Perseus

Extras: AXA on frame lock was a good buy. I take another stronger lock for longer stops.

On a note of things to do to try and get the wires slotted in. For the back light (that stays on when stationary) which is good. Front light is not powerful enough, most of the times it is. Battery lights run out of battery at inconvenient times. So dynohub is quite useful if I remember to disconnect when taking the front wheel off. Toba Beat is a hilly town bike and very good. I really wanted a cross country bike when fatter tyres/wheels and derailleur gears would be easier to fix punctures away from home. Fiddly little connections problem. Bike in picture contains extras, folding cage at rear and handelebar bags and tools bag. And now two lots of battery lights (in case the batteries run out).

I broke the dynohub connection and its too fiddly to stick the wires back in. Or I tried and it still doesn't work. Bad day. This bike has had continual minor problems. Hindsight: I would avoid hub gears and dynohubs. I put battery lights on instead.

Slow puncture appears to be the valve. I forgot to unplug the dynohub when taking off the front wheel. This breaks the light connection and it is very fiddly to repair. I hope a dab of superglue helped? I won't know if the light repair has worked until dark. Dynohub makes me think the Toba Beat was designed as a hub geared pedal bike and ebike came as an afterthought

Now a front wheel slow puncture. I need a decent road pump. Schwalbe tyre not working its magic.

Lost power mysteriously five miles from home. Took the train back. 1223 miles on the clock. Full battery charge. Plugged it in when I got home and it reactivated.

Toba: no sensor on brakes to cut out motor.

When riding without electric assistance over 15 mph, there is a very annoying resistance. Enough to recommend direct drive motors. And anyone who wants to go faster will benefit from minimal pedal resistance above 25 km/h. : e.g. https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/products/active-line/

Informative. I've found my hybrid running 700c tyres most in 38-45 width range a serious mistake for handling on less than ideal terrain compared to a 26" mountain bike set up. Just makes for an uncomfortable ride and sometimes too difficult on bridleways uphill and downhill especially. PS: same size body but older

Nearly 1000 miles in 10 months. Cycling two miles less per day now, or last year. Electrics have not been a problem at all, except both lights (rear only) don't work when stationary off the dynamo. Problems with mechanical bits, hub gears; maintenance of chain and brakes. Handling far from ideal, like a converted hybrid bike rather than designed for purpose ebike. Heavy weight of the battery changes handling characteristics, and the unsuitable Cyclamatic mountain ebike was a much more comfortable ride. Toba is stable when hitting potholes at under 15 mph and blow out punctures on tarmac at 18 mph.

50Cycles Toba Beat Bike is uncomfortable because the wheels are too thin. Safe on most roads but is difficult off road and at over 15 mph. Does not feel safe. http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/beat-bike-toba-crossbar-bike-log.27632/page-4

900 miles. Chain slack, wheel adjusted. Brakes needed tightening as they ceased to work. Simple job. Charge lasted about 50 miles (67 miles when purchased new). Now 950 miles.

Bike difficult to handle on wet grass, let alone actual mud. This bike is not suitable off-road in winter and can be just as tricky on bridle paths in a dry summer.

Overall impression that this was a very good design for a hub geared pedal bike, but the conversion to an ebike was less than ideal. At £1600 it was the best I could afford in spring 2017.

Not much to report. Up to 800 miles which is much lower than I am used to in 8 months or so of use. Electrics working OK, if a bit sluggish at times. I still don't like the bike and it needs fatter wheels and tyres for its weight as its off road performance is dreadful especially in the mud where it is an accident waiting to happen. I mean off-road paths rather than cross country which it can't handle. Just doesn't produce a good ride on the road either. Conclusion: ebikes need mountain bike wheels because of the excessive weight.

This is the verification of distance travelled from new before the battery ran low. Not all on ECO. I used higher levels on hills,

Looking for a suitable front rack, ideally with a fitting for the front light, and the front rack capable of holding a camera bag. I cant' see one. Fitting could be awkward?

PIcture on 5 May 2017. To check for chain