Aushiker

Thanks for answering my question anyway.

Cheers
Andrew

Robert C

I just purchased a Giro 26att and I am coming off of a bike-e. As such, my experience is nearly the opposite. It may be an issue of being experienced on the bike-e (just considering when the bike-e was last made, it is obvious that I have a lot of experience on it… yes, I purchased it new).

That being said, I feel that the bike-e was more stable at low speed and easier to start on, both from a stop and in general as a “trainer” ‘bent. However, the Giro feels more stable at speed and feels faster. I am using an i-gotU GT-800 for my GPS and it entirely messes up average speed; however, the Giro feels faster based in perception and glances at the GPS.

The bike-e feels much more rideable on paths and minor trails. I think that part of the issue is that, at 5’6”, even the “standard” is too big for me. I think that once my finances stabilize I am going to put 24” wheels on it, as is mentioned here in the Giro blog.
The only other thing I have noticed is that the Giro really needs a headrest. So, on the list of things I expect to change: wheel size (smaller), thicker seat pad, some sort of a head rest, and I expect I will eventually switch out the grip shifters. I don’t particularly like grip shifters and the angle of the handlebars makes the shifters particularly hard to turn.

All that being said, it seems durable and well suited to long commutes. As stated, once moving, it is stable at speed. It is easy to ride it faster than the bike-e and it handles road bumps pretty well. The seat is comfortable (even if it does need a headrest). I really think most of my complaints with it will be fixed by smaller wheels.

osco53

From reading the OP's post and riding my EZ-1 sx with 65 psi kenda's I wonder how much the tire effected the feel/speed overall.
The two bikes look so similar to my untrained eye.

I risked a blow out on my 65 psi kenda's raising the pressure to 75 psi (for a short test) and I felt a real diff at my top speed and acceleration.

I settled on 70 psi but still those kenda's felt like anchors all the time, especially when going fast

radycle

The maximum pressure rating on the sidewall of bicycle tires is partially determined by the tire manufacturer's lawyers. So long as your tire bead is properly seated in the rim it is most probably safe to exceed that pressure rating by a significant amount. I've heard/read somewhere that high-quality name-brand tires can be pumped up to around 50% higher than the # on the tire without risk of blowing the tire. I feel secure in stating the 10 psi over to which you pumped yours was perfectly safe. I expect most of the pressure gauges built into pumps are inaccurate by at least that amount in the first place. Unless you are using a high-quality gauge you're probably only getting an approximation of the actual pressure readout on your gauge.
The usual problem with tire pressures in my experience is blowing the tire bead off the rim because the tire isn't properly seated. Also, over-pressurizing tires can cause the tread to wear faster.

"Your mileage may vary" as they say.

400trix

According to Berto, the way the pressure rating is determined is by mounting the tire correctly, then inflating it until it blows out. The max pressure is set at half that number. Roughly.