Hardy Menagh   7/23/24

After I wrote the "50" article, I had about ten years of pleasurable cycling and made some good friends along the way.

However, as things can do, they started to take a turn. I began having problems on some longer rides and had to abort one century ride. I was having pain in the center of my chest after eating and riding. I assumed this was heartburn and started to carry antacid tablets with me. They didn't help.

Other symptoms began to occur, during and well after stopping a ride. Bending over and standing up would make me lightheaded to the point of graying out. I could hear and feel my heart pounding in my ears. I would get short of breath. Eating any food before, during or after a ride made things much worse. I had to stop riding.

A few trips to a gastroenterologist revealed that I had a hiatal hernia at the entrance to my stomach. This was explained to me as the likely cause of the problems. An operation to fix it was successful but after recovery, the symptoms remained.

Next, a cardiologist found a blockage in one artery. He suggested that this was the likely cause of the trouble. Six stents were inserted into this artery. This opened the blockage but the symptoms continued.

With no further suggestions from doctors, I Googled my symptoms and found a possible cause called "POTS" *, sometimes called POTS Syndrome. This is somewhat redundant since the "S" in POTS stands for syndrome.

I asked one cardiologist and later two others, if they could test for POTS. They all refused, saying there wouldn't be a point since there is no treatment.

6 years had gone by. The symptoms continued and could be brought on simply by walking up a few porch steps after a meal.

I couldn't ride a bike, at least not far and definitely not soon after eating.

My wife had a friend who owned an e-bike. Being wise and slyly persuasive, my wife suggested I should give an e-bike a try. Maybe I could ride again with a bike that could do some of the work. Even some short rides with some electric motor assistance would be beneficial to my physical and mental well-being.

I started looking at e-bike reviews on-line. A top-brand drop-bar road e-bike wasn't in the budget so I settled on a "fitness"-type bike that I thought would work for me, the Velotric T1.

The T1 looked similar to the rigid mountain bikes, I sometimes used to ride. One of these served as my Winter bike. This Velotric e-offering had a better range than some other bikes around this price point. It didn't have a throttle, which I didn't think I wanted. It did have some useful tech, most other bikes didn't have. This included some anti-theft features like fingerprint activation and notification if it was moved without the owner's knowledge. You could then use the built-in GPS locator to find it.

My first ride was only 10 miles. I did it 3 hours after a light breakfast consisting of a small bowl of granola with soy milk. On a medium setting, the bike seemed to be doing about half of the work necessary to climb some small hills and cover the short distance quickly.

This was working. For subsequent rides, I stuck to the program of a small breakfast followed by a ride a few hours later.

I gradually increased the distance and chose steeper and longer hills. I found that I could usually do about 15 miles with little to no symptoms during the ride. Longer rides of 16 to 20 miles would likely include some mild symptoms.

There was usually a price to pay after a ride, especially after having lunch. I could have some strong symptoms that might last a few hours or more. Sitting and relaxing for a while would bring relief until they passed but it was worth it. I had really missed riding a bike and this experiment in cybernetics made it possible again.

The Velotric T1

I won't do a review of the T1 here. There are several good reviews on line. If you're interested in this bike, I suggest you seek them out, especially the videos. What I will do, is describe the problems I've had and the modifications I've made.

I didn't install the included pedals. I had a spare pair of Shimano 105 clipless pedals. Once you've gotten used to clipless pedals, it's difficult to go back to something else.

The original grips were round and hard. I replaced them with some ergonomic grips which don't entirely prevent numbness in my hands but are an improvement.

I didn't install the kickstand.

During two rides, the chain jumped off the single chainwheel while shifting. I tried to dial in the Shimano Altus derailer a little better but it was clearly low-end. I replaced it with a Claris which is a notch above the Altus and I didn't have any further trouble.

I noticed a crack in the battery cover under the frame. Velotric support had a new one sent to me from China. When I took the old one off, it was more badly broken than I had noticed. It looks like someone might have dropped the frame at the factory and didn't bother to check for damage. The battery cover also houses the IOT module. You know what that is right? Google clued me in.

The T1 requires a smart phone to activate it with the Velotric App. I have a flip phone so I used my wife's iPhone to set the bike up. The bike comes with a phone mount but after set-up, the phone isn't absolutely required. I removed the mount and put a wireless computer in its place. The advantage to having someone else keep the phone is that they can find you if needed, using the bike's GPS. I understand that might be a disadvantage for some who might not want to be found.

The phone app can be a little flaky and they do update it as necessary. We had an issue with bluetooth not connecting, or the app saying it was connected when it wasn't. Velotric recommends deleting and reinstalling the app if you're having problems with it. That worked for this problem.

You will need some things in your tool bag that you might not have needed with a non-e-bike. The T1 comes with some good quality allen wrenches but you might prefer a folding bike tool. For the T1, you will also need a 19mm or adjustable wrench, some replacement cable ties and a way to clip off the ones holding the motor cable on the bike. These things are necessary to change a rear tire tube.

The picture of me was taken shortly after I got the bike. I still wasn't sure if it was going to work out. I can tell you it's a real pleasure to be riding a bike again. I'm in better physical and mental condition. I've even lost some weight. That's my e-bike adventure. May yours be as rewarding.

* Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome