Dave's Blog

Ok, so I’ve received a few nudges from people who want me to follow up on my post about the Trek FX+.

Since I bought the bike back on May 12th, I’ve clocked up 685 and I’m still impressed with the bike and glad that I bought it, however it’s not been plain sailing. I’ve been dogged by maintenance issues and faulty parts constantly, in fact I feel like I’m only just getting to the point where I’ve ironed out all of the issues.

I’ve been using the bike for my commute into the office which is around 9.1 miles, and I generally take 45mins on average. The route I take is all on road cycling with heavy traffic, passing through Sutton then Croydon. I don’t go into the office every day as I have the luxury of being able to work from home twice a week, so in theory I should be clocking up around 50 miles a week. Obviously it hasn’t worked out like that, but either way, I’ve given the bike some serious road usage since I bought it. In fact, it’s fair to say that I’ve really enjoyed cycling in and prefer it over public transport whenever possible.

I’m going to list some of the main features of the bike and my comments on them before getting down to the maintenance issues I’ve had :

Motor
This is what we’re here for right? I have very little to say about the motor, which in itself speaks volumes. The motor is perfectly quiet at all times, I’ve never heard so much as a peep out of it, yet it’s always there adding a noticeable push to every revolution and on the steepest hills, I can turn the assist up to level 4 and sail up the steepest hills at around 13-15mph.

I’m comfortably averaging around 14-15mph for my commute, which means I can get to the office quicker than the train without the attendant disruption and effort of walking out of my way to go to the nearest station. The motor cuts out at 16mph and gradually reduces its level of assistance as you near the cut off so there’s no jolt from one mode to another, it’s all very smooth indeed.

Whilst this might sound a bit miserly, I find it to be more than enough, the motor lets me quickly build up speed as I have to stop constantly due to traffic and traffic lights, wasting all of the momentum I’ve built up. I’ve seen on the internet that you can put the firmware into ‘Sport Mode’ which will increase the cut out level but whilst I’ve thought about doing it, I don’t really need to so I haven’t tried this out yet.

There is a ‘Generate Mode’, which can be turned on manually, but frankly this is a bit of a gimmick, I don’t go down any hill long enough to make it worth adjusting the settings and I couldn’t honestly say how much power is added back into the battery, it’s certainly not noticeable on the battery charge status. However it does go into generate mode when you pull the rear break, this is much more useful as it’s automatic, but again I can’t really see much measurable difference, but I’m sure every little helps.

Battery Pack
At 2.5kg the weight of the battery pack is noticeable on the bike, in fact, I’d say that with the battery and the motor, the bike is very heavy and I’d have trouble cycling comfortably without any form of assistance so I generally cycle around at assistance level 2 (of 4) and push it up to 3 for hills. This seems to use around 85% of the battery for my journey to and from the office.

This is all important because the charging pack for the battery is a beast, it is heavy and bulky and puts me in mind of 1990s laptop charger units, this means that whilst it’s possible to carry the charger with you, you really wouldn’t want to, given the choice. The charging process is quick though and in spite of the lengthy list of dos and donts in the documentation, it’s easy to use and charges up in 3-4 hours or less.

The paperwork suggest that the battery is only under warranty for 600 charges, I’ve probably done around 60 charges in total and I’ve not noticed any particular reduction in the battery’s capacity nor have I ever been left without charge, which to my mind is the most important thing.

If I’ve had any niggle other than the weight, I’ve noticed that the battery pack tends to rattle around quite a bit when I’m going over poor road surfaces (namely, most of Surrey!), I’m sure it didn’t do this at first but it certainly does so now, I try to keep my bike running silently and it annoys me when there’s a rattle or squeak. I can solve this myself with some rubber and super-glue but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.

Classic Controller
This is the little computer that sits on the handle bar, it doubles as bike computer and the control mechanism through which you adjust the level of assistance.

As a bike computer it logs Odometer/Trip counter/ Clock/Chronometer/ Average speed, which is all fine, however there doesn’t seem to be a group reset button, if I want to reset trip counter and chronometer I have to reset them separately, I’d be much happier if there was one button that reset all of the counters at once like other CatEye Computers I’ve used but this isn’t the end of the world.

