Unplugging the Ebike

~whiskeyding

I built up a Salsa Fargo frame into an ebike with a kit from Grin Technologies, and have been riding it for the past few years. It’s been a ton of fun. I can go further, faster, with less effort.

And yet...I feel like it’s spoiled me. It’s not unlike a car in many ways--a heavy, ugly beast of a bike that makes up for its (and my) myriad deficiencies with sheer power. In a fit of dissatisfaction I’ll surely come to regret, I stripped the electric components from the bike and reverted it to a purely mechanical bicycle. This has taught me several things, some technical, some spiritual:

1. Disc brakes are kind of garbage. I’ve used several brands and styles, and found their stopping power is underwhelming without the motor giving a regenerative braking assist. They burn through pads quickly, often squeal, and are chunky and heavy compared to a quality set of cantilevers or direct-pull brakes. Their advantages are the ability to run both wider tires and lighter weight rims than would be otherwise possible, as well as experimenting with different wheel sizes. These are genuine advantages, but for me they don’t make up for the downsides.

2. Internal hub gears are great for ebikes, but once you’re relying on pure muscle power, the inefficiencies (a power loss penalty of around 5-10% compared to derailleurs depending on what hub you’re using and what gear you’re in) make themselves felt. It’s not a bad thing--just the price you pay for a clean, enclosed shifting system with a straight chainline. My Alfine 11 hub is a fine piece of kit that only demands an oil change once a year. But there’s a definite muddy feeling to the drivetrain without the motor helping me along. For all their mess and occasional clanky cantankerousness, chains and derailleurs are highly efficient.

3. A major advantage to an IGH is the ability to use a belt drive. I’ve always hated cleaning chains and getting chain gunk off my bike, and so the belt drive seemed like a godsend. Setting it up was hard, but once in place and properly tensioned, I never had to do a single thing to it in nearly 3 years. That’s miraculous! On the downside, a belt drive requires a special split frame (you can’t break and reattach a belt like you can a chain), and a very stiff rear triangle to keep the drivetrain from laterally flexing. This stiffness can make the bike feel harder to pedal—not an issue when there’s a motor, but noticeable without.

4. I’m out of shape! I’ve lost almost 50 pounds since leaving my high-stress job, but my aerobic capacity has not improved, since my ebike rides didn’t provide much of a workout. Hopefully that will change.

5. I was going too fast. 20 mph (32 kph) is slow for a car, but fast for a bike on a multi-use trail. I don’t think I was being unsafe, but I certainly wasn’t properly appreciating my surroundings or my body. The hills, the wind direction, the wildlife...who cares! Once you can just power through any environment, the rides become...destination-focused. I’ve got to get to PLACE X, and AS FAST AS I CAN. That’s a car driver attitude, and I really want to leave that kind of thinking behind.

6. A tool that is only as complex as it absolutely has to be is a beautiful thing, satisfying to the mind and the hand.

There is something to be said for not overcomplicating a technology.