The first part of this electric bike trial blog can be found here

Been dodging rain clouds today - in the morning I went over to Plympton to drop off some tools and equipment with for the soon to be opened Bicycle Workshop - we took Mikes ancient Mercedes with a trailer - one of the few things that cars are good for...

Workshop interior - got some good racks for hanging bikes and spare tyres on.

By late afternoon I had procrastinated long enough and knew that I would need to make a trip to the local supermarket and veg shop - I usually try to avoid doing this on Saturday afternoon due to the crowds and the look of Saturday afternoon desperation on the faces of those trapped by the madness of it all, but alas we had very little food in the house.

I put the electric bike into shopper mode with the trailer and made my way about 2km up the hill to Firle. The bike was excellent towing the trailer up the hill, though at times the motor felt like it was 'pulsing' (for want of a better term) - it might have been me though - and the expectation that the power assist would be smooth and constant - because it relies on a sensor and not a throttle, it seems to depend on the way you are pedaling. More investigation this week will be required to verify this observation.

The trailer comes off from the boom that attaches it to the the bike and can be reconfigured a bit like a 'Transformer' to a very maneuverable shopping trolley. With this in hand I zipped round the supermarket getting all the bits and pieces that I needed. My only thought is that the trailer could be a little deeper -  while adequate I quickly ran out of room - though I am sure that this would be resolved with more experienced packing. The veggies had to come home in the rear basket - not a problem!

Coming home with a full load downhill was a breeze. The bike pulled effortlessly, it was especially good taking off with a heavy load - the extra kick of the motor making quite a difference to stability and acceleration.

When I got home I folded the trolley back into shopper mode and took it straight into he kitchen to unload - all in all very neat!

Tomorrow we might do a family outing on it and I suspect that Sophia will want to give it a decent ride - got the battery on charge now!