This is part two of a two part guest post by highly visible e-cyclist and regular reader Greg Nikoloff
This post is about my (continuing) experiences with my Pedego (http://pedego.co.nz) electric bike (e-bike).
In part 1, I covered the basic of my e-bike experience which I’ve owned and used for over 2 years. In this second part I’ll cover in detail my daily commute, and show a bit how the e-bike fares on this route and how it enables me to manage Aucklands hills and traffic and makes it fun as I do my part to alleviate Auckland traffic congestion on a personal and daily level.
My daily commute
I use my e-bike for my daily work commute, mostly during summer months (Oct-Mar). For this, I cycle along the Remuera road “ridge” – during the morning peak traffic, anytime from 7am to 8am – as I don’t get held up by traffic, exactly when I leave home is not critical – unlike if I take the car, when it is. As half of the length of Remuera Road I cycle on has a peak direction bus lane, I use that for most of the trip. Because the cruising speed on the e-bike is about 35km/hr on the flat, and about 24km/hr on the hills, I find I can easily keep up with most of the traffic using that lane and therefore don’t get too many buses passing me. The one or two tight places where I go slow, where buses and cars can’t easily pass, so they have no choice but to wait behind me for about 30-40 seconds at most. With few buses going past me – which are always a bugger and a danger – it definitely makes for a more enjoyable ride, even though you’re in traffic still.
Here’s a Google Maps ride profile of the route, the distance & the amount of altitude I cover:
The map shows the usual sort of route I take from my home to work (there are extra distances at each end which I’ve left out as they don’t particularly matter). And the above route is pretty much what I cycle daily. The Google maps cycling profile shows a 49 metres climb over 6.5km, with 66m of descent. The descent is mostly in the first half of the ride going to work, so the ride to work is a steady uphill for most of the second half.
Because the start and end points are about the same altitude (some 70m or so above sea level) the ups and downs are mainly due to the topography of the intervening roads between the start/end points. Google Maps suggests 24 minutes to cycle that distance. On my e-bike at about 30-35 km/hr most of the way, its 12-15 minutes. Exactly how long, mainly depends on the number of red lights I hit (as I stop at red lights). When I cycle this I do it my normal work clothes of dress pants, shoes and an open neck business shirt and arrive “warm” from the exercise, but not sweaty or needing a shower. In spring and Autumn, I ride with gloves on as the chill factor on your hands can be noticeable.
This particular stretch of Auckland roads has some 13! (count ‘em all) traffic light controlled intersections and 2 light controlled pedestrian crossing on it. Which collectively must be a record of some sort for number of red lights over this distance in Auckland, outside of the CBD. Some lights do work as linked pairs (Ladies Mile/Greenlane East & Victoria Ave/Clonbern Road), but the rest do not and these lights change independently. If I can get green lights all the way, I can manage about 12 minutes door to door in steady/medium traffic. If I hit 3-5 red lights or heavy traffic, it can take up to 18+ minutes to go the same distance. If I crossed with the pedestrians at the red lights most of the time I’d make it probably 14 or so minutes.
If I was to drive, then I can, at best, manage about the same time, maybe slightly better – as I can drive at 50 km/hr the whole way, door to door, in the best case. Worst case, when the bus lane is in full operation, it can be over 40 minutes in stop/start traffic crawling along. So yeah, e-bike matches or beats the car just about every day – especially during Feb/March madness period.
In fact I have some co-workers who routinely see me go past them – me, legally in the “bus lane”, as they sit (fuming) in the “SOV vehicle lane” as I cycle past them on my way to work. I’ve usually having left home long after they left theirs and will beat them to the office by a good long chalk as well. And I’ll be relaxing at my desk with a coffee (reading TB, or emails), while they come in all hassled and more tired than I feel – yet I did most of the exercise!
Going home, the reverse route is basically the fastest and shortest, but it’s also the “vanilla” option. But having the e-bike means I have alternative options I can use as I desire/need i.e. when I’m sick of vanilla. As seen from this alternative route:
I can divert down either Victoria Ave, or Orakei Road (shown) and then use the Orakei Boardwalk(s) if I want a nicer ride, with a lot less traffic. Although going that way is 2 km longer and also means I do have to climb from near sea-level at Orakei basin back up to 70+ metres in height. It does give me a great downhill from the Remuera Ridge down to the water at Orakei first. And that few minutes as you cycle across the boardwalk(s) with the water lapping underneath as you cycle over it – you can’t put a price on that. You’d not normally contemplate such an activity as a normal cyclist as the resultant need to climb “back up” to the ridge afterwards would make you think twice unless you were in training. With an e-bike, it’s no problem to do so. And just adds some variety to what can be a bit of a drag race going the normal way.
