Gearing and motor

[Trevormonty]

Thanks, he did contradict himself a bit. Hmm I'd have to try a Yamaha before buying, I'd prefer optimum power at even higher cadences than my Bosch currently gives, so may not get on with the Yamaha that appears to give optimum power at even lower cadences.

Going off reviews the new Yamaha PWX addresses low cadence issues of current drive. Review of new STEPs E8000 (MTB drive) are also excellent.

We own a STEPs E6000 an love it smooth and very responsive. I expect the E8000 to be better.

Going to do test ride on Cube with Bosch CX drive today, will be interesting to see how it compares to E6000. Expecting buy bike if frame agrees with me.

 

[Andy88]

Going off reviews the new Yamaha PWX addresses low cadence issues of current drive. Review of new STEPs E8000 (MTB drive) are also excellent.

We own a STEPs E6000 an love it smooth and very responsive. I expect the E8000 to be better.

Going to do test ride on Cube with Bosch CX drive today, will be interesting to see how it compares to E6000. Expecting buy bike if frame agrees with me.

Don't forget to let us know how the Bosch CX goes, have fun.

 

[Emo Rider]

Im wondering how the Shimano Steps stacks up? Or even the latest bafang mid drive

I have tried both the Shimano Steps and Bafang crank drives.

Bafang : Quiet, smooth and strong. Not as strong as the Yamaha but for the Freego 700c city style of bike it was, it was very nice and a joy to use.

Shimano Steps : My only exposure to this system was on the Raleigh Strada E. It was married to the Alfine 8 speed electronic shifting hub (I liked the auto shifting but would take some getting use to). It was stronger than the Bafang but noticably noiser. With the electronic shifting I found it hard to
tell just how smooth it was. It probably was, I just had too much fun with the shifting.

The Bafang's dash and contols were straightforward forward and easy to use. This alone would appeal to most buying an ebike for the first time. The Steps dash, holy moly, buttons everywhere and an endless list of system setup option on the menu function. This will certainly appeal to the techies out there.

I would give the Stranda the most innovative award for 2016 based on all the bikes I have ridden so far. Not everyone's cup of tea however but certainly worth checking out.

 

[Trevormonty]

I bought the Cube Stereo HPA14 race 500 (what a mouth full), last of 2016 and shop wanted it gone, at significant discount. Was planning to wait for some Shimano E8000 eMTBs next year but price was right and I'm not patient.

Test ride was on road didn't want to dirty it if I decided not to buy it. Frame and ride position was perfect for me, the most important thing. Was surprising fast was doing 28-29km/hr with no assist on flat, that's off road tires at max pressure.

here is quick comparison against STEPs e6000.
Pros;
1)Quieter and smoother at higher power levels.
2)More powerful, a given as it has 50% more torque. STEPs still eats hills just not quite as fast.
3) smooth transition to 25-27km/hr cutoff, STEPs is bit sudden.

Cons
1) E6000 simple switches so much easier to use, don't need to look for them. This is differently a minus when offroad as I treat power levels as gears. Can see why E8000 gearshift switches get excellent reviews. Bosch you need to up your game.
2) Battery level 5 bars compared to E6000 percentage value plus bar graph. Will see if this becomes issue.
3) large display vulnerable to damage in crash. Purion on 2017 models addresses this but still same switches.
4) feels rough when pedalling with assist turned off, only noticeable at low speed under load ie slight hill. Shop assistant couldn't reproduce on flat. Will see it settles down with time.
5) Gearing higher than I would like 15t with XT 11-42 cassette. Will fit 11-46 when this one wears out. See how it goes in more demanding off road situations.

There was no shift sensing on this bike, not that I noticed. Not really an issue, just stop pedalling an motor runs on for 0.5sec, just enough to do shift without crunching gears. E6000 is same here.

I can see appeal of quieter Brose for MTB, as off road is when engine noise is noticeable. Another rider in front of me said he could hear me coming.
With both E6000 and CX it is normally not noticeable in eco mode if there is wind noise.

