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Scott Addict eRIDE: the electric road bike for everyone
How Scott's Addict eRIDE - the lightest electric-assist road bike available - is right for you
Over recent years, the electric bike - or eBike - has transformed. What were once clunky, ugly, heavy machines that operated with an accelerator like a moped, have become sleek and subtle in design, with motors that engage in line with your pedalling output, and small yet powerful batteries that provide the capability to cover enormous mileages.
Contrary to prior assumption, eBikes can benefit everyone, however, despite the explosion in technological advancement and their newfound integrated design, not everyone likes them. Whether it's the argument that eBikes are cheating, that they're heavy or that they're ugly, there's no denying eBikes help more people enjoy time on two wheels. For that reason, we think eBikes are a fantastic addition to the cycling landscape.
Granted, eBikes can sometimes be heavy, and they aren't always as attractive as their manual counterparts, but with Scott's new Addict eRIDE, all of that changed.
How an eBike actually works
Despite eBikes of old using a traditional moped-style twist-and-go accelerator in order to apply the power, modern eBikes are much more advanced. In addition to the motor and battery, modern eBikes are equipped with a torque sensor that calculates how hard you're pedalling, and then apply a relative amount of assistance to support your input.
This means a modern eBike feels considerably more natural in the way it rides, and many liken it to riding a normal bike, but with much stronger legs.
They typically come with various levels of assistance which, of course, affect the power that is provided by the motor, and in turn, also affect the range from the battery. With the Scott Addict eRIDE, this assistance can be adjusted using the accompanying EBikeMotion smartphone app, and in addition to the various levels, it will even adjust in line with the rider's heart rate when paired with a heart rate monitor.
Why an eBike is right for you
From occasional cycle-commuters to dedicated performance athletes, both on-road and off, eBikes can benefit us all. They offer the ability to go faster and further for the same time and energy investment, cover the same distances in a shorter time period, or cover the same route in the same time for a lower effort. There are endless potential use-cases and we're firm believers that electric bikes can benefit everyone.
Commuters
Whether you travel three miles to work or 30, completing the journey on an eBike can help you get there fresher, more awake, less stressed, and potentially even faster.
Depending on your current arrangement, a drive to work can regularly mean sitting idle in traffic. It might require paying for public transport or for car parking. It might even mean a lengthy walk from the car or station to the office.
The same journey via an eBike will avoid the stressful situation of idling in traffic. It will avoid the parking payment or regular train ticket, and while the weather might not be favourable, it will soon become a planned-for event that simply requires a change of clothes.
If your current journey is already on two wheels, then the eBike will allow you to arrive fresher, flattening those tiring hills that you'd rather not have to climb each morning, and undoubtedly speeding up your journey.
Mountain Bikers
Like it or not, mountain biking typically involves a lot of hills. Descending is the fun part, but you can rarely have that without ascending first. EBikes make it much easier to ride back to the top of the chute before dropping in again, so whether you're a newbie to the sport who'd struggle to ride back up, or you're on top of your fitness game trying to train your skills on a rest day, the assistance of a motor provides a much more enjoyable day in the saddle.
Road cyclists
It doesn't matter if you're the fittest you've ever been, you've not touched a bike in fifteen years, or you're somewhere in between, an electric road bike can take your current road riding and make it better. However, not only better in that it will be faster, but better in that it will be more enjoyable, which is ultimately what matters most.
For example, if you're a road cyclist, and for whatever reason, you aren't as fit as you used to be, you might find that your old riding friends are no longer a suitable match for your fitness. The resulting lack of company can make your ride time less enjoyable, which can ultimately mean you spend less time riding. With its 250W motor, the Scott Addict eRIDE will help you to close this performance gap and enable you to ride with those friends once again.
Even those who prefer to ride alone can benefit, because with greater speeds come greater distances for the same amount of time, allowing you to ride further, explore a wider area, and experience more for the same amount of effort. With a battery capacity of up to 460Wh (when using the additional range extender), the Addict eRIDE is capable of covering distances of up to 120km with upwards of 2200m of elevation. To put that into context, that's twice up the Col du Tourmalet with plenty of change to spare.
Why the Addict eRIDE is the bike to choose
Based around the road-going Scott Addict, the Addict eRIDE is a bike for road cyclists and road-going commuters alike. It shares a host of features with the same bikes that Team DSM will be racing in the Tour de France this year, but with the added benefit of a 250-watt motor.
Putting an immediate end to the argument that eBikes are ugly, the Scott Addict eRIDE looks just like a normal bike. In fact on first glance (and probably on second glance too), you'd be forgiven for thinking it was. The sleek design of the bike disguises the Mahle Ebikemotion electronics almost entirely, with the only clue being the power button on the top tube.
The main 250Wh battery is completely hidden inside the downtube of the frame, and the motor itself is placed inside the rear hub, and all cables between the two are routed internally through the frame. It even follows in the footsteps of the non-electric Addict road bikes, by integrating brake hoses and shift cables through the handlebar and stem for a supremely tidy finish, making it the first electric road bike to do so.
In addition - and quashing even more arguments against eBikes - the Addict eRIDE is the lightest electric road bike available today.
It's available in four builds, ranging from the Shimano 105 equipped Addict eRIDE 20 at £4,399.00, right through to the Dura-Ace equipped Addict eRIDE Premium at £9,199.00, which tips the scales at an astonishingly-lightweight 10.75kg.
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