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what is happening?
after my review last year, of specialized's turbo vado e-bike, one of my office colleagues bought one, after i'd loaned her the review model for a week or two. like many, for her, the idea of occasioning infrequent bike rides of a balmy summer's evening, was a tenuous idea that had occured once or twice. however, a long-term back problem made that a more onerous prospect than would have been the case for you or me. however, with the support of an electric motor, such bike rides would now likely prove more frequent, even though the bicycle cost a substantial amount more than she would normally have spent on two-wheeled transport.
now that days are becoming longer and, with the advent of british summer time this weekend, the lunchtime conversations once more touched upon the prospect of summer bike rides. though the velo club would think nothing of ascending the short steepness that is foreland hill, en-route to a perambulation of loch gorm, that very hill is often viewed by others as merely the first obstacle in their path.
electric bicycles, in the uk at least, are legally limited to a top speed of 25kph, one that can be just as easily achieved uphill as on the flat. so, were my colleague and i to undertake a joint ride in the aforementioned direction, there's a greater than evens chance that she would reach the top well ahead of yours truly and considerably less out of breath. riding around loch gorm, the road for which passes along islay's atlantic coast, is a highly pleasant undertaking, passing as it does, kilchoman distillery with its fine café in which the weary bicyclist can refuel.
the alternative, an option taken by the majority, is to drive. but the road, mentioned above, is single-track from start to finish and the distillery generates substantial motorised traffic from easter to autumn, obviating any practical opportunity to sightsee. that's not to say that the same set of circumstances do not also apply to bike riders on the same route, but it's a tad easier to stop along the way and take in the view and the remarkably fresh, atlantic air. in my humble opinion, this is the strength of the e-bike market, offering an attractive alternative to those who would be less than inclined to attempt the trip under their own steam (for whatever reason).
where i do not think an electric motor deserves to be, is somewhere about the personage of a tour de france level, carbon racing bicycle.
though the vast majority who own similar, human-powered machinery will never stand upon a podium, grasping a cute stuffed lion and a bouquet of flowers, those who have such advanced carbon in the bike shed, are most likely to inhabit the 'active sports' milieu, keen to improve their health and fitness via the sunday ride and a smattering of sportives across the year. riders such as these would surely see the ascent of foreland hill (8% at its steepest) as a challenge to be undertaken, finished off with a self-satisfied grin at the top. the very notion of getting there with electric assistance would almost certainly be anathema.
so why, oh why, oh why have colnago announced an electric version of the range-topping, italian built c64? i ask the genuine question, where is the market for such a machine? i have little doubt that colnago have a far better handle on their potential market than do i, but i cannot fathom why any self-respecting roadie would purchase a bicycle such as this with a motor in the rear wheel.
though i have partially undermined my case for the prosecution by admitting that the majority of owners of top line carbon-fibery do not employ it in the competitive realm, the majority harbour pretensions of performance cycling. witness the 43kph average speed of julian alaphilippe in last weekend's 290km milan-sanremo and compare that with the 25kph legal limit of an e-bike. assuming necessitous justification of the presumably reassuringly expensive colnago e64, one would expect any prospective owner to err closer to alaphilippe's speed than the legally limited e-bike.
it must be painfully obvious to any e-bike rider, that once over the 25kph threshold, those thigh muscles become responsible not only for maintaining speed or accelerating, but doing so now hampered by a heavy electric motor and attendant battery. the logical conclusion would therefore point to the owner of this colnago (or comparable models from pinarello et al) spending most of their ride time hovering around 25kph. would that not bear comparison with driving a bugatti veryon in first gear?
in which case, i must reiterate my original question. why?
saturday 30 march 2019
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