From Toronto to Niagra Falls (and back) on one charge? No problem!
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- By Amego
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My annual electric bike trip from Toronto to Niagra Falls - and back. What an adventure!
Hi everyone! My name is Mike Stein and I work as the Sales Manager for because Amego Electric Bikes. I wanted to share a little bit about a recent experience I had over the summer while riding my electric bike!
Here at Amego we talk a lot about offering our customers a ‘Limitless’ experience with electric bikes and I enjoy putting our bikes to the test to show that electric bikes can TRULY offer this feeling.
2 years ago I decided to start doing an annual bike ride to celebrate bike month from my home in Toronto to Niagara falls. The total trip distance is around 336 kilometers and I was able to complete the ride this time on just ONE battery charge!
Every year I have done the ride on a different bike. The first year was on a 5 year-old Stromer ST2 and this year was on a brand new Stromer Anniversary ST3! The bike performed flawlessly. As some may know this bike was designed to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of the Stromer brand.
The ST3 Anniversary has a unique feature set including an amazing deep red finish that stands out from other models in the Stromer line. The bike features the newer model SYNO Drive ll motor, that peaks 600W and a big 983WH battery – the largest in their range of batteries. A feature unique to hub motor ebikes is regenerative braking that captures your braking energy to recharge your battery while reducing wear on brake pads – which I did use from time to time to extend my range. I also used the Stromer app to optimize my pedaling cadence and the torque settings which apparently really works with the range I was able to squeeze out of this battery – without killing myself pedaling up hills. I even rode the bike on the top speed (level 3) setting from time to time along the way that kicks the top speed up to 45Kmh (28mph). Of course my goal was to make the ride in one charge so I didn’t over use this setting but I certainly didn’t avoid it totally.
The route I took followed the Greenbelt route through southern Ontario on the western edge of lake Ontario where there was a combination of long bike lanes, trails and empty highways with shared bike lanes aka sharrows. The experience was incredible, the ride, the views, all of it was wonderful. I rode through cities, vineyards you name it. There are great wineries and farms you can visit along the way and I was able to stop here and there to look around but I was enjoying the ride so much that I would stop briefly to take a picture then get back on and keep riding. It some point on the way back I realized that I may need to consider the fading sun but was reassured with the integrated lights on the bike so I wasn’t really worried – and the day had perfect temperatures so I was truly in my element.
The bottom line is that I truly enjoyed my ride and I wanted to share my story with everyone. E-bikes open up an opportunity for adventure that many never thought was possible. The biggest thing is that you don’t need to ride 336 Kms to enjoy the benefits of electric bikes. Even just a fun ride around your neighborhood that you can do a little faster or a little farther than you ever could before. That is the magic of electric bikes.
So what are you waiting for get out and ride!!
Check out our FULL line of Stromer bikes HERE and start planning your next 'Limitless' riding experience!
Could you share your route map. Want to try the ride with my st1
Loved to hear about you trip - thank you! I ride a st2 and my wife the newer st1x(from Amego of course). We’ve done many long-distance trips on our stromers but usually with a recharge along the way.. I’ve managed 350km in one day in the interior of bc using the tour mode but with two batteries. I’m very interested in using the app to manage the cadence as you described in your piece. Could you elaborate on this?
I’m assuming you were in “1” mode for a good part of this? What was your average speed?
Loved the blog!
Drew
Not to be disbelieving, but I'd bet that more than half was done with a 0 or negative setting for the electrics. That still would be a very extraordinary ride if, as implied, it was all done in a single day with a heavy non-aerodynamic bike!
I can get over 140 km on an Elby I bought through you people, keeping it on a setting of 1, never higher, no regeneration, close to flat everywhere, with no wind to speak of. This was Conestogo to Forks of the Credit (not Spoons of the Debit, says bad joker), and return.
The Elby occasionally disconnects, but turning it off and on once or twice usually fixes that. Otherwise it's been perfect for an old man and 4,000 km..