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.
Denne historien er fra March/April 2023-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
Denne historien er fra March/April 2023-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
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.
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.
WAR ON WHEELS
IF YOU GO FOR A RIDE IN CAPE TOWN AT THE WRONG TIME, YOU COULD FIND YOURSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF A CYCLING GANG WAR, WHERE THE WEAPONS OF CHOICE ARE STRAVA RECORDS AND SALTY COMMENTS ON INSTAGRAM. THIS IS THE TALE OF THREE RIVAL ROADIE CREWS AND A REMINDER THAT CYCLING IS A SPORT BEST TAKEN WITH A SENSE OF HUMOUR.
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.
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.\"
DEAR MARK CAVENDISH
WHEN I FIRST STARTED FOLLOWING professional road cycling around 2014, you were at the top of your game.
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.
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.
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.
6 WAYS TO BEAT THE HEAT THIS SUMMER
TOP TIPS TO KEEP YOU COOLER AND RIDING STRONGER... NO MATTER WHAT THE TEMPERATURE.
