Originally Posted by
JerryTheSpinner
I feel the power is more then enough. I am able to go up steep hills at 18MPH. There is definitely no issue of power. Trek might be measuring power output in a different way then BionX is? I originally was going to buy the Valencia+ after test riding both. I bought the FX+. The FX+ with the carbon fork really soaks up the bumpy road. FX + components are much better and the bike is more responsive. In regards to rain which I ride in the Valecia+ disc brakes to not make much of a difference. When you use the brake on the FX+ it goes into regen 4 mode which really slows down the bike. When going down steep hills I put it in regen mode 2,3 or 4 which controls the speed of my decent. Therefore, the V brake does not get much use. I will however be putting fenders on my FX+.
Fenders are a must in the rain. Although I was once riding home at night in the rain without fenders and the water shooting up past the headlight was very nice. Dancing Waters and all that.
So you take the southern route to Manhattan (if you're going over the Williamsburg). That must mean Grand Avenue or Metropolitan Avenue, something like that? That's a bit shorter than my northern route to the Queensboro bridge. I haven't gone by the southern route in a while; I always liked having a subway or bike shop nearby. Maybe I'll try the southern route as spring advances. Is there still all that construction and big trucks?
The FX was supposed to be more of a performance bike than the Valencia, which is more of a commuter model. I rode both but couldn't really feel much of a difference. The components on the FX might be better but I couldn't tell. The geometry of the Valencia seemed to fit me better. Again, it's close. I just didn't want to get the cheap fork on the 7200+. The one on my 7100 froze years ago and that made no difference. The FX has 27 speeds and the Valencia only 24, but that wasn't a big difference to me either.
I couldn't go wrong with either one though. It really has made it so much easier to ride. I find I'm looking forward to riding again instead of groaning and thinking about the hills. I was going to do it today in spite of the rain but I didn't want to take my new bike out in the rain and I'm also recovering from yesterday's Spin and Stretching classes. I'm a bit sore.
Has anyone noticed that you were riding an Ebike? One person at Flushing Meadows Corona Park asked how I liked my Valencia (I was taking pictures of the old boathouse being demolished). I pointed out that it was an electric version and started telling her about it. I should get a commission if she buys one.