E Road & Gravel Bikes
When I started drafting this site during the early days of the COVID Pandemic the concept of ebikes was just taking off in Australia. The major bicycle manufacturers such as Trek and Specialized had released their e road bikes to join a market which largely consisted of short range e commuter bikes, e cargo bikes and e mountain bikes. In addition we were starting to see the emergence of short term rental e bikes and e scooters based on the Boris Bikes that had popped up in London as a means of tourists getting around the city.
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By 2022 e road bikes were being joined by e gravel bikes which looked similar but had bulkier tires and were more comfortable t0 ride long distances. What we didn't have until recently was the proliferation of so called ebikes which were actually e mopeds or e motor bikes. The other thing we didn't have in Australia was effective policing of the distribution, sale and use of these throttle operated e machines which could reach high speeds and were potentially dangerous.
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Then in 2025 we started to see various legislatures in the US, the UK and Australia reacting to media demands for greater controls to be applied to all e devices based on the actions of what were already illegal devices that had been ignored until the number of injuries and deaths started to rise. In late 2025 the Queensland Government tabled draft legislation that applied to all e devices whether or not they were compiled with the European Standard for e bikes as regulated in Australia. I deal with this issue elsewhere in this site, but suffice it to say that as you read the advice below please be aware that as I predicted 18 months ago regulators have failed to differentiate between legal e bikes and illegal emopeds and e motor bikes.
To help you understand the nuances of e-biking, I am pleased to include an article by Julia Widdup with my bracketed comments), from Canberra Pedal Power, called "All you need to know about e-bikes" that was published in Canberra Cyclist, # 278, Summer Edition 2021.
"There are many myths associated with ebikes which deter 'real' bike riders from even trying an e-bike. Here are the seven biggest myths about e-bikes:
• You don't have to pedal an E-Bike, just turn the throttle (this defines an emoped or emotor bike).
• E-bikes are cheating (and the single gear bike riders say the same thing about multi geared bikes).
• E-bikes aren't good exercise (you are still pedalling and get good exercise)
• E-bikes are for people who can't ride conventional bikes (possibly true in some cases)
• E-bikes are too expensive (as with all bikes the costs vary depending on what you wish to achieve).
• E-bike batteries don't last long (I assume this is a referencer to range and again it depends on what you are willing to pay for. With recent improvements in battery technology range can vary from 60-70km to 200km depending on where and how you ride the bike in. question).
• E-bikes can't go where mountain bikes go. (When this article was written e mountain bikes were just taking off. Nowadays most of the quality brand mountain bikes can go where regular mountain bikes will struggle to match).
E-bikes are becoming the new normal and have many advantages for the everyday rider. The terms e-bike and electric bicycle today are often used as synonyms for pedelecs. A pedelec is a type of electric bicycle where the rider's pedalling is assisted by a small electric motor."
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Since I included Julia's article I have come to appreciate that there is an even bigger myth that is spread and reinforced by the cycling community. That is, that the term e-bike can be applied to all bikes with electric motors. As a result, the pros and cons of specific types of bikes with electrical motors can be used to support or denigrate all types of electrically propelled bikes. I have included a chapter in this blog called 'Not All E-Bikes Are The Same' and you can click on the link to be taken to the article.
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As one gets older and joints get stiffer its great to know that you can still go for rides on your choice of e bike type and get assistance when you need it rather than having to either give up or join supported rides so that you leave the ride when mountains get to steep or headwinds make riding really uncomfortable.
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E-Road Bike Range - what’s possible
A question I get asked often is ‘what range should I expect from my e-bike?’ I reply that there are lots of factors at play, with the first being the bike set up. So in order to answer this question I start with the suggestion of limiting the e-bike choices so as to try and compare ‘apples with apples’. I therefore start with limiting my e-bike option to e-road bikes which seem to be the most efficient of bikes using a motor to assist a rider.
E-road bikes available in Australia have a total weight between 10 and 14 kgs without range extenders added. Those at the 10 kg end seem to have achieved the low weight by having smaller batteries that limit range to 60-80 kms, while those at the other end have ranges between 90 and 220kms depending on the technology utilised.
As mentioned previously I ride a 2020 Specialized Turbo Creo Expert SL. This bike completely disengages the motor at 25kph which means that the more the rider can ride above 25kph the greater the battery range. A second factor is that the more the rider can rely on the Eco mode while riding below 25kph, the longer the battery will last.
The following are the details of a 119.43km ride I did at the end of 2024. I hope that others with e-road bikes can aim to duplicate or match the ride to see what range results they can achieve and post to this Facebook page of to my updated and improved blog, TourDeMature.com?
My ride was from Ainslie in Canberra through Hackett and North Watson and on to the Federal Highway out to the Olive Grove Cafe on the Highway a few km’s north of Collector and then back to Canberra riding along the Federal Highway and Northbourne Avenue till I turned left at Haig Park and rode back to Ainslie. I had charged my battery to 100% prior to the ride and according to my Specialised App I arrived home having consumed 52% of the available power. During my ride I had utilised the Eco mode for 67% of the power I consumed and Sports mode for 33%.
During the ride I climbed 790m and rode with an average speed of 24.4kph. My max speed was 54.2 kph and I rode for 4hr 54m. My average cadence was 65 rpm with a max of 100 rpm. My average trip speed would have been closer 28 kph but for town riding in urban Canberra where traffic lights, pedestrians etc, slowed me down considerably.
My followup ride added some interest comparison statistics. I joined my riding group for our weekly ride and I accidentally left the bike in Sports mode for 89% of the 53.7 km ride. As a result I used 22% of the remaining power in the battery, had a low average speed of 18.5kph and climbed 365m.
So, notwithstanding I had left the bike in the wrong mode for much of the second trip I still achieved a significant ride of about 172 kms and 1,155m climbing from one fully charged battery. Accordingly I regularly achieve in excess of 200kms around town from a single battery charge during which Eco use is better than 95% and a lot of the riding is on flattish roads with speeds in excess of 25kph. Trips to mountainous regions like the East Coast of Tasmania does see me riding with more sports and even the occasional Turbo mode, but even then I still achieve ranges in excess of 110km.
Finally, a word of caution. As bike companies boost the power outputs of their motors the downside is that they offer more power and this reduces the range. In mid 2024 my partner and I rented Creos in Italy to ride a hilly section between San Miniato and San Gimignano. The bike shop could only supply me with an original model Creo with a 1.0 motor, while my partner was provided with the almost new Creo with a 2.0 motor. Otherwise they were the same bike. The ride was substantially steeper on the way out to San Gimignano and my partner arrived at the half point worried that she would not have sufficient power to complete the ride. Fortunately with the ride back being mostly downhill, she arrived back at the bike shop with 20% still available on her battery. My battery still had over 40% power left notwithstanding I weigh 50% greater than my partner. Discussions with e-bike mechanics on our arrival back home suggested that the culprit was the extra motor power which would have made the climbing so much more easier.
I hope that readers find this information useful and contribute their own experiences with their bikes. If you would like to make a contribution or there are other topics relevant to this blog that you would like dealt with please use the Contact Me page to send me an email with the details.
Steve