Norco Scene VLT, The E-bike For People That Hate E-bikes

Definitions first. How do I define e-bike. An electric motor assisted bicycle that can be pedalled easily without the assist turned on and that requires pedalling for the motor assist to function. Any so called “e-bike” that does not requiring pedalling to move (except when coasting) is a variation on an electric motorcycle or scooter.

We are midway into our second season with our Norco Scene VLT e-bikes and both my wife Christine, whose idea it was, and myself, who was somewhat reluctant, are extremely happy with them.

 

What my clickbaitish headline is actually meant to convey is the fact the Norco Scene VLT is a great bike for someone like me who prefers to ride under my own pedal power most of the time.

The first thing I noticed when I first tried out Christine’s Norco Scene VLT (she bought hers first) was that without the power assist on it was no more difficult to pedal than our Brodie Sterling hybrids. I have no doubt that with the extra weight there is probably a measurable amount of more effort required, but certainly not a noticeable amount to the rider. Part of that might be the fact that these are not inexpensive machines so the gears and bearings are high quality probably contributing to less rolling resistance and somewhat making up for the extra weight of the motor and batteries.

So let us talk about the hardware.

The first thing you will probably notice is the lack of a top tube, not even the slanted type found on so-called women’s bikes. I never quite understood that. A top tube you cannot slip off your seat onto would be one of my top design choices for a men’s bike. But this bike is a fully step through bike meaning no worries about top tube injuries and no needing to throw your leg over the bike when starting out.

The next thing you will notice is that this is a fully upright bike. While racing bikes and mountain bikes have you bent over the top for increased speed or control and hybrid bikes put you in a somewhat less bent over position, this bike is designed for comfort and is fully upright something you will appreciate on longer rides. The upright stance however does not prevent one from leaning forward on the hills for more power,

You may also notice the dropper seat on the Norco Scene VLT. Originally designed for mountain biking, so that you can lower your seat for downhills or technical sections, on the Scene the purpose is to allow you to have your feet firmly on the ground when stopped for stop signs or red lights. My wife Christine loves hers but I have not really been able to get into the flow of using it.

Something I did not notice until I had to repair a flat tire (tube) is the through axle on the bike. All previous bikes I have owned have had the axle as part of the wheel. With that setup it is possible to misalign the gears or disc brakes if you do not tighten the quick release carefully, although this has only happened a few times for me. With the through axle, the wheel sits in the frame independently and the axle slides through both the wheel and the frame always aligning the disc brakes and chain in the same position.

While we are talking wheels, the Scene has 27.5 inch wheels, halfway between the traditional mountain bike wheel size (26 inches) and the normal racing bike wheel size (29 inches), although 27.5 inch wheels are becoming the most popular mountain bike size now. The bike also comes with hydraulic disc brakes. The approximately 2 inch tires are suitable for a wide variety of riding surfaces.

Perhaps the most significant difference, other than the motor, on the Norco Scene VLT from most bicycles today is that it only has one gear range rather than three and thus no front derailleur. While one might want more gear choices for competitive racing or technical mountain biking, the 9 gears on the Scene are more than adequate for the utilitarian or recreational cycling one will use the bike for. This provides the advantage of having the gear shifter on the right handlebar and the power selector on the left handlebar without an additional gear shifter on that side to cause confusion.

Of course as an e-bike the Norco Scene VLT comes with an electric motor, integrated into the bottom bracket, and a battery. The power assist has three levels, eco, normal and high, four if you include off. It also has a setting to power the bike slowly while walking it if desired.

With the electronics comes a bike computer. We have always had problems with third party bike computers on our other bikes but this one works flawlessly. The only complaint I have is the size of the display which only has room to show the power level and one other item, we usually set it to show speed. The bike computer works as long as the battery is turned on even if the power assist is turned off. The bike computer keeps track of: speed, trip distance, total distance, range, time taken, speed, average speed, maximum speed, cadence, and current time.

