June 19th 2010

It's been a Year since I posted this review...

And the kit is still going strong . Very durable. I ride it nearly every day, I actually prefer it more than the motorbike which is gathering dust in the garage. I dropped the bike few times hard enough to break the pedal, but the kit never needed any attention. Kudos !!!

There is no change of battery performance too. Very happy.

I also found that going to the bush with eBike is a real joy. I don't know why but at low gear, full battery power, gravel, mud etc. It FEELS really fast! I went places hard enough to displace my rear light yet the kit never seem to move.

Now... I'm going to Switzerland and taking this eBike there as primary transport (not the trip lol). Thought I might replace that broken pedal for aesthetics reason and got some cheapie at KMart. I thought it was a bit tight when installing it but no dramas... until the shipment company came and told me I had to take the pedal off. Then the problem started as when unscrewing it, it actually got tighter!! Due to my stupidity thread had been ruined

Emailed Allan today for replacement part and he gave be the best solution ever for that problem (Thanks Allan!)

I'll post some pics from sunny Europe

June 30th 2010

My bike arrived today so quickly I reassembled the pedal successfully. I went for a quick ride to a town near Lausanne after work. What a beautiful place.

The swiss are real gentlemen on the road. They will wait for you patiently. I try to keep reminding myself to ride on the right hand side . The odometer is showing 2790km.

Roads are *very* steep. On the "less steep" inner city slopes I did 45kph with no pedalling and no motor. On these slopes going uphill with the motor is very pleasant. Minimal pedalling. But on the country side its *ridiculously* steep that I wouldn't want to come down without brakes keeping the speed at 15kph-ish. Anything above this I wouldn't be able to stop in emergency.

Now, some pics:

Elation and Aussie promotion! A guy came and talk to me in broken English... can I see your bike? He was quite amused. There's a bit more eBikes around compared to Melbourne. Also the culture of cycling is different. The Swiss are much more relaxed compared to the speed pursuit of Melbourne lycra crowd.




See the hill there?




Vines, old houses (18th centuries some of them)... beautiful.




In Swiss, even windows are ridiculously beautiful

July 4th 2010

I took the Elation for the most torturous test to date . Starting from Lausanne then going around the lake Leman (Lake Geneva) to Montreux, Vevey, Villenueve then crossing to France - Evian, Thonon and various small towns along the way back to Switzerland in Geneva.

Total distance was 136km and took 11hrs to complete (relaxed riding and enjoying scenery). Hence I took the frugal approach with the battery, basically to use it only on ascending part. And there were *a lot* of it. I saw the first yellow indicator light at 120km past France and approaching Geneva. Then the next 15km saw the first red light. Not bad at all for a tiny battery package!

Route map (google)

Depart 9:30 at the picturesque Ouchy area of Lausanne.




The road between Lausanne and Montreux. Perfect weather!




Off the beaten track nearing French Border. The border itself was like a toll booth and the person just simply waved me on, not interested in any passport.




Endless French villages like this at Yvoire. If I had to stop and take pictures everytime I saw something interesting I would never got to my destination!




Everytime I park the bike people would glance at the motor/battery. Why eBike is not yet a primary transport in such beautiful and hilly countries actually begs belief.

July 13th 2010

I took the Elation to another long ride, this time up the mountain of Morzine-Avoriaz to see Tour de France.

The climb was 500m to 1700m in 45km. Again I try to conserve the battery by pedalling but it's just simply a big climb. Battery was ok up to Morzine (45km) but on the way down I was tempted to race a few bikes downhill and flatten the battery at km 60 . But from there it's all downhill, I did 50kph with no motor and no pedalling. So the total trip was 90km with battery available to 60km.

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