Gid'day from New Zealand

[GrandPaBrogan]

Hello! I come from a distant BMX and Mountain Biking background. I have just recently retired and thankfully rediscovered my love for cycling, which I’ve neglected over the last 10+ years due to a cocktail of various health problems, work commitments, and lost motivation.

Enter the eBike… which mercifully snuck-up on me rather gradually, giving me a new lease in life!

I just acquired a Giant Trance E+3Pro (2019 model) from an end-of-year sale. Here it is the very day it arrived last August, but I’ve already made a few changes to it (as you do)!

 

[118]

Welcome along..

 

[Bonz]

Hello! I come from a distant BMX and Mountain Biking background. I have just recently retired and thankfully rediscovered my love for cycling, which I’ve neglected over the last 10+ years due to a cocktail of various health problems, work commitments, and lost motivation.

Enter the eBike… which mercifully snuck-up on me rather gradually, giving me a new lease in life!

I just acquired a Giant Trance E+3Pro (2019 model) from an end-of-year sale. Here it is the very day it arrived last August, but I’ve already made a few changes to it (as you do)!

View attachment 19629

Welcome to the forum, as you have probably noticed there is a huge amount of info here.
Be interested to hear your comments on the Yamaha motor.
What part of NZ are you in? I’m in Motueka.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Welcome to the forum, as you have probably noticed there is a huge amount of info here.
Be interested to hear your comments on the Yamaha motor.
What part of NZ are you in? I’m in Motueka.

Thanks for the welcome Bonz.

Waikato... but my wife and I ride most often at the Redwoods Forest in Rotorua.

During my selection process, I found several YouTube reviews that praised the prowess of the Yamaha SyncDrive Pro motor above most others in terms of high torque at low cadences. That's a big plus for me. It's a strong climber for sure - but then again I only have a Bafang BBS01 converted FS trail bike to compare it with (but that pulls like an ox as well).

Some reviews rate the SyncDrive Pro poorly because the motor pushes unintentionally while stationary. This tendency occurs when riders sit-about chatting with one foot resting forward on one pedal. This feature is actually a huge PLUS for me because I want the motor to engage immediately should I try to remount my bike halfway up a steep climb. It's not hard to just remember to back the pedal to a 12 or 6 o'clock position. I'd much prefer for it to be this way - instant engagement as soon as the motor senses pressure being applied to the cranks.

It gets noisy if pushed hard - like the knarling of an old hand-rotate egg beater, haha. But you soon get used to it and don't notice it after a while.

 

[Rusty]

Waikato... but my wife and I ride most often at the Redwoods Forest in Rotorua.

Lots of trails to ride.
Pukete - Is naff but can still be fun.
Te Miro - ebikes were invented for this place.
Tokoroa - Some trails equal Rotorua. The Flintstone trails are kind of Corners but shorter. Jungle Junction is just pure old-style fun.
Taupo - Which set? W2K then the trail on the other side of Kinloch. Stop at the Tipsy Trout for lunch and a beer (or wine) then back over W2K including the Headland loop.
Then there is Craters. ebike makes climbing up to Mr & Mrs a lot easier After that, hit the Outback Loop.
tree Trunk Gorge & Pillars of Hecules.
42nd Traverse.
Thompsons Track.
And thats only the ones top of mind.

Of course, Rotorua can be days and days of different trails. Haven't done the Green & Blue lake loop yet.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Lots of trails to ride...
... Of course, Rotorua can be days and days of different trails. Haven't done the Green & Blue lake loop yet.

What my wife and I enjoy about riding eBikes is the freedom and confidence to just EXPLORE... something that's difficult to do on manual MTBs unless you're super fit. I have to say, I have seen more of the Whakarewarewa forest in the last 2 months than the last 20 years. Ascending forest fire roads don't phase us anymore, and when we see a random trail entrance we just head straight in - without any concern as to how long it could be and where we would come out. It's trail adventure without the drama. And yes, we've got the Green & Blue lake loop in our sights, next time we go to Rotorua!

(We've done some of Te Miro last year but just waiting for summer before we explore that in earnest. It's pretty muddy right now. Never been to Pukete... might check it out this week.)

 

[Bonz]

What my wife and I enjoy about riding eBikes is the freedom and confidence to just EXPLORE... something that's difficult to do on manual MTBs unless you're super fit. I have to say, I have seen more of the Whakarewarewa forest in the last 2 months than the last 20 years. Ascending forest fire roads don't phase us anymore, and when we see a random trail entrance we just head straight in - without any concern as to how long it could be and where we would come out. It's trail adventure without the drama. And yes, we've got the Green & Blue lake loop in our sights, next time we go to Rotorua!

(We've done some of Te Miro last year but just waiting for summer before we explore that in earnest. It's pretty muddy right now. Never been to Pukete... might check it out this week.)

We will get up to Rotorua one day. My home town, I left there 50 years ago.
We both have ebikes so a road trip will be on the cards.