Another e-bike

 E-SHOPPING?

Nah, we know it's Black Friday (how long has it been black month, week, etc. anyway?) but this is Zio Lorenzo's new E-Shopping BIKE. These Bianchi E-Spillo Lady Classic bikes have been discontinued it seems so it was "get it now" even though the old man can still make it up the incline back home loaded-down with groceries. But for how long? He liked the simplicity of this bike, pretty much just like the one he's been riding for eight years, just with a motor/battery and maybe even more important - the step-thru frame.

WHAT you say? A LADY frame? Look how high the box in back is. Add a sack of groceries and you have a pretty high bar to swing your leg over unless you want to hoist your leg and risk scratching the bike's top tube. Zio's never crashed himself doing the swing, but he's come close enough times that the smarter half of our duo insisted he get the LADY model. It IS much easier to climb and get going when it's loaded down and it IS a shopping bike, so..

He started looking for one once it seemed they'd been replaced with newer models and when a shop in Northern Italy had 'em at more than 20% off (Black Friday?) he ordered one. In this photo you can see the front rack/basket, ugly milk crate box on the back and the black plastic fenders he robbed from his previous bike to replace the cute, but likely to rust, rattle and get dented, painted metal fenders.

Here's the business end: motorized hub with battery pack under the rack. It comes out for charging and has built-in tail light, but otherwise looks just like Heather's Spillo Rubino, but for some crazy reason the classic Celeste paint on this one is not the same as hers. One would think Bianchi has been painting their bikes this color long enough to have a formula for their signature color, but what does Zio know?

The only other telltale sign of e-assist is the control unit on the handlebar, but it's pretty small so we don't worry much about this one getting swiped vs a non-electric bike. When they're parked and locked together I doubt anyone would notice.

So now Zio fears no shopping! If he can fit it on the bike, no matter how heavy it is, he'll get it...but no shopping on Black Friday!

Monferrato fun 2025

 Fun in Monferrato 2025

Buying new bike

Enjoying great food and wine

What's not to like? Our friends Don & Cindy are here for another week while Zio Lorenzo goes home on Sunday. They liked our e-bikes enough to consider buying some for themselves. Zio took 'em to LaBici, same folks who so nicely helped us with our MAHLE X35 bike issues.

They had Cindy's size on-hand plus a trekking model they will convert to drop bar for Don. Neither really NEEDS all that help on the climbs like Zio Lorenzo, but it's probably when rather than if, so they're going electric now.

But still eating and drinking well as you can see posing with the nice folks at La Ca Nova.

W Italia! W Vacanza!

Buycycle?

 buycycle? Maybe not

What do you think when this arrives?

You can't watch much of anything cycling-related these days without seeing advertising for this operation. Makes it look easy to sell your bike, like they do all the work. Don't know what kind of commission they charge but new bicycle dealers use 'em as well to move dead-stock, close-outs, etc.

Zio Lorenzo wanted another Bianchi Impulso E-Allroad like the one he left up in Piedmont. With a few modifications it's turned out to be a fun bike to ride so why not have one in Sicily next to the fancy MV e-gravel bike? You know, something to get dirty and not care much about washing it all the time? Such luxury!

He found one on this site, made an offer that was accepted and handed over credit card info. Easy, right? The bike was at a dealer in Rimini, Italy so it should be quick to ship to Siracusa, one would think.

One would be wrong. They don't tell you up-front but for some reason 7-14 business days is their window. As soon as this was disclosed Zio contacted their customer service and asked WTF a new bike from a dealer, one that hadn't even been assembled (just hoisted out of the box for the photo) would take so long to be shipped?

Not sure if they're chatbots but a customer service message came back the next day - mostly blah, blah, blah, but saying they'd contact the seller to speed things up. They also provide a message system to the seller who replied they'd received nothing so it soon became each side blaming the other for the delay. Zio admits trying to end-run the entire process by dealing directly with the bike dealer, but they declined...so we were all stuck with buycycle, like it or not.

Nothing happened other than email exchanges for two weeks, but they didn't waste any time charging our credit card. That they're quick at!

19 days (close to their 7-14 business days) later the bike finally arrived in the box you see above. Yep, the box the shop had to wait-for (and pay-for according to them) was cheap and flimsy, especially when compared to the sturdy boxes e-bikes are typically shipped in. And they use Italy's worst shipping company, one Zio avoids even when shipping is free on anything he orders. He'll pay extra to avoid them!

