With Swiss E-bike "Flyer" on a Hiking Trail in the Mountains

Riding my Swiss made electric bike "Flyer" model "i:sy" in the urban jungle has been a great success as you can see from my previous postings. - The bike`s  design has the looks of possessing good durability and of being a young life style product at the same time.  Any pleasure rider will love its most important typical e-bike feature:  it takes the exhaustion out of going up hills.

With a proven success record as an ecological vehicle in the big city, how does it rate on a hiking trail in the mountains?  Made in Switzerland, the country of mountaineering, should be a guarantee for its good performance on steep hiking trails.  Is this true?

On a fine day in May I rode the "i:sy" on one of our most attractive hiking trails along the Rhine, the Rheinsteig, starting in Bonn.  

The electric drive of ,my "Flyer" gave me an enjoyable ride through the woods of the "Siebengebirge" on the edge of the Rhine valley. But when  I came to the steepest slope leading up to the mountain "Petersberg" I had to descend for the last 500 meters.  The hiking trail is not meant for bikers at this part of the route.  But thanks to the bike`s push button for a boost while walking, it gave me a comfortable support when pushing the bike up the small,  slippery  wet and rocky trail. 

Now, what is my answer to the question: Can you do the Reinsteig on a "Flyer" model "i:sy"?

The answer is:  You can go very well on some parts of the trail, if you are an experienced biker on rough terrain, but you would be much better off on a mountain bike.   

My Pedelec is the Swiss Made brand "Flyer", model "i:sy". First Rides.

Swiss made electric bike "Flyer",
 model "i:sy light", 2011

Bonn City - Holzlar, Roleber, Gielgen
Now I have done the 20 kilometer trip Gielgen (Holzlar) (about 168 m) down into the Rhine valley to Bonn City (approx.. 68 m) several times on my newly bought electric bike "Flyer is:y".  It`s a pedelec model  "i:sy light", chain gear shifting, 9 gears, 26  V 12 Ah rechargeable battery, 25 km/h version.

The power assistance can be changed between "high",
"standard" and"eco" to "no assistance"

The white push button isn used when
 walking the bike up a steep  slope.

The battery is locked with the same key as
 the ABUS anti-theft lock for the rear wheel.

Ìt`s easy to take the battery out or to put it in.

The battery charger

The charger with mounnted battery

The gears and derailleur

A

Tire:  Schwalbe Big Apple, Pressure 4.5 Bar !

Very good Lumotec head light

Saddel with cushion comfort

i

Sturdy rear rack

ABUS anti-theft lock

"Up the Hell of Roleber" in 5 Minutes
Once in the Rhine valley, I usually ride along the river for about two kilometers, make a short stop somewhere in the city and then I go back up into the mountains to Roleber and Gielgen.  The final kilometer of my trip includes 400 meters of a rather steep slope of 11 %.  It used to be known  as the "hell of Roleber" at the time when Germany`s annual cycle race took place in the Bonn region.


Today I rode my pedelec up the "hell of Róleber" at a speed of 9 km per hour with the electric assistant put into "high". It took me about 5 minutes to reach the top, and my pedalling efforts were moderate.  Upon arrival in Roleber village, I was not out of breath, I just felt like having had a nice steady workout as on a hometrainer.  Now. a look at the distance of approx. 10 kilometers from Bonn to Roleber and Gielgen:  25 minutes. This is the same time the local bus needs.  The weather was nice, a bit cold, about   9 degrees centigrade.


Speeding downhill at 50 km/h 
And what about going down hill?  Great, this bike is fast thanks to the tires pumped up to the utmost.
At one point I reached the speed of 50 km/h, going down to Oberkassel without any electric assistance, well understood.


The Fun of "Flying" the Flyer
And when riding a level distance, like along the Rhine, no assistance is needed either.  But it is much fun to use it, nonetheless.  The support it gives you makes you fly along like a well trained cyclist with muscles and physical power.


Electric Energy Consumption?

About 20 kilometers ridden in approx. one hour cost me
2/5 of a full battery charge.  The experts say the eletric power drawn from the power grid at home would amount to less than half a Euro.


It`s fun to ride the Flyer i:sy.

My E-Bike is a "Flyer i:sy" Pedelec

The family was highly sceptical about buying an electric bicycle.  Especially since I had in mind to buy a rather expensive Swiss made model.  On my way to the ebike dealer, I thought I might as well buy another folding bike, this time not a Brompton (see my blog My folding bike Brompton) but a German made "Birdy" by Riese-Müller.
In the shop, however, I saw the shiny Flyer model "i:sy" again which I had opted for in my previous visit of the shop.  The shop assistant said:  "All right, your family may be sceptical.  But please take this ebike with you.  In case they definitely dislike it, bring it back and then buy your folding bike Birdy.  Give the family a first ride, and you will see the fun factor."
So it happened.  I bought the bike, transported it home in the trunk of my car after I had  taken off the saddle post and the front wheel, and I gave the family the opportunity to have a test ride.  Result: Everybody enjoyed the bike immediately.  We will keep it and I will let you know more in future postings in this blog.