E-bike power means you can enjoy the many downhills, and yet you don’t have to worry about the inevitable uphills too much. It will take me at most, all of 10 minutes longer to go home this way. But I know I will arrive at home feeling 10 times more refreshed/energised than if I had to jostle with traffic down Remuera Road and usually get stuck at the many lights along the way. And if by some chance I also see an EMU or two passing as I cycle along beside the rails on the Orakei boardwalk, well that’s quite uplifting as well.
When the Meadowbank Station to St Johns Road part of the GI to Tamaki Drive cycleway opens (hopefully towards the end of this year) then I’ll be able to use that to get “back up to the ridge” at St Johns hill. I‘m sure that will be a really interesting, smooth and invigorating ride with less of the really steep gradients on it than what I face now when I use the back streets with their patchwork of road surfaces. So I’m pretty sure, once opened I’m going to add it to my daily cycle route – even if only on Fridays. And once the Orakei Point development is built, I’m sure that too will provide even more of a reason to go that way if I need to go shopping or simply savour the delights of a summer in Auckland.
Last year I told my doctor what I’d bought, he was happy to see the results in my blood tests, but also was very keen for this for his other patients as he could see, like me, that with an e-bike you can’t ever get in to too much trouble if you cycle too far, and the e-bike will get you home again if you do. So at my last doctor check up – I spent more time telling him in response to his many questions, about the e-bike and how easy it was to ride, what it cost, and how great it is to be mobile again than we did on my check-up. So I’m sure a lot of his patients will be e-biking sooner than later.
The future
The big question with these things is always the future – and would you buy one again/replace your e-bike if it was lost/wrecked/stolen etc?
And what about the rest of us?
“Sure I would get a new one” – and I would get the same brand too, just the newest model. Probably get the same colour too. I do miss not having a regular cycle on the days I don’t ride. I really miss it when Daylight Savings ends and its dark by 6 o’clock at night. While that extra hour in the morning makes cycling to work easier, getting home from work for me before its dark is harder/less enjoyable – those inattentive car drivers the main issue. On separated cycle ways and lanes it wouldn’t matter what time I went to work or home. And while the Tamaki drive to GI cycleway won’t really assist my daily ride that much, directly, using it will make at least part of the ride more enjoyable as I’m out of traffic for some of the way.
This year, I’ll probably keep cycling daily until mid April – post Easter anyway, weather permitting. Then I hang up my cycling spurs for a bit, and mainly cycle on the best days during winter – and Fridays – Friding, after all, is the best antidote to winter, or work.
Looking forward, I’d have to say that e-bikes and Auckland are a good match. And e-bikes and our EMUs (and eventually LRT) are also very good matches. It’s so easy to cycle 3 or even 6 km without breaking a sweat – even over the sort of hills you get in some parts of Auckland, if you were to overlay a map of Auckland PT stations with 5km or so wide circles, you’d cover a fair chunk of Auckland. And that’s easily and realistically the sort of distances you can cover on an e-bike to get to the nearest LRT or train station. And with the e-bike you can replace the walking or driving trip to the shops with a cycle too. The poor state of the cycle racks (if they have any at all) at most local shopping places near me testifies to how far down the scale of transport modes, that cycling has gone. But it is slowly getting better.
If I lived on the North Shore, and with Skypath coming down the path, I think I’d seriously consider getting and using an e-bike to commute to work – either directly if I lived close enough, or via a cycle to the local NEX station otherwise. I’ve told this to my co-workers, as many of them they could easily get to Britomart by cycle then use the trains to get up the hill to Newmarket to avoid that 70m height climb. In journey time, they’d be way quicker than they can get on the motorway in the morning. Even I’d admit that while I could cycle from Britomart to Newmarket easily on my e-bike – I couldn’t beat the train for speed up the hills.
So roll on e-bikes for everyone. If ever there was a 21st century take on an older technology that is truly relevant for Auckland today, and in the decades to come – it would be an e-bike on the personal level and LRT on the mass transit level.
If you don’t believe me, on the e-bikes – don’t take my word for it – head on out to your nearest e-bike dealer and take a test ride on one. Then decide for yourself. Just don’t blame me if you end up wanting to buy one as a result.
Lastly
In part 1, I introduced a tinkly bit and said that I’d explain this in part 2.