As to power consumption, my wife Christine usually rides in eco mode full time and we have done over three hour 60 km rides with her power not dropping to 50%.

You might be asking, what about rain, can I ride a bike with an electric motor in the rain. The Internet seems to have varying opinions  about this. What I can say is that we have rode our Norco Scene VLTs in the rain (but not downpours) as well as through shallow puddles and even got stuck in the mud once without any apparent problem (yet). But I would certainly avoid submerging the bottom bracket or motor under water.

Now the big question is why pay more for an e-bike when you could buy a regular bike for much less.

I tend to use my power assist as another tool along with the gears. However how and when I use it often just depends on mood, whether I want to go all out for a workout and avoid the power assist altogether, just go for a more casual ride, or go for a much longer ride where I want to manage my exertion more carefully.

The latter case is most interesting. Killer hills can take a lot of exertion and just reducing that exertion with power assist for those short sections may be able to increase your total distance for the ride or just make the ride more enjoyable.

Wind, of course is another factor. The availability of power assist means you can go out on windy days and have some help pedalling into 30 km + winds.

In many cases just having the power assist available may lead people to try out longer and more difficult routes than they otherwise would.

The other benefit is power assist allows “weaker” riders to ride with stronger ones by using the power assist to equalize their pace.

There are two particular scenarios I can think of for the use of power assist.

The first is commuting where one can go faster and with less exertion and avoid arriving at work hot and sweaty, especially if shower facilities are not available. Then on the way home one can turn it off and get your daily workout.

The other is really hot days when one can use the power assist on killer hills to avoid dangerously over-exerting in the heat.

As to what setting to use, I have found that the lowest eco mode is all that I normally use and usually only throw it into high if I have had to stop for some reason and then want to catch up quickly to my riding partner. Everyone will, of course, have their own preference.

Many people will intuitively think that using an e-bike means you get less exercise but that is a misunderstanding. Most people will ride at a comfortable pedalling pace for them. With an e-bike the power assist will just allow that pedalling pace to take them on longer rides faster. Indeed the peace of mind of knowing the assist is there will likely lead people to ride more often and go on longer and more difficult rides. More riding means more exercise.

So, no, your friend did not buy an e-bike because they are lazy.

Full specs for the Norco Scene VLT can be found here.

Norco also makes a similar e-bike with front suspension, the Norco Indie VLT.

Norco also makes a non e-bike version of the Norco Scene. 

The Norco scene can be purchased in Ottawa or Carleton Place at Joe Mamma Cycles. 

One last comment, if an e-bike is beyond your budget but you are looking at buying a new bike for commuting or recreation I would certainly recommend looking at a step through upright bike if comfort is more important to you than speed.

End of Cycling Season Review Featuring Norco Scene VLT E-bike

Overview

As we approach the time to put away the summer bikes and bring out the winter bikes it is time to review the past season.

After a high of 5100 kilometres in 2013, I had dropped to 2300 by 2016 and since then gradually increased to 3000 last year and another jump to 3900 kilometres this year, with over a month to go.

A big change this year was my wife, Christine, deciding to get an e-bike and my deciding to follow suit after trying hers out.

One of the impacts of that was our spending less time on the mountain bikes, with my putting less than half of my usual over 300 km per season on the mountain bike.

All of my mountain biking this year was on the Old Quarry and Jack Pine trail systems. I hope to get back to to some of the other trail systems next year, particularly The Untrails where I need to map some new trails we discovered on a hike there. I also want to see what effect the hurricane a few years back has had on the Bruce Pit trails.

Another new factor is Christine deciding to try winter biking with me this year, having converted her Brodie Sterling hybrid into a winter bike by putting Schwalbe Winter Marathon tires on it. Last year, 2020, I put 720 km on the winter bike and so far this year (January-March) I have put 510 km on the winter bike. I expect I may put more on this winter having someone to ride with during the winter.