Fortunately there was no real damage other than some issues with the battery system showing an error message that keeps the e-bike part from doing anything, but that can't be blamed on buycycle or even the dealer, who says everything was fine when the bike was packed.

We had similar issues with Heather's bike in Piedmont, quickly solved by an "update" performed by a MAHLE service center. Zio's currently looking into how to get that done here in Sicily*.

buycycle? Maybe not? For us, never again.

Ready-to-Ride, as long as you don't need any e-assist. Zio will ride it awhile before cutting the steerer tube to-length

*Update: Zio decided to DIY the MAHLE update since the nearest service center is in Catania, so what they call a "GCU" has been ordered. An update file has been downloaded from MAHLE's website. This is supposed to be loaded onto a thumb-drive and inserted into the GCU connected to the battery charger to update the bike's firmware they say. While waiting for the GCU to arrive Zio decided to ride "Stewie" on the bike trail despite the e-assist not working.

While putting his cycling shoes on Zio noticed the flashing pink "error" light had stopped flashing, but now the brain-unit indicated low-battery? Once we started riding it was obvious the e-assist was working while the battery charge indicator showed 89% charge. A bit later the low-battery message vanished as well so as of writing this all is well. Whether to update once the GCU arrives or leave well enough alone is the next question. Both of the X35 bikes Heather rides have been trouble-free with no updates so.... the decision was made just to ride it. So far, so good with battery charge level at 73% after a few rides. "Low Battery" turned out to be the tiny battery in the Pulsar unit and with a new one installed everything is great now. Zio even cut the steerer tube and installed a Celeste colored SMP Pro saddle.

Gravel bikes - why?

 Why Ride a Gravel Bike?

I mean why ride a gravel bike on the ROAD? While they make perfect sense for gravel roads you'll read varying opinions on whether they're any good for riding on asphalt roads. Here's Zio Lorenzo's take:

Perhaps the first thing you should consider is the quality of your local roads. "Champagne asphalt" as in smooth pavement with few potholes or cracks? Not a lot of junk on the edges where the cars rarely drive? A classic road bike with 28/30 mm tires might be just fine on those, but reading THIS might change your mind.

If you believe that (and I do) you might want to experiment as I did awhile back with "SuperMonsterGravel" shown above. I wanted something to play with on the unpaved rail trail that runs along the sea near our house so I made my own gravel bike out of an ancient MTB. The handlebar/stem position isn't perfect due to the MTB's looong top tube but I recently put this bike back "on the trail" rather than get my new e-gravel bike dirty every time Heather wants to take her e-gravel bike out on the dusty trail. It's still fun to ride.

Fooling around with this bike further convinced me the "wider isn't slower" argument had merits after being passed on "SMG" by a guy on a high-zoot, full-carbon roadracing bike with I'd guess 25/28 mm tires. I cranked it up a bit to see if I could keep the gap from opening up despite riding this ancient MTB with 50+mm tires at 40 psi. The results backed up the claims about wider tires, so a "real" gravel bike was next.

Now if roadRACING is your thing vs JRA, you can stop here. Nobody's gonna claim you're gonna have an advantage in any roadrace except maybe Strade Bianche and even there the pros ride their regular roadracing bicycles with maybe some 32 mm tires squeezed-in. They also have a follow-car with spare wheels and bikes just behind them at all times.

But for JRA, Zio Lorenzo's convinced a gravel bike is better. But perhaps only if you make it fit and feel like that roadracing bike. You can read elsewhere on this blog about all the things he changed on his but #1 was the TIRES! Even if your high-end gravel bike comes with top-quality, high TPI tires they're gonna have knobs on 'em...something totally useless on pavement and honestly not much good anywhere else unless you're on a soft enough surface for rubber knobs to dig-in and increase grip. Swap the knobbies out for some high-TPI fat slicks and feel the difference!

Next you might think about gearing. Since most gravel bikes are 1X lots of folks seem to think the gear range isn't sufficient. Again, if you are RACING on the roads it's probably not, but 40 X 11 will get me going 60+ kph though these days I can't hold that speed for long, so why do I need any more gear? Going faster downhill means I tuck-in rather than pedal anyway. Same on the bottom end, 40 X 42 isn't far-off from the old triple 30 X 32 I used to use to climb the Passo Stelvio or Mortirolo and not having to fool around with shifting in the front is nice.

Finally there's the added weight. 10 kg seems to be about average, so you're dragging around more than someone on a 6.8 kg World Tour level machine but how many are riding those these days? Classic steel road bikes from back-in-the-day weighed around 10 kg and they didn't seem to slow the likes of Merckx or Gimondi down much, so for JRA Zio's betting you won't even notice until/unless you put it on a scale.

