Ride more...smile more!

We’ve simply got to stop feeling the need to justify the reason some people want ebikes. It doesn’t matter what the reason is, they are just so much damn fun! Whatever bike a person chooses to ride, it’s nobody else’s business and it’s not for anyone else to debate the reasons why somebody might have one or suggest they need one.

I’ll be pretty clear here. I’m about to justify why I have one – it’s bloody great FUN! Okay, so there is a real reason behind this; a small issue of a 50% blocked artery inmy heart that has meant I need to change the way I ride and where I ride. But thank goodness, my window to freely ride just about anywhere has been re-opened by the Specialized Turbo Creo. It’s the new road ebike from Specialized and I’ve raved about it before…and I won’t stop.

Powered by some sweet Swiss technology and a range of around 195km I can go just about anywhere I’d want to. The big hills were classified as ‘not a sensible decision’ for a while there, but now the 240watt motor that basically doubles your power means I can get up just about any hill. There are three power modes on the bike: eco, middle and turbo. Couple this with the Future Shock suspension in the front end and Shimano Di2 gear set up, plus the Mission Control App to control it all, this is a totally awesome bike.

I have the Turbo Creo SL Expert and though I often hear whispers behind my back of ‘;use it or you lose it’ regarding the loss of fitness with ebikes, I beg to differ on that point. I decided to run a little experiment to see what would happen to my fitness levels if I just rode the Creo for a few weeks…no other bikes, just the ebike. Then the challenge was to do a route I normally do just as my ‘usual spin’, and see what the difference might be.

I did 2.5 weeks on the Creo. Usually that amount of time would be enough to notice a small difference if for example I didn’t ride at all. Losing fitness can happen quickly for me, so I knew this was a fair amount of time, for me.

So, bring on the Tarmac ride! I decided to tackle my usual route and be sensible about not trying to hammer it just to prove a point. I was conservative and tried to stick to what I normally do. To my surprise, I was faster than usual, my heart rate was lower and my legs felt really strong both during and post ride. On paper, the stats showed that with two weeks off the Tarmac and riding just the Creo, I was stronger for it. But how could that possibly be after riding power assisted for 2.5 weeks?

It’s simple…have ebike, ride more!! I can’t get off this damn bike because it’s just so much fun. I ride more! To add to this, when I ride in economy mode pretty much all the time, I’m still working and getting my heart rate up there. But I think the real thing is that when I ride I don’t generally ride at 25kmphr, but more like 30kmphr. The ebike ‘motor’ cuts out at 25kmphr and that means that beyond that you are basically pushing your weight and the bikes’ weight…at around 14kg that’s close enough to twice the weight of the Tarmac I normally ride. But I’m way faster up the hills and I do it far more easily.

I’ve taken the Creo on the road, on the gravel, on the bike paths and used it in coac hing lessons. It doesn’t matter what I throw at it, it just seems like the perfect bike for every situation. I just love riding it!

I don’t think I have lost fitness at all, in fact on the contrary, I think I’ve improved fitness. Add to that the fact I can now ride some of those hills that the window was closed on and it’s a win win for me. I ride more, I smile more and climb hills more. I don’t think I have to justify that to anyone!