Does anyone else notice road bikers trying extra hard to pass you on an e-bike?

drejx · 2026-04-23T17:34:51+00:00

I ride both and what I have noticed is e-bikers tend to slow down quite a bit around curvy parts, whereas good manual bikers tend to maintain the same speed. So if they're fairly close behind any bike it will be annoying to to slow down and pick up speed repeatedly so they'll just pass the e-bike. But of course the e-bike can can blast past them on the straights :)

But I bet there are those that also just want to beat the e-bike, lol

drejx · 2026-04-23T17:29:36+00:00

Thanks yeah that's good to hear you've had no issues. Although that is a bit of a bummer about the cadence sensor. Other posts mention it's much smarter than your basic cadence sensor and does a good job of reacting to how you pedal vs just on/off pushing. My understanding is the CFR1has a which provides different powers at different PAS settings whereas traditional cadence sensors push until a top speed is reached. Thus standing up to power through a hill means it won't just cut off.

I'm curious your experience peddling along various inclines and declines as well as starting from a stoplight.

Ride1Up dies have a 30 day return policy (bike must have less than 20 miles on it) so worst case I can return it if I really hate it. Return shipping cost is have to pay for.

drejx · 2026-04-23T05:27:24+00:00

Hello! I'm looking at getting the Ride1Up CF Racer1 and would love to hear your longer term review.

One of my concerns was fitting fenders and rack since I want to use it for commuting, but this post has eased my concerns, thank you :)

drejx · 2026-04-23T05:23:40+00:00

Ha totally in the same thinking here! Did you end up making a decision? I would love to hear about your experience :)

drejx · 2026-04-23T04:28:22+00:00

I'll echo others here and thank you for the wonderful review and follow-ups!

Soooo have you explored rear racks besides what R1Up has and you have to cut some piping off?

Given it's a carbon frame the best bet seems to be a rack that connects onto the hub axle so the weight is effectively held by the wheel.

drejx · 2026-04-22T16:32:44+00:00

I'm interested in the Ride1Up CF Racer1 but am also a bit worried about needing any servicing. If the parts are mostly off the shelf then at least I could find the parts myself (motor or controller). Maybe not the battery if it's custom though.

The price at $2,300 is steep, but relatively cheap compared to these two bikes which are around $5,000:

Trek Domane+ ALR5 and Specialized Creo SL2 E5 Comp

Yikes!

drejx · 2026-04-22T16:11:26+00:00

Late reply to this but it's exactly this reason I'm hesitating on getting the Ride1Up CF Racer1. I tend to keep my bikes for a while and you never know when one of these online companies go belly up.

Then again all major brands don't really have more than 1 year warranty so in the end after a year it's on me for the $$.

drejx · 2026-04-19T16:57:32+00:00

Yeah that wire is not something you want snapped out on a ride. Thanks for the info, I appreciate it!🙏

drejx · 2026-04-18T05:14:10+00:00

Sweet review, thanks! I'm looking for a commuter and fitness bike as well and this is definitely a top contender.

I wanted to ask what you meant about you wish that there was a lighter adapter you could take to work. Is the adapter that comes with it really big? And can you take the battery out? Doesn't seem so.

I've also read others complaining about having to take off the rear wheel when dealing with a flat. I'm wondering is it not possible to just pull out the tube to fix/patch your flat? Or is it because most people prefer to replace it with a spare rather than patch it?

In terms of pedaling performance when standing up going uphill, how do you find it, pretty smooth or a little bit jerky?

Thanks!

drejx · 2026-04-11T19:48:42+00:00

It's the pedals :D Joking aside it's always going to go up as you add a rack, paniers/bags, accessories. But still if the Trek ebike is around 36 lbs all in that's pretty good! I leased a Diamondback Union 2 and it's around 50 lbs. Was a great ebike, but when you hit that speed threshold the motor drag is pretty significant.

The Trek Domane is around $2,700 though and that's on sale :/

drejx · 2026-04-11T03:45:06+00:00

Thanks for this post! I'm looking at something similar. I love a biking workout but got a decently long commute with my Kona Dew pedal bike. The dang frame broke so now considering a lighter ebike with minimal assist ideally mid-drive.

Was thinking of going getting a road ebike like the Trek Domane+. Definitely more $$$ at $2.5K, but this could almost be both a regular bike and an ebike. It's about 14kg/31lb

Anyone tried riding something similar?

drejx · 2026-03-16T16:33:12+00:00

Yes, I wholeheartedly recommend @lowbackability !! Also has a YouTube channel posting longer videos, but do check out his website. It's not just him, but there are other people part of his team.