On less-than-perfect roads 38 mm slicks with 40 psi in them let you look where you're going rather than always riding with one eye looking down to avoid cracks, potholes, etc. The usually stiffer gravel bike frame's possible harshness on the road is mitigated nicely by these same tires. All this assumes you opt for a gravel bike more on the "racy" side rather than a MTB with drop bars which seem to be popping up now that gravel is getting segmented into fast vs gnarly terrain. 

Zio's take is MTB's are still available for a reason but a more "racy" gravel-bike is the best toy for JRAing on anything short of perfect asphalt...and where does one find THAT these days?

MAHLE X35 Diary

 MAHLE X35 E-Bike Diary

Better late than never now that MAHLE's X35 is being replaced with X30, but X35-equipped bikes seem to be on close-out so if you're in the market?

Zio has seen plenty of video on this e-bike power system but most of 'em seem to be done by computer nerds who fret over how far they can ride on a single charge or how much power they provide. IMHO this range anxiety and power-envy are silly. Here's my non-computer nerd, long-time cyclist take on X35 after 3 weeks riding in the hills of Monferrato.

I thought this the perfect time to write-up my experience. Three great weeks riding my Bianchi E-Impulso Allroad (shown above with Heather's) over the exact same routes I've ridden for years on a classic steel bike with triple crankset. What better comparison can there be?

First, let me point-out that unless you're old or have medical issues, riding these routes as I've done for 20+ years is the most fun with a standard road bike, as long as you have low gears to get up the hills. I've ridden a triple crankset for longer than that, almost from the moment Campagnolo released their "Racing Triple" option.

But "there's no cure for the common birthday" as they say and in the Alps last year Heather was having way more fun on her e-gravel bike than I was having on my conventional one. I was hoping it was just the fat tires, low gears and disc brakes of the gravel bike when she was dropping me both going up and down, but it became clear I needed a bit of help too, so we added a slightly used one just like hers to our stable for me. The state of roads these days makes the gravel bike's fat, low-pressure tires and disc brakes nice to have - even if you're not in the Alps.

 

Cracks that would swallow a 25 mm tire can be laughed-at when yours are 38 mm! While we have no desire to ride on anything more challenging than a dirt/gravel road, we think gravel bikes can be a smart choice as long as they're not slack-angled/long chainstay MTB's with drop handlebars.

This year was finally Zio's chance to play with his (though he'd been playing with his MAHLE X20-equipped gravel bike for a few months in Sicily) so after swapping-out the awful OEM tires for some fat slicks and the silly wide/flared "gravel" handlebars for something more road-like the bike was ready-to-go. The idea was to ride the bike around with assist level set at 0 even though the bike was turned-on. This way I get the readings from the (optional) MAHLE "Pulsar" brain unit (that works with both X35 and X20 and I assume the new X30) and also have an easier way to select the assist levels vs toggling the master control button that's kind of hidden on the downtube on this bike.

So when I'd reach the start of a climb that used to have me shifting down to the "granny ring" I'd just call-up assist level 1. I'd still shift down to a reasonable gear but enjoyed what seemed like a gentle push in the back. We set the bike up to provide 30% of its available power at Level 1. You're still working and depending on the grade, sometimes working hard, but you know you're gonna make it, even if you have to crank-up the assist to a higher level. When/if you doubt it's doing much, just switch back to 0 and feel the difference. As some have said, it's like having a strong pro put his hand on your back and give you a gentle push as you keep pedaling.

Once the climb levels out, switch back to 0 and enjoy the ride pretty much the same as an "acoustic" bike, though maybe you are doing a bit more work since the bike is heavier? These Bianchi gravel bikes are well over 30 lbs ready-to-ride, though unless you pick 'em up you don't really notice. And on a steep climb where you WOULD notice, assist level 1 makes you forget about it quickly!

I soon found all the rides I used to enjoy just as much fun on this bike with the descents being even more fun, though MAHLE has nothing to do with that. But I feared no climb, even taking-on one with 12+% grades that I rarely did on my "acoustic" bikes. I used assist level 2 for part of it but was still working hard, just as I remembered from back-in-the-day, turning assist back to 0 as the grade eased near the top and feeling like the tires had suddenly gone flat! I wondered if I would have even made it up this climb on a standard bike with my current age/fitness level?

Using the bike this way, depending on how much climbing I did, I was using assist a max of around 50% of the time. The 250w/h battery was fully-charged when we arrived and was charged once for 2 hours about halfway through the 3 weeks (around 600 kms covered in total) then charged again to bring it up to above 60% before it was stored away until next time.

