The age-old saying we all know is simple.
“It’s like riding a bike; you never forget.”
What this phrase negates is the fact that bikes are not a one-size fits all kind of deal.
I’ve been riding a bike for a very long time. I enjoy it. When COVID hit and I began working from home, I started riding my bike a lot more. I’d ride it to the coffee shop for the day to work, ride it as a break to get outside or ride it to a co-working space for a change of pace. I would even choose to ride while pulling my kids behind me in a bike trailer so that we could all enjoy the day.
All of this became significantly more fun when I discovered pedal-assist bikes. They have been around long enough now that I knew roughly what they were. However, I had not gotten a chance to try one out until recently.
The pedal-assist bike I chose to try out is the Specialized Turbo Creo.
First of all, this bike is gorgeous. I opted for the matte black/dark grey color, and I was amazed at how incredible this looked. The sleek racing profile made this bike look even better, in my opinion. One of the best parts about this bike is that it seems like a regular sport/road bike. The only identifying factor is that it has a little readout display on the bike’s frame with a power button. This readout is used to show speed, what mode you are in, and the battery.
On my first ride on this bike, I was sold. This bike, even without pedal assist enabled, is an absolute dream. It rides so smooth and feels premium in every way. The sporty handles were comfortable, and the shifting mechanism built into the right brake made sense. I would push the entire brake lever in to downshift and the smaller portion to upshift.
The pedal assist controls are built into the left handle, with two small buttons on the underside. These allowed me to switch between the three pedal assist modes or turn pedal assist off. This was in the perfect location as I could switch seamlessly, without distraction, between Eco mode and Turbo (my two favorite modes).
Once engaging the pedal assist, this bike became even more incredible. I started on Eco mode, the lowest of the three pedal assist modes, and was astonished at how even the lowest assist could make such a difference. I quickly jumped to Sport and Turbo (the highest assist mode) and realized. The amount of power this bike had.
On one of my rides, I found an empty patch of pavement and chose to see how fast I could push this bike. The pedal assist is rated to 28 miles an hour, and up until this point, I had been comfortably riding at an average of 25mph. Without losing any sense of control, I could push to 32.3mph on this bike. I still felt stable at that top speed, and the ride was just as smooth.
All in all, this bike has been an absolute dream to be able to use for the last few weeks. I have been able to take my kids on rides while pulling their bike trailer and not even feel a thing, I’ve been able to bike through my city in ways I wouldn’t have had the energy or time to without the pedal assist, and I genuinely was excited to get this exercise. There’s something about pedal assist biking that brings the joy of biking that I once had as a kid back to my adulthood.
The pricing for the model that I used is pretty high. I rode a model that currently has an MSRP of over $7,000USD. That is not an easy purchase for the vast majority of people.
However, this is understandable in the world of sports bikes or road bikes. If I rode professionally, or even more than the casual riding I do, I could see saving up for this kind of bike without question now that I have ridden one. I was even considering holding off on buying a new car or a bike like this instead of a car. If I didn’t live in the Midwest, where winters are a cruel reality, I would probably do that. If I lived in a more downtown setting, I would have a bike like this instead of a car.
Specialized brought the joy of bike riding back into my life, and I cannot recommend this bike or bike company enough. If you are looking for a pedal-assist bike, check out Specialized, and you will not be sorry.
