By Contributor,Scott Kramer

Copyright forbes

Pinion gear shift hub
Priority Bicycles

There is a movement of higher-end e-bikes coming to market that now include the Pinion Smart.Shift gearbox. This technology essentially debuted late last year and is integrated into the Pinion E-Drive system, which is available from several bike brands. Think of it as a fully electronic, button-activated gear shifting system that provides instantaneous, precise gear changes, even under load. It replaces mechanical shifters on the handlebars with electronic ones, offering automatic and semi-automatic shifting modes that can be customized via the Pinion Smart-Shift smartphone app.

The new Skyline e-bike
Priority Bicycles

After hearing about it, I decided to try it for myself. Thank you to one of my favorite e-bike brands, Priority Bicycles, for giving me the opportunity to try out the system on its new Skyline Smart.Shift e-bike. And I have to say it’s pretty incredible.

Regardless of if you have or have not negotiated an e-bike before, there are essentially two systems you’re dealing with on most models. One is motorized pedal assist, which you can increase or decrease to help ease your pedal power. Set to a high level, it can make you feel bionic – a super-cool sensation. The other is the manual shifter. Just as on many regular non e-bikes, you can move about in various gear levels that provide resistance by shifting a lever. So if you’re riding up a steep incline, you shift the gear to a low level so that you can pedal more easily and still move. But when you’re moving on a flat surface or downhill, you generally want the bike in a higher gear so that it gives resistance and you can pedal the bike faster with less effort. So you manually shift one lever to increase resistance and another to decrease it, so to speak. The dream is to find the right cadence, so that you feel the appropriate amount of resistance as you’re pedaling yet still are able to glide around without too much effort on your part.

The Pinion Smart.Shift does all of that manual gear shifting electronically. You essentially just touch the lever and you can hear an electronic buzz for a second as the bike shifts it for you. It’s fast, quiet and smooth – an absolute pleasure to ride. And if you download the smartphone app, you can preset the starting gear. Why would you do that? Let’s say you’ve been riding downhill in a high gear and come to a stoplight. Then when the light turns green and you go to start moving, the gear may be set too high to let you start pedaling easily. With the app, you can set the starting gear to any level you want and it automatically shifts it there after you’ve made your stop at the light. So when the light turns green, the bike is already set for you to easily glide away from the light with the proper amount of resistance you prefer. The app also lets you set your preferred cadence if you want, which means you’ll always feel the same amount of resistance no matter your speed, hill or wind conditions.

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I’m not sure if this is exactly how it works on other bikes, but on the Skyline it’s been flawless. The bike itself looks and rides fantastic. It’s marketed essentially as an electric commuter bike for everyone. I can definitely see it as a car replacement. It pretty much puts operating the bike in auto pilot mode. I’ve been riding it in my hilly area a lot and find it a joy to be on – especially compared to less-advanced e-bikes. It costs $4,000, and I feel that’s a really solid value for a premium high-performance e-bike like this. I looked around and found other e-bike with this technology that cost considerably more. I love that the end result feels intuitive, and makes riding a pleasure.

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