Whilst it's not a lot in the scheme of things when compared to those that use their e-bikes for the daily grind, the KTM Macina Lycan GPS+ hit the 1,000mile mark a couple of days ago. It's still not bad mileage considering my relatively short time of ownership, along with the fact that it only gets used for off road fun at weekends and evenings. I'm also using the pedal mtb once or twice a week, so the figure would have been reached sooner had this not been the case.
It's been a good and enjoyable 1,000miles, and of late I have gained many friends by using it as a search tool for a locally missing dog. This week saw things slightly dampened for me, as whilst out searching, I have discovered something not very nice in a local woodland. Something that has now become a police investigation.
Anyway, enough of depressing myself and back to the bike, here is how the bike pretty much celebrated hitting the1,000mile mark.
Credit has to be given to KTM for producing a bike that seemingly just shrugs incidents such as the above off, with just a straightening of the bars being the only thing that is ever required. The ride of the bike still feels as tight as it did on day one, but this in part is down to the fact that maintenance never gets neglected. It is only now that things are starting to dry out, that the full suspension is becoming a practical asset, and the Fox set up front and rear work exceptionally well together. In some respects I still love hard tails more though.
The Shimano Deore XT brakes work phenomenally well, and pad replacement is a doddle. This is just as well, given the frequency of replacement. An aspect that is down to my riding and nothing more.
The gears have remained precise, although gear changing is certainly a clunky affair. This leads me to one of my pet hates of the motor. I'm still no fan of the Bosch system, and I feel that the internal gearing is completely wrong for e-mtb use, with far too much time being spent in the first two gear ratios, which in turn has a couple of very negative effects. Firstly the wear rate of both the front sprocket and first two ratios of the cassette is in truth very high. The second negative, is that the chain run is hardly ever straight. This is something that also bugs me. From speaking to other e-mtb riders and from reading forums, both issues are an across all brands problem.
Chain suck created by the small sprocket size is also another cross all brands issue, and it's my belief that it also caused my outer bearing to fail. All credit to both KTM and Bosch for sorting this out within in a matter of days. Thank you.
Hopefully both issues are only ever going occur on a minority of cross brand bikes and users, but it is an issue that shouldn't happen in the first place. Now that the weather is better and the ground is getting drier, down hill speed has increased, and another un mentioned Bosch issue has reared it's ugly head. The chain jumps off the front sprocket. Thanks Bosch, if it isn't chain suck, then it's a jumping chain. I have cured the chain suck by adding a chain catcher, and the rear clutch mech does help to prevent most of the chain jumping, but not all, and it always happens at the most inconvenient of moments.
One of my previous gripes about the Bosch motor, was noise. I'm pleased to say that this motor is very nice and relatively quiet. It's certainly quieter than it ever was prior to the bearing replacement, so perhaps it was faulty from new. Having said that, I am concerned that there is already rocking movement within the new motor as well.
Leading on to battery life and performance, battery duration can be disappointing. Performance costs, and the extra 12Nm of torque over that of the active line does cane the battery. I can kill the battery in about 20 miles of use if using it continuously in tour mode, whilst the active line motor that is fitted to a second bike that I currently have the use of, seemingly goes on forever, or for at least until I've had enough. Being frugal with usage, the most range that I have had from the Macina is 47 miles. This was completed using a mix of eco and no assist.
At this point and talk of mileage/range, the bikes comfort is brilliant. It just doesn't seem to get uncomfortable, and the saddle has to be the best that I have ever sat upon. In the past, I have suffered with shoulder ache and tension on bikes, but I get none of this on the KTM.
The handling of the bike, is far better than that of my own ability, but obviously it's never going to be as agile a non electric mtb. On this bike, you tend to plough through, rather than over, and it just plugs away through mud like a tractor on full bore. It's a very addictive and fun bike to use, and whilst it has flaws such as the chain run being too close to the swing arm, and limited tyre clearance on the rear, I'd still happily buy another should this one ever be stolen*.
Work was a bit screwed up today, so I decided that as the bike had hit the 1,000mile mark, that I would finally carry out a job that I have been threatening to do almost from day one of ownership. Get rid of NYON, and replace it with Intuvia. It only took about half an hour to do.
It's certainly an improvement on looks and e-mtb practicality. It would be even nicer if Bosch offered a dedicated e-mtb unit that was about he size of a wrist watch. On an e-mtb, you only need to know the battery level and power setting.
