I was a bit reluctant to take on this task. I was being ask to give an opinion on a stripped MTB, no mudguards, no carrier and at the end of one of the wettest years since records began. Suitably encouraged by the sight of a bottle of Famous Grouse on the end of a stick, I agreed to take charge of this machine for the duration of the Mid-Winter hols.
Two very big wheels and some tubes to keep them apart.
Never riding beyond the end of my road without a puncture repair kit, I fitted a mini front pannier and a pump wrapped in foam slung under the crossbar. A cam-on-a-stalk was mounted on the steerer and a GPS unit to the stem....and off we went.
I chose to ride my Northern loop, which consists of Tarmac pave throughout and included two hill climbs. I think this would be classed as "moderate" terrain.
Lady Lane, ½ mile climb, 12% at the steepest point.
Blunsdon Hill, ¾ mile climb, 18% at the steepest point.
A few more stats: Rider: 74 kgs, 69 years-of-age. Temperature: 8°C. Wind: W-N-W gusting to 24 mph.
The first thing to do when starting the ride, find the power level best suited to my needs. I found the second of eight segments on the variable power control gave me an electro-human ratio of around one-to-one.
A little more about the stepless power selector. Basically, it's a thumb throttle with the return spring removed. The moving part is divided into nine white segments ( eight + zero). The fixed reference point is just a raised arrow, and it's very difficult to see...even in daylight. I would imagine those riding at night might prefer a positive click-stop for each segment. In the event of "getting lost", they could push the paddle right up and then count the clicks down to their preferred assistance level. This is important with just 277 watt-hours in the tank and a very hungry motor.
The example provided had a 17" frame, two sizes too small for me. The result of which my feet kept moving too far forward on the pedals, but I managed to get reasonably comfortable. As with all short wheelbase machines, it scores highly in the "swervability" stakes. I've ridden in strong cross-winds many times, but every time I passed a gap in the hedgerow, I felt the front wheel twitch as the stiff Nor-Westerly slammed into it.....big wheels have an equally big sail area! Not to worry, the taut-as-a-bowstring frame and big wide handlebars easily maintained control.
Powerful hydraulic brakes like the big 185's fitted both ends deserve some respect, grab too big a handful and you'll be viewing the world from a different angle.
Sweet, quiet and positive shifting as expected of the Deor gear-set. During the ride, I only needed the top seven gears, but I expect some may find a use for the other twenty. Cruising on the flat at 17 mph, I found 26th best suited to my utility style cadence. Top gear proved a little too "tall" for riding within the assisted speed. At first, I thought top gear would be useful for riding beyond the assistance ramp-down at around 17.6 mph....but this proved to be wishful thinking, as I will explain later.
Of all the electric bikes I have ridden, this is one of the quietest. It is of course a direct drive motor. The absence of any internal reduction gearing being the reason for the absolute silent operation. It really is very enjoyable riding at seventeen mph with nothing more than the patter of tyres on Tarmac, and the occasional click of the shifter to interrupt the peace and quiet. Unfortunately, there is a price to pay for this silent operation.....as I found out further along the route.
And now we come to the first negative, the recuperation system (regen). A method of recharging the battery on-the-fly. And the rider of a Storck Raddar has absolutely no control over this function. It cannot be switched off....you're stuck with it. It works like this: At just over 17 mph, the assistance tapers down and immediately the system enters regeneration mode....and it's like hitting a brick wall! Prior to starting the ride, I picked up a few tips on the internet on how to ride through the regeneration phase. no matter how hard I tried, I simply could not find enough leg power to ride beyond 18 mph.....the retarding force of the regen was too strong to overcome, even on downslopes. I can think of a far easier way to charge a battery, like using the charger supplied.
Quotes from the owners manual:
"The drive assistance is provided until the maximum permitted speed of 15 mph (17.6 mph actual) and gently stopped beyond this speed. From 15 mph (17.6 mph actual) upward the drive switches to recuperation mode"
It then goes on to say:
"Please note the following. Do not exceed a maximum speed of 28 mph when riding downhill. Otherwise you run the risk of blowing the fuse in the recuperation system. This is particularly acute with the electric assist system switched off. Replacing the fuse can only be carried out by a Storck dealer."
Finally it advises.
"Do not make long downhill rides with a fully charged battery. You run the risk of blowing the fuse of the recuperation system"
Well, I have a better idea, give the rider the option of switching the regen system off.
The 12% slope of Lady Lane presented no problems for the drive system. What was now needed, was something a little more challenging, so continued the gentle climb up the back of the escarpment to the top of Blunsdon hill, there, plunging down it's steep face to the bottom and turning to climb back up. Bearing in mind I needed to keep the speed below 28 mph to avoid blowing some fuse or other, I checked the speed at 27.4 mph with the brakes. So why didn't the regen system check the speed for me? Well, it only works if you are pedalling. And it's no good just turning the pedals, you have to pedal hard enough for the torque sensor to react and switch to regen mode at 17.6 mph. And just when you think "sod this for a game of tin soldiers" and stop pedalling, off goes the regen and gravity sucks the speed back up to the point where it might just blow the living daylights out of the regen system. Every cyclist I know, considers freewheeling down a steep hill, and coasting along the flat at the bottom as "leg-resting" time. The implementation of regen on this machine is counterintuitive and illogical.