The buttons are easy to use, even through waterproof gloves and the bike is very responsive when making changes. A couple of times, I’ve accidentally turned the bike off, whilst trying to turn the lights on (Hold power button for 3 seconds), which is not great when you’re on the road. It’s a shame they didn’t add another button to switch the lights on and off, but this is only really a minor niggle.

Once during heavy rain the battery indicator showed as empty throughout the whole commute, which was a bit worrying but the motor was working throughout and the lights were on, so I’m assuming that was some kind of short or connection issue, it’s never happened again and generally the battery indication is very accurate.

Puncture proof Tyres
The tyres on this bike are Bontrager Race All Weather Hard-Case, 700x32c, which have been excellent. The route I take is covered with glass and bits of debris from car accidents (nice eh?) and not once have I had a puncture, which is all I really care about, these days I don’t take a puncture repair kit with me and I’ve never looked back.

Maintenance
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve had an uphill struggle with the maintenance of this bike, before I go any further I want to say a huge Thank You to Dave and the team at Fudges Cycles in Epsom, who have bent over backwards to resolve any faults I’ve had. I’d happily recommend them if you’re in the area, their details are below:

Fudges Cycle Store
21-23 Upper High Street
Epsom, Surrey KT17 4QY
01372 744 116
Train: Epsom Rail Station
Open Mon-Thu,Sat 9am-6pm; Fri 9am-5pm;

So here’s a summary of the maintenance issues I’ve had since May, i.e. in the 3 months since I’ve owned the bike:

• 1 x Saddle Replaced
• 2 x Pedals Replaced
• 1 x Lights Rewired
• 2 x Brake Block Replaced
• 5 x Spokes Broken

Maintenance Log

09th May 2011 – Test Ride & Purchased

10th May 2011 – Picked Up

14th May 2011 – Taken back to Fudges, next day pickup. Lights not working, problem with wiring fixed, also had kickstand removed, noticed a slight grinding noise on journey home. No charge.

19th May – Constant grinding noise around 15-17mph and on application of rear brake

20th May – Taken back to Fudges, same day pickup. Grinding was due to a faulty brake block, the metal backing was twisted and rubbing against the wheel rim. Block replaced. No charge.

24th May – 100 miles

14th June – 200 miles

24th June – 300 miles

27th June – Taken back to Fudges, next day pickup. Broke the saddle and a spoke on the rear wheel snapped off. Saddle was replaced for free with a generic one, spoke was replaced at the cost of £1 for the spoke and £15 for the servicing. Fudges suggested that I avoid pot holes and bumping up and down the kerb to prevent spoke damage.

07th July – 400 miles

14th July – Taken back to Fudges, next day pickup. Snapped a spoke and buckled the rear wheel. Spoke was replaced at the cost fo £1 for the spoke and £15 for straightening the wheel up.

05th August – 500 miles

06th August – Taken back to Fudges, same day pickup. Broken spoke on the rear wheel, spoke was replaced for free and £15 for the servicing. Fudges suggested using a backpack rather than a pannier to try and keep the weight off of the back wheel.

14th August – Taken back to Fudges, same day pickup. Broken spoke on the rear wheel, spoke was replaced at the cost for £1 for the spoke and £15 for the servicing. Fudges suggest that if it happens again, to replace the rear tyre with a wider one to help absorb the impact.

16th August – 600 miles

17th August – Taken back to Fudges, 2 week pickup. Broken spoke on the real wheel. At this point nothing I can do other than lose 2-3 stone overnight can be recommended. After seeing people complain on the internet I’ve asked them to go back to Trek with the issue and see what Trek has to say, I’m starting to lose my patience.

30th August – Picked up from Fudges. Trek sent a completely new set of heavier gauge spokes, the rear wheel was rebuilt using the new spokes with longer reinforced nipples for strength. Also a wider puncture proof tyre (Specialized Infinity Armadillo Tyre 700 x 38) was added to the rear wheel to help cushion impacts. Cost £25 for the new rear wheel, no service or other parts charged.

31st August – Taken back to Fudges, same day pickup. A constant ‘pinging’ noise on wheel revolutions didn’t sound quite right. New nipples were too long for the custom spokes provided by trek, reinforced nipples replaced with shorter ones and the wheel was rebuilt. No charge.