Data from a fitness tracker proved I was getting a good workout - most rides showed a 50/50 split between "Peak" and "Vigorous" heart rate levels so don't think this type of e-bike is little more than an electric moped. Ya gotta pedal 'em!

Do I wish I'd gotten one of these sooner? Yes, for the Alps last year! I was really glad I had one for this 3 weeks and glad I have one here in Sicily as well. Once you get into geezerhood and start to doubt just how far you might be able to ride or how steep a climb you can do, having the gentle assist of that "pro" to push you if you need it makes the difference between giving it a try vs staying on shorter/easier routes. 

Since this was posted Zio rode up a long Alpine climb with average grade of just under 10%, using 100% of the assist available since his cardio doc insisted he keep his heart rate under a certain level. One hour and around 10 kilometers later the battery was dead after starting around 85% charged.

Having ridden almost 2000 kms on my MAHLE X20-equipped bike I can't say I can tell a lot of difference between it and X35. Reviewers say the power comes in more gently and the BB's torque sensor has something to do with that, but I can't say I can tell much difference. If I knew then what I know now another used or new Bianchi like this one would have been just fine and saved me a lot of dough*. I've seen prices under $3K for new ones recently - my guess is close-outs on X35 bikes now that X30 is out?

Heather points out the gravel bike geometry makes for some slower and less responsive handling vs her Bianchi E-Aria (also with X35) road bike but Zio Lorenzo's kind of slower and less responsive these daze himself, so it's just fine with him, he had a blast on the twisty descents in Monferrato and never felt the bike wouldn't go where he wanted it.

We assume the new X30 system will be similar so if you're looking for an e-bike that feels like a normal bike when the motor's not working, MAHLE's a good choice based on our experience over the past couple of years with (now) four bikes with these systems.

Another plus for this system over some others is the ability to control the assist levels automatically via wireless connections to a heart-rate monitor for example. Heather's doc told her to keep her heart-rate under X so she sets the bike up to assist when/if her heart-rate nears this limit and forgets about it. She can then ride as hard/fast as she likes with no worries!

PS-Just like Heather's bike last year, this one acted-up a bit at first. Asking for assist level 1 might not do anything but show "1" on the display screen, then go back to "0". Just like your laptop, turning it off and back on fixed it every time but who wants that at the bottom of a steep climb? Just like Heather's a visit to a dealer who sells MAHLE for a 10-minute "update" took care of the problem. Our bikes in Sicily have been trouble-free so far but we're checking around for a shop that can provide this service here, just-in-case.

* I've ordered a Bianchi E-Impulso for Sicily too now so we'll have a matched pair both in Piedmont and Sicily!

Getting it Right Part ?

 More Fooling Around with new Gravel Bike

 Zio Lorenzo thought the 40 mm deep carbon "aero" wheels on his new bike were kind of a dumb idea but just like the whacky handlebar, he figured he'd ride with 'em awhile before making any changes. 

The front seemed much more sensitive to gusty winds at speed than his other bikes. Last time he rode (and hated) a deep section wheelset it was just 33 mm, but these 40 mm rims seemed just as bad, if not worse. Zio's sure the larger tire plays a role here too, but he likes the 38 mm slicks...a lot!

If you've followed the story of this bike you already know he ditched the wacky carbon bar for a standard type road bar (in aluminum) a few months back. Since the rear wheel is laced into a motorized hub, changing that would be a huge PITA, while the front wheel is the one gusty winds tend to mess with the most, so it got changed. You'll often see wheelsets sold with deeper "aero" sections on the rear vs the front just for this reason.

DTSWISS GR1600 is a wheelset with low profile rim in aluminum and Zio found a place that would sell him just the front wheel at a reasonable price, so here it is. Zio Lorenzo couldn't find one that would accept the original 6-bolt brake rotor so he had to order a new centerlock rotor and lock ring as well. Grrr!

You can see (above) the overall section height (tire+rim) is now 62 mm vs

77 mm with the original wheel. How much the wind will notice this smaller surface area as it blows across the wheel on a fast, twisty descent remains to be seen, but Zio figures it's got to be an improvement, right? Check back for a report.

Update: A few rides in gusty winds suggests the front wheel gets blown around far less. Zio noted the other day a race where the winner appeared to be using a 33 mm wheel up front and a 50 mm in back, so his 26 mm - 40 mm combo is far from an original idea...but it works!

