The many reasons why it is so much smarter to be on an E Bike
You will be able to maintain group cohesion
If everyone in the group is riding an e-bike, you can all achieve a similar average speed. Our bikes are limited to 25km per hour, (European standard), so that’s the top speed people will be riding on the flat sections of the road, (In Eco or Tour). You will zoom up hills (in Turbo/high). When descending, those who are more confident will move faster, but that doesn’t have a big impact on average group speed.
You will have more time to explore
You can expect to ride at an average speed of 20-25km per hour on the flat. So a door-to-door ride from Nelson Airport to Mapua, is only going to take you around 1.5 -2 hours; without including the intriguing stops along the way. So in turn, when you arrive in Mapua you have plenty of time to explore. It’s not like you are rushing the ride experience, there is still plenty of time to stop, chat, take some photos and enjoy the company of your fellow travellers. It’s just that on an E Bike you move a little more quickly and consistently, arriving earlier at your destination than you would on an ordinary bike.
You have more energy and recovery time
Nelson has a variety of terrain to cycle over. Although some areas a flat there are some hilly sections and you will need to make bit more of an effort. What this does mean is that there are days when your legs are a bit jelly-like after the ride and the next day you can be feeling a little stiff. With an e-bike, even if you push hard on a low assist setting, the shorter ride time means you have plenty of additional time in the afternoon and mornings to recover, and you’ll find the overall tour a lot more enjoyable.
The extra time and energy you have can be put to good purpose sampling the fine wines and food the Region is renowned forYou can still eat, plenty!
A big part of any visit to Nelson is the food and wine. The good news is that even on an e-bike, you are still getting a great workout and need to fuel that. After a ride you’ll want to enjoy all the great cuisine the Region has to offer
You can catch up after a photo stop quicker
We’ve all been in that situation. There’s a great scene to snap a photo of…. but it’s your sixth photo stop of the day. You’re pretty tired of playing catch up with the group so instead choose to skip the shot. Well, that’s not an issue with e-bike tours. Go ahead and capture that memory from your tour, then just flip the pedal-assist setting to the highest and easily cruise back to the tail of the group.
You and your travel partner can comfortably ride together
E-bikes are the great biking equalizer. They allow people to ride together when they might not be able to do so if they are on ordinary bikes. Your partner doesn’t have to suffer because you can’t keep up. There are many reasons that make one individual a much faster rider. This leads to obvious differences when couples or families are touring together. When you are on e-bikes the uberfit riders can have their ride on the lowest power setting and those less fit can hold the same speed by being on the next setting up. It’s much more enjoyable being able to ride side-by-side with your companions and enjoy a chat while you do.
You are in good company
E-bikes have actually been a thing in Nelson for a long time. What this means is that as you are humming along on your e-bike, you’ll be meeting lots of other people on e-bikes going about their daily lives. You can all exchange a knowing look that you have graduated into the future of bike touring.
Less vehicle transferring
Because the group is traveling at a more stable, more predictable pace, we can plan distances better, and on long days you can cover the distance with confidence. While there are lots of variables that impact the range of e-bikes, you can comfortably cover up to 90km on a single battery charge. As a result, there is rarely any need to transfer by vehicle and that’s great. Let’s face it, sitting in a van in your riding gear is not something you do unless you have to.
But just because you can cover longer distances doesn’t mean you do. Recognize that this game-changing technology could be put to better use giving you more time to enjoy destinations, forgo van transfers and make the most of the extra opportunities.
You will be much safer one an E Bike
On an E Bike you will be safer than an ordinary bike. This is because you have the power assist that allows you to easily pull away from stops (like at traffic lights) and when going uphill you will smoothly ride on to the top without discomfort and without wobbling from side to side.
The quality of the roads ranges from hard top tar seal to gravel tracks. Your E Bike is capable of performing well on most types of terrain. However our E Bikes are not Mountain bikes. The Frame geometry, suspension, tyres and transmission are designed for trail/road riding, not mountain biking.
Nelson Cycle Hire has a variety of E Bikes for Hire. They range from the Avanti Step Thru (Shimano) ideal for urban riding. Good on the trail are the Avanti Trail (Bafang), Scott Sub Cross (Bosch) and the carbon fibre Hybrid (Bafang)
