No change on the Brompton front (although little activity too) but thought I should post about our new wheels.

We’ve some riding coming up that’s more suited to MTBs so after sprucing up our (very) old steeds, I was almost ready to consider some “un-assisted” riding when I came across a couple of special-priced eMTBs. Sold!!! – following a brief test-ride & yesterday we ventured back to pickup our new toys.

The ferry ride home was a good time to contemplate the road/trail ahead?

Like the eBrompton (that may one day arrive in Australia?), our Pedalec eMTBs have 5 levels of assistance. However, since my brief test-ride the Bosch mid-drive motors have had a firmware upgrade to include an “eMTB mode” that automatically selects the level of assistance depending on the pedal pressure. Without even changing gear, heavy pedal pressure supplies Turbo mode – quite amazing!

I’ve been delighted with Ralph-e, my GrinTech-equipped electric Brompton. The assistance-level is programmable (although rarely changed after settling on a level that provides economical battery range) & the combination of a torque-sensing BB & the Alfine 11-speed rear hub provide riding bliss! How this compares to Brompton’s offering will be the $64k (or $5k?) question?

Our Brompton appearances at the Dungog PedalFest late last year was “interesting”. If it wasn’t for the generous helpings of scones with jam & cream, the rough roads could have seen some DNFs. At the time I’d thought that Ralph-e & Peregrine wouldn’t be back next time but now I’m sure the eMTBs will just love it?