Overall happy with purchase no surprises. First impressions of MTB part of eMTB is excellent. Bosch drive lives up to expectations.

 

[Andy88]

I bought the Cube Stereo HPA14 race 500 (what a mouth full), last of 2016 and shop wanted it gone, at significant discount. Was planning to wait for some Shimano E8000 eMTBs next year but price was right and I'm not patient.

Test ride was on road didn't want to dirty it if I decided not to buy it. Frame and ride position was perfect for me, the most important thing. Was surprising fast was doing 28-29km/hr with no assist on flat, that's off road tires at max pressure.

here is quick comparison against STEPs e6000.
Pros;
1)Quieter and smoother at higher power levels.
2)More powerful, a given as it has 50% more torque. STEPs still eats hills just not quite as fast.
3) smooth transition to 25-27km/hr cutoff, STEPs is bit sudden.

Cons
1) E6000 simple switches so much easier to use, don't need to look for them. This is differently a minus when offroad as I treat power levels as gears. Can see why E8000 gearshift switches get excellent reviews. Bosch you need to up your game.
2) Battery level 5 bars compared to E6000 percentage value plus bar graph. Will see if this becomes issue.
3) large display vulnerable to damage in crash. Purion on 2017 models addresses this but still same switches.
4) feels rough when pedalling with assist turned off, only noticeable at low speed under load ie slight hill. Shop assistant couldn't reproduce on flat. Will see it settles down with time.
5) Gearing higher than I would like 15t with XT 11-42 cassette. Will fit 11-46 when this one wears out. See how it goes in more demanding off road situations.

There was no shift sensing on this bike, not that I noticed. Not really an issue, just stop pedalling an motor runs on for 0.5sec, just enough to do shift without crunching gears. E6000 is same here.

I can see appeal of quieter Brose for MTB, as off road is when engine noise is noticeable. Another rider in front of me said he could hear me coming.
With both E6000 and CX it is normally not noticeable in eco mode if there is wind noise.

Overall happy with purchase no surprises. First impressions of MTB part of eMTB is excellent. Bosch drive lives up to expectations.

Great and informative review, thanks so much.

 

[SSSS]

Hello from Finland.
I have read about five reviews of new Shimano Steps E8000 system and now I have focused to Merida eBIG.TRAIL 800.

All the reviews what I have found does not include information about possible shift sensing system (like Bosch). Does somebody in this forum got any information about that feature?

 

[soundwave]

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/news/article/shimano-xtr-di2-electronic-shifting-comes-to-mountain-bikes-41184/

 

[Trevormonty]

Hello from Finland.
I have read about five reviews of new Shimano Steps E8000 system and now I have focused to Merida eBIG.TRAIL 800.

All the reviews what I have found does not include information about possible shift sensing system (like Bosch). Does somebody in this forum got any information about that feature?

I wouldn't get to hung up on shift sensing. Neither STEPS E6000 or Bosch has it on our bikes. You just need to ease of when shifting under load especially on higher assist settings, motors tend to run on and complete shift. Doesn't take long to get hang of, easier with quality shifters like XT, but best to do one gear at time if under load.

I'm wary of Di2 for MTBing, if that wire breaks you don't have any gears. Great idea combined with IGH on trekking or city bike.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I wouldn't get to hung up on shift sensing. Neither STEPS E6000 or Bosch has it on our bikes. You just need to ease of when shifting under load especially on higher assist settings, motors tend to run on and complete shift. Doesn't take long to get hang of, easier with quality shifters like XT, but best to do one gear at time if under load.

I'm wary of Di2 for MTBing, if that wire breaks you don't have any gears. Great idea combined with IGH on trekking or city bike.

I can't agree. I think that shift sensing and the associated pausing of the power to the motor makes a big difference to the general comfort of riding a crank-drive bike. It would be high on my list of priorities when choosing a CD bike. Obviously, one wouldn't be needed at all on a hub-drive bike.