# Vitus Mach E Review



## novemberdelta (5 Aug 2020)

So i bought a Mach E from Chain Reaction Cycles a couple of weeks ago, exclusively to kit out for commuting. The main purpose is to encourage me to commute more in winter, especially as the route is hilly, and usually windy. I often check the weather and can't be bothered - I am hoping the extra assistance and efficiency will encourage me out.

From reading forums I get the idea I am not a typical ebike rider. I am a pretty fit cyclist and runner, and have extensively commuted to work on a non ebike, run a few half marathons a year, participate in triathlon. I am seeing the ebike as a car replacement with some physical bonus. I will still ride my carbon at the club and for centuries etc. I have been interested in reading posts saying there is sometimes animosity between roadies and ebikers. I don't get it. It's about using the right tool.

Anyway, I paid £2100 for the bike, and it was reduced to £1890 a few days after delivery. I emailed CRC and they immediately refunded the difference in vouchers, I have therefore obtained this bike fully loaded for the commute (guards, lights) for just undr £2k. I have installed a rack too.

First impressions are very pleasant. I am going from an 8kg carbon bike, so this feels "bigger" and clearly heavier, but it is surprisingly fine to ride unassisted. I rode it unassisted for the first test to get an idea of it's characteristics, and it was no issue at all. People say that it can be difficult to ride an ebike over the cut off, but I havent found that at all. This bike is 17.5kg quoted. My average speeds have been around 18mph.

Riding with assistance is a joy I have genuinely found myself smiling and laughing when it kicks in. I have been carrying a heavy pannier this week and have used the high setting on any hills, and to get going from a stop. The rest of the time I have just left the assistance off. I feel like it just takes all the sh.t bits out of a commute, and makes the whole thing easy and enjoyable. I want my commute to be easy. If I want to make it harder, I can simply switch off the assistance.

The big tyres are great, I love the position which is super comfortable and personally I like the look but it's probably a marmite bike. It is great value for a shimano motor set up and gears. I will take a couple of photos once I have it fully set up with the guards etc.


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## Pale Rider (6 Aug 2020)

novemberdelta said:


> have been interested in reading posts saying there is sometimes animosity between roadies and ebikers



When I started ebiking about 10 years ago, snotty remarks from roadies were relatively common.

There has been a marked decline in the last few years, to the point where I cannot easily recall the last time I was given some ebike abuse.

I reckon that's because ebikes, after many false dawns, have finally moved into the mainstream of cycling.

It's also less common for pedestrians to gawp open mouthed as I trundle past.

Despite this age of enlightenment, if I come across a roadie on a climb I still ease up behind him if I know he will be going faster than me when we reach the top.

Having said all that, I would be interested to know what your club mates make of your new commuting bike.

My guess is there will still be one or two cycling dinosaurs among the membership.


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## IanSmithCSE (6 Aug 2020)

Morning,

Does this change your commute from needing to shower/a thorough wash at work to just getting changed or didn't you need to to do that anyway?

_My average speeds have been around 18mph. _
That is much faster than I would have guessed, having never ridden an ebike I had wondered if average speeds were below the max assist speed, so it nice to hear that they are above it. :-)

I used to do 17 miles each way, 5 days a week, so the ride plus getting changed added quite a lot of time to the working day and made me not enjoy the riding during the week and needing to rest over the weekend. Along with a bit of hassle over where to store clothes.

For me riding morning, evening, morning, evening... is harder that doing the distance and having 24 hours before the next ride which is why it was less fun than I expected.

I got very close to buying a small motor bike, as ebikes were NiCad powered and pretty naff then, but ended up using the car, bike commuting definitely wasn't fun for me.

The train fare would have been £6.5 per day so if I did it now it would take around about a year to recover the cost of the bike, assuming it doesn't get nicked which seems fine. 

So I certainly get the idea of why an ebike makes sense as a commuter, thanks for the notes.


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## novemberdelta (6 Aug 2020)

@IanSmithCSE 
What your are saying about it not being fun is alot of the reason I got an ebike. Take the not fun bits away with a bit of assistance and you are hopefully much more likely to be able to commute consistently. Especially in a Scottish winter with a countryside commute!

My speed is roughly the same as on the road bike. Bear in mind I have assistance off most of the time just using it on hills. It will be a godsend in the wind. I also worried about cycling above to cut off but it's not been an issue for me. 

Personally I still need a shower at work but then again I am still working fairly hard. Maybe if I just say around 15mph with assistance I wouldn't need to shower.

@Pale Rider 
I haven't shown my club mates yet. Take from that what you will....


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