Mt Stromlo riders..

Had a chance to get out to Mt Stromlo late this afternoon for a good little proving run, great to have a chance to say g'day to a number of interested riders and talk a bit more about the bike. Unfortunately, I'd missed the bulk of the riders there for the Gravity XC event. For those that I crept up behind on the climbs and zoomed past, take heart, I had the benefit of a motor under me today :-)

It was also a good chance to check out some of the tracks that we'll bring some video of the bike on shortly, showcasing both the bike, some of Canberras great trail network and some of our best riders. More on that shortly...

In the meantime, for those I'd bumped into, remember that the details of the bikes are available from our store at http://store.quietrush.com.au

Stealth USA demonstrating to USA military, law enforcement agencies

Great to see the recent post by Stealth USA- Stealth Electric Bikes USA to Demonstrate Tactical Electric Bikes at Military and Law Enforcement’s FPED VIII Event, wish them all the best for the trade show. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to getting along to a couple of local agencies to test the waters.

Autumn exploration on the new Stealth Fighter

Some more extended ride/play time on the bike today, headed out with a photographer mate to make the most of the Canberra autumn colours. Made for a great backdrop canvas for the ride. We wanted to be able to demonstrate the versatility and capability of the bike, so took it around to a few favourite ACT haunts, though there are so many more to come yet.

What the ride reinforced for me was the great job that has been done in settling on a good flexible frame geometry that allows you to easily switch from laid back commuting/cruising, to exploring a quickly spotted trail and take on a range of technical sections. I'm waiting till I do a tyre switch before I go taking it into some of the rougher stuff that I used to race MTB on. Looking forward to bringing you more images over the coming weeks as the bike continues to settle in. It's about to get a lot of commuting use. If you're in the ACT and interested in taking a closer look, my contact details are available in a post lower down.


Seriously large thanks to my friend Aart for his skills with a lens, great to hear his feedback on the bike as the second rider to date. I suggest you go check out his website if you're after a skilled, experienced facilitator-see http://www.tellingthestory.net/

Mt Taylor morning ride

With the battery fully charged and an hour to spare, I ducked out this morning to see how the Fighter would handle a local climb up Mt Taylor. This ride has a range of tight short climbs that I knew would test the gearing/output balance quite nicely.

The ride up was fantastic, cruising up quietly next to kangaroos without scaring them off, just watching their curious joeys as I glide past. The ride along the cyclepaths in the crisp ACT morning air was just great. There were plenty of walkers about, so trail etiquette and some consideration was needed to curb the temptation of launching off the water bars. Will save that for some more serious off-road testing on some local tracks that I hear calling me.

Demonstration Fighter arrives

After a bit of a hiatus for some life changes (alright, it was 2yrs, I've been busy y' know), it's now action stations to start bringing you closer to a ride experience that'll redefine what you know about riding. I've now ordered and received the first ACT based Stealth Fighter, in a Tonka like yellow for safety/visibility. The colour similarity with large earthmoving equipment isn't entirely accidental.

First impressions of the new Fighter have been great, with weight eliminated from the earlier prototype, a slimmed down mid-section to make the bike easier to move around on and some under the hood changes that I'm not going to talk about...

It was great to be able to contrast the workmanship of the Stealth guys to my older Ethos FR7, a much loved and equally versatile rig that shares the same background of Australian manufacturing excellence and innovation. The yellow colour scheme is also a nod to the venerable history of the Ethos FR7 as a show bike for the early noughties, and it keeps the colour scheme consistent with the old kombi :-)

Stealth trio at the WorldCup MTB champs in Canberra

Now here's a sight for sore eyes: a trio of Stealths tripping around at Triple Treat during the Downhill finals in the recent World Cup MTB Championships in Canberra. For those interested, the Fighter is the bike closest to camera, with 2 Bombers behind, with the farthest bike running Marzocchi triples.

Look out for more in the coming months, there will be Stealths available in Canberra for demonstration rides and at select events. Expressions of interest can be sent to quietrushATgmailDOTcom.

Stealth Fighter-First ride impressions

After seeing the recent release of the Stealth Fighter from StealthElectricBikes, I headed down to Melbourne to meet with John and check out the bike up close. I've had a long history with 2 wheels, across BMX, MTB  (touring and racing) and dirtbikes so this product represents a very interesting hybrid between these interests, packaged into an environmentally friendly platform. I'd been progressively moving away from my Dirtbike inclinations, knowing the issues associated with trail access, noise pollution and safety. 

Let me say upfront that this bike is sensational!

Immediate first impressions were:

1. How quiet it was;
2. How easy to ride it was - I'd quite happily let my mother loose on one of these;
3. The balance in weight distribution was spot on;
4. That it's still possible to get a great workout on one. I was able to reach a training heart rate of 160bpm no trouble at all;
5. That it is set to redefine the  MTB experience and riding a bicycle, period.

A vote of thanks to John Karambalis for his generosity of time in allowing me the test ride, and performing the photographer role.