Getting myself and my gear to and from Eurobike was made much more pleasant this year by trading in a car for an e-bike. Haibike’s Sduro Trekking RC is hardly cheap but it’s well outfitted and features Yamaha’s excellent 250W mid-motor assistJames Huang / Immediate Media
The Yamaha mid-motor system is barely audible when it’s running, and it’s extraordinarily smooth and seamless when the power comes onJames Huang / Immediate Media
The 400Wh rechargeable battery had more than enough juice for four days of back-and-forth commuting around Lake ConstanceJames Huang / Immediate Media
The handlebar remote is compact and intuitive to operateJames Huang / Immediate Media
Most mid-motor e-bikes use just a single chainring but the Yamaha system on the Haibike Sduro has two, providing a wider and more useful rangeJames Huang / Immediate Media
The Yamaha LCD display indicates current speed, battery power, motor output, air temperature, and time of day, plus estimated remaining range for a given assist setting. I preprogrammed the Garmin Edge 520 computer with my route to and from the show each day for easy navigatingJames Huang / Immediate Media
There was more than enough battery power for four days of roundtrip journeys during Eurobike – roughly 80 miles in totalJames Huang / Immediate Media
Schwalbe builds these tires specifically for e-bikes, featuring an ultra-low rolling resistance that helps maximize battery rangeJames Huang / Immediate Media
The double kinked top tube looks neat but isn’t up to the task of keeping the frame from twisting on occasionJames Huang / Immediate Media
Ortlieb’s Bike-Packer Plus panniers held enough gear for two weeks on the road – and their waterproof construction meant that I was prepared in the event of a downpour, tooJames Huang / Immediate Media
Haibike was smart to spec a 180mm-diameter rotor up front. Between the weight of the bike, the rider, and how much gear you can haul, there’s potentially a lot of momentum to scrub offJames Huang / Immediate Media
The internal routing is reasonably clean but there are still a lot of wires running aboutJames Huang / Immediate Media
The saddle incorporates plenty of padding but the shape just didn’t do it for meJames Huang / Immediate Media
Seriously, why on earth would you confine yourself to the inside of a car when you can instead ride through this?James Huang / Immediate Media
My daily commute at Eurobike included a pleasant 15-minute ferry ride across Lake ConstanceJames Huang / Immediate Media
I wore this stupid grin on my face for most of my 20-mile trip in and out of Eurobike this yearJames Huang / Immediate Media
Germany has a fantastic network of dedicated paths and lanes that makes it easy to go by bikeJames Huang / Immediate Media
A brief moment of contemplation on the shores of Lake ConstanceJames Huang / Immediate Media