this afternoon I finally went for my first non catastrophic test ride further than around the block, the bike handled the hills and dirt amazingly well, especially after the last week of extreme frustration trying to get the chain drive to work. no mechanical issues other than a flat tire, easily fixed. 

the efficiency was also impressive, I rarely drew more than 20 amps and only just used 13 ah for the 40 or so kilometre ride, with no a serious hill in the middle ( 400m vertical) and no regenerative breaking. I'm happy.