It was a proper wall, and on a standard bike, I would have quickly adopted my norm for climbs like this sit in, select my lightest gear combo and slowly grind up, paperboying from side to side on the steepest ramps and gasping for breath at any moment of respite. The toughest climb of the day was at around 10 kilometres where the average gradient didn’t drop below 14 percent. The Creo SL’s power delivery is impressively smooth. When the gradient rises the assistance starts to feed in, seamlessly at first but then you do get the boost of power enabling you to maintain a faster cadence rather than wrenching the pedals on seriously steep stuff. It’s when you get to the climbs that the Creo makes sense on the road. The bike feels impressively quick with you spending most of your time riding beyond the speed limit of the power assistance, with the bike handling like I’d expect and just feeling a bit heavier than a ‘normal’ bike at a claimed 12.2kg. Out on the road the S-Works feels most similar to the new Roubaix, with the combination of a stiff chassis and shock-equipped front end for a sublimely smooth experience on rolling terrain. The S-Works comes with a few more glitzy bits and the impressive CLX50 wheelset and so it’s a bit lighter than the Evo. The ride on the S-Works SL was a typical Swiss route, taking in 50 miles/80 kilometres of ups and downs with 8,200ft/2,500 metres of ascent. It’s the most natural feeling e-bike I’ve ridden, and despite the modest numbers on the motor output (320wh) when compared to the latest Bosch, Yamaha, or Shimano units, it felt every bit as powerful but with a power delivery that was much more in line with my own efforts and a more natural riding experience. I’m not sure if e-road is truly a new sport as Specialized claims, but e-gravel with the extra boost of grip (because you can stay seated for longer) means far less bike-hiking when riding in the wild.Īt the end of my off-road adventures, the battery had 43 percent remaining in its combined tanks (main and reserve combined – they run-down in parallel) and I came away seriously impressed by the Evo. I put the bike in full Turbo mode, dropped the saddle a little, sat back and used a low gear for the power assistance to help me ‘scramble’ up this loose section without putting a foot down. The Evo came into its own on one particular section, a steep rooty climb from a river bed to the top of the ridge with a gradient in double digits on a less than perfect surface. The same can be said of the dropper post, enabling you to move around more easily and descend short, steep off-road slopes without hanging up on the saddle. Travelling through more technical sections quicker than I would normally on an unassisted bike, the extra cushioning is a true advantage. The FutureShock 2.0 unit up front is a welcome addition in the rough. The Creo chassis borrows the clever FutureShock 2.0 system from the new Roubaix.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |