- E-bikes.
Lots of people have already turned this video off
having heard me utter those words
because if the comments here on GCN are anything to go by
they are a rather controversial subject.
I think it's hard to argue with their benefits
to commuters who want to save some money
and arrive to work not dripping in sweat.
To people who want to be a bit more
environmentally friendly when they do the school run
or want to go shopping.
But are they any good for recreational cyclists, like me?
(intense musical buildup)
This is Dan Lloyd.
He's an ex-professional cyclist who has,
I didn't want to say this in front of him but,
well you've let yourself go a bit, haven't you?
You haven't put much weight on but
you're starting to develop a little bit of a beer belly.
In fact, turn to the side, show the viewers.
Breathe out, relax a bit, see.
Oh it's not huge but I think it still looks stupid
doesn't it on those gangly, long, skinny legs.
Anyway in the fitness department,
he's really let himself go.
So the question we are gonna try and answer today is,
can Dan get fit quick?
Literally.
Can Dan get fit on the e-bike?
I'm going to find out by taking an e-bike out for a ride.
We're starting this morning in Shaftesbury
and heading out on a 46 kilometer route.
So, just under 30 miles.
Incorporating as many as my old training climbs
that I could fit in over that distance.
Giving a total of 750 meters of elevation gain.
Yes this video has been made with the help of
Pinarello and Fazua.
The power of data doesn't lie.
Or you could make it lie but I'm not going to do that.
On the ride I'm going to be wearing a heart race strap
and using a pedal based power meter,
see just how hard I have to work,
even when I'm getting a little help from my friend.
And please allow me to introduce you to my friend.
Viewers, this is Nytro, Pinarello Nytro.
And Nytro, these are our lovely viewers.
Although, unfortunately some of them already hate you.
Don't worry though because some of them hate me.
What's that?
I know that's hard to believe.
I always think that, yeah.
Anyway, let me tell the viewers a little bit about you
before we get going.
So viewers,
this is Nytro.
Pinarello's first ever e-bike.
And as you expect from Pinarello,
a gun-in at the top-end.
Nytro is a premium e-bike
and we've literally just taken delivery of her.
She's got a full Shimano Ultegra Mechanical Groupset.
160 millimeter flat mount disc brakes
and clearance of up to 28 millimeter tires.
And she's fast, not because of me.
Obviously not because of me
but rather because of what's hidden under her
metaphorical bonnet or hert.
And I'm gonna give you all the details about that later on
but first of all, I want to ride Nytro.
Sounds a bit wrong actually, doesn't it?
(upbeat music)
The first part of my route comes pretty quickly
after the start.
It's called Spread Eagle.
Now as you all know I don't have to blow my own trumpet but,
well, I am the current Strava KOM leader of that kind.
So it's gonna be interesting to see
if I can beat my time from six years ago.
If I do, I'll flag you obviously.
I have to say though, I'm pretty confident.
The Fazua Evation Drive System in the Nytro
gives you back up to 250% more than you put in.
So if I'm riding at just 150 watts
it's going to give back 375.
That's a total of 525 watts
and given that I'm currently 72 kilograms,
that's 7.3 watts per kilo.
I normally hate this climb
of this straight, steep main road beast
but I'm quite enjoying it today.
(lively guitar music)
The climb I'm on now,
I've used many, many times in training.
It's called Zig Zag,
for easily obvious reasons.
But I wanted to begin the KOM with this one
even though I'm cheating.
Because the current KOM holder is
the Zwift racing legend Kim Little,
and he averaged 26 K's per hour up here.
Unfortunately, my motor cuts out at 25.
Which means that on the rare flat sections
of the route I've designed for myself today,
I'm not getting any assistance at all.
So, I'm currently doing 32 K's per hour
for a power of around 220 watts.
What I have already noticed though
is that while I'm on a false flat
if I look down and I'm doing 26 K's per hour,
after even saw that,
slow down slightly and get some help.
Anyway, as I continue on my ride
I'm gonna hand you back to casual clothed Dan
who is gonna explain a bit more about the motor
and the mechanics inside this bike.
Longer term viewers may well remember
that about two and a half years ago
Si and I did ride a bike with a hidden motor.
Although, it was quite primitive
and things have come a hell of a long way since then.
So the Pinarello Nytro here utilizes
Fazua's Evation Modular Drive Sytsem.
Which is the most compact
and lightest currently on the market.
In fact, it's won them a whole host of
design and innovation awards.
It's got four different modes.
Off, which means of course you have no assistance at all.
