FIVE DAYS ADVENTURE - WITH THE i:SY P12 ZR FROM FUSSEN TO LAKE GARDENA

Crossing the Alps on a compact bike! Is that possible? You usually see compact bikes on campsites or on the way to the bakery. But why does i:SY use the Pinion MGU, i.e. a motor that is also suitable for high mountain terrain? ‘Does the i:SY P12 perhaps have what it takes for bigger adventures after all?’ I ask myself. I have to test it out! And the idea of crossing the Alps on a compact bike is born. KNOWLEDGE ISLAND: The new i:SY P12 features the revolutionary Pinion MGU, which offers completely new possibilities with a gear range of 600% - i.e. the range between the highest and lowest gear. This was previously unheard of with belt drives.

DAY 1: FÜSSEN - FERNSTEINSEE
I start in Füssen, the highest town in Bavaria, at 800 metres above sea level. From here, the Via Claudia Augusta, an old Roman road, will take me 400 kilometres to Lake Garda. After the first 30 kilometres, I reach the first highlight of my tour. A breathtaking panorama spreads out before me. In front of me is the Hochjoch, behind me rises the imposing Thaneller - I am impressed and think happily: ‘This is exactly why I'm here.’ So far, the tour for the i:SY P12 with the Pinion MGU has been a pleasant ride and the upright riding position allows me to enjoy the landscape even more. MY FIRST SINGLETRAIL ... i:SY - you can do it! Suddenly the track ends and a narrow path winds steeply downwards in front of me. Roots and stones protrude from the ground. This is where the i:SY P12 has to show what it can do. Unfortunately, a compact bike loaded with 25 kilograms of luggage, spread across the rack, front loader and lowrider, is not necessarily off-road friendly.

DAY 2: FERNSTEINSEE - RESCHENSEE
The second day starts with a coffee, taking down the tent and off we go. I have 800 metres of altitude ahead of me. However, the bike's manoeuvrability surprises me in a positive way, and bit by bit I fight my way over the obstacles. The sun is blazing ... Before the tour, I was a little worried: without a suspension fork and suspension seat post in the mountains - would that work? But my first interim conclusion on the second day: the six centimetre wide tyres cushion surprisingly well. So far I don't miss the suspension fork. For those who still don't want to do without a suspension fork, i:SY offers the Adventure model. But as long as there is no singletrack on the agenda, the bike rides excellently even without suspension. However, something else is more important than suspension in the Alps: sun cream! The blazing sun is merciless, my display shows 43 degrees. Although I apply sun cream twice, I get sunburnt.

DAY 3: LAKE RESIA - MERANO
Another highlight along the Via Claudia Augusta is Lake Reschen. This reservoir was flooded around 1950 to serve as a basin for a storage power station. A total of 677 hectares of land and two villages were flooded and almost 150 families lost their livelihoods. The old church tower still rises out of the water today and is also known as the ‘Atlantis of the mountains’. Today, the church tower is a landmark of the region. Legend has it that you can hear the bell of the tower ringing on cold winter nights, even though it was removed decades ago.

A brake test is also on the programme today. When it comes to braking, the i:SY P12 relies on hydraulic disc brakes from Magura, which are optimised for use on e-bikes. But how quickly does the bike actually stop with 25 kilos of luggage and a rider weighing 90 kilograms? I start off at 25 km/h and measure the braking distance, which I can reduce from five metres eighty to three metres fifty within three attempts. My realisation: ‘If I don't stop the bike in time, it's certainly not due to these brakes, which are state of the art, but rather to my ability.’

DAY 4: MERANO - LAIFS
On the fourth day, I cycle through endless apple orchards. Apples of all kinds are grown here on an area the size of over 25,000 football pitches. Around eight per cent of the entire European apple harvest comes from South Tyrol. 

The flatter stretches offer a welcome respite after the steep climbs of the last few days. This is also reflected in the battery power: I take stock at the campsite in the evening. After 78 kilometres, I still have 68% battery power left. That's because I made sure to select the support levels as economically as possible today - and it paid off. 
Good night!

I'm surprised how much battery I've saved just by only switching on the motor when I really needed to. This shows that there is no clear answer to the question: ‘How far can I get on one battery charge?’ - it always depends. But it's definitely worth driving as economically as possible.

DAY 5: LAIFS - RIVA DEL GARDA
The last day of my journey begins with a detour to Trento. A real Italian coffee at the baroque Neptune Fountain on the cathedral square is just the thing to recharge your batteries. Trento is not only worth a stopover for the delicious coffee, but also for its picturesque alleyways, the Italian way of life and the historic old town centre, which transports you back in time. After this cultural highlight, it's time for the last few metres. Then, behind a hilltop, Lake Garda suddenly appears in all its splendour.

The i:SY P12 was a reliable companion on the entire tour and thus answers the question itself: Crossing the Alps on a compact bike - it's possible with the i:SY P12!