09th September – Taken to Evans Cycles Croydon, same day pickup. Pedals replaced with DMR V8 pedals in Black. Cost £28. I used Evans as they are nearby work and the constant grinding and squeaking from the pedals had gotten to the point where I was embarrassed to cycle down the street with such a cacophonous accompaniment.

Conclusion
All in all, the 2010 Trek FX+ has been a brilliant purchase, it’s enabled me to forgo public transport and get back to a more active lifestyle. The commute is now doable, to the point where I don’t really think about ‘having to cycling in’, I just do it and enjoy it. The only times I really grumble is during heavy rain but buying the right clothing has made that less of an issue.

However, whilst the electric components themselves are all I could hope for, some of the other components are not of a high standard in my view, having spent £1,500 this is a little disappointing. You can see that most of the money has gone into the electric components rather than the other aspects of the bike. Pedals, V-brakes, saddle and lights are all from the lower end of the market and it’s a glaring contrast.

These components, combined with the constant issues I’ve had with the spokes of the rear wheel have made this bike a real labour of love, in the last month I’ve ridden the bike a lot less simply because of the time it’s spent in the shop. With the new heavier gauge spokes and the newer components, I finally feel like the bike is now ‘sorted’ and at the point where I can rely on it for my commute to the office. Of course I’ll be happier when I’ve added another 500 miles without breaking any more spokes!

In spite of everything, I’m still a big fan of this bike and I’ll happily recommend it to people who want to get into cycling but aren’t quite fit enough to get away with it yet, but do be aware of the potential maintenance issues, especially if you’re a heavy bloke like myself.

This morning was my first journey to work on my new bike, a Trek 2010 FX+, electric assist, and I’ve got to say, I think it was worth every penny.

I live in Epsom and work in Croydon, which is about 10miles. I’ve tried cycling this once before and it was a complete disaster, between hills, traffic and traffic lights, I managed to stumble into the office after 1 hour 10 minutes, barely able to stand and even less able to sit comfortably! That evening, I tucked my tail between my legs and got the train home. Not quite my finest hour.

My biggest problem is weight, at ~22 stone, I just can’t throw myself up hills the same as someone half my size and a lot of the time, I’m just happy to have made it to the top without having to push uphill. So whilst the gym warriors amongst you are sitting there thinking “I do 6 miles in the gym every evening and it’s easy.”, consider that you might not do so well in a more practical environment, simulated hills or not!

It looked like my goal of commuting to work by bike was over, and in fact it has been for the past year until last week at work when discussing what we were going to do with our annual bonus, a colleague suggested an electric bike. Until this point, electric bikes hadn’t even been on my radar, and like most people my first thought was that riding something like a bicycle with a lawnmower engine strapped onto it was not only defeating the point, but probably quite dangerous.

At work we have a guy who cycles around all of the offices with a trailer on the back of his bike selling sandwiches, this isn’t a small trailer by any means, and it becomes even more impressive when he said that the shop was based in Richmond, quite some distance away. It turns out that his is an electric bike, which is the only reason why he can manage the journey and the weight. Also his bike didn’t look too bad either, aesthetics*are* important after all.

So I started seriously considering an Electric bike as an option. Turns out that my preconceptions of electric bikes were way off of the mark, firstly you don’t just switch them on then drive to your destination. Everything seems to be ‘Pedal assist’ or ‘Electric assist’, essentially you pedal and the motor adds to the energy you put in, if you don’t pedal, you don’t go anywhere. People have described the technology as ‘flattening’ the route, which sounded like exactly what I needed.

A few days, a lot of Googling and a mountain of text later, I had bought a Trek 2010 FX+ from the Epsom branch of Fudges, for the sum of £1,500. They had asked for £1,700 but when I pointed out that their website was £200 cheaper, they lowered the price. All told they were brilliant though and it seemed more a genuine miscommunication on pricing than an attempt to rip anyone off. Thus had I spent my bonus, some savings and some money on a credit card which I’d been heretofore paying off!

So this morning, I cycled into the office on the Trek and I was blown away by how much of a difference it made, I cycled 10.1 miles, in 41:09 minutes averaging at 13.5 miles per hour, in the process I used up just under half of the battery and whilst my legs felt tired, I wasn’t on the point of collapse.

I’ll make a proper review of the bike after a couple more rides, but I’m planning on using it for the commute every day.