rode the Gruber at Presteigne

[trickletreat]

rode the Gruber at Presteigne-Bought one!

As promised here are my thoughts on the Gruber, which was installed in an Electric Goat Bike, from Electricmountainbikes.com.

Steve had the bike suspended from his stand, with the motor running. The noise was less than I expected, and quieter than my steel geared Heinzmann, however it was still noticeable. While riding it and listening to others riding, the noise reduced considerably in an open space.

It took me a short while to work out how to get the best from it, especially as I have done many miles on a very powerful throttle controlled, Heinzmann powered bike and trike.

To configure the rpm for the pedal rotation, firstly ride the bike in whatever gear allows the rider to reach the desired cadence between 60 and 90 rpm, then press and hold the red button on the handlebars for two seconds. The cadence is now set and can be reset in the same way, at the desired rate.

Now ride the bike in a gear you are comfortable with and press the button.
If you are pedalling faster than the rate set, then there will be no motor sound or assistance. continue to pedal, and change up until you feel the push of the pedals. Let your legs press down on the pedals without effort.
To increase speed from this point, change up, to slow down, change down.{ on the rear cassette}, without changing the level of effort by the rider.

If you take your feet off at this point, the pedals will continue to turn, and the bike will power itself. Change into a low gear and it will even climb!

I rode this on the road/hill at the back of the show, and found that assistance was given in any gear so long as I didn't exceed the cadence set.

I watched several people ride this bike and all bar one was able to pick up the process within moments. Cycling, but with a lot less effort... but not a would be moped.

My wife was very impressed with it and had a second go the following morning at the rockbridge camp site. She rode easily on the wet grass and up and down the steep campsite driveway, all with much reduced effort.

So to the battery, Steve had the larger of the two battery options fitted.
It ran the bike suspended on the stand all day[no resistance on the pedals], then he rode it on the fancy dress parade [the scarecrow]. After that it was ridden up and down the test hill several times. Other riders trialled it at the show, and the battery still had charge left. Steve said that he had ridden it before the show in North Yorkshire by Dalby forest for almost five hours without flattening the battery.

Will we buy one? We are going to visit Steve at his home later this month, my wife will try it over a longer ride, but the thought is that we will have one fitted in her WSD Trek 6300.
Here is a very breif clip of my wife on the bike...

YouTube - Gruber assisted witch

Nigel

 

[flecc]

Thanks for the report Nigel, I'd expect a long range from any battery with it's gross 200 watt rating, since that's about half or less of that of most legal e-bikes. For anyone who doesn't need lots of power that range potential is a considerable benefit of course.

I'm not sure if I'd be happy with that pedals being driven situation when confined in heavy traffic and needing precise control, it sounds like it has potential for an occasional problem.
.

 

[trickletreat]

Thanks for the report Nigel, I'd expect a long range from any battery with it's gross 200 watt rating, since that's about half or less of that of most legal e-bikes. For anyone who doesn't need lots of power that range potential is a considerable benefit of course.

I'm not sure if I'd be happy with that pedals being driven situation when confined in heavy traffic and needing precise control, it sounds like it has potential for an occasional problem.
.

Yes we did think about that, but by applying slight resistance on one or both pedals the motor cuts out until you press the button again. once riding, it is very easy to switch on and off.

 

[flecc]

I think I'd probably be happy with that on many roads then, but not a system I'd like in a constant start/stop London heavy traffic situation. I like either a throttle or torque sensing pedalling then, with the ability to freewheel the pedals at times without power going off randomly.
.

 

[trickletreat]

I think I'd probably be happy with that on many roads then, but not a system I'd like in a constant start/stop London heavy traffic situation. I like either a throttle or torque sensing pedalling then, with the ability to freewheel the pedals at times without power going off randomly.
.

Yes I agree, although I would like to try it in traffic to see.

This was the very reason that I went for a throttle control for towing a trailer in traffic.
My wife would use the gruber assist for family cycling trips when I tow our daughter on her Hase trailer trike. She can't keep up with me on the hills, which is where I use the motor, and because of the combined weight of the tandem recumbent on downhills, I leave her behind again.

