Haha RA. You got my number
Well another ride last night, this time with my wife. Of course we had to get his and hers.
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Not too intense a ride but a few punchy climbs and the power beyond our legs was definitely nice. Covered a lot of distant for the time allotted. On the way home we have to ride about a mile on the road with a steep climb at the end. Usually on our Stumpys we'd be sucking gas and going about 2 mph. This time in turbo and pedaling hard I crested at about 17 mph!
It's pretty clear this is a game changer. We can tackle a lot more distance and VERT. It will open so many more trail options with big climbs and not need to explode our hearts muscles while still getting plenty of exercise.
But to be honest there was a lot of prepurchase trepidation and frankly still continues. It's a ridiculous amount of money to spend on bikes. We were happy riding our Stumpys but would avoid certain rides that were too long with too much climbing. While we're healthy we're not getting any younger. In our early 60's there's limits to how much stronger we can get. We want to explore and get the riding in while we can. So I guess that's how I rationalize the whole thing.
But so far absolutely loving it. The power and distance is impressive. Yeah they are heavy at 52lbs but so is everything in this class of distance and power. They are stable and the CG is low adding to the stability. Climbing over rocks and roots is so much better. Eco mode has been largely good enough and still getting plenty of good cardio without exploding my heart.
RA you can get a Specialized S-works Turbo levo SL which is lighter at 40lbs (less range and power also) but it's $14, 000!