Let's have a look at a far more sensible way to incorporate regen into an ebike.
The Bionx system has a hall switch which attaches to either the front or rear brake lever. When the rider wishes to reduce speed, just a slight pull on the switched lever activates the regen (Regenerative braking). If the speed fails to wash off quickly enough, the rider selects a higher level of regenerative braking force on the control panel. If the rider selects the highest level, the retarding force is very strong.....and not a single bit of wear on the brake blocks or disc pads. In my personal opinion, controllable regenerative braking is the only sensible way to use a recuperation system on an ebike. Nuff said......I have a hill to climb.
As with any hub-motored bike, the lower "foothills" were stormed up at a very respectable speed. As I approached the 18% section, I nudged the power level up to maximum...and then I discovered the "cost" of that silent motor. I'm afraid this crumbly old codger could not muster enough pedal power to keep the road speed above 7.5 mph....and the direct drive motor fell out the bottom of its power band and left me struggling. Of course I had to get up the hill to get home, so dropped a couple more gears and slugged it out. Once the gradient started to ease, the motor quickly redeemed itself by coming back into its power band and joined in with the fun. The machine then accelerated quickly up through the gears, at the same time I nudged the power level back down to two segs up from zero...I still have a lot of
miles to put under the wheels.
Based on my average consumption of 11 watt-hours per mile, I had predicted I would have a flat battery at around twenty-five miles. At 21.3 miles I had to pop home to answer the call of nature. Suitably relieved, I checked the RED,AMBER and GREEN LEDs on the handlebar display...all still lit. I then checked the LEDs on the battery, three of five still glowing brightly. Closer examination showed these three lights were in the "empty" section of the bar-graph alongside the lights, but how much energy was still in there? I took some photos for the record and stopped the GPS recording.
A couple more snippets from the owners manual.
"With average terrain and load the expected range (per charge) varies between 25 to 37 miles"
Erm, in the advertisments it claims 30 to 62 miles?
And another one.
"With five LEDs lighting up on the battery, your battery is fully charged. With one LED lit on your battery, it is almost empty."
Really?, when I was pedalling it home with a stone flat, bone dry tank, there were still three LEDs on the battery gleefully suggesting otherwise! (I will come back to this further down the page)
Part two to follow, please wait.
Two very big wheels and some tubes to keep them apart.
Never riding beyond the end of my road without a puncture repair kit, I fitted a mini front pannier and a pump wrapped in foam slung under the crossbar. A cam-on-a-stalk was mounted on the steerer and a GPS unit to the stem....and off we went.
I chose to ride my Northern loop, which consists of Tarmac pave throughout and included two hill climbs. I think this would be classed as "moderate" terrain.
Lady Lane, ½ mile climb, 12% at the steepest point.
Blunsdon Hill, ¾ mile climb, 18% at the steepest point.
A few more stats: Rider: 74 kgs, 69 years-of-age. Temperature: 8°C. Wind: W-N-W gusting to 24 mph.
The first thing to do when starting the ride, find the power level best suited to my needs. I found the second of eight segments on the variable power control gave me an electro-human ratio of around one-to-one.
A little more about the stepless power selector. Basically, it's a thumb throttle with the return spring removed. The moving part is divided into nine white segments ( eight + zero). The fixed reference point is just a raised arrow, and it's very difficult to see...even in daylight. I would imagine those riding at night might prefer a positive click-stop for each segment. In the event of "getting lost", they could push the paddle right up and then count the clicks down to their preferred assistance level. This is important with just 277 watt-hours in the tank and a very hungry motor.
The example provided had a 17" frame, two sizes too small for me. The result of which my feet kept moving too far forward on the pedals, but I managed to get reasonably comfortable. As with all short wheelbase machines, it scores highly in the "swervability" stakes. I've ridden in strong cross-winds many times, but every time I passed a gap in the hedgerow, I felt the front wheel twitch as the stiff Nor-Westerly slammed into it.....big wheels have an equally big sail area! Not to worry, the taut-as-a-bowstring frame and big wide handlebars easily maintained control.
Powerful hydraulic brakes like the big 185's fitted both ends deserve some respect, grab too big a handful and you'll be viewing the world from a different angle.
Sweet, quiet and positive shifting as expected of the Deor gear-set. During the ride, I only needed the top seven gears, but I expect some may find a use for the other twenty. Cruising on the flat at 17 mph, I found 26th best suited to my utility style cadence. Top gear proved a little too "tall" for riding within the assisted speed. At first, I thought top gear would be useful for riding beyond the assistance ramp-down at around 17.6 mph....but this proved to be wishful thinking, as I will explain later.