I need to use the assist to make the cycling possible and comfortable for me, hence the reason for looking for something suitable for my wife. She doesn't like the weight or power of the other systems, but at around 2kgs for battery and motor, this seems to suit her, especially as she almost manages without.

Although with her looking like this....perhaps I NEED A FASTER bike!

 

[trickletreat]

We have just returned from a trip to the North Yorkshire Moors, which included a couple of visits to see Steve. We had a great day, trying out a selection of his bikes along the roller coaster lanes around Farndale. Some are seriously steep, a good test for the uphills and sometimes scary downhills!

My wife, although impressed by the power of bikes powered by hub motors from Heinzmann, Ezee and Bionix, opted for a gruber conversion to her Trek wsd 6300.

The Gruber assisted her on hills she had had difficulty with on her unpowered bike, allowing her to climb them without being out of breath and unable to speak. I tested the bike with the gruber back to back with an unpowered bike and found the same.

It allowed us to climb, slowly, but without becoming breathless, and then to cycle a light bike when no power was required. As this one was not restricted, it gave assistance in top gear down hill until I bottled out and resisted the pedals slightly.

Deb really likes the idea of having a lightweight bike with normal handling, but with some help when needed. She does not want the weight or the performance of the other bikes, and our trip with extended testing of the various models helped her focus her needs. Many thanks to Steve, this will be our third deal with him, customer service at a completely different level to any I have received regardless of product, not just bikes.

As a side note, I was impressed with his own Goat bike with Ezee kit. It was so quiet compared to the two Heinzmann motors I run. Good power and price.

 

[trickletreat]

We returned to Farndale this weekend to pick up the Gruber assisted Trek for my wife. The conversion was very well executed with great attention to detail. Steve's work and information was again very good...this is our third conversion from him, so we must be happy!

We tested the bike before leaving, covering 8 1/2 miles, all hilly including a long 25% climb out of Church Houses towards Farndale. I was riding my Heinzmann powered Swiss LX alongside Deb, on the 25% climb we were both in our lowest gears, and I had the eco power on. We both climbed at the same rate, which really surprised me. The Gruber is really very good, and to leave Deb on the hills, I had to switch the eco off.

The battery has small lights to indicate remaining charge, only one light had gone out after this very hilly session, with the 80% full light still illuminated.

I will of course update this post with our future experiences, for now we are very impressed.

 

[OTH]

Are you still very impressed?

......Deb really likes the idea of having a lightweight bike with normal handling, but with some help when needed. .....

So do I. Does her experience suggest that this system would be suitable for long-term, daily use?

 

[trickletreat]

Yes, still very impressed. Deb does not ride daily, this conversion was carried out to fulfil her desire for a bit of help when needed, without having to deal with a heavy bike. To this end it is perfect, she now has a comfortable, light bike.
As the system uses a small motor, even when using the assistance continually, the battery is very hard to flatten. This is in the context of her riding with myself and daughter, either the electric mtb plus trailer or electric ice trike plus trailer. We don't tend to cycle more than 15miles with daughter in tow, which then requires my heinzmann battery to be charged.
Deb's battery will not need charging for days. Having ridden her bike in the Alps recently, I would say that one could cycle all day, with reasonable assistance, over undulating to steep terrain without getting out of breath.
Whilst trying to flatten her battery, that was only showing three of the five lights still available, I climbed a mountain slope for an hour, in the lowest gear on the bike. I was not travelling very fast, using a cadence of approx 80-90 revs. As the battery was still in need of conditioning, i.e flatten and charge five times, it cut out with one light still on.

As for your daily commute of 19miles round trip, I would think that I would only use a third to half of the battery charge, so with a service interval of 150 battery cycles, I would assume at least 300 days of use.
The motor then needs to be removed and examined/serviced by the installer. Steve at electricmountainbikes.com has a good relationship with Gruber, and is himself very customer orientated.
We have now visited him on the North York Moors several times, we have three bike/trike converted by him. Its a great weekend away, and I am confident in him servicing/ turning the bike round when needed. If you haven't spoken to him as yet, then it's worth the effort and time.