Well this comes from all those Star Trek “The Original Series” episodes, which always ended with what we call “a tinkly bit” in our house. Don’t know what I mean or never noticed it before? Well watch the end of an original series Star Trek episode, just before the credits, the last scene is designed to provide an uplifting scene or amusing little vignette, right before the credits – the actors indicate this visually and music tells you this audibly. Visually usually either via Spocks raised eyebrow, or more usually, the smirk on Kirk’s face as he says “Set course, Mr Sulu!” or some such command. And because it usually has some tinkly background music to it, is why we call it “a tinkly bit”. So, here is a slightly uplifting, Star Trek & e-bike related “tinkly bit” to end this post on.
Some of you may recall a recent post about how the recently departed Leonard Nimoy (aka Spock), told how he cycled to get his lunch each day at the studio commissary while at the on the set filming the original Star Trek series episodes – it being entirely “Logical to cycle” in his words. Naturally enough it saved Nimoy time and no doubt, got him at the front of the lunch queue – so he could have some lunch and get back to set, in time to have his make-up and fake ears and such repaired/adjusted if needed. Meaning, he’d be ready to go on set as required. Shatner on the other hand, I’m sure, just had to tighten (or loosen) his corset, and dial down his smirk a bit after lunch, so he didn’t need “time in make-up” after lunch like Spock probably did.
See how, times change, even Captain Kirk himself (William Shatner), and Mrs Shatner both ride a (Pedego) e-bike these days, see this picture of them riding one each – this is from 2012.
The full article is here: http://www.pedegoelectricbikes.com/william-shatner-picks-up-pedego-interceptors/
And on that note, lets hop on our collective (e-)bikes and ride “into the future” creating “Auckland Cycling: The Next Generation” as we go …
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At the speeds quoted, it’s a motorbike. Masses of these will cause issues.
Mmm, not so much. I see regular cyclists who cycle on those roads, with regular bikes, doing similar/the same speeds – some are gussied up as MAMILs many are not.
When I was growing up I used to cycle around Christchurch at similar speeds – on my Raleigh 20. As did a lot of other cyclists in the day then too.
Did we have a problem then or now with cyclists riding at those speeds on our roads? On off-road cycleways maybe that would be a problem.
That’s what I’m referring to – cycle paths / shared paths etc. Just a note based on what i’ve seen locally and some reading of overseas blogs where bike paths and ebikes exist together.
There is a couple, where I live, who have just got e bikes. They are in their 60’s and they gave been riding at higher speeds, with almost no pedalling. As we get older, our reactions change. We are also more prone to infection from broken bones and the like. In Netherlands ebike use is growing but also, at a surprising (or not) the number of serious injuries and deaths amongst older riders is increasing out of proportion potentially. It’s still too soon to verify.
You’d be mad to ride at “on road speeds” on a shared path/off-road cycleway on any bike, whether e-bike or not.
Thats why off-road cycleways and shared paths are great – you don’t need to ride at those speeds because you’re not in normal traffic.
But there is a decision about cycleways – do you prioritise the long distance cyclists or the local cyclists and walkers?
On stretches like the the NW cycleway beside the motorway, there are no real local cyclists, so a higher speed environment is probably warranted.
At the Orakei Boardwalk, definitely lower speeds must prevail.
If your older couple example who zoom around on their e-bikes without knowing the consequences or increased demands like reaction times it needs, then yeah that could be a problem.
And no bike helmet law will protect them from themselves.
I ride a non-electric bike and used to go down this section training at night. Would never take me 12 minutes.
“Would never take me 12 minutes”
Do you mean you can’t do that in 12 minutes, or that it never takes you that long?
I mean that it would never take 12 minutes, it would takes less than that as opposed to twelve minutes and some more. could try find my Strava recordings if that will help.
Just meaning to say that the speed isn’t actually outrageous for a bike as Bryce was suggesting, not that the bike is slow, as I was 21 and had just retired from full time sport to focus on university.
Shat manages to make the e-bike look like a Harley…
Well Pedego (NZ’s) own promotions call them “The Harley of e-bikes” so maybe they staged the photo to look that way 🙂
I got caught in the rain on my SmartMotion on Thursday afternoon, and learned a lesson about braking in the wet, or rather – not braking successfully in the wet – on Waterloo Quadrant.
I usually brake the rear (rim) brake first, and the front (disc) brake second and with less force. Theoretically the rim brake should have less grip in the wet, but it gripped too well and despite the weight of the battery directly over the rear wheel, it locked up and started to skid sideways. Easing off the brakes meant I was probably going to overshoot into the moving Symonds Street traffic. I contemplated chucking the bike (and me) on its side to stop before reaching the intersection but I managed to (just) stop on the pedestrian crossing.