The bike still scrubs up well despite the hard life that it is receiving.
*I'd love a Rotwild as well, but we all love to dream.
It's been a good and enjoyable 1,000miles, and of late I have gained many friends by using it as a search tool for a locally missing dog. This week saw things slightly dampened for me, as whilst out searching, I have discovered something not very nice in a local woodland. Something that has now become a police investigation.
Anyway, enough of depressing myself and back to the bike, here is how the bike pretty much celebrated hitting the1,000mile mark.
Credit has to be given to KTM for producing a bike that seemingly just shrugs incidents such as the above off, with just a straightening of the bars being the only thing that is ever required. The ride of the bike still feels as tight as it did on day one, but this in part is down to the fact that maintenance never gets neglected. It is only now that things are starting to dry out, that the full suspension is becoming a practical asset, and the Fox set up front and rear work exceptionally well together. In some respects I still love hard tails more though.
The Shimano Deore XT brakes work phenomenally well, and pad replacement is a doddle. This is just as well, given the frequency of replacement. An aspect that is down to my riding and nothing more.
The gears have remained precise, although gear changing is certainly a clunky affair. This leads me to one of my pet hates of the motor. I'm still no fan of the Bosch system, and I feel that the internal gearing is completely wrong for e-mtb use, with far too much time being spent in the first two gear ratios, which in turn has a couple of very negative effects. Firstly the wear rate of both the front sprocket and first two ratios of the cassette is in truth very high. The second negative, is that the chain run is hardly ever straight. This is something that also bugs me. From speaking to other e-mtb riders and from reading forums, both issues are an across all brands problem.
Chain suck created by the small sprocket size is also another cross all brands issue, and it's my belief that it also caused my outer bearing to fail. All credit to both KTM and Bosch for sorting this out within in a matter of days. Thank you.
Hopefully both issues are only ever going occur on a minority of cross brand bikes and users, but it is an issue that shouldn't happen in the first place. Now that the weather is better and the ground is getting drier, down hill speed has increased, and another un mentioned Bosch issue has reared it's ugly head. The chain jumps off the front sprocket. Thanks Bosch, if it isn't chain suck, then it's a jumping chain. I have cured the chain suck by adding a chain catcher, and the rear clutch mech does help to prevent most of the chain jumping, but not all, and it always happens at the most inconvenient of moments.
One of my previous gripes about the Bosch motor, was noise. I'm pleased to say that this motor is very nice and relatively quiet. It's certainly quieter than it ever was prior to the bearing replacement, so perhaps it was faulty from new. Having said that, I am concerned that there is already rocking movement within the new motor as well.
Leading on to battery life and performance, battery duration can be disappointing. Performance costs, and the extra 12Nm of torque over that of the active line does cane the battery. I can kill the battery in about 20 miles of use if using it continuously in tour mode, whilst the active line motor that is fitted to a second bike that I currently have the use of, seemingly goes on forever, or for at least until I've had enough. Being frugal with usage, the most range that I have had from the Macina is 47 miles. This was completed using a mix of eco and no assist.
At this point and talk of mileage/range, the bikes comfort is brilliant. It just doesn't seem to get uncomfortable, and the saddle has to be the best that I have ever sat upon. In the past, I have suffered with shoulder ache and tension on bikes, but I get none of this on the KTM.
The handling of the bike, is far better than that of my own ability, but obviously it's never going to be as agile a non electric mtb. On this bike, you tend to plough through, rather than over, and it just plugs away through mud like a tractor on full bore. It's a very addictive and fun bike to use, and whilst it has flaws such as the chain run being too close to the swing arm, and limited tyre clearance on the rear, I'd still happily buy another should this one ever be stolen*.
Work was a bit screwed up today, so I decided that as the bike had hit the 1,000mile mark, that I would finally carry out a job that I have been threatening to do almost from day one of ownership. Get rid of NYON, and replace it with Intuvia. It only took about half an hour to do.
It's certainly an improvement on looks and e-mtb practicality. It would be even nicer if Bosch offered a dedicated e-mtb unit that was about he size of a wrist watch. On an e-mtb, you only need to know the battery level and power setting.
The bike still scrubs up well despite the hard life that it is receiving.
*I'd love a Rotwild as well, but we all love to dream.
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