PS: Zio felt like he spent a lot of money on this bike but the other day noticed the Big-T was offering a slightly used, factory refurbished carbon gravel bike with Shimano GRX components and the Big-T's house-brand handlebar, stem, wheels, etc. for $6K while a new one will set you back $8K! And neither of 'em comes with a MAHLE X20 motor/battery! So his MV bike seems almost cheap in comparison, even with all the extra-cost part swapping.

A proper handlebar at last!

 Arrivederci FSA!

A proper handlebar at last! Zio Lorenzo tried to like the OEM spec'd FSA K-WING carbon handlebar, he really did! Especially when he thought about the PITA involved in changing it.

But after a couple of months and more than 1000 kms of trying he caved-in and ordered a more normal-shaped aluminum road bend handlebar by Ritchey. Heather likes their 31 mm bars OK as they have a reasonable shape and bend while Zio ordered the same FSA model stem but 10 cm vs the shorty OEM 7 cm. The hoses/cables/wires are no longer inside the stem (or bar), instead under a plastic cover that fits under the stem and under the bar tape. Does it really look all that untidy? Not to Zio!

The bike looks a lot more "normal" now, but the real benefit is the change in position. The distance from the tip of the saddle to the center of the handlebar is now Zio's normal spec while when he's down on the drops the front hub is hidden from view, just as they used to tell us was proper back-in-the-day.

Not too ugly, eh? Zio decided not to cut the steerer tube when he removed the 2 cm of spacers underneath, at least for now. But he's really liking the lowered bars despite them still being higher than normal due to modern frame design with higher headtubes and sloping top tubes.

An old-time round style top-cap and spacers ABOVE the stem don't look too bad, do they?

This was Zio's first project like this. He dreaded pulling hoses/cables/wires out of the insides of a bar and stem. It threatened to be a lot of work...and it was! The e-shifter wires had to be unplugged (once the plugs were finally found, deep inside the frame'a toptube!) and then snaked back through headtube and frame to be reconnected. 

The brake hoses have banjo-type fittings at the brake lever and Zio feared they wouldn't fit through the holes in the bar, but fortunately he was wrong, but they still had to be disconnected, which meant a time-consuming brake-bleeding session was required to finish-up. 

Meanwhile, the shift cable inner wire had to come out of it's housing so it too could be yanked out of the bar, then replaced, the entire time with Zio sort-of holding his breath as he pushed the inner cable back through all that housing - through the entire frame, hoping it would pop out rather than get stuck and frayed, requiring replacement with a new one. 

Super-duper, extra-slick cables are needed (Campagnolo call's 'em "Maximum Smoothness" which sounds like a men's shaving product) to deal with all the twists, turns and bends required for internal routing and the replacement cable/housing for this bike costs $100!

Zio breathed a sigh of relief when the cable popped out in good shape, especially as the super-slick aftermarket replacement (he forgot to order with stem/bar) wasn't going to arrive for a few days. From that point it was just running everything along the handlebar, then under the stem (where the extra wiring that didn't like being stuffed back into the headtube was coiled-up) where it's all hidden by a plastic cover. 

Zio had saved the original bar tape when he switched to the red cork (which didn't come off in one piece) to match the red SMP Glider saddle he tried before going back to the white Plus, so it went back on, easily covering the simple round bar vs the extra surface of the multi-shaped FSA thing.

The bike now fits properly. Zio likes the less flexy feeling with hands down in the drops along with the general shape and feel he's familiar with. The levers are no longer slanted/tilted/skewed, though it's unfashionable for sure. 

This damn near all-day project certainly would go more quickly next time, but even then it would likely still be a half-day project. But now with everything under the bar tape or under the stem cover, unless something goes wrong inside the headtube, any repairs or parts changes should be quick and easy in comparison!!

Best of all, when he hops on this bike it feels pretty much like his other bikes...finally!!!

 

 

FSA Carbon Handlebar

 What were they thinking?

With this handlebar? This thing was spec'd on Zio's new e-gravel bike.

This and the stem are the only things he really dislikes. He understands that "gravel" means ya gotta have a flared handlebar, but this thing? Really?

If you look at the linked page, you can scroll around the image and see all the "features" of this carbon-fiber masterpiece. From the odd hexagon shape on the drops, the strange depressions where top turns into drop, the 5 mm of rise (so you can leave a 5 mm spacer off under your stem?) the forward sweep of the top, plus the "wing" shape that gives the bar its name.

