- Like it or not, e-bikes are becoming a thing,
a big thing.
- That's right, mountain bikers are all over them.
People that just use bikes for transport are all over them.
I mean they help to carry the shopping,
they help to carry the kids,
or they just help carry people
up hills easier and faster.
- Yeah, but what about e-bikes for sport on the road?
Now I can completely understand
why a mountain biker might want some assistance
hauling a heavy four suspension bike
up a hill into uncharted territory.
But what about us road riders?
- Well yeah, it is a very good question.
So to try to get a little bit of insight,
we have devised a test.
We're going to tackle the route of the medium Maratona,
which is an absolutely classic ride here in the Dolomites.
It actually makes up the medium option
at the famous Maratona dles Dolomites Granfondo.
- It certainly does and it might not sound much, but,
it's 106 kilometers in length
with an elevation gain of 3,130 meters.
- Very punchy.
- And you Simon,
well you're going to be doing it on a top-end road bike.
And I, well I'm going to be doing it on an e-bike.
Eat my dust Richardson.
- Now before we get going, let's take a closer look
at what we're going to be riding, shall we?
This is Matt's bike.
It's the Giant Road-E+ 1,
and actually it's Giant's top of the range road e-bike.
You'd be familiar though, I'm sure,
with most of the components on here
'cause it is very much a road bike after all.
So its got a Shimano Ultegra drivetrain,
the frame is Giant's ALUXX SL aluminium,
and all the next level stuff though,
is right there in the oversized downtubes.
So the battery is there,
with enough juice for a 500 watt hour.
And then that comes courtesy of 40 lithium ion cells.
The motor, down here, is from Yamaha,
which I'm sure is going to make any e-bikes skeptic
even more uncomfortable at the mention of a name
so closely associated with motorbikes.
But that is no motorbike.
It is a pedal assist bike,
meaning that it's not going to go anywhere
unless there's a rider on there actually turning the cranks.
And then, what's it up against?
Well me, unfortunately,
with nowhere enough juice for a 500 watt hour.
But, all is not lost
because this is my bike.
The ever lovely Giant TCR Advanced Pro 0,
weighing in, comfortably,
at about 11 kilograms less than Matt's e-bike.
And yes, my batteries can also run down.
But I'm going to do my best to recharge them on route.
You ready, Matt?
- Yup.
- Is this, is this technically a race?
- You bet it is, mate.
(excited yelling)
- [Simon] Wait up, mate.
Matt!
(energetic electronic music)
- Now first up, there is a limitation to e-bikes,
in some countries anyway,
and that is that they actually restrict it
to 25 kilometers an hour,
meaning that if you want to go faster
than 25 kilometers an hour, there's going to be no motor
to help propel you forward.
- No, so that means that on a brisk ride like today,
there's going to be some sections on this rolling road,
for I suspect,
Matt's going to have to work pretty hard
in order to get that heavier bike to keep the pace.
But before we start to let ourselves think,
well hang on a minute, that's not too much,
we should probably try and answer
a pretty fundamental question,
and that is just who is an e-bike designed for?
- Yeah that is a good question,
and there a few clues on the bike itself.
Now first up, it's got a very relaxed geometry.
And secondly, it's got a very long wheel base,
which is great for riders new to the sport
'cause it inspires them with the added sense
of confidence and control at higher speeds.
Now it's also a very versatile bike indeed.
I'm riding 32 millimeter tires,
and that offers fantastic grip and also wonderful comfort.
And in addition to that, the frame has bosses
for a rack and also a mudguard.
Now this bike doesn't pretend
by any stretch of the imagination
to be a top end road bike.
But could it be?
We could just about find out.
- All right, c'mon then mate.
(energetic electronic music)
- [Matt] Easy!
- I can't get rid of him!
He's like the terminator!
- Matt, seriously mate.
Have you given any thought at all to your battery?
- No, I've got a full charge.
So I'm just going to go flat out, flat stick.
- What I'm wondering, mate,
I was thinking about this.
There's 43.5 kilometers of climbing.
So that's going to take you, not far off two hours.
So if you're relying on more than 250 watts from that bike
then I think on that last climb
you might be running pretty low on juice.
- Look, to be honest with you mate,
most of this speed is just raw talent.
