Beat Bike Toba Crossbar (Bike Log)

Perseus

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 15, 2015
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I bought a Beat Bike Toba Crossbar in the need as at £1600 it was the only one I could afford from a shop. Although advertised with an Impulse 2.2 motor it arrived with an Impulse 2.0 motor. Not particularly exciting. Before the first charge (charging now, taken 4 hours so far) did 67 miles which was very good. Delay in engaging sixth gear which is a downer. Starting on hills is not easy and the walking mode I can't get to work continuously. I would not have bought it if my arthritis in my knees have no got so bad it was necessary (I might as well get it now than in summer). Changed the saddle for a cheaper one. Accessories fitted NOT readily available through 50 Cycles. Insurance through Cycleguard (bronze secure locks accepted). It feels sluggish compared to my previous Cyclamatic, but gets up the hills OK.

#624Perseus, Apr 13, 2017

PS: I can't say I'm happy with the Beat Bike Toba Crossbar. The delay in engaging sixth gear did not happen with the test bike. Beware! This gear change is frequent and occurs on every trip.

#625Perseus, Apr 15, 2017

Your bike uses the same Nexus Hub as mine (well, pretty much). I'm getting trouble around sixth gear as well (mine slips intermittently). Other gears are pretty much fine. Looking on various bike forums, there are quite a lot of mentions of them wearing out on a particular gear, so your problems may relate to that?

I'm no expert though.

Sent from my BBA100-2 using Tapatalk

#626Will Tinker, Apr 16, 2017

Worked all the time today (brief trip). Took the bike out just to try it out. I did get informed that the 8 gear hubs are much better than 7 gear hubs. Not wear as it is brand new.

Not a fault, just a naff product?

#627Perseus, Apr 16, 2017

100 miles. First clanking sounds. Dismissed as not important at the moment as only heard once. Not overly impressed with my Beat Bike Toba Crossbar. I don't use it for short flat trips as it is easier to use an ordinary bike.

Stable bike in use: I accidentally hit a surprise pothole at 12 mph and it took the impact much better than any bike I have had. Heavy weight may have helped.

#633Perseus, Apr 21, 2017

More sounds which I do not like the sound of (Zen and Cycling Maintenance) but the performance is OK, although the Toba still feels a bit sluggish and not exhilarating like the wind behind you on a lightweight bike. Quite good at the smaller hills. I've not dared yet to try it on the steeper ones.

Lights flicker. I might try it out tonight. Walking mode works, but its a pain to use, needing to keep the button pressed all the time. This I find to be essential because of the bikes weight.

#636Perseus, Apr 24, 2017

Test bike worked better. Debated taking it back. I can't specify problems, but I am worried about long distance rides. Not recommended. I feels like there is something wrong with it, but it has not stopped or missed a beat apart from the sixth gear not engaging lots of times. Cyclamatic actually sounded better before it packed up entirely.

Lights on the Toba are dynamo and front flickers at very low speeds (on start up), but are the ideal brightness and keep on for a bit after stopping.

#638Perseus, Apr 24, 2017 Last edited: Tuesday at 2:09 PM
 

Perseus

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 15, 2015
395
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72
123 miles and I've got used to it: I would use it as an ordinary bike if locking it up to an immovable object wasn't such a nuisance to find somewhere to park it. (Same for all expensive bikes.)

Comfortable pedalling uphills I used to struggle up, short steep inclines mostly.

Got caught out in horizontal rain today. I wanted to use the lights for safety, but they are automatic and would not come on because the light was still good. At least I think they are automatic as I could not find a switch and the manual is a pain to read.

Still got a few clanky sounds when changing gear. If it was cheap bike, I would ignore such things but for £1600 it does not seem right. No performance shortcomings though. Just sounded like my previous Cyclamatic before it went completely wrong!

This bike has a chain and I oil it. I tend to put on more rather than less.

PS: I tend to go straight from 5th to 7th gear missing out 6th. Bit of a big jump.
 
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Perseus

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 15, 2015
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Cycling on a linear path through woods on a cloudy day. Flickering dynamo lights did not light the way and were irritating. 6 mph uphill on difficult terrain.

I don't know this ebike chose dynamo lighting when lights could be run off the battery? PS: Ideally, I would like to use the ebike battery as a leisure battery. It might even prompt me to buy a spare.

Gear change up prompted an unhealthy clank once. Bosch motor ebikes seem to be the most popular in town this year. It was Kalkhoff last year.
 
