Giant Road E

 Sebastian and Randy, owner of Randy's Bike and Run Shop, demonstrating the latest bike addition to San Angelo.

February 4, 2017

 Back in October, Randy ordered a Giant Road E for me. It arrived on February 3 and is reported to be the first of its kind delivered in the U.S. One can easily look up the specifications; they are impressive and accurate. The short specs are:  "Giant SyncDrive Sport, 28mph, 80Nm torque, powered by Yamaha." The rider is required to pedal but is amply assisted by the Yamaha motor.
Sebastian and Randy test drove the Giant around the block and gave it a rave review. So, despite the temperature's being below my normal comfort zone, I just had to try out the bike.

I loaded up the bike  and headed to one of the many favorite courses...Door Key Road. Door Key is a little over 14 miles and is a rolling hill course with 3-6% inclines.

If one is over 70 (I am 78) and want to continue riding long distances with your younger friends, keep reading.
The Road E has three power settings, Eco, Normal, and Power. On Eco the range showed that one could expect to go 91 miles. Normal, 77, and Power at 52 miles. As Normal is suggested for tours with hills I wanted to try normal.
Short story:
Door Key Road
28.72 miles
1hr 22 minutes
Average 21 mph
Max speed 30.8
Now anyone who knows me knows that the above are not my "normal" stats. Mine are (mumble mumble)---but I finish the course.

Within the first 5 pedal strokes, it was Wow! The syncdrive senses how hard you pedal and instantly gives power to assist the stroke. The result is a seamless surge of speed. It also means that when one starts up a hill and applies more power, so does the bike. In the past I could almost keep up with the group on level road but just as soon as we hit an incline, I was dropped. Well, going up a hill with the Giant, I found myself GAINING speed. Unheard of for me.
Going out is always into the headwind so the average is slower than the return. Again this was true but outbound I had a 19.3 average, and the return was 23 mph.

On one of the return flats I was tooling along and suddenly the bike felt sluggish and heavy. I glanced down and was going 27 mph and pedaled a little harder and faster and was going 31 mph, still sluggish. Then it dawned on me. The bike as advertised in the specs says 28 mph. That means it will supply the power to sustain 28 mph. Anything above that you have to provide the differential power. Ergo, it felt sluggish. Small "inconvenience."

I am looking forward to next trying out the Eco and Power settings on appropriate courses. If the performance is anything like I experienced with the normal setting, I will remain a happy camper.