For Zio Lorenzo, every one of these "features" is really a "bug". He'd much, much rather have a simple round (aluminum) drop bar in a reasonable width rather than this crazy thing with an MSRP of over $300! 

The wing shape might look good and make one think it's maybe more "aero" than a round tube, but what about a place to put your hands? It's a HANDLEbar after all! The pros don't even bother taping this part so I guess they never hold-on there, especially without gloves? Even taped, the flat part close to the forward curve feels OK when your palms are flat on it but when you cup 'em a bit the edge of the "wing" made Zio think about sticking some foam padding around it as he did to fill up that odd depression near this area.

What good is the forward sweep? Zio sees no + here, in fact it feels kind-of odd after decades of a straight section on the bar top. Holding-on there skews your elbows out or forces an odd twist in your wrist. Same with the tiny 5 mm of rise...the point is? More "shaping" = more "value"?

Worse, the bike's product manager spec'd it with a stem of just 8 cm! This makes the steering more sensitive than Zio likes, though the odd-shaped bar does put his hands where he wants 'em on the brake hoods and kinda/sorta on the tops (despite the silly forward sweep) though that same shorty stem means hands down on drops is too short...and too wide thanks to the flare. 

These drop are not just flared-out side-to-side but also oddly twisted so they again push your elbows out. Why? The old "hands on drops, front hub invisible" rule still applies for him but the reach to the drops is too short for that.

You might say "You're a mechanic, just swap 'em out!" and with our Bianchi e-bikes it was easy as the hoses/cables exit the frame and then run under the stem and handlebar tape. 

But MV (again in the fashion of the day, just like the too wide and flared-out bar) put all the brake hoses and cables inside both stem and bar, not just inside the frame. Grrrr! This means opening up perfectly functioning front/rear hydraulic brake systems to get the hoses out along with the single shift cable and the wiring for the remote e-shifters!!! 

This means bleeding both front and rear brakes once the hoses are re-routed and Ergopower units installed on a new handlebar, re-inserting a shift cable that one hopes isn't too frayed to go back in and then reconnecting the e-shift button wires.

A longer replacement stem of the same brand/type would allow the hoses, etc. to be run up to and under the stem (through a removable cover) where they can then be run along the outside of the bar/under the tape like back-in-the-day, but what a PITA, not to mention the little bits (called olives) that seal the brake hoses probably will need to be replaced in the process. 

Zio gets tired just typing this! He really didn't want to tear this bike all apart before he'd even ridden it, though if he was able to see (and measure) a size S and M in-person he would have chosen S instead of M and asked the selling dealer to swap the bar/stem. But "that ship's sailed" as they say so for now "it is what it is" (as they also say) but he's almost hoping for another excuse to take the brake systems apart so he can swap the bar/stem in the process!

One other gripe - the 40 mm "aero" wheels. Combined with a 38 mm slick tire, Zio thinks they present too much area for swirling winds to blow against, making fast descending a bit sketchy so far. Maybe that longer stem will help? Perhaps the weight distribution with bars too high and reach too short causes this? Swapping wheels with a motor built into the rear wheel's not gonna happen...but if none of the other changes help, perhaps a lower profile front wheel would help?

Otherwise he's liking the bike - the fat tires make it so he doesn't have to ride the cracked roads of Sicily with one eye always looking down instead of where he's going, the Campagnolo EKAR groupset works well with adequate gearing (some say the 40 tooth chainring's too small but 40 X 9's tall enough as a top gear for Zio) and the rest of the bike seems just fine. 

The electric "granny gear" is nice too, he's decided to bump assist from 0 to 1 any time he's in a really low gear and would have been using the small 30 tooth front chainring on his "acoustic" (as they call 'em now) bikes. He's still hauling the battery and motor around even when not using 'em and they weigh a good deal more than an inner triple chainring and the bits that go with that - so WTF not?

 Handling both on and off pavement is good, but should be even better with a slightly longer stem...maybe 10 cm? Combined with a normal bar (no sweep, flare, rise) he'd probably be exactly where he wants to be position-wise.

So be careful with sizing! Seems like a lot of bikes are spec'd like this nowadays. Both the selling dealer and MV were consulted and supplied with Zio's exact measurements. He asked about XS vs S but both insisted M was the correct size. MV's geometry chart didn't much help so against his better judgement (which might have worked out for the best as the S size would have been worse with it's shorter top tube and shorty stem) he took their advice and went with M. That's one of the risks of online vs in-person purchasing (there was no dealer in the island of Sicily that had these in-stock..as it turns out neither did the dealer in Rome Zio bought this one from!) but he'd have for sure had to endure the PITA swap of bar/stem on the S so maybe he's better off than he knows?

