Like some of the best consumer technology of the last decade, I didn’t know I needed an e-bike until I was alone, the bike lane thinking of my newest freedom. Before buying a Nintendo Switch, I could never have guessed that a candy-colored gaming console that I could pop from any dock and my backpack for a long flight would fill me with joy. An e-bike, especially this e-bike feels like a VanMoof X3.
I live in Portland, Oregon, with enough bike lane land and nude bike rides. When I first moved here, I rode bikes everywhere, but that habit slowly faded away over the years. First, I bought a car for a camping trip over the weekend, which gradually turned into a running day of the week. A few years later, I was diagnosed with a chronic illness and suddenly felt much less confident about what my body could do and where it could take me comfortably. Over time, my bike will only see a handful of rides on beautiful days, when I was always sighing and thinking I was riding more bikes – it makes me feel good!
Before testing the X3, I would find excuses to drive short distances instead of riding my bike. What if I got tired and didn’t feel like riding a bike? What if it starts to rain? What if it’s too hot? Do I sweat a lot when I get to the office? Riding an e-bike completely removes most of the worries. The X3 is an effortlessly enough ride that I can still zoom in to make it work if it’s outside 95+ degrees. It’s fast enough that I can get out of a surprise rainstorm as soon as I need to. If I don’t want to sweat at the beginning of the day, I can lean on sweet, sweet electricity to roll in my office without barking.
And it can’t be unsettled that riding a bike fairly quickly with little or no effort like riding fairly well – is really fun. If you don’t get a chance to try any of the e-bikes, know that the zipping sensation effortlessly, the power near you-the humming is blocked, hard to describe, and the best first-hand experience.
