![How Far Can An E-Bike Go?](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/2572/442063/5eba4eb489cf9/Cannondale-Synapse.jpg)
I’ve ridden 60km – a solid morning out so far. I left the southern suburbs of Cape Town in the dark, and rode to Cape Point. And not just to the reserve entrance gate, which you go past on the Cape Town Cycle Tour – all the way to the point itself.
I feel like I’ve achieved something! It’s still early, and I’m the only one here. The parking lot, usually bustling, is empty. A baboon stares at me from his vantage point on top of the bathroom block, and a seagull squawks from somewhere over the misty Atlantic.
There’s just one problem: the battery on the Cannondale is still full. Each of the five little indicator blocks on the Bosch Purion display is still there, a digital mob that seems to be mocking me: “You think you can beat us, buddy? We’ll see about that!”
Sure, the Synapse is an e-bike, but Eco mode gives you just enough assistance to make it feel like a normal bike; which means that I feel as if I have actually pedalled that 60km. If this carries on, I’ll have to ride 200km – or more! – to have any hope of picking off all five members of the mob. That’s like doing the Double Century, on a random Thursday morning. Alone. People train for that kind of thing!
Spitefully, I eat a banana right in front of the baboon, suddenly worried that I’ve underestimated the capacity of this machine. Then I turn the bike around, climb back on, and start pedalling. As I approach the first rise in the road, I casually change the mode from Eco to Tour. Take that, battery. Let’s see how you cope now!
Learning The Ropes
Denne historien er fra May/June 2020-utgaven av Bicycling South Africa.
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Denne historien er fra May/June 2020-utgaven av Bicycling South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
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GEAR FOR THE AGES
Some bicycle components, tools and accessories - by design, luck or a bit of both - become icons of performance, reliability and permanence in cycling.
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A RACE LIKE NO OTHER
IN KENYA'S MAASAI MARA, KNOWN MORE FOR SAFARIS THAN CYCLING, THE MIGRATION GRAVEL RACE CHALLENGES RIDERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD THE WORLD WHILE FORGING A FUTURE FOR BIKE RACING IN AFRICA.
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WAR ON WHEELS
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GET TOUR DE FRANCE FAST IN FOUR WEEKS
HAVE YOU GOT TOUR FEVER? If you have a good fitness base, let the pros inspire you to take your riding to the next level.
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THE SECRET TO MAKING A COMEBACK? JUST START
\"THIS IS WHAT DECONDITIONING LOOKS LIKE,\" I said out loud to no one, as I looked at the heart-rate reading on my phone and gasped for breath. \"This shouldn't be so hard.\"
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DEAR MARK CAVENDISH
WHEN I FIRST STARTED FOLLOWING professional road cycling around 2014, you were at the top of your game.
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HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR POWER-TOWEIGHT RATIO
POWER-TO-WEIGHT RATIO IS one of the most telling metrics in cycling - and thanks to indoor trainers, many more cyclists are now familiar with it. Right now it's never been easier to calculate your power-to-weight ratio and use it to improve your performance.
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EASY RIDER
A FEW YEARS AGO, my wife and I along with her parents, brother and his wife-cycled down the Danube River in Europe.
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LEADING THE WAY - RYAN GIBBONS, 29, SA PRO RIDER, MULTIPLE SA & AFRICAN ROAD CHAMP
AFTER JOINING LIDLTREK from UAE Team Emirates, South African national champ Ryan Gibbons aims to be the best lead-out man he can be - while also helping his new team in their quest to climb the World Tour rankings.
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