eliminating the need to tow. After some investigation, a dual-sport type of cycle appeared to be best suited to my needs.

It can handle the rough roads of the back country, but is legal to ride on the highways as well. Three things held me back: the price, though used ones weren't terribly expensive; the weight, I'd have to use a ramp to get it on and off the rack and that would be awkward; and the noise that a motorcycle would introduce into otherwise tranquil settings. I didn't want to intrude on the peace of other campers, hikers, or even myself as I explored the countryside. An option such as a moped would be less noisy, but they're not suited to off-road, and, honestly, my self-image just didn't accommodate riding a moped.

Another issue with a motorcycle or moped is that there'd be one more fuel I'd have to manage, gasoline, since the van is diesel.

The choice seemed to be narrowing to a bicycle, but did I really want to depend on pedaling dozens of miles to get out of trouble, or even to see the sights? Plus, there'd be destinations where I wouldn't want to arrive all hot and sweaty. Thankfully, one solution remained: an electric bicycle. But which one? There were dozens to choose from. I hit the web to do some research.

As I surveyed electric bicycle companies and models I had three criteria: reasonably priced, good range on one charge, and not too stodgy looking. The bike I chose was the Aries model made by EVELO (pronounced E-vehl'-o). While any company is going to spin things their own direction, I think this comparison chart on the EVELO site is a fair summary of the information I gathered from many reviews and manufacturers' sites. A notable advantage of the EVELO design is that it uses a mid-drive motor. While most electric bicycles use a motor in the hub of the front or rear wheel, the EVELO motor drives the pedal crank, allowing it to take advantage of the bicycle's gears as a rider does. This gives it more oomph to get up hills, and makes more efficient use of its power which translates into better range per charge. There's also a freewheel mechanism that allows you to pedal with the motor turned off and experience no extra drag. Another thing that attracted me to EVELO is that they make a mountain bike model, the Aries, in contrast to other companies that tend to stick with staid cruiser or commuter models.

As soon as I had visited the EVELO website, coupons for $100 off an EVELO bike started showing up frequently as ads in my web browser (thanks, Google!). Because of the cost, I had originally relegated buying an e-bike to a year or two after my travels started. But as I thought about it, I realized how much it would enhance my enjoyment right from the start. For example, one place I plan to visit early in my travels is Red Rock Canyon State Park. The park is crisscrossed by dirt roads to the sights, several of which are not recommended for an RV. I also plan to visit Portland, Oregon, which is renown for its extensive system of bike trails. I can't think of a better way to see the city. 

All this moved me closer and closer to the tipping point of buying the bike sooner rather than later. EVELO bikes don't appear in regular bike shops, so I even accepted their offer to set up a test ride with an owner in the area. The ride went great, confirming that the bike fit me, and that everything worked as smoothly as advertised. I was sold, but there was still the question of when to buy. Then, over the recent fourth of July weekend, EVELO had a sale that offered the bike at a price considerably lower than I'd seen in the year since I'd started following it. I jumped at the opportunity, and just a few days later, the bike was delivered to my doorstep - some assembly required.

Here's a photo of what it looks like as it comes out of the box:

And another when the front wheel is on:

The assembly process is not bad at all. There's an on-line video showing the important steps, and a printed assembly guide that comes with the bike. Not once during the process was I confused or frustrated. The whole thing took me 50 minutes, and most of that was cutting away the packing material.

Here's the finished bike, which I think is pretty nice looking:

I immediately took off on a test ride (yes, I paused to don a helmet), and I was... underwhelmed. The bike seemed quite difficult to pedal without the motor running. Not EVELO's fault! I'd forgotten to properly inflate the tires - they were at 20 psi. At the recommended 65 psi, the bike just zoomed along.

I'd noticed during the assembly process that the control unit on the handlebars had been upgraded from the one on the test-ride bike.

I was very happy to see that; the old one had looked a bit like it belonged on a kiddie bike. Just one problem: there was no obvious way to turn it on, and there was no mention of this new unit in the user manual. Drawing on the unseen force that unites all engineers, I asked myself: "If I designed this, how would I make it turn on?" I pressed and held the Mode button (in the left hand three-button cluster), and the display came to life. While the force was still active, I asked myself, "How would I make the headlight and taillight turn on?" since there was no obvious switch to do that either. I pressed and held the Mode and Up-Arrow buttons simultaneously and the lights came on. The force is strong indeed. In a subsequent email from EVELO, I learned that a separate manual for the new controls had inadvertently been left out of my shipment and I was given a link to the PDF. In that PDF I learned about other magical button combinations, including how to configure several default options for the display and that there's a USB port on the side of the display for charging your phone. By the way, the display usually shows your speed, an odometer, the Watts the motor is currently consuming, and the remaining battery charge. The normal use of the Mode button is to switch between a trip odometer and a total miles ridden odometer. The up and down arrow buttons (on the left three-button cluster) increase and decrease the amount  of boost the motor gives your pedaling. There are five settings, ranging from "You're on your own." to "Get out of my way!" If you don't want to pedal at all, there's also a twist grip throttle on the left handlebar. Maximum speed of the bike on electric power is (government) limited to 20 mph, though you can pedal faster if you've got the legs.

The triangular display on the right handlebar is for keeping track of gear changes. I chose to get the NuVinci continuously variable rear hub instead of the conventional derailleur system of discrete gears.

It's not cheap, but there's two advantages of the NuVinci system that were important to me: you're never between gears getting the clackety-clack sound, and you can change gears any time you want, whether you're stopped or pumping hard up a hill.  On the opposite side of the wheel, you can see the rear disc brake; the front wheel has one too. Returning to that display, it's a clever animation that shows a little man riding a bike on terrain that transforms from level ground to a steep hill as you twist the grip to the appropriate ratio. And the gear you want for pedaling is also the right gear for the motor to work through.

The motor itself is surprisingly compact:

It's that black cylinder just in front of the crank. Its maximum power consumption is 250 Watts. Other e-bike manufacturers use a 500 Watt motor, but by using the bike's gears, the EVELO design can conserve power to extend its range. That other black cylinder above the motor is the shock absorber for the rear wheel. You can adjust its firmness by twisting around its axis.The front wheel has a suspension, too, from the well-known brand, RockShox.

The silver tubes extending up from the wheel are shock absorbers. I'd never ridden a bike with front and rear suspension before, but after getting used to it, I've got to say I like the way it smooths out the bumps. Reviewers have said the Aries is not set up to be a true mountain bike, but that was never what I wanted, anyway. You can also get a glimpse in the photo above of the front headlight, though the brake cables partially obscure it.

The battery that runs this whole setup is the big black object shown here:

The battery can be removed from the bike for recharging, and locks into the frame with a key, which is good since it's the single most valuable component of the bike. I'm still deciding what kind of lock I want to use for the entire bike when I have to leave it somewhere unattended, but it'll have to be a good one. Though it's not visually apparent, I went for the upgraded battery which gives 50% more range than the standard option - up to 60 miles on a charge if you help out by pedaling. That's a spring-loaded cargo rack on top of the battery.

As you can no doubt tell, I'm quite happy with the choice I've made. The few rides that I've had time for so far have been enjoyable, though it's clear I have to get my legs back in biking shape. That's the beauty of an electric bike, though. If you're dead tired far from home, you just twist the throttle and it takes you back. I can already tell that biking is such a rewarding activity it's going to encourage me to exercise more. I'll report again when I've had more experience with the bike. Also, my next visit to Sportsmobile in Fresno is coming up, so I'll post about that with lots of photos of the progress on my van.