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Perseus

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 15, 2015
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Adjusted the cable to line up two yellow dots in fourth gear which seems to have solved the gear slipping problem. Intermittent and occasional clanking sounds when I change gear not resolved.

I wish I had not bought this bike. It is not enjoyable. Necessary for me to get up the hills. Back light does not work.

Traffic of all sorts, pedestrians, other cyclists, motor vehicles, dogs, packs of dogs, joggers, horses getting slightly intolerable now. Tempers getting frayed. It is mainly pedestrians causing it. Don't stop: they are irrational. Racing cyclists also cause problems for everyone; they are silent and too quick. It is not the young people, middle-aged racing cyclists and walkers over fifty. Motor vehicle going too quick on country back roads, and potholes and the state of the roads in towns getting much worse.
 
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Perseus

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 15, 2015
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Alas, gears still slipping, clanking noise. Bike is virtually unrideable after under 200 miles. To be taken back.

NB: this is the reason I bought the bike from a shop as I can take it back and go in for advice. (I do the same with made to measure desktops computers.)
 
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Woosh

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May 19, 2012
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Bike is virtually unrideable after under 200 miles. To be taken back.
I have a long held belief that for commuting, a medium sized geared hub motor may be boring but more practical than CD bikes.
 
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Perseus

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I have a long held belief that for commuting, a medium sized geared hub motor may be boring but more practical than CD bikes.
I agree in theory. Derailleur chain stretches and reduces performance. In traffic it is useful to change gear whilst stationary. Debris gets caught in derailleur.

Latest bike log report: gears clanking and slipping so badly the bike will have to go in for repairs. It sounds like a hub gear problem, not an ebike motor problem (problem occurs when the power is turned off). So right now I am wishing I went for derailleur and a belt drive.

I do not know why the designers chose a dynamo lighting system? Back light is working. It just will not remain on when stopping and I think the back light should be brighter? Not a problem as I like to use a supplementary back light anyway.

I went for a short utility ride today. Bicycle traffic and motorised traffic is horrendous. Racing cyclists go much too fast and are impatient on cyclepaths. They do not appreciate the danger of blind junctions, which I slow down for (and sometimes ring the bell) as I know the route.
 

anotherkiwi

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Jan 26, 2015
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Maybe you should ask them to swap the 7 speed nexus out for an 8 speed one with roller bearings (the high end model)? Would require changing the shifter as well of course.
 
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Perseus

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Oct 15, 2015
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Maybe you should ask them to swap the 7 speed nexus out for an 8 speed one with roller bearings (the high end model)? Would require changing the shifter as well of course.

This is likely to be cost prohibitive. Sturmey-Archer gears lasted for 70 years on one of my bikes (now crashed in the same sort of way).
 

Woosh

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May 19, 2012
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check the gear shifter adjusting barrel.
You put the bike to gear 4 (middle gear), make sure that the yellow marker on the shifting mechanism is right in the middle of the two limit lines.
IGHs work well after the shifter cable settles down. Just check the writing on the outercable. It has to be no compression type and no sharp radius along the cable.
 
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anotherkiwi

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Perseus

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Oct 15, 2015
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check the gear shifter adjusting barrel.
You put the bike to gear 4 (middle gear), make sure that the yellow marker on the shifting mechanism is right in the middle of the two limit lines.
IGHs work well after the shifter cable settles down. Just check the writing on the outercable. It has to be no compression type and no sharp radius along the cable.
I've done this. It slips out of alignment frequently. Within a few miles.

I have matched up the yellow dots again.



This seems to mean I can't use handlebar bag (I haven't) in case I mess up the function of the cable? (too sharp a radius?)
 
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IR772

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Why don't you put a review on 50 Cycles website as you are a customer and they ALWAYS welcome customer reviews ?
 
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IR772

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No, I m sure they would love to have such an incident ridden and honest report straight on their website. It would make a change from their 5 star "its the best thing since sliced bread" ones.

Less log, more "get the bloody rubbish problematic bike fixed", but that's just my opinion.
 
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Perseus

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Oct 15, 2015
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Bike returned to 50Cycles in Shoreham for the gears to be fixed. Intermittent problem, but I thought quality control would have picked up the gears fault, unless it was damaged cable in transit. Bike is practically unrideable at the moment and I don't think a new cable is going to rectify the gears problem? Not an Ebike malfunction? Mechanical bits of the 7-speed gears, it seems.
 
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Perseus

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Oct 15, 2015
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Still in the shop and its a sunny day. Cables and light to be replaced.
 

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