I've always had an interest in bikes, and would love to take one on a multi-day trip. Grab some bags, jump on, and dissapear into the woods for a day or two camping and exploring. Not only that, but I like the idea of riding around the city on one, getting some exercise while not having to pay for gas.
On the other hand, I also like motorcycles and the feeling you get when riding around on them. In fact, I've had two of them, both Harleys - first a 1200 Custom, followed by a Street Bob. Needless to say, I was a little excited when I first heard about Harley's e-bike, the Serial 1. I contemplated it for a good while, but recently made the purchase and was able to ride it around over the weekend.
Initial Questions
Having never ridden an e-bike before, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect.
- Can you still shift manually?
- What happens when you run out of power?
- Does it function like a regular bike?
- What kind of e-bikes are there?
- What kind of bike am I wanting?
After some initial research, I had answers to the majority of my questions. There are a number of different manufacturers, but the two I was leaning toward were QuietKat, which was focused on backwoods, hunting, and tactical type bikes, and Serial 1, the offshoot of Harley Davidson, which had more of an urban/city focus.
Making my Decision
I'd like to think my time would be spent riding through the woods and back country, but the reality is that most of my time will be on bike paths, local streets, and occasionally some dirt and gravel roads.
On top of that, the majority of my rides will most likely be on weekends, unless I get to a point where I travel around town on the bike instead of my truck. In these scenarios, the Serial 1 definitely fits in more.
I did really like the fact that the QuietKat bikes had decent luggage capabilities and a trailer that could be pulled. I was also intrigued by the solar panels that you could purchase to charge your bike anywhere you needed. Again, it would be nice to have the ability to charge via solar, but the reality is most of my rides will be during the day and I'll do my charging overnight. And it takes 4-8 hours to get a full charge as it is.
In terms of power, I could get a larger battery with the QuietKat than the Serial 1. The QuietKat was also a class 2, meaning it had a throttle as opposed to just a pedal assist (class 1 / 3). In my opinion, that's a plus for the QuietKat, but with the throttle and larger battery, there may be different requirements / rules to follow in different states, parks, and trails. I don't particularly like having to deal with and/or consider that when I feel like going for a ride.
The final point of consideration was just brand loyalty. I like the Harley brand and have had good luck / relations with them in the past.
Initial Impressions
My first impression of the Rush/City was that it's a good bike with high quality materials. I'll start with the couple downsides that I noticed first.
- The fenders seem like some kind of plastic. There's a fair amount of flex, allowing you to push them from side to or squeeze them. I've never had fenders on a bike before, so it's not too much of a concern, but I expected them to be aluminum or something like the rest of the frame.
- There's a bell on the handle, which seems a bit out of place / old-school compared to everything else on the bike.
Aside from those two issues, I don't have any complaints. It comes with a really good headlamp and rear lights are built into the frame. There's also a belt, similar to what I had on my harley, rather than a traditional chain.
There's also a locked "glove compartment", but I was a bit dissapointed that neither my phone, nor my wallet fit inside (Google Pixel 2 and one of the front-pocket slim wallets)
In terms of weight, it's a bit heavier than a traditional bike due to the battery, but it's not bad at all. The last thing I found interesting was the CVT, or continuous variable transmission. Essentially, it's an automatic transmission that you control via bluetooth and an app on your phone.
Calibration
When I got the bike home, the first thing I did was try to figure out how to calibrate the hub. I didn't see any instructions, but the hub had an "enviolo" logo on it, so I downloaded the app from the play store.
Basically, you log into the app, add your information, and then press a button on the hub that starts a bluetooth search / connection process. Once connected to the app, you have a number of different options, and I'm not sure what all of them do. The main one I was looking for was "cadence," which controls how many revolutions per minute you pedal.
I like a slower cadence, so I set it to 30 (the lowest setting), after which you have to ride around. First the transmission provides very little resistance. Then you hear it change gears and you have a lot more. It makes one more adjustment, and then says that the calibration is complete. I was satisfied with the results, so I stopped there, but the app also has multiple profiles to choose from, so I'm guessing you can change it on the fly if desired.
My First Ride
You have a few options in terms of using the motor and pedal asset.
- None
- Eco
- Tour
- Sport
- Boost
None, from what I can tell, gives no assist and acts as a single speed bike. It's a bit more challenging, I assume due to the added weight, but it's not horrible on flat ground. That being said, I only used "None" a few times after getting up to speed. I feel like it would definitely take a toll if going up hill and over a longer duration.
One thing I noticed right away is that starting from a stop is completely different than a traditional bike, when using the assist. There's a bit of initial resistance to move the pedal but, as soon as it moves, the motor kicks in and your off to the races.
For my first ride, I stayed in Eco for the most part, and traveled around 30 miles. On average, my speed stayed around 15 miles per hour, which wasn't bad. The couple times I switched to higher modes, like Sport and Boost made a huge difference. Also, going up hills was a non-issue - the level of effort didn't really change.
The Bose speedometer is pretty nice - it gives you your current speed, the range on the battery, and a few other pieces of information when flipping through the settings. Unfortunately I'm not sure I trust it yet. Using Eco mode, it started with a range of 111 miles. It suddenly dropped to 52 miles, then 42. From 42, it slowly worked its way back up to 50, and then dropped down to 32.
Maybe it takes some breaking in / calibration before it's more steady?
The brakes work really well. While testing out the stopping power, I went from ~ 10-12 mph to a complete stop almost instantly. I tested stopping suddenly at the bottom of a hill as well, and had no issues.
One thing I enjoyed is that there's very little noise on the Rush/City. If you slow down suddenly, or start moving from a complete stop, you can hear the motor and transmission kick in with some whirs. You still have the clicking when rolling down the street with no pedaling. Moving the pedals backwards is much smoother than your traditional bike; however, and completely silent.
There was only one thing that made me curious during the rides, and it wasn't so much of an issue as not being familiar with fenders. Occasionally some small gravel would get picked up by the tires, and rattle around the fenders for a bit before falling out again.
Conclusion
Overall, I'm really impressed with the Rush/City. It appears to be built with high quality materials, handles really well, and is a lot of fun to ride. If you're looking for an e-bike and have the money to spend, I would definitely recommend it. If nothing else, you can always look for a local harley dealership and take one for a test ride 😀
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