It made for a very nervous trip home, particularly along Mt Eden Road where bike speeds often exceed car speeds, and regular braking is necessary in the narrow space between parked cars and moving cars.
Probably “real” cyclists know all about wet weather braking techniques, but I guess it shows the dangers of novices on fast bicycles. It also reinforces the benefit of dedicated bike paths: the new stretch of the Beach Road path should mean I have a dedicated path from Fort Street right up to Upper Queen Street, and won’t need to use Emily Place or Waterloo Quadrant.
Remember that problem well on the old Raleigh 20 in the wet, sometimes the rim brakes were totally useless and other times they’d work too well – like disc brakes and you couldn’t tell from wet day to wet day what it would be like til you braked. Motorcycles were just as bad sometimes too in the wet even with drums on the front and rear.
Recall the front wheel on my motorbike getting knocked sideways on the rain slicked/slippery rail lines that used to cross Quay Street heading to the whavres, ended up coming off the motorbike because of that. Not nice.
I guess you might also want to ensure the rear tyre has the better tread on it too, like cars – best tyres on the rear so they say.
I’m not sure how well that green paint they use on cycleways works in the wet even though it has stuff in it to make the surface rough, its still painted.
I’m sure our local expert on the subject – Mike Sherrin – will have a comment on that and the relative safety of the stuff AT use versus his better products, which they don’t.
I’ve locked up the rear wheel in a single speed a few times, but the last time the pads actually stuck to the rim (heat, I guess?). It’s pretty fun at low speeds… without the threat imminent death.
It’s one more positive to separated lanes – less grease. It’s especially bad after a long dry spell – as soon as it rains the surface is a nightmare.Though as Greg points out – what is the quality of the green surface?
Most of the ebikes I see are closer to 30km/hr on the flat. Unless there is a fierce headwind I leave them behind. There is a guy on a black ebike who rides at something like 45km/hr into town on the western cycleroute early in the morning. Too fast for my single speed.
The worst thing about ebikes is their lesser regard for conserving energy, and their lack of cornering ability.
One of my biggest concerns if I bought an e-bike would be where to park it. For cheap second-hand bike if ti got nicked I could probably afford to replace it, but not a $3000 e-bike. In my case I wouldn’t be using an e-bike for commuting from a secure location at home to a secure location at work, instead using it on weekends to get about the city, I’m not sure leaving it locked and leaning against a lamppost on Queen St while I go into a shop is a good idea.
You can get an E Bike for $350 on Alibaba. For $1000 you can get ones that go 60kmh. That raises the question of safety and standards – some advertise 45kg luggage capacity – do they need lights, horns, decent tyres and brakes?
Being proactive about this would be a good idea (not just letting the government outlaw them as they have done with segways and e-scooters).
Your non-direct route proves its that route selection is not all about time from A to B but must consider personal safety and stress. How about we stop trying to retrofit dedicated/protected cycle lanes onto our busiest arterial roads (too much conflict in a tight space) and start building an ”offline” network through local roads? The Auckland isthmus has lots of gridded streets that are perfect for this (except for those darn speed bumps!).
I’m looking forward to my first E Bike 🙂
The problem being that arterial roads are usually the roads with the most amenities and contain things people would actually like to travel to. How about we take away the parking, then we’ll have much more room for cyclists.
Questions from the unitiated:
In purely on-road-use terms, is there a practical difference between an ebike and a Vespa? (I know one is electric and the other isn’t.)
Do they allow ebikes on ferries?
How much do these things weigh?
What’s a MAMIL?
Yes. Twits think one is morally superior to the other.
excepting those suffering from status anxiety there are considerable differences, e-bike are very much still bikes, Pedegos are at the bigger end, but many other are simply push bikes with a bit of assist. We are waiting for Lennart’s review of his recently arrived electric wheel… https://www.superpedestrian.com/
MAMIL: Middle Aged Man In Lycra
Ahh the mythical new-fangled Copenhagen Wheel, more elusive than a Unicorn it seems.
Forgive my slight cynicism, but every time I check their website it says pre-orders are shipping “soon” as it has for the last 18+ months.
Right now it says: “Due to high demand, new orders placed today will be shipping in [US] Spring 2015” How long before it becomes Summer 2015 then Autumn 2015?
I know Lennart received his, used for a few days, then sent it back after a short period – presume it was for repairs or something?