Breeze mode, which gives you up to 125 watts.
River mode, up to 250 watts.
And up to a whopping 400 watts if you choose rocket mode.
And I reckon that's what pretty what
Dan's using on the climbs today.
I gladly love rocket mode.
The whole system is controlled by a remote
that's up here on the bars, that has 10 LED lights
which gradually go out as battery life reduces
and which change color depending on what mode you are using.
The whole drive system weighs in at 4.6 kilograms
which means that this bike, supplied to us by Pinarello,
like this, comes in at 13.5 kilograms.
Now unlike that previous spot we used the hidden motor,
the battery here is not located
in a bustle on a bustle cage,
but instead rather neatly integrated here
into the down tube.
And in fact if you decide that you want to go out for a ride
without any assistance at all you can simply remove that
and replace it with a cover supplied by Pinarello
with the bike.
That will take this down to roughly 10 and a half kilograms.
Now it's not just the motor and the battery that Fazua
have been developing over the last couple of years.
They've also now come out with their own app.
That will collect all your ride data for ya
allowing you to navigate using GPS, give you more
accurate look at your battery life
plus a whole host of other functions too.
Right, I think we should check back in with Dan,
see how he's getting on in his ride.
(upbeat music)
The last part of the day now,
This is Mill Street.
Horribly steep and straight climb that I normally hate.
I'm still working one five five heart rate
about 350 watts
from my legs
and presumably a 30 more from the motor.
I'm already almost to the top, look at that.
I'll tell you what,
it's easier if you've got assistance
cause you still put an effort in
it feels like you're just doing it yourself.
If I turn this off,
yeah.
Now it feels like I've got the brakes on, oh wow!
That is horrific.
(breathing heavily)
Right, I think rocket mode might be coming back on.
That is incredible.
(relaxing music)
Alright, pretty much back now.
Warm down complete.
Still at 50% battery life left actually
and according to my Wahoo I have done 840 meter climbing.
That's pretty good.
I'm hungry though.
I'm tired.
Not as tired as I would have been had I done that ride
on a standard bike admittedly.
But, I feel like I've earned a beer
which is obviously the main thing.
As we go through the all important stats from the ride.
So, total distance 46.7 kilometers,
one hour and 36 minutes,
29.3 kilometers an hour the average speed.
And a lot of climbing, 842 meters total climbing in the end.
The all important stat is though, well firstly,
let's have a look at the power.
The average power was 184 watts
and normalized power 217
which rather depressingly is not a lot more than I used
to do on my recovery rides.
But it did feel quite hard
and that is showing with my heart rate,
at 149 average heart rate which for me is reasonably hard.
The really depressing news is that I didn't get that KOM.
In fact, I missed it by four seconds.
I was four seconds slower than six years ago.
Even with all that assistance from an e-bike.
I really do need to get fit.
So, what can we conclude from today then?
Well, I was still pedaling as normal of course in the flat
and the downhills where I could.
I was still pressing on the climb,
I was just going a little bit faster than I would have been
under normal circumstances.
So, I definitely did get a workout from today and therefore,
I would have gotten some kind of training effect today.
And therefore, any conclusion that we can make
is that, yes, I could get fit by riding an e-bike.
Whether or not I could still justify using an e-bike
once I had got fit is a different matter.
To be fair, where I live now, the roads are pretty flat
so the motor wouldn't be kicking in much anyway
but on hillier rides, well they're as much about enjoyment
as getting fit, aren't they?
And it was plenty enjoyable to get up climbs
at the same sort of speed that I used to.
What I am adamant about though,
is the e-bikes like Nytro should not be hated.
They sort of level the playing field
and allow slower riders to keep up with faster riders
and you could be slow for all number of reasons.
You might be particularly heavy
for some reason at the moment.
You might be getting on in years.
You might be just generally unfit
or you might can have a disability or ailment
which is slowing you down.
That assistance will allow you to keep up with
a family member or friend or group ride
that you otherwise wouldn't be able to
and whilst doing that you will be getting fitter.
If you use that assistance to drop them,
that might not go down quite so well.
Right, we would as ever love to hear your views on e-bikes,
both good and bad.
Do you hate it when an e-bike comes past you on a climb
and if so, why?
It's got a motor inside it.
On the other hand if an e-bike has changed your cycling life
for the good or even your general life,
we would love to hear from you too.
As ever, you can leave all your thoughts
and stories in the comment section just down below.
In the mean time, if you would like to watch another video
we have got the latest edition of The GCN Show
just down here.