Norco Scene VLT

So let us talk about the Norco Scene VLT  e-bike. This is the perfect e-bike for somebody that does not want an e-bike. This is not to say it is not a great e-bike, but it’s real appeal to me is that is a bike I can ride as a solely pedal powered bike without the extra weight of the motor and batteries having any noticeable effect. It is just as easy to pedal as my Brodie Sterling, making it the perfect bike for someone wanting a true electric assist bicycle where you can use the assist when needed but otherwise ride like a normal bike.

One of the benefits of an e-bike is that they can equalize riders capabilities. I am a stronger rider than Christine, or perhaps I just like to push myself a bit harder, so usually when we rode together I would follow her riding slower than my usual pace. With the Scenes, Christine can ride in the “eco” mode which basically allows us to ride together at my normal pace and I still have the power assist available if I need it to keep up on killer hills or riding into strong winds.

One of the things I have noticed over the last 10 years or so is that my stamina decreases in the cold weather and I find now, as we are getting into late fall, I am using the power assist somewhat more than in the summer.

One of the main benefits of an electric assist bike is knowing that one can head out in heavier winds, or try hillier routes or go for longer rides, knowing you have the electric assist available if you need it.

It is not just the power assist that makes the Scene a great bike. It has a great set of components, riding and shifting gears very smoothly with disc brakes. The nine speed gear range is more than adequate with the gear shift on the right side and the power assist control on the left. After putting 3300 kilometres on the Scene it still shifts easily and smoothly, although I did adjust the barrel adjuster after the first month to account for cable stretch.

There are two other handy features. The one I appreciate most is the step-through frame, no longer having to throw yourself over the frame starting up. My wife really appreciates the drop seat-post that drops the seat for when you are standing at red lights, making it easier to rest your feet on the ground.

As to the 32 km/hr e-bike speed limitation, I have not comprehensively tested that but from my riding experience there does not seem to be a speed governor, the power assist, if it is on, simply seems to turn off once you reach 32 km/hr and to go faster you have to do that completely pedalling on your own.

I believe the Norco Scene e-bikes have greatly contributed to us doing more riding this past season.

This is a map of a recent ride on the e-bikes through the Bridlewood roads and paths and some of the easier Old Quarry trails.

So Why Would I Buy An E-bike

It’s not that I have anything against e-bikes. I think they are great for people who want to use them as basic transportation or for whom cycling would be difficult otherwise. But for me cycling has always been a recreational activity I do for exercise, so for myself, I have viewed an e-bike as cheating.

So what has got me to change my mind. Well first my wife Christine decided she wanted one and that got me interested as well, so we went looking at e-bikes.

The first e-bikes we became familiar with were the Cubes because a number of friends had them. To us they seemed bulky and heavy looking. I tried riding one for a short time without power and found it as annoying as those heavy Dutch bikes I once tried. No offence is intended here to light Dutch bikes. I am sure they exist.

But we were both looking for something lighter and less scooterish and more bikeish. We came across a Parkway Civia at a local bike shop and it looked exactly like what we were looking for and the description stated “We intentionally made the Parkway a bicycle first, and an electric bike second.” Sounds just about right.

But they also had a Norco Scene VLT, which though it looked heavier was actually only one pound heavier than the Civia, and it was a Norco.

Christine decided to buy the Scene early in March. She waited till the salt was washed off the roads to take it out and it has proven so far, after a few days at least, to be a great bike.

Now my ideal e-bike is a bike that I can ride as a regular bike with the availability of an electric assist if I should ever need it (for particularly strenuous hills or winds or longer rides). So I took the Norco Scene VLT out for a ride for an hour without electric assist and it proved to be as easy, if not easier, to ride than my Brodie Sterling hybrid.

So, at the very end of March, I decided to get one for myself but by then the shop we got Christine’s at had none left. I ended up getting the last one available in Ottawa at a different shop. Norco does not have any available to order direct from them either. I am now anxiously awaiting delivery.