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Energy Management and eAdvice for the Pinotage

By FNB Wines2Whales, 10/12/22, 5:15AM HST

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How to maximise your battery and your enjoyment at the FNB Wines2Whales

The Pinotage race in the FNB Wines2Whales events features not only an eBike tour but also a competitive eBike race. Going flat out in pursuit of a podium or cruising through the Overberg and its magnificent trails require very different energy management approaches however; so, read this before diving in and exhausting your battery, leaving you with hefty unassisted pedal to the finish.

“What are the distances?” Ewald Sadie enquired, when asked if he would take on the Pinotage on his eBike. “72, 68 and 68 kilometres,” we confirmed. “That’s right on my upper limit,” Sadie confirmed. “I’d have to ride most of each stage in eco mode.”

If you, like Ewald Sadie, only have one battery for your eBike the only option guaranteed to get you across the line with green lights still visible is a conservative approach. Or to go hard and hope for the best. Though that will probably leave you slogging for Oak Valley on a 25 kilogram bike when the battery runs flat. At least the finale into Onrus is mercifully downhill, which takes some of the energy management stress out of Stage 3.

“I recently spent three days riding an eBike in the Cradle of Humankind and fell (back) in love with them,” Seamus Allardice confessed. “They’re amazingly fun to ride. The ease at which they climb is an obvious appeal, but the bike I was on also had big tyres and longer travel than any bike I’ve ridden in years. It’s been ages since I’ve tested a trail or Enduro bike, so riding a 160mm travel eBike with 2.6 inch tyres was a lot of fun downhill.”

“I did overcook it a few times though, so that would be my key takeaway for anyone hopping on an eBike for FNB Wines2Whales,” Allardice added. “Don’t get carried away. Running out of talent is often worse than running out of battery!”

This advice was echoed by FNB W2W race director Hendrico Burger: “Last year we saw a number of crashes among the eBike field. I’d like to reiterate that participants should always ride within their limits. Accidents happen, but we want you to enjoy your FNB Wines2Whales experience as much as possible and avoiding roasties, bruises or worse is a good way to ensure you get to Oak Valley and then Onrus still smiling.” 

“The safety of our non-eBike riders is also a factor that we take seriously,” Burger noted. “The eBike racers start 30 minutes ahead of the field and should finish ahead of the fastest teams as a result. But the eBike tourers could catch the slower teams, despite starting an hour after them. If that happens, please exercise caution when passing. Wait for a gap, warn the rider ahead of your presence and your intention to pass on a particular side. Courtesy on the trails goes a long way, especially as you'll probably be in the FNB Recharge Lounge with the rest of the field later in the day!

For the teams tackling the eBike race, one of the inaugural Pinotage eBike race champions has battery management advice. Though the majority of Max Sullivan’s advice is to make us of the event’s battery transport service, which allows riders to hand in a spare battery which can then be swopped in at water point 2 every day. “Last year Jason Boulle and I went out on a test ride across similar terrain for the distance from the Start to water point 2,” Sullivan stated. “Seeing how much battery that used we then gauged what power modes we could use and used the app to dial our bikes into the same power modes. We were then able to ride in two and three out of five support modes and had no issues on the first two stages.”

“Then on the last stage we decided to do one battery and give it horns (needless to say this was decided after a couple glasses of wine at dinner),” Sullivan laughed. “That took quite a bit of battery management, especially while still trying to race and go as fast as possible. In the first 10 kays we actually tried to keep the batteries off as much as possible (boy did that burn) and then only used the lowest power setting for the majority of the stage. It was only with 10 kilometre to go that we were sure we’d have enough juice to get us to the finish so that we could bump it up for the final climb.”

“This year, with Stage 3 finishing in Onrus, the strategy will be a bit different,” Sullivan pointed out. “The long drag down towards the finish is going to see the bikes topping out against the limiter. So, I expect the final kays to burn the legs more than the battery!”

“I’d also advise anyone racing the Pinotage on an eBike to go out and train with their partners,” he counselled. “It’s just faster everywhere, not just on the climbs, so being in sync with your partner becomes more important. It’s a lot of fun and obviously battery management is the major concern everyone has, but please don't forget about your buddy. Pre-riding on similar terrain is thus essential to get an idea of how far you can go and how fast. Practicing some trail-side mechanics is also a good idea, especially eBike specific stuff, like knowing how your battery is removed and replaced in the frame for starters.”

“You also need to look after your bike well to get through the race,” Sullivan emphasised. “Fragile components like the display unit need to be protected at all costs.”

A reminder of Play Day and the eBike action from 2021

eBikers are encouraged to familiarise themselves with FNB Wines2Whales’ eBike specific rules, which can be found here. These include information on the battery drop-off service, which takes spare batteries to water point 2 daily. For more information on the eBike events within the Pinotage race please visit www.epic-series.com/wines2whales-event-ebikes.