E MOTORAD – RIDE THE ELECTRIC REVOLUTION Youth Emotorad Ranger ELECTRIC Cycle, 250W Motor, 20-Inch Fat Tyres, Front Suspension, Aluminium Frame, Front & Rear LED Lights (Ranger, Wild Yellow)

I have ridden the Doodle V3 for about a month and 350 km. On the whole I am quite happy with it. My daily commute is a round trip of 27 km. I used to cycle 30 km a day on average before the lockdown, after which everything stopped. I had been advised by my orthopaedist to start cycling again, but I was not sure how to build up my stamina up from scratch for this long a commute. I read a review of a Hero electric cycle where the rider had a similar problem and an e-cycle had provided the solution. One starts by relying mainly on electric assist and slowly increases the pedal effort over time. That’s what I am trying to do.

I chose the Doodle V3 for the following reasons (without any particular order of preference):
(1) It has a highly adjustable front handle, so I can avoid back problems;
(2) The battery capacity is 12.7 Ah, which is good for my long daily commute and I do not need to keep a charger at my workplace;
(3) The weight with the battery is 24 kg, viz. about the same as a cheap MTB or a roadster (doodhwala cycle);
(4) It comes with an integrated front and tail light;
(5) It has integrated mudguards (on which more later) to protect my clothes from mud;
(6) It has 7 gears, so I can have a higher top speed on pedal assist and if necessary can also ride it without pedal assist over gentle hills;
(7) There is a service centre in my city;
(8) The tyres are as big and thick as a motorcycle’s tyres, giving extra stability in poor road conditions;
(9) The body is foldable, so I can bring it up in the lift to my flat;
(10) It has a front shock-absorber.

The e-bicycle has worked out well on most of the above parameters. I don’t think I could have gotten a better e-bicycle with all these parameters, even at twice the price.

My riding experience has been very good. My pedaling is gradually getting stronger and I am feeling fitter and happier. The ride is quite stable and smooth. The e-manual recommends 25 or so psi in the tyres, but on the tyre walls it is written that the maximum should be only 20 psi. My experience is that the ride is most comfortable at 15-17 psi. Above that the rear wheel (which has no shock absorber) gets hard and uncomfortable.

The leather seat is the soft kind. This is not usually recommended for long rides. I’m waiting to see whether my body will get used to it, else I will replace it with the usual hard long seat suitable for long-distance cycling.

The battery indicator has six bars. With my kind of pedal assist (level 4) it drops one bar after about 10 km of riding. Recharging my battery after my 27 km round trip consumes about 250 watt-hours, according to my smart plug. The manual says we should always do a full recharge. However it is now well known that to increase the life of lithium batteries we should stop charging at 80% and start charging before the battery goes below 20%. That is what I have been doing. The battery capacity is large enough for me to not have to do a full recharge every day. Currently I start my day with 5 out of 6 bars and return home with 2 out of 6 bars. I will do a full recharge only once in a while so that the battery can calibrate itself. I expect this to increase the battery life considerably.

The main disappointment in the e-bicycle was its mudguards. They were too short and mud from the front wheel covered the battery-lock key, while the rear wheel gave the same treatment to my bag and clothes. On the second day I cut up a plastic water bottle and screwed it onto the front and rear mudguards as DIY mudflaps. That took care of the problem. But E Motorad should either redesign the mudguards or provide mudflaps.

The other puzzling design element was the location and working of the battery-lock key. It is located below the central bar and has to be switched on and kept inserted for the main power-on key located on the right handle to work. There should have been no need for two different keys for me to ride the e-bicycle every day. The battery-lock key could have been used only to lock the battery in place, not to switch the power on. Hero’s new cycles have just a button below the battery to switch it on. That is a more convenient approach.

Anyway, I can live with these two minuses. The odd shape of the bicycle makes it stick out, but that has a flip side too. Motorized two-wheeler riders pull up next to me every day to enquire about its price, speed and how far it can go. I get thumbs-ups and waves as motor-cyclists pass by me. I have learned to give a graceful smile and nod to them in return.

The e-cycle folds and fits into my apartment’s small lift. It took me 3-4 days to work out how best to fold it. It seemed to be taking too much effort. Finally I realized that pushing the entire cycle forward a little helps the front tyre to move sideways and turn in / turn out of its folded position. The rolling motion makes the act of folding almost effortless.

Overall this e-bicycle has definitely been a good choice. The build quality of all components is good and I expect this to be a sturdy bike. My thanks to E Motorad.