![Power On!](https://cdn.magzter.com/1360045451/1677592215/articles/g5ynueMmh1677850578459/POWER-ON.jpg)
SINCE THE CYCLE TOUR ORGANISERS introduced the e-bike category a few years back, it's grown exponentially - much like the e-bike world itself.
And at the risk of irritating the few stick-in-the-muds left who detest these 'cheating machines', what a wonderful addition to the event the e-bike has been. It's allowed hundreds of riders who might never have had a chance to experience all the magic of the Cycle Tour - the scenery, the spirit - the opportunity to do so. And with little or no impact on the riders of normally-aspirated machines.
So. How do you get your pedal-assist machine around a hilly 109km route, without becoming one of the few (remarkably few, it must be said) pushing 20kg-plus of two-wheeled enemy up Suikerbossie, with both battery and sense of humour depleted? Let's have a look.
RESEARCH
The first thing is to work out with your bike shop whether your bike can actually make the full distance on one battery. But ridden carefully (we’ll get to that), you can usually eke a good deal more out of them than the conservative projections the manufacturers give you – most bikes with a 500Wh battery should get you home. Just.
BEHAVE
Do. Not. Try. This. If. You. Have. Modified. Your. Bike.
Battery life is destroyed by speed; and if you’ve got clever and jimmied your machine so it’s not limited to the boring 25km/h dictated by our market and the rules of the Cape Town Cycle Tour, you’re asking for trouble towards the end of the ride.
The Cycle Tour has helped here, a little, with its ruling that any e-bike times faster than 3h50 will be considered cheating, and will be deleted. It’s for our own good, really.
Esta historia es de la edición March/April 2023 de Bicycling South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición March/April 2023 de Bicycling South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
![6 WAYS TO BEAT THE HEAT THIS SUMMER](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2572/1571210/EXmaHQ18n1708514727809/6-WAYS-TO-BEAT-THE-HEAT-THIS-SUMMER.jpg)
6 WAYS TO BEAT THE HEAT THIS SUMMER
TOP TIPS TO KEEP YOU COOLER AND RIDING STRONGER... NO MATTER WHAT THE TEMPERATURE.
![RAGE AGAINST THE LYCRA](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2572/1571210/cJlUjHDv_1708514581165/RAGE-AGAINST-THE-LYCRA.jpg)
RAGE AGAINST THE LYCRA
WHY MOUNTAIN BIKING IS WAY MORE SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE THAN BEING A ROADIE.
![6 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT CHAINS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2572/1571210/Lq1kC59yV1708514377540/6-THINGS-YOU-DIDNT-KNOW-ABOUT-CHAINS.jpg)
6 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT CHAINS
To help you get the most out this crucial drivetrain component, and celebrate just how impressive your loop of metal links really is, we've rounded up six things you might not know about the bike chain.
![EVERYONE KNOWS 52X11 IS BIGGER THAN 48X10. EVEN THOUGH IT ISN'T.](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2572/1571210/Pr_m8AVIz1708514203166/EVERYONE-KNOWS-52X11-IS-BIGGER-THAN-48X10-EVEN-THOUGH-IT-ISNT.jpg)
EVERYONE KNOWS 52X11 IS BIGGER THAN 48X10. EVEN THOUGH IT ISN'T.
\"The human threshold for 'least noticeable difference' is generally on the order of 10 per cent change of a value.\"
![A CELEBRATION OF JUNK MILES](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2572/1571210/iG_ESU4M91708514025735/A-CELEBRATION-OF-JUNK-MILES.jpg)
A CELEBRATION OF JUNK MILES
\"No longer dreading my next bunch sprint, I felt like I belonged on my bike again\"
![KONTREI KUDOS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2572/1571210/9EOHiU6Sy1708513891784/KONTREI-KUDOS.jpg)
KONTREI KUDOS
YOU DON'T HAVE TO TRAVEL FAR TO FEEL SOUTH AFRICAN WARMTH. BUT SOMETIMES YOU CHOOSE TO.
![THE EASTERN CAPE PASSES ADVENTURE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2572/1571210/CiLNmGPLr1708513228774/THE-EASTERN-CAPE-PASSES-ADVENTURE.jpg)
THE EASTERN CAPE PASSES ADVENTURE
SOME OF THE HIGHEST PASSES IN SOUTH AFRICA ALL IN ONE HELLUVA RIDE!
![CAFFEINE - THE EXPERT'S PED*](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2572/1571210/tkTikFeaF1708513000808/CAFFEINE-THE-EXPERTS-PED.jpg)
CAFFEINE - THE EXPERT'S PED*
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR EVERY PART OF YOUR RIDE LIFE
![THE RACES ARE FASTER. ARE THEY CLEANER? AND DOES IT MATTER?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2572/1571210/6hhXQIt4p1708512843993/THE-RACES-ARE-FASTER-ARE-THEY-CLEANER-AND-DOES-IT-MATTER.jpg)
THE RACES ARE FASTER. ARE THEY CLEANER? AND DOES IT MATTER?
THE LAST TWO EDITIONS OF THE MEN’S Tour de France were among the three fastest.
![Perfect Timing](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2572/1571210/Ku6S-4sYy1708512684034/PERFECT-TIMING.jpg)
Perfect Timing
THE SOUTHERN CAPE IS LITTERED WITH EXCELLENT RIDING AND EVEN BETTER COFFEE.