Zoom Zoom Zoom
We dropped by Gold Country Cyclery yesterday to play around with an Ohm “power on demand” bicycle (also known as electric-assist or e-assist). We rode the top-of-the-line, $4000+ Sport XS750 outfitted with a BionX 350W/700 peak motor with re-gen and a Li-ion 38V 12AH battery.
If you like the feeling of pedaling a big gear uphill very fast, but your name is not Contador, Sastre, or Schleck, you’ll get a major kick out of a powerful e-bike like the Ohm. Riding it is like riding any other bike, except the motor kicks in and shoves you along like a sudden, but perfectly timed tailwind, anytime the bike senses an increase in pedal pressure. The assist is surprisingly intuitive and natural, and after a few minutes you completely forget the nearly silent motor is helping you along.
I like E-bikes. They fill a need for those who want to ride a bike but require assistance to compensate for a physical limitation, overcome long distances and difficult terrain, or arrive at work in dry clothes. And to top it off, as I found out yesterday, they’re a ton o’ fun.
Ohm →
6 Responses to “Zoom Zoom Zoom”
I’m pretty sure some sort of e-bike is in my future.
Looks really nice! The only downer for me (being short and all) is that it would be really tough to lift that 50+ lb bike onto a rack.
[...] response to my Zoom Zoom Zoom post on the Bionx-equipped Ohm from earlier today, a friend sent these photos of a Bionx-equipped [...]
i took a trip out to the west coast, and here i am. 9 years ago, i walked from eugene, or to
the coast, on a september weekend.
i sort of relived the experience with a “sort-of” e-assist (hitchhiking, that is) and an amazing thing happened. near to the very spot from 9 years ago, where i had seen a guy from maryland just 2 miles away from the pacific ocean, on his pearl white gold rush..yes,
very near that same spot, comes someone headed west on their tour easy which had a paint job like alan’s TE. i continued on with my “e-assist” (e for EXTENSION of hiking miles?) up the coast with a volvo driver and his scottish, generous heart. also, an local news story about UPS starting up a delivery by bike and trailer, in eugene
Cool bike. I think I will be looking for a e-trike for my Dad. I think the increase in mobility will help him out.
ebikes in particular pedelecs are taking off in Europe big time. They are cannibalising sales of normal bikes in Holland! Its a technology whos time has come.
As a new pedelec owner i have to say they are quite amazing. Its a hill climbing, load hauling, ‘no sweat’ miracle that takes the grind out of the daily commute and chores.