E-Varsity Review
I ought to ‘fess up to a couple of things before I start this review. I am *** and have’nt ridden a bike in 39 years. So when lockdown started, and with a desire to keep away from the petri-dish that is public transport I thought a bike would be a good idea. And, because I am a *** for technology (and avoiding getting sweaty) I thought an ebike would be an even better idea.
But where to start? Like so many I turned to the web/you tube etc. Trouble is, most ebikes look like they’ve been engineered by a soviet pot-welder. Enter Quella and the e-varsity range. Just what I remembered as a teenager when I built my own bike from a Reynolds 531 frame (that, and all subsequent additions were scrounged from school bike sheds and I loved it – until some *** nicked it) with an ancient brooks saddle, V-brakes, drop bars etc. So, as you might now have gathered, this is something of a late-midlife crisis purchase. The E-Varsity is a classic road bike frame, skinny tyres, caliper brakes and, in my case, moustache handlebars sourced by *** at Quella.
And Quella delivered – on so many levels. Quite apart from the fact that the bike is an object of singular beauty, the engineering elegance of the e-solution is by far the best out there. The Zehus hub (and it’s worth noting the word ‘hub’ – that’s it, motor, battery cells and controller in one place) looks like an outsize sturmey-archer gear hub, adds only 3kg to the weight, and provides enough assistance, at 3 levels, to enable me to commute through hilly bits of London down to the river and back again, loving every minute. This combined with the friendly hands-on attitude of *** and *** at Quella. These two are NOT the surly know-it-alls from your local bike shop – they own the business and it shows. They even threatened to deliver the bike in person – and I should’ve accepted. I hadn’t been aware that the 2nd gen Zehus hub was so recently introduced. So recently, in fact that I became something of a beta-tester for the hub in real-world conditions. But both Quella and *** at Zehus were brilliant and sorted out the teething problems within a week. At one point *** from Quella was on the phone to me almost daily, sorting out any niggles - and I’m a pain in the ***, especially if I’ve just spent *** quid on a bike. Oh, and the 2nd-gen has a remote control (Bluetooth) with a boost button to give that extra oomph up steep hills, a battery indicator and the ability to swap between assistance modes.
And its worth putting that cost into perspective. Before lockdown I was spending £*** a month on the tube – and would frequently drive and park at the station. I flogged the car (an ancient 5th-hand mini) and bought the bike. Now I try and use the bike for all those local trips I previously used the car for – saving an unquantifiable sum, quite apart from the saving on parking/insurance/maintenance etc. So I reckon it should pay for itself in a year or so.
And the best bit? It’s the most fun I’ve had in ages on two wheels. You might have got the impression that I bought the bike as an exercise in cost saving, sustainability and personal health. Well, that’s how I justified it to the Vicar. But the truth is…………….WWHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