Fixed!

 -MV-AGUSTA E-Gravel Bike

Fixed! Cancer-stick related logo covered!

You almost can't tell with the white background strip

Now the bike looks like it should, right? In a perfect world a -MV-Agusta would be red/silver like the ones Giacomo Agostini raced on, but Zio's not gonna take this thing apart and send it out for a repaint! Maybe a red SMP Glider saddle with red bar tape to match will liven things up? Check back, tape's on-the-way and saddle already here - see below.

The proper colors for MV, forget that cancer-stick livery!

The last MV Agusta Zio rode.

He's getting used-to the flared and aero-shaped carbon handlebar along with the more upright position on this bike. Getting close to real geezer-hood he's probably doing his back some good with less bending over so much? And disconnecting, rerouting and bleeding hydro brakes along with fishing a shift cable out to change handlebars isn't getting any more attractive vs living-with the current bar/stem. 

Almost 500 kilometers on it now, including a steep climb and twisty descent - gearing is adequate and assist level 1 seems to compensate for the extra weight of the bike when things get steep. Going down, response is good, no "desert-sled" sluggishness but the fat slicks and disc brakes will take some getting used-to. 

There's still more than 40% of the original battery charge remaining, so the "range-anxiety" expressed by many who obsess over 250 Wh vs 350 battery in the downtube or extra batteries mounted in the 2nd bottle cage makes Zio scratch his head. What kind of rides are these folks thinking about? Is it the old idea where the guy must have a Ford F150 pickup truck for the 2 times each year he has to haul 4 X 8 sheets of plywood vs the 363 other days of the year when it's just him and his lunchbox?

Overall, since the e-gravel-bike offerings with both MAHLE X20 and Campagnolo EKAR were so slim the MV has worked out to be a good choice for this old man. Don't think of an e-bike as "cheating" but rather something to let you tackle rides you might no longer feel up for. If you don't use any (or much) of the e-assist, more power to you! But you know it's there just-in-case, so you can set out worry-free!

Better? Needs some darker red bar tape Zio thinks, but a big improvement overall.

And now it has a proper headtube decal. A more simple black version might have looked better but Zio's always been enamored with the original, full-color version. Back in the day his friend's moto's stickers were peeling off - Zio found a great auto detail guy who copied them - painting 'em directly onto the moto! Back then who knew how to get stickers from Italy without going their yourself or knowing someone there?

Note: The seatpost collar/clamp broke the other day despite being torqued only with a calibrated 5 NM hex key. Instead of a $300+ carbon handlebar might they have included a decent clamp to hold the seatpost in place?

MV Lucky Explorer E-gravel bike - First Impressions

 MV's e-gravel bike- First Impressions

The bike (finally) arrived! Zio quickly got it ready to ride, swapping out tires, bolting on water bottle cages, etc.

You can see how small the rear hub motor is - total system weight is 3.2 kg, (around 7 lbs) making this bike about the same weight as his un-motorized ancient MTB turned into SuperMonsterGravel.

Control button on the top tube with Homer Simpson as Superman just below. This bike also has tiny buttons near the brake hoods to shift assist-levels up or down rather than pushing the top tube button.

A nice surprise! Zio has a Torelli 20th Anniversary bike that's #70/100 so "Homer" is in good company.

Another nice surprise - Made-in-Italy, though Zio doesn't know who actually makes the frames for MV. The bikes are assembled and shipped from Varese, MVAgusta's home from the start. MV comes from Meccanica Verghera and the founder Giovanni Agusta.

Zio bought this bike not really needing an e-bike right away, but more as a way to get used to playing with one before it WILL be needed. He thinks of it as sort of an electronic "granny ring" on a triple crank...always there but nobody says ya gotta use it...at least if the bike is fun to ride without the e-assist.

This one is! Ready-to-ride it's under 30 lbs and with the motor off or in the 0 assist mode, rides just like a normal bike. Zio's put 100 kms on it so far and really likes the fat 38 mm Rene Herse slicks he mounted to replace the 45 mm gravel tires it came with. The 50+ mm slicks on SuperGravelMonster are great while Heather likes the 38's on her Bianchi gravel bike. We don't plan to ride the kind of gravel that requires knobby tires,

So far Zio's only cranked the motor up (Level 1 assist) one time - going into a stiff headwind on the bike trail. Otherwise he's ridden it "acoustically" and is pretty happy with how it goes, stops and turns. You can watch a good review of the Campagnolo EKAR component group HERE. Zio's not doing any video, who wants to look at or listen to him?

