Hot on the heels of our greatly successful e-bike workshop is a member profile of Bernie Heinrichs and his e-bike story.
Do you want to go faster, farther and higher? Try out an electric bike. I have the first one that Hub City Cycle Coop sold and assembled two months ago now and just can not get over what a great machine that it has become for me. It is an E-Bike’s conversion kit that we (actually they – I mostly got in their way) assembled on a fairly new
mountain bike.
The original intention was to try it out on some of the hilly mountain bike trails that are so plentiful in Nanaimo. It works quite well for that but there are, of course, limitations. It does spin out on some steep gravelly hills and does power out on the really steep slopes but does get me into areas that I would not be able to access before. At 70 years old I do have some limitations so the performance has been amazing.
The main reason I got back into cycling a few years ago was to maintain fitness. When I got the kit installed, one concern I had was that it would not provide me with enough resistance to get an aerobic benefit. What has actually happened is that there is probably more of an exercise benefit. You can still peddle as hard as you want – you just end up going faster. The increased benefit is due to the increased amount of time spent on the bike. It is just so much more fun.
The main advantage is how well and how quickly it gets me around the city. We do have many hills and this bike is made to handle them. I live near Brannen Lake and my travel time to Hub City Cycle is about the same as in a vehicle. If the traffic is heavy it is a bit faster. Most of the reason for this is because of the short cuts and reduction of traffic lights.
Although mine was a first for the guys at Hub City Cycle, their knowledge and training provided me with a good and sturdy bike. I highly recommend it.