I rented a Madone+ E-bike for a day

[eddief]

https://www.velonews.com/2019/07/voi...g-video_495686

Check out the scenery and the smile on the ebiker's face.

[fried bake]

That’s so far off of a “roadie” type ebike like the Orbea Gain, (which is 26lbs,) that it’s similar in name only. I don’t think you’d be stunned to find a surly long haul trucker to be a poor crit racer either.

[Bostic]

Some more thoughts:

The Domane frame itself is quite nice. I have over 12,000 miles on my Volagi since I bought it back in 2012 so I have a good idea what a comfortable carbon bike feels like. Over beaten up pavement that is on a route I ride frequently the Domane was good. Not as smooth as the Volagi but certainly better than when I ride my Venge or Rex over that section of road. The tires were not setup tubeless and were inflated somewhere in the 80psi range. With the motor of course I could have simply switched to the two higher modes and gotten it over sooner but I wanted to do an honest assessment. I would say the design Trek has in place does what it’s supposed to do in the head tube and seat tube area. Some of that is hard to fully measure as the bike weighs so much and I’m not used to riding 700x35c tires.

I wanted to have the stem swapped to something longer like my personal bikes but the cable management is to say lightly, a mess of wires stuffed in there and just wasn’t an option. I felt slightly cramped on the tops but in the drops and hoods it was acceptable.

The kickstand on the left chain stay looks out of place but the bike is so heavy you want it there when propping it up.

No issues with the shifting at all. 11-36 in the back but with a motor up front, there is no missing those in between cogs due to the larger spacings. Just up the power mode one setting. It was a bit of a mental thing knowing there is just one chain ring and it’s a 20t granny at that.

The motor is not silent. There is a whirl whirl thing going on when in motion and shifting power modes increases that. I deliberately tried to throw it a curve but you can’t. The transmission is quite smart and you can’t jam it up by changing power modes back and forth quickly.

The Sram brakes squeaked after going down steep hills until the rotors cooled. Pretty much the same thing as the BB7’s I’ve used for years. They certainly had better modulation and I never was in doubt of being able to stop. On a day in the pouring rain, that would have been interesting to test. FWIW I'm 5' 7" 148lbs.

The battery was fully charged when I checked out the bike in the morning. On the lowest mode the range does in fact show 71 miles on the computer. That quickly lowers once you up the power. There are also basic bar indicators on it like you see on your mobile phone. The external charger gets hot during use. I didn’t ride the bike in the evening to see how well the lights work visibility-wise.

Looking at other drop bar E-Bikes I saw that Ribble and Orbea have models that have the motor in the seat tube but they don’t have the max speed the Trek has. They are also much lighter, cheaper and not something I could test ride in Silicon Valley. The Trek Domane+ is a $7000 first generation e-bike. How well would that motor hold up in rainy commutes? What is the service required for it after x amount of hours or mileage? These were questions the bike shop could not honestly answer me. I knew going in with the Volagi I was locking into a wonky 130mm rear disc hub for a first generation disc bike. That bike was no where near the cost.

Again, my main rational for testing the bike was to see was it worth it from a commuting standpoint to get me out of my car more often. Learning how to ride a motorcycle and lane split? Not an option. With the Trek Domane+ I’d never use it on a group ride. Never take it up to Sacramento to use on the American River Bike Trail. Never use it to train for a double century. I was very fortunate to have a 2.5 mile commute for 5 years. Then the Company got acquired and that turned into a much longer commute. Then I found a better job but the commute is only slightly shorter. I did the Caltrain thing for a year a decade ago and just don’t have that in me anymore. Sure if I absolutely had to then I would.

One rider’s honest assessment of this new technology that is not filled with ridiculous claims you would read in a published review.

[tony_mm]

Interesting review!

[fa63]

If you want a super commuter, there are many other options out there that do not require you to spend $5K or more. Here is mine; weighs 60 lbs fully loaded but still makes easy work of my commute. I paid $1500 for it two years ago.

[d_douglas]

That’s crazy! A road bike that doesn’t allow you to ride more than 30miles at a time ?!?! That shouldn’t be on the market in my opinion...

[palincss]

Originally Posted by Burnette

T
Back to my original scenario, what would be the ideal parameters for my terrain? Within reason, something doable with today's technology?

Say, 25lbs total weight, sacrifice range/battery size and top speed to achieve that weight and only use it at peak load demand times, those last few 8, 12 and 15% grades of the ride.

Exactly what's on offer with the Ebikemotion X35 and Fazua Type 1 bikes I mentioned.

[MikeD]

I'm very surprised that you can ride your nonpowered bike faster when the Domaine+ is in low power mode and the next up mode is not much better. I have an Orbea Gain M20 and it's a few mph faster on average speed on rides I've done when compared to my Ritchey road bike when in the low power mode.

[CNY rider]

Originally Posted by OtayBW

The problem with a lot of e-bikes that seems to be cropping up more and more, is that they are often operated by 'bicycle dilletants' who are weak on bike handling skills and who have even less experience with group riding dynamics and needs. Seems to be increasingly discussed by many in my riding circle....

I’m in the Dolomites now and these e-bikes are all over the place.
Including in the mountain passes.
The descents here are really hairy with steep pitch, and multiple 180 degree switchbacks on narrow roads. Not everything has a guardrail either.
I saw people who didn’t look like they had a lot of cycling skills heading up into the mountains. I don’t know how it goes when you put someone with limited cycling experience on a 35 pound bike and point them downhill on the passes.
Made me nervous for them.

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by CNY rider

I’m in the Dolomites now and these e-bikes are all over the place.
Including in the mountain passes.
The descents here are really hairy with steep pitch, and multiple 180 degree switchbacks on narrow roads. Not everything has a guardrail either.
I saw people who didn’t look like they had a lot of cycling skills heading up into the mountains. I don’t know how it goes when you put someone with limited cycling experience on a 35 pound bike and point them downhill on the passes.
Made me nervous for them.

Well, it's interesting. You know how it is in a mass start ride where there are tons of newer riders going all over the place, willy-nilly. Not usually my cup of tea. But this situation compounded by e-bikes seems to be becoming an increasing issue around here....

[Elefantino]

The lighter X-35 bikes (Orbea, Wilier, Focus) are getting closer to the sweet spot. I still figure that when it comes time to my needing an e-bike, they'll be even sweeter.

[fbhidy]

Originally Posted by fa63

If you want a super commuter, there are many other options out there that do not require you to spend $5K or more. Here is mine; weighs 60 lbs fully loaded but still makes easy work of my commute. I paid $1500 for it two years ago.

Be sure to check and see if yours is part of the recall:
http://trek.scene7.com/is/content/Tr...tice_US_EN.pdf

[fa63]

Thanks for the heads up. Mine is a Juiced CrossCurrent S, though I can see how it could be confused for the Trek

Originally Posted by fbhidy

Be sure to check and see if yours is part of the recall:
http://trek.scene7.com/is/content/Tr...tice_US_EN.pdf

[fbhidy]

Originally Posted by fa63

Thanks for the heads up. Mine is a Juiced CrossCurrent S, though I can see how it could be confused for the Trek

Sorry, I read 'super commuter' in your post and had just read about the recall from Trek on their 'Super Commuter'!

[Bisquik]

So why a ebike performance? What is the essence of an ebike user; doesn't it have to be a tourist and not a connoisseur.