I Challenged a Tram to a Race… and This Happened

This is an epic head to head race between an ebike and the high speed tram. Racing from the outskirts in to the city of Nottingham (England). Who will come ot ahead?

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Today we’re here to answer the age-old question, which is faster, an ebike or a city tram in this high-speed head-to-head electric powered race. For this week, I’m working in the city of Nottingham for 4 days on one of the university campuses. But like for a lot of people who commute, parking is a problem. So I want to see which is the quickest way to get to work. Is it by bike or tram? My route to the uni on both methods of transport will be similar but slightly different. They will both start at the park and ride just outside the city. The tram has dedicated tracks that lead from the station at one end all the way through until the Nottingham University station, which is the finish line for the race. The bike will follow a similar route. It starts along the side of the tram line, and at certain points, the cycle route stops and leaves the side of the tram to make its own way along through the main roads. eventually ending at the university station. The first part of the ride is on designated tracks and green paths, but as it gets closer to the city, I’ll have to navigate the complexities of busy roads in Russia. For the ride, my electric weapon of choice is the Hammerhead from Shark. I’ve demonstrated its abilities on the channel before, but I’ve never put it up to the test like this. Ebikes have a legal maximum assist speed of 15.5 mph or 25 km an hour, whereas the tram can travel much faster. But the tram has to stop at nine stations along the way to let people on and off, whereas the bike can keep going, which should hopefully even things out a bit. The deciding factor will be the traffic lights. The tram has the luxury of green lights all the way. However, on the bike, I’ll have to go through 14 sets of traffic lights, some that take over a minute and a half between green lights. So, if I get caught at more than a handful of red lights, it’s game over. So, who’s your money on for this race? Let’s head over to the start line to get things underway. Okay, I’m just waiting for the trams to go. Should only be a couple of minutes. Just making sure I’m in the right gear, ready for the off. Put it in maximum assist. Okay, as soon as the tram goes, I’m going to go. Okay, here we go. So, because the tram speed is limited in the station, as an act of charity, I decided not to go full power until I was off the station, too. This is it. But as soon as I got to the end, I went for it. With a bit of a downhill start and a clear path, I was off to a flying start. So far, I’m winning. As I got to the gravel road, I was ahead. But the tram was accelerating. [Music] And it wasn’t long before the inevitable happened. Oh, it’s done me. The tram pulled away and took the lead. Although I immediately felt the pressure, I was half expecting this. I knew this would be a quick section for the tram because the track is straight and it doesn’t have to slow down for any corners. So, I was always destined to be behind at this early point. The stations on this first section are close together. So, my hope is that although it’s straight, I can slowly catch up and then overtake the tram as it stops. But, I’m not even a minute into the race and the tram is gone from view. Approaching the first station, the tram was still in the station, allowing me to gain back a bit of ground. And I even managed to catch up and overtake it. Once again, gaining the lead, but my success was again shortlived. Trans winning again. We’re leaf frogging at this early stage. So, to make the ebike quicker, I should have put thinner, lower profile tires on it to drastically reduce the rolling resistance, but I hate the fafer changing tires, so I didn’t bother. A fact that I’m now regretting. I have Max’s DHF and DHR on and these highprofile tires are built for grip on trails and not efficiency on the smooth top. Taking a beline straight across the grass. So, the day before the race, I took the tram to get an idea of how long it would take to get to the finish line. I know the exact time will vary depending on the driver, but it took the tram around 20 minutes, so at least I have a time to wait for on the bike. I’m going to catch it. So, the thing that helps me keep up and get ahead of the tram is the fact that it stops at the stations. Tra still in the station. However, this time varies quite a lot. In the nine stations it goes through on his journey before the finish line at number 10, the tram stops anywhere from between 16 to 25 seconds depending on how many people are getting on and off. This isn’t much time for me to catch up. And at station number two, I once again took the lead before getting absolutely obliterated within seconds. learner maxed out. I can’t go any faster. And again, at station three, I was lucky enough to catch up with the tram and just pull ahead. I’m definitely putting in a lot of effort. And you can hear me fighting the friction from my thick, chunky tires. So, I am putting in a fair bit of effort, but the pedal assist really, really helps out. And this is something I’ll be relying