I finally got to ride my new electric-assist bike today, and I think I'm in love! Even with all the weight, it's easy to pedal without assist on flat ground. I went north on Rte 9 and then around the block where the deli is, and the assist didn't kick in until I forgot to shift once for a small hill. With the assist on hills, it's very gentle on my fragile knees. I needed full assist on that last .2 miles to the front door - that doesn't mean no pedaling, I had to pedal really fast to keep the assist going, but not hard. So I was breathing hard when I got home, but my knees were fine. I love it! It's exactly the kind of exercise I need - aerobic but not stressful. (Pedal fast with low resistance is aerobic = good. Pedal hard with high resistance just builds leg muscle = not so good for me).
In middle and high school, I lived on my heavy old gearless Columbia - 20 miles, and up Red Rock mountain, was nothing to me, even without gears. This is the first time in 30 years that I have ridden a bicycle with hand brakes and gears. Before this, I had ridden a three-speed only a few times with husband #2, when we were first married, and finally I quit because he would just take off up ahead and not wait for me, and I kept falling into ditches because the bike was too big for me (think of the old guy on the tricycle on "Rowen and Martin", or was it "Laugh-In"...). And the bike I used to take my daughter to the swimming pool when she was a toddler had no gears. So ... I was worried about falling into ditches because I'd reflexively try to backpedal to stop, or pitching over the handlebars because I braked too hard, or that I'd hurt the assist by not shifting at the right time.
I am so proud of myself! I walked the bike down the driveway, and almost lost control of it because it's so heavy it actually started to drag me, until I used the brakes walking it down, but after a few test runs up and down the first little hill on the street, I was brave enough to try riding up and down the driveway, and it was easy to control the speed! As for shifting, the turn-the-handgrip 10-speed shift has little pictures of "bike on flat", "bike on moderate hill", "bike on big hill", so I didn't get confused which way to shift, and as for when, if I can't figure it out myself there's a light on the control panel that says "shift now you idiot". I love it!
The seat is still an inch or so too high, even with it at the lowest setting, making it a bit awkward to get on and off (when I stand straddling the bike, the point of the seat is almost at my waist - I practically have to jump on) so I'm going to take a hacksaw to the post later this evening. (I did verify the safety of this with the bicycle service guy who put it together.)
I'm already anxious for good weather tomorrow - can't wait to get out again. Today's ride was at 5:30 PM, and traffic on Rte 9 was scary, so I'd like to go into the village tomorrow, maybe late morning or early afternoon. The bicycle man in Rhinebeck says I can't have baskets on the back because of the special junk wrapped around the rear axle, and I don't like front baskets - weight in them can unbalance the steering. He recommended a backpack for trips to the PO or store, which doesn't thrill me, but I can get an easy-on-easy-off little trailer that will fit. I'll have to check that out. The bike store in Kingston has them. And, final wonderfulness, the bike fits perfectly in the body of the van, without my having to take the passenger seat out.
I also need to find out if the battery should get hot when it's being charged. I suspect that's normal, but it would be nice to know for sure. The book that came with the bike is very good, so mostly I'm worried because the book didn't mention heat when charging.
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