(upbeat music)
Okay, I'm not that naive.
I have actually given this a little bit of thought.
Now, I've got three options at my fingertips.
Eco, normal, and power,
and for most of the time we're going to be using eco.
Now my plan is to drop Simon on the climbs.
And let's face it,
I could drop Nairo Quintana at 25 k's an hour,
so I'm imagining I'm going to have a pretty big gap
by the top of this climb.
And I must admit, I'm also looking forward to the descent
because the stability that this bike gives you
will mean that it's going to feel
like I'm descending on rails, bring it on.
(upbeat music)
(whimsical music)
(rock music)
(tranquil jazz music)
(rock music)
- [Matt] That's right! (tranquil jazz music)
(Matt sighs)
(calm contemporary music)
Hey.
- [Simon] Hey mate.
- [Matt] How're you feeling?
I thought I'd have a nice coffee back there.
- [Simon] You had a break?
- Yeah. - No wonder why you're behind.
- [Matt] I got a nice cappuccino and a croissant.
(Simon grunts)
It was really nice, but uh,
I must have lost a bit of time back there
after that cappuccino, then I'm just going to,
just press on, Si. - All right, well--
See you a bit later. - Bye mate.
(calm contemporary music)
- 25.5 kilometers an hour now,
on maximum power.
I'd estimate I'm probably putting out maybe 200 watts.
I can speak easily.
This is probably giving me another 250, 300 roughly.
Already put a big gap into Si.
And I can't actually go any faster than this now,
26, 25 k an hour, it's looking good.
(calm contemporary music)
- That really is, a bonkers bit of kick.
Just fantastic.
However, I do feel like I should perhaps
defend the honor of the humble road bike
at this point, though, because this bike,
on this road, in this incredible scenery,
feels every bit as amazing as you would expect.
And in no way does the presence of an e-bike
take away from that sensation.
I don't think any dyed in the wool roadie
should ever feel threatened
by the presence of e-bikes.
As much as I am indeed floundering in Matt's wake,
and yes, I am eating his dust.
But the fact is, although I might not actually
want to set aside the time to ride
an e-road bike myself at the moment,
I do think they have a place in this sport.
(calm contemporary music)
(whimsical music)
(knocking on glass)
- You are going to be wired, man.
- How are you, Si?
I'm fine, just having some strudel.
You just want to get a bit quicker, you do, I tell ya.
You want to speed up a bit.
We'll get through.
(triumphant music)
- [Simon] Ah, nearly there, near the top.
(Simon panting and laughing)
- Now while Matt and I might have had
a slightly twisted and unfortunately
very one sided race here,
that is masking an important point,
and that is that that bike isn't designed
for Matt or riders as strong as Matt.
It's perfect for people that are less fit,
allowing them to go further, to climb faster,
and indeed ride with other people that may well be more fit.
- Yeah, well even for a dyed in the wool
rider like me with a lot of miles on my belt,
that was a lot of fun.
Climbing was a quite amazing experience.
I never climbed that fast before.
It was really unusual sensation, but a positive one,
and then descending, I thought it was going to be good,
but I felt like I was descending on rails.
It gave me so much confidence.
It was just utterly fantastic.
I mean, these bikes really are a great level up.
And think about the benefits of riding
a really tough commute to work as well.
- Yeah that's a good point.
Now with one descent still to go,
put me out of my misery, Matt.
How much battery you got left?
- Do you want to know? - Yeah.
- 15 percent.
- 15, are you serious?
That's actually quite a good going, isn't it.
- Well, to be honest with you like I said before,
I didn't really use the motor that much,
the old legs still feeling pretty good.
- Remarkable.
- Anyway, we'd like to know what you think
about the rise of the e-bike.
You know what to do, leave your comments down below.
- Yeah that should be a good comment section.
Now do also make sure that you subscribe
to GCN if you haven't already,
just click on the globe.
And if you want more content,
then why not get a bit more info on this bike here?
Find out why it's such an icon, just down here.
Or for a little more e-bike action on GCN,
we've got the GCN e-bike challenge
that is just over there.
- You're the icon today, Si, I tell you mate.
Great riding mate. - Oh mate, no you're too kind.
- Great riding. - Oh coffee!
- Oh yeah, swerve in.