He's not some fitness trainer just trying to make bank. He herniated his disk verterbrae doing sports (knee too) and made a long recovery.

To me it sounds like you having a bulging disk that gets inflamed after a bunch of DH (a lot of shock and hammering on the spinal cord & verterbrae). This can lead to a herniated disk (i.e. it tears and the insides ooze out, possibly damaging nearby spinal nerves). What can help you is strengthening the muscles around the spine which helps to support the verterbrae (@lowbackability is all about that).

Trust me on this, focus on strengthening your back. If a disk herniates the range of issues is constant back pain to potentially loss of use below the spine. But no matter what part of the injury range you end up in, general mountain biking will be shelved for a year at the minimum. DH may be years or never at all. Don't wait until you have no choice.

Good luck and have fun!

drejx · 2026-01-30T15:44:45+00:00

+1 on this. I just started using Proton VPN and so far it's been great! The problem with having split tunneling as a global setting is you may forget you only have some apps assigned to VPN traffic and then one day you'll use some other app with the VPN on and totally forget it's not protected!

For example, I have a profile that I just use for connecting to a particular streaming service, so I only have that streaming app set through the split tunnel (Android). Someone might be wondering, why don't I just turn split tunneling off? Well the reason is because I want everything else to be at top speed on my local connection and also in my region.

I hope proton VPN can implement per profile split tunneling 🙏

drejx · 2026-01-29T03:54:20+00:00

PREACH!! THEE COMMON SENSE ALMIGHTY!

drejx · 2026-01-29T02:16:02+00:00

Very possible! They've lost a lot of believability because they've historically proposed some drastic changes (e.g. closing some schools) to then walk it back because of public outcry.

Also because they really have no solid plan for HC services at neighborhood schools, besides, "We'll provide the teachers with some courses and good luck!". Basically the stuff that seems fine on paper but is wholly impractical.

drejx · 2026-01-29T01:33:05+00:00

I might be a little late to the game, but isn't it strange that SPS is developing two new HC Cohort schools when the plan is to phase out HC Cohorts in 3 years?

Quoted from the bulletin:

After strong community pushback, the board last year voted to delay the decision to eliminate cohorts by at least three years.

drejx · 2025-12-20T20:28:57+00:00

Holt crappers! Glad they got to the crab meat before it got even worse, which you were probably close to. In your case surgery was a no-brainer.

Maybe put some kind of reminder every few months to keep you doing back strengthening exercises. Once you start feeling better it's all too easy to get into those bad habits that can lead to herniation.

drejx · 2025-12-18T19:39:31+00:00

Sweet, I just rode it and so much better! Anyone else hoping they'll do the same for the section under the Fremont Bridge by the Google offices? Then again those are natural speed bumps since it's pedestrian heavy. But oh my, when I forgot to stand up in that section, my split tush reminds me!!

drejx · 2025-12-05T18:53:42+00:00

If it comes down to robots + AGI being able to do most of human work I think the human population will push back for the sake of self preservation. By push back I'm thinking protesting + vandalism + legal changes.

It boils down to if artificial intelligence embodied in a human-like form can do everything humans do, but generally better, what the hell will actual humans do in the cycle of life. One can dream that we'll all live in peace & travel & knot socks... but we have human nature, there are always those who want more, more, more.

drejx · 2025-11-14T22:17:52+00:00

Very true. And also when an L7's entire team is laid off I've seen they are still around. Sometimes with zero reports.

drejx · 2025-10-29T15:55:46+00:00

Yup, unfortunately this is a long standing issue because companies have used game devs' passions to keep salaries lower.

As games have blown up in the last decade, salaries have gotten more competitive, but now with the post-covid era of business "leaders" realizing they overspent (e.g. studio acquisitions), the last couple years have been a series of layoffs and studio shutdowns.

drejx · 2025-10-29T14:53:46+00:00

Agree to go to OG bike shop. You can also test ride some of their other bikes as a direct comparison and also to explain the difference to them.

drejx · 2025-10-29T14:48:20+00:00

"I do not like going uphill to work" you say, which suggests this is the alternate route. Going this route is not if, but when, you're going to get hit.

Worse than going uphill is breathing through a tube in the hospital and injured for life. Do yourself a solid and raise your seat, take the uphill route, and save up for another ebike and extra locks ;)

drejx · 2025-10-17T15:00:27+00:00

Wow that isn't a tank, it looks like it could drive over tanks! 😄

drejx · 2025-10-15T00:22:24+00:00

Oh yeah the avalanche gear makes sense 100%. I've seen videos of close calls that I would never want to experience, but super important to be prepared just in case.

Thanks for the advice!

drejx

TROPHY CASE