Of all the electric bikes I have ridden, this is one of the quietest. It is of course a direct drive motor. The absence of any internal reduction gearing being the reason for the absolute silent operation. It really is very enjoyable riding at seventeen mph with nothing more than the patter of tyres on Tarmac, and the occasional click of the shifter to interrupt the peace and quiet. Unfortunately, there is a price to pay for this silent operation.....as I found out further along the route.
And now we come to the first negative, the recuperation system (regen). A method of recharging the battery on-the-fly. And the rider of a Storck Raddar has absolutely no control over this function. It cannot be switched off....you're stuck with it. It works like this: At just over 17 mph, the assistance tapers down and immediately the system enters regeneration mode....and it's like hitting a brick wall! Prior to starting the ride, I picked up a few tips on the internet on how to ride through the regeneration phase. no matter how hard I tried, I simply could not find enough leg power to ride beyond 18 mph.....the retarding force of the regen was too strong to overcome, even on downslopes. I can think of a far easier way to charge a battery, like using the charger supplied.
Quotes from the owners manual:
"The drive assistance is provided until the maximum permitted speed of 15 mph (17.6 mph actual) and gently stopped beyond this speed. From 15 mph (17.6 mph actual) upward the drive switches to recuperation mode"
It then goes on to say:
"Please note the following. Do not exceed a maximum speed of 28 mph when riding downhill. Otherwise you run the risk of blowing the fuse in the recuperation system. This is particularly acute with the electric assist system switched off. Replacing the fuse can only be carried out by a Storck dealer."
Finally it advises.
"Do not make long downhill rides with a fully charged battery. You run the risk of blowing the fuse of the recuperation system"
Well, I have a better idea, give the rider the option of switching the regen system off.
The 12% slope of Lady Lane presented no problems for the drive system. What was now needed, was something a little more challenging, so continued the gentle climb up the back of the escarpment to the top of Blunsdon hill, there, plunging down it's steep face to the bottom and turning to climb back up. Bearing in mind I needed to keep the speed below 28 mph to avoid blowing some fuse or other, I checked the speed at 27.4 mph with the brakes. So why didn't the regen system check the speed for me? Well, it only works if you are pedalling. And it's no good just turning the pedals, you have to pedal hard enough for the torque sensor to react and switch to regen mode at 17.6 mph. And just when you think "sod this for a game of tin soldiers" and stop pedalling, off goes the regen and gravity sucks the speed back up to the point where it might just blow the living daylights out of the regen system. Every cyclist I know, considers freewheeling down a steep hill, and coasting along the flat at the bottom as "leg-resting" time. The implementation of regen on this machine is counterintuitive and illogical.
Let's have a look at a far more sensible way to incorporate regen into an ebike.
The Bionx system has a hall switch which attaches to either the front or rear brake lever. When the rider wishes to reduce speed, just a slight pull on the switched lever activates the regen (Regenerative braking). If the speed fails to wash off quickly enough, the rider selects a higher level of regenerative braking force on the control panel. If the rider selects the highest level, the retarding force is very strong.....and not a single bit of wear on the brake blocks or disc pads. In my personal opinion, controllable regenerative braking is the only sensible way to use a recuperation system on an ebike. Nuff said......I have a hill to climb.
As with any hub-motored bike, the lower "foothills" were stormed up at a very respectable speed. As I approached the 18% section, I nudged the power level up to maximum...and then I discovered the "cost" of that silent motor. I'm afraid this crumbly old codger could not muster enough pedal power to keep the road speed above 7.5 mph....and the direct drive motor fell out the bottom of its power band and left me struggling. Of course I had to get up the hill to get home, so dropped a couple more gears and slugged it out. Once the gradient started to ease, the motor quickly redeemed itself by coming back into its power band and joined in with the fun. The machine then accelerated quickly up through the gears, at the same time I nudged the power level back down to two segs up from zero...I still have a lot of
miles to put under the wheels.
Based on my average consumption of 11 watt-hours per mile, I had predicted I would have a flat battery at around twenty-five miles. At 21.3 miles I had to pop home to answer the call of nature. Suitably relieved, I checked the RED,AMBER and GREEN LEDs on the handlebar display...all still lit. I then checked the LEDs on the battery, three of five still glowing brightly. Closer examination showed these three lights were in the "empty" section of the bar-graph alongside the lights, but how much energy was still in there? I took some photos for the record and stopped the GPS recording.
A couple more snippets from the owners manual.
"With average terrain and load the expected range (per charge) varies between 25 to 37 miles"
Erm, in the advertisments it claims 30 to 62 miles?
And another one.
"With five LEDs lighting up on the battery, your battery is fully charged. With one LED lit on your battery, it is almost empty."
Really?, when I was pedalling it home with a stone flat, bone dry tank, there were still three LEDs on the battery gleefully suggesting otherwise! (I will come back to this further down the page)
Part two to follow, please wait.