on heavily as we head into the city. Okay, so I’m coming up to the bit where I leave the side of the tram track to head onto the road. The tram has just arrived in the station to my right. Here we go. Now, I don’t know where the tram’s going to be. I don’t know if it’s suddenly going to speed ahead and and just lose me or if I’m going to be keeping pace with it. And I won’t know until I hit a couple of stations down. So, I’m going to keep the power on. Unfortunately, this section was not working in my favor. Oh, no. Traffic. Don’t need that. There was a bus slowing down traffic at the intersection. Once I’ve navigated the bus, I got caught by a second one trying to pull out. As much as I wanted to push my way past the traffic, I also want to arrive in one piece. But as I wait, I can picture the tram getting further and further ahead of me. And I still have lots of traffic lights to get. Things aren’t looking good. Finally passed the traffic and I’m about to reconnect with the tram tracks. With no idea how long this detour took, I’m praying that the tram is still in sight. There it is. The tram is in the station now. I’m still in this. If I can get through this green light and be out in front of the tram, this would really help as we head into the city. And again, I managed to leap frog into the lead. Coming towards the halfway point, I was currently keeping pace with the tram. But this is where the tricky riding begins. The outskirts of the city throw up problems for cyclists. Luckily, my tires are too thick to get stuck in the tram tracks, but the cycle path keeps going up onto the path. And I think I speak for all cyclists and pedestrians when I say this, but this is a dreadful idea for all involved. As I passed station number six, I had to slow down to avoid pedestrians and be conscious of the traffic when joining the road. And of course, this is where I had to contend with my other big nemesis, the traffic lights. And unfortunately, at the first set of five in a row, I got caught. This felt like an eternity. For every second I’m stopped, this is a second that the tram gains on me. And right now, I don’t have much of a leap. At this point, it’s only about 15 to 20 seconds. A gap that the tram could easily close. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Oh, come on. And finally, it turns green. Oh, pedal assist, do your thing. Once again, I’m leaving the tram tracks on a short diversion around to the next station. If I’m going to keep pace with the tram, I’m going to need some serious luck to get through the next four sets of lights. And I need to do that before the tram leaves the next station that is pulling into about now. As it happens, the traffic light gods were on my side. Making it through a particularly slow and tricky section without a hitch. Green, green, green, green. That’s what I wanted. With the tram still in the station, I’d managed to be out ahead. And this is where I wanted to stay. With the power on, I made it through the next few traffic lights with minimal issues. And through station number eight, still in front of the tram, and I couldn’t help but think that things were looking good for me. But although I was slightly ahead at this point, the tram isn’t far behind me, which is a huge problem. The last section of the race is along University Boulevard, a long straight section of the race for both of us. Although for me, there’s a huge busy intersection just before it, and the lights can take a whole minute to change if I catch them at the wrong time. This is also the last station for the tram, too. After this, the tram can go max speed along the straight, unhindered until the last bend as it comes into the station. This means that I need to have a healthy lead coming onto the boulevard for me to even stand a chance of making it to the finish line. The race will be won or lost right here. Approaching the big traffic tangle, I had some serious light with the lights and I was over the roads in a matter of seconds. This is the boost I need. Perfect. But now was time to put the pressure on. Once I turned on to University Boulevard, it’s a straight flat path to the finish line. I kept glancing to my right to see if the tram was about to overtake. Knowing that the tram would be twice as fast as me along here with no stations to stop at, I had to keep the pedaling RPMs high. With my speed capped at 15 1/2 mph, all I can do is keep pedaling and hope I don’t get overtaken. And so, 1 minute later, I was on the final straight. Coming up to the finish line, I had a quick look over to the tram tracks on my right and couldn’t believe what I saw. Nothing. There was no tram in sight. Where is it? Where is it? The finish line’s up ahead. I was going to do it. Yes, no tram. I’ve done it. Crossing the line, I’d arrived, taking the win for the ebike. An amazing victory. With a little time to catch my breath, the tram eventually turned up almost a minute and a half later. Superb. Awesome. Beat it by a minute and a half. Epic. So, there you have it. My Shark ebike is faster than a tram and dare I say it, much more fun. I’ve left a link to the ebike down in the video description, and I look forward to all your comments about this electric head-to-head race. So, thanks for watching. I’ll see you next time.