It has a few flaws:

– The hard front forks still bug me a bit, but not enough to shell out for the suspension fork kit.

– The original Kenda…

Any reflections on the Pacer on year on? Looking at one for my commute into the city from Te Atatu.

And he agrees it's awesome!

Suggestions for bike paths/rides?

Toys to add to our bikes?

Just, if you want to work a bit more, or ride a bit longer, turn…

Yes, for a bike worth more than my car, I can appreciate the argument. For one worth about…

Since mid-2015 NZ's declining dollar has seen e-bike prices increase by close to 25%. A basic quality hub motor…

Another very useful article of his is the one explaining the NZ laws around e-bikes
https://electricbikesnz.com/2016/08/17/what-are-the-e-bike-laws-in-nz/

(although…

That would only be the budget if you were losing $3600 worth of bike every year, though. What has been your average lost bike per year loss? I bet it's less than $360!

Naturally it's the hills where the difference will be evident. That was what I always noticed when riding along keeping pace with a pushbiker. They'd get ahead on the flat,…

It did look very similar to your Pacer, although this was a few years ago now. The rider was dressed…

I want one.

No, although she did only kill herself. I was kind of suggesting a moral panic following an e-bike killing, say, a pedestrian. In that particular accident, there were multiple contributing…

Sure, and you could probably crack a kilowatt for a few seconds. But the e-bike delivers that wattage for hours. You have to be…

I think that's the window of Bicycle Junction, on the corner of Adelaide Road and Riddiford street. That bike goes fast in race mode…

At Yabun yesterday there was a gym dragging passers-by onto their wind trainer gadget. The girly was able to exceed 300W for a minute, burning a whopping 20 kJ. We'd just eaten lunch, so my…

https://vimeo.com/177023564

Yup. I'm on my Trek road bike, 100% doughnut powered. My partner on the Avanti E inc. We're pretty well matched at the moment but I suspect as her fitness increases I am going to get pushed quite hard…

I think torque sensors make a…

Definitely. I've seen a home built lithium ion bike of around 500 watts hyped on TradeMe as being good to go without rego,…

Is one of you on an e-bike and the other not?

Maybe there are some twatcocks who view it that way but most cyclists totally get the value of e-bikes to the cycling community. Essentially the e-bike means my partner and I can ride together…

So, in conclusion, that's a tough one. They sit in a strange space between lots of issues. For starters, if you're serious about safety then a bike that's effectively as powerful as a scooter should require a motorbike helmet. But this kills the whole…

The bike shops are aware of this and are very suspicious of anyone coming in wanting to buy a charger.

With e-bikes now allowing travel at higher (and, as noted above, more dangerous) speeds, and having a higher monetary value, are we likely to see any regulatory changes to introduce user licensing and/or vehicle registration regimes for e-bikes similar to those for other powered vehicles? And…

It's pretty rich to expect that no one can ever be paid for their opinion, because that might take away the…

My original pitch was for the banner campaign that ran (as part-contra for the bike) but the agency came back asking…

Looking around for announcements like that is pretty much the first thing I do when reading any review of a commercial product. It didn't…

Good explanation, thanks. This:

Anyway, what’s the difference? A cadence sensor detects if you are pedalling, tells the controller, which then supplies motor power up to the limit you have set on your display. Most cadence sensor bikes also have throttles. A torque sensor bike detects how hard you…

It wasn't advertising copy (indeed, this was something I clearly explained to the sponsor) but I'm sorry if you found it traumatic.

At the bottom.

After I read it

Not impressed. Very unimpressed. Glad there is some indication (happy to be wrong about that) but it is hard enough to find that I missed it.

How about putting the word "Advertisement" prominently at the start?

Some of Russell's blogs are…

Yes, they were both clearly signalled as such.

And I wasn't expressing "paid opinion". They were my opinions.

There was an indication.

You what?

There was no indication on those posts that they were sponsored. How do I know when you are expressing your opinion and when you are expressing paid opinion?

We really like the whole no messy chain and the…

Definitely too heavy. The idea is that you leave the chain locked where you lock up your bike – you occasionally see such chains locked to bike parks around town for that reason.

For mobile…

Ah, presumably so it's compliant where required by law?

But can I ask why you did that?

Are you sure it's battery size or placement? IMHE it's direct drive motors, easily identified by their large diameter, that "are heavier and harder to ride without power". Bloody near impossible in…

And the extra capacity works for everyone, all the time. Regen only works for people who use it, when they use it, if conditions are suitable. If you live at the top of a hill it's…

Yes, also there may be times when you anticipate the fear of theft as greater than the fear of sweat. Like if you have to leave the…

Whereas squeezing 10% more into batteries pretty much involves having 10% more batteries, simple to manufacture, simple to control. Much better returns from better battery…

I"m not sure that a production bike exists that has regen – it's possible, but it adds weight and complexity for little benefit. The core problem is that you want regeneration instead of braking, if regeneration is available, but…

I remember originally thinking that you could recharge all electric…

Definitely motorcycle gear. It means an extra key to carry, but the convenience of it being always there and ready has worked out well for me. Most motorcycle dealers seem to stock them.

It's certainly not the case that you get no exercise riding one. But I'm definitely not arriving in a sweaty mess when…

Ah. Maybe that's an option. But it's too heavy to take out on the road?

From what I've read (admittedly I think on e-motions site itself), it isn't a goer. It creates drag on the bike in harnessing the energy (which is the opposite of why you get an e-bike…

That’s actually the one I originally wanted – it looked like a bike, which appealed.

And for me personally the fact the e-Urban doesn’t stand out from the…

If you're sensible about it yes, I think so. And sensible means not being an annoying speed demon where it's not appropriate.

I've honestly never seen a regenerative bike or known anyone who had one, so no!

I went for that one over the Pacer partly for cost, and partly because the e-Urban seems more traditionally built and bulletproof for the kind of use I'm…

The cadence sensor senses how fast you’re turning the pedals, the torque sensor senses the pressure you’re putting on them. Much better for hills and for take-offs.

As a cyclist, it feels like you’re putting in the work, you’re just getting better…

Interesting. Can you expand on that a little?