Propella arrived today!

[stevej37]

^^^ Makes no diff to me. If someone has a problem..come out and say it.
With that said...I'm looking forward to spring and biking!

[stevej37]

The paved roads are bare now, but I don't have a mirror or tail light on the Propella yet.
So...this am I decided to take it on the White Pine Bike Trail. (93 mile trail between Grand Rapids and Cadillac)
The trail had a thick ice pack yet because of the snowmobiles, so I ended up just cruising some side streets for about 5 miles.

The bike shifts quietly and smoothly. The assist button will work better without gloves on...it was only 40 degrees.
With the assist in the lowest setting, it feels like biking with a strong tail-wind.
At one point, I was in 6th gear and next to the largest assist. Pedaling leisurely along, I looked down at the display and it read 18 mph! There was still another gear left on the sprocket and one higher step of boost. Will be all I need.

The only time I noticed the extra weight was loading the bike into my Fit.
The azz end moves the balance point to the rear of the seat tube. (because of the motor hub)
It was too cold to go much further and it was starting to rain.

[stevej37]

Added a cat-eye tail light, Ergo grips, and a Mirracyle mirror.
Before and after pics.

[LWJ]

Cool. Mrs LWJ and I took an ebike ride yesterday. Lovely February sunshine. Enjoy!

(I will 5 star next)

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by LWJ

Cool. Mrs LWJ and I took an ebike ride yesterday. Lovely February sunshine. Enjoy!

(I will 5 star next)

Thanks...(no stars necessary...none is better than one!)
It's sunny and 35 here today. Also windy...which makes it intolerable for biking.
Biking in early March in Michigan doesn't happen very often...but it's not far away.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Added a cat-eye tail light, Ergo grips, and a Mirracyle mirror.
Before and after pics.

I was thinking about your new bike while walking the dog the other day and it popped into my head that they should come with headlights and tail lights, but I guess the problem with that is 1 different people will want different lights (that could add a lot to the cost of the bike) and 2 the technology is changing so fast, the lights may be obsolete in a year or two. It would be cool if there were USB plugs or something similar for lights near the stem and seat tube.

[stevej37]

I do have a couple cat-eye headlights. Never use them.
I don't bike at night and it's the traffic from the rear that is worrisome.

On my road bike, I have the Garmin Varia, which is radar that shows rear oncoming traffic.
It works great...but I haven't decided yet whether to switch it to the Propella or leave it on the other bike.

I was hit once, from the side, breaking my femur. So, I am especially careful now.

Here's what happened....
anyone else have this done to their leg?
Post 59 shows the damage.

[LWJ]

My wife and I have ebikes. I think they are AMAZING.

My almost 21 year old child with autism is being booted into the real world out of my house and getting a job. I think an ebike is perfect. I just looked at the Propella website. They are CHEAP. I am tempted as my kid doesn't drive cars.

Feedback? I would love to hear it.

TIA.

[stevej37]

^^^
That (being cheap) is one of the reasons I picked the Propella. I didn't want to invest a large amount into something that I didn't know how much I would use.
Another is the weight...not that much more than a normal bike.

It's very straight-forward as to the assist control. (five levels) It just feels like a strong tail-wind pushing. (as you know)
The push stops when the pedaling stops or when the brake is applied.

I haven't used it anymore since I posted #22....too cold and windy.
My main road bike is a 24 speed Vilano and I also ride an 8 speed belt-drive Vilano.
So..between the three, I prob won't be adding miles to the Propella quickly.

So far...I am happy with it.
When I get the chance to take it for a longer ride...I will update this.
Thanks for the interest.

[stevej37]

Last week, had a day to get the Propella out and give a good trial.

The trail I was on had patches of ice and snow that were in the shaded portions.
I learned quickly that if you don't turn the assist off (on the ice)...you will most likely slide the rear end out from under you. I never lost it, but came close a couple times.
The other thing I realized is that the motor assist is virtually silent when used in the 1-3 levels.
The 4-5 range makes a little whine...but the increased speed almost covers it up.

One of the nicest things about the assist is when having to stop at a crossroad for traffic...the back to speed part is fast and easy!

Not once did I have another biker look at it with a quizzical look.

I put on 15 miles and the battery showed about 2/3 empty.

[stevej37]

One last observation.
The battery pack on the Propella is noticeable when setting on a bike rack or it's stand.
But when riding it...it is mostly hidden by your legs...making it appear as a normal bike.
In fact, it could almost pass as a water bottle.

If that matters to anyone.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by masraum

I was thinking about your new bike while walking the dog the other day and it popped into my head that they should come with headlights and tail lights, but I guess the problem with that is 1 different people will want different lights (that could add a lot to the cost of the bike) and 2 the technology is changing so fast, the lights may be obsolete in a year or two. It would be cool if there were USB plugs or something similar for lights near the stem and seat tube.

I hear ya...more and more things on a bike to plug in. Throw in a main battery, headlight, tail light, and maybe a Garmin....and you have a mess of cables.
If they were integrated into one plug....would make it a lot nicer.

[Macroni]

Steve,

Just bought one for my wife..... Went for the single speed..... Happy Mom's day...

Thanks for the review and endorsement!

[stevej37]

^^^ Great! She will love it.
With the assist, I almost wish I went with the single speed.
April delivery? (I just had an email from them...filling orders fast)

Keep us posted when you get to try it out.

[Macroni]

Will do......

[stevej37]

Great day in MI for biking today. 55 and sunny..but a strong wind.
Normally wouldn't set out to do many miles because of the wind. But with the Propella...it was (a breeze!) easy.
I ended up with 34 miles and half of them were directly into a 20 mph wind.
Just dial up the assist and lower the gearing to 5th and away you go.

Going with the wind...it's easy to keep a 20mph pace...more if you want to pedal hard.

The five LED Cat-eye on the back has been a real good thing. I noticed cars given me a wider berth than they did when I had a less bright light.

[stevej37]

Another update...
Nice weather again here...took the Propella for a 25 mile ride.
All went good, but there was a rattle that I noticed on earlier rides that I couldn't pinpoint.

Back home, I put it on the bike lift and tightened everything again. Was about to call it good when I noticed that the battery bracket had a small space between it and the frame. Every bump in the road was causing it to hit the frame.
I put a rubber washer under the bracket and it was enough so it wouldn't hit the frame.

The rattle is gone.

[stevej37]

This makes bike maintenance so much easier!

[Tidybuoy]

Originally Posted by stevej37

^^^ Yeah, I think it was Oct when I ordered it....thanks for the suggestion.
My garage is 26X40 and I keep one half open...so after assembly, I decided to try it out in that space doing some ovals. I have done this before with my normal road bike..plenty of room.

When I started out in low gear and the assist kicked in...I almost wiped out making the first left turn!

If only I had a garage that was big enough to ride a bike in......

[stevej37]

If you get too much speed up...it starts leaving black marks from the tire sidewalls.
And they are not fun to remove.