Bronze is the new midnight

Finally it came, and I love it.

The Estarli e28.X that I ordered on [checks notes] 12 August finally turned up on 8 October.

By way of an apology for the lengthy wait, Estarli bundled with it one of their Trunk Pannier Bags … or, they meant to, but it got missed off their FedEx delivery and had to be sent separately.

Ironically, they had previously asked if I wouldn’t mind switching colour from the midnight frame scheme I had originally chosen – the same as the bike I’d had on subscription from Blike – because they had run out of those frames and the bike would take a couple of weeks longer to be assembled. Or I could wait and have a free accessory.

I opted for the bronze frame colour which I had always thought looked good too … but in the event ended up with the wait anyway, and the accessory. And it finally came just as we were about to go away for 10 days so I had hardly any chance to ride it. Such is life.

WHAT’S NEW?

Colour apart, I had asked for some changes from the standard specification that I hoped would make an already great e-bike into one that was perfect for my use.

As you can see from the photo at the top of this article, one is what Estarli call the Dutch style handlebars, with a different stem and curved appearance, lifting them up to what I find to be a more comfortable riding position: more upright and consequently putting less weight on my wrists in particular..

Another is the optional Redshift ShockStop Endurance seat post, which I have set to suit my 90kgs hulk following the excellent comprehensive instructions that came with it. This is working like a dream. All those really annoying little bumps on local cycleways that had been make the experience uncomfortable are just passing sensations now.

The Redshift comes with an internal main spring and a secondary spring for heavier riders to insert, which I did before fitting the seat post into the downtube. I also dialled in a midpoint 3 on the 1 to 5 preload settings at the bottom of the seat post, and that seems about right.

MORE TEETH

The third change however is something that I had stumbled across during my investigation of the pedalling cadence of the standard belt-drive e28.X that I had been trying out on subscription.

Estarli now normally fit a 42-tooth crankset at the front of the belt drive as being, in their words, “the best balance of pedalling cadence and climb ability”. I stumbled across the fact that they can however fit a larger one, with 48 teeth, either when you order the bike or apparently afterwards via a service centre.

I had been finding the cadence on my Blike e28.X just a bit too ‘busy’ for my liking so I opted to have this larger set on the new one that Estarli were making for me.

First impressions? Absolutely spot on. It is visibly slightly bigger, especially with the two bikes side by side, but I think looks more in proportion. I find that it is just a little bit harder to get going from a standstill – but after all it’s an e-bike, and as soon as the hub motor responds to the pedal pressure – which is more or less instantly – I’m away.

After that it is less hurried in first gear, and once through the smooth automatic gate into the higher of the two gears, which happens still at a little over 12 miles an hour, I feel as though I can ride and indeed accelerate better, surprisingly, without ever feeling unduly hectic. I seem to be going faster generally, presumably because my effort is converted more directly into driving the motor, at a natural cadence, rather than getting my legs moving quickly.

All told I am delighted with the options. It is early days because, with our break away from home (and the pouring rain), I have ridden only 11 miles on it, but as I said at the outset, I am loving it so far.

External links:

Estarli

Redshift