MAHLE's X20 assist system has some reviews online though since the MV's not sold in the USA, this one about it on another brand of bike still applies.

The bike itself? Zio bought this despite the branding. MVAgusta is great but the reference is to the Dakar factory motorcycles based on the Cagiva Elephant, which were sponsored by the cigarette brand Lucky Strike in the 1990s. Why? He wanted Campagnolo EKAR and MAHLE X20 and this was pretty much the only choice. He'll cover-up the logos and maybe slap-on some MVAgusta stickers eventually.

The frame geometry charts suggested this wouldn't be a slow-steering "desert sled" despite the name and riding it is proof. Frame sizing was a challenge as Zio seems to be smack-dab in-between both MV's and Bianchi's size ranges. He's almost too tall for the S size and too short for M, but just like the Bianchi, settled on M. 50 cm center-to-center on the seat tube is good while the top tube measures 53 cm. A rather short 8 cm stem connects to the carbon handlebar with all the hoses/cables routed internally.

All this means the fit is OK. The size S would for sure require a longer stem and with hoses/cables routed internally would have been a real pain to swap-out. As-is the M's a little short and upright while the bars are a bit wide but once he rewrapped the tape to cover more of the tops (and stuck some foam padding into the curiously depressed sections) things seem OK.

A straight top tube means a frame pump will fit! WOOHOO! Bottle cages are mounted low, another plus. Seatpost is round with an alloy clamp, both big plus factors in Zio's mind. Frame-build quality looks good too, I wonder who actually makes them?

What doesn't he like? The flat paint finish isn't a plus but what can ya do...it's the rage these days. We've already covered the logo issues. For this kind of money Zio wishes they'd plugged the bazillion threaded holes in the frame/fork (so you can bolt-on bikepacking stuff) with some snap-in things to keep dirt out of the threads and water out of the frame and sprung for better quality inner tubes than the rather thick CS ones. But they probably figure buyers are gonna yank 'em out and go tubeless with the no-name carbon tubeless-ready rims anyway? The 40 mm rims are deeper than Zio would like but they don't seem too bad in cross-winds so far.

100 kms over 3 rides and Zio's pretty happy. He can see this being his "do it all" bike even without the motor assist. He splurged for a MAHLE head-unit rather than slapping-on a Cateye cyclometer. This reads the bike's stats along with the usual speed, distance, etc. and includes a "range" feature - how far you can ride on the current battery charge?

With the assist level at 0 but the bike turned ON, the range numbers actually go backwards - as in higher rather than lower. A 2 hour ride today used 1% of the battery while the range-counter topped-out at 999 kms. On his first ride, when he switched to level 1 the range dropped to under 400 before he switched back to 0.

Next up, a ride with a real climb, one where Heather usually has to wait for him on her MAHLE X35 powered bike programmed to assist when her heart rate reaches a preset level. Will Level 1 be enough? If not, there's 2 or 3!

MV-Agusta Lucky Explorer

 

GO ELECTRIC!

That's what the electric toothbrush advertisements say and we caved-in to our dentist's pleas awhile ago.

Heather went electric awhile ago with bicycles as well and Zio scored a used Bianchi E-Impulso Allroad at a good price in Piedmont at the end of last summer, but this brand-new one's on the way to Sicily for Zio to play with.

He wanted to try the newer MAHLE X20 electric motor* and also wanted a Campagnolo EKAR groupset for what's soon gonna be his only bike in Sicily other than the Bianchi for shopping and the other Bianchi for vintage rides. Zio hates to part with some of our beloved steel bikes, but we don't have enough room on the ground floor for a bike museum, so some of the old ones have to go! 

For a new e-bike there wasn't a lot to choose from matching Zio's requirements for a gravel bike with MAHLE X20 and Campagnolo EKAR but when a shop in Rome put MV's Lucky Explorer on-sale, out came the credit card!

More when (if?) the new bike arrives**.

*Regular readers may remember we planned/hoped to get Favaloro to make us custom e-bikes, but it seemed he was just too busy after that Italian TV spot showed what he could do.

**After a lot of back-and-forth with the dealer in Rome it looks like the bike will finally arrive February 8th. Far longer than the 5-6 days from payment they claimed, but a price more than 1000 euros off MV's listed price is worth it I guess? Turns out the shop doesn't even stock these bikes, despite what they said before Zio handed-over the euros. Seems like they get drop-shipped directly from MV, so it's coming from much farther north than Rome.