A little more of my thinking on the theme of “are two gears enough for me?”
The Estarli e28.X that I have on subscription is equipped with a Bafang H700 two-speed automatic gearbox, changing up from a 1:1 ratio to the 36% higher gear at around 12.3 mph (20 kph), by my reckoning.
Once I am travelling at more than 15 mph the cadence starts to get a little fast for my liking. That said, I don’t usually go that fast – many will scoff, but personally I find it unnerving to be doing that sort of speed on a bicycle.
As part of an ongoing discussion about cadence I looked up some articles on the subject – and found to my surprise that pro racers typically pedal at 90 to 95 rpm; amateurs and newbies typically at around 60 rpm.
Further, the medical effect of a higher cadence is to draw more on the cardiovascular system than on the muscles.
Injury recovery
Taking a step back (forgive the pun) this suits me perfectly. There are a several reasons why I got an e-bike in the first place: wanting to use the car less, getting out and getting exercise, yes – but a regular bike would have done that.
But I am also recovering from two hours-long sessions of hospital surgery following a torn quadriceps tendon and subsequent complications, which left me laid up then on crutches for weeks twice, in 2022 and 2023. They have involved a long, slow recovery that was never going to get my leg back to 100% fitness. Having literally “pedal assist” (the technical term for legal e-bikes) is perfect, therefore.
For the same reason, prioritising aerobic effort over muscle stress, which I read is what higher pedalling cadence does, also ticks a box.
To put some actual numbers on just how fast I was pedalling in the two Estarli gears I got a cheap little cadence meter, the sort that clips around a pedal crank arm. It uses Bluetooth to integrate its data into the Fitness app on my Apple watch.
Pedalling at a steady rate of about 10 mph on the flat, the cadence was about 53 rpm. At roughly 15 mph – having transitioned into the higher of the two gears – I was seeing more like 73 rpm. It might feel fast, but it really isn’t – and is probably a good cruising cadence for me.
Mind you, it might not suit everyone. Arguably that’s what the e29.9 is for, with its regular derailleur and 9 gears.
I have an alternative suggestion, though. Bafang also make a three-speed rear hub automatic gearbox. This adds a higher ratio 1:1.65 to the mix. I did ask Estarli about whether they had considered it. I was referred back to the 28.9 as an option.
Hmm, not quite what I had in mind! Well, Estarli co-founder Alex Francis said in a YouTube interview with John Longcroft-Neal that I saw recently: “We iterate the bikes constantly … continually improving the bikes and changing things over time”.
He hinted at a gravel bike style, and different handlebars. But who knows, maybe they have also had some thoughts about automatic gears.