Regardless I’d love to read Lennart’s review of his one though. and if they’re any good – I could get one (one day) and strap one on my e-bike as the front wheel and really go for it (off road) with both front and rear drive 😉
A sort of Hybrid/Bastard model.
Hope the US and EU “cripple” settings can be turned off or eliminated though as with the US setting giving 350W its too powerful for NZ legal use and 250W in EU setting possibly too low/slow.
I note maximum speed is listed as 25 km/hr in EU mode (as per EU standard) or 20 MPH in US mode (about 32 km/hr) as per US Std.
We’re lucky here we don’t have either restriction – just wattage on the motor/power thats all, so currently if you can get 50Km/hr out of your e-bike its legal.
But if this works in NZ it would allow any bike to become an e-bike for about $1500 inc. GST in NZ (plus shipping). Certainly not cheap, and not much less than say a SmartMotion e-bike.
Especially as you have to also have a bike to put it on.
Hi SteveNZ,
There is a big difference legally between a Vespa and any e-bike – licensing and legal requirements like lights, indicators, rego and warrant to name some obvious ones for a Vespa v an e-bike.
Legally an “e-bike” is any powered bicycle with power output of 300 watts or less. You could put a small petrol engine on a bike legally. I and a few others think electric motors are better though 🙂
Practically – you can ride a e-bike like a Vespa, range will be a lot less though, so will top speed.
But most e-bikes won’t be able to carry anyone other than a small child (except for an e-bike Tandem, which Pedego make/sell). Of course you can add an infant seat, but carrying a second adult probably not.
Having said that Pedego have a “stretch” bike which is a cargo bike by design, so it can carry a lot more weight than your average e-bike (probably weighs a ton too).
Weight: e-bikes typically weigh up to 23KG or so, that includes battery/electric motor (in hub usually, but not always), generally a beefier (heavier) frame, bigger tyres.
Some brands are lighter than others (SmartMotion say they’re 5KG lighter than any other e-bike).
I reckon If you removed all the e-bike-y stuff from an e-bike it would probably still be heavier than a road bike by 5KG. There are “conversion” kits which add a e-bike to an existing bike, some are better than others.
All will add weight .
Ferries: They’re just like bikes, so can’t see why not, its not like they’re gonna explode if they come into contact with seawater – well actually, yes, the battery will explode if seawater gets in it, but by the time the seawater reaches the battery I suspect the ferry has sunk – so not a problem in real life 😉
As Patrick said MAMIL is a acronym, it is used to indicate what most people think when they hear the word “cyclist” – some dude (always invariably male), on a super skinny tyred and super lightweight $10K plus racing bike, hunched over drop handlebars, dressed up with Lycra, sunglasses, drink bottles, shoes with cleats on them, racing style bike helmet. Racing along at a million miles and hour (in bunches), like he is competing in, or training for the Tour-de-France. Wearing Lycra is for its (wind) streamlining and other benefits.
The MA part of MAMIL is also referring to a older no longer so-skinny rider in Lycra who often ride in large bunches and look like a sack of potatoes as they ride along as a result. Sometimes they smell like a sack of rotten potatoes after their ride too.
When AT or some advertising outfit does a cycling poster – that Lycra clad dude is the image de-jour they use of the “average” cyclist. When the truth is totally different.
Thanks Greg, I appreciate those answers. 23 kg doesn’t strike me as very heavy, and that’s a good thing. Overall sounds like a well thought out package.
When I see the lycra-clad road warriors, I can’t help but remember all the cycling I once did in shorts and a t-shirt, and not necessarily with shoes of any kind. All of which, incidentally, cost $0.00.
In the vein of playing “Yellow Car” as per the rules of the “official” Cabin Pressure version of the game (see: http://johnfinnemore.blogspot.co.nz/2012/04/yellow-car-full-rules.html for the official Cabin Pressure Yellow Car rules).
Yellow Car was introduced to me by the absolutely delightful “Ottery St Mary” episode of that wonderful Cabin Pressure radio play series.
For those of you that know this episode: I have a question – could you get, say, 500 Otters, in GERTI if she was a 3 car AM class EMU?
In the car when driving around town we play “Yellow MAMIL” – the call being made for any MAMIL dressed in Yellow Lycra 🙂 – not a very common sight so we don’t make it very often (relative to “Yellow Car”).
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bzw1w_mGwiHfV0J1SlpEY09RMlk/edit?usp=docslist_api
That’s my morning commute by pedal power. Traffic doesn’t change time either. The one accident that I’ve had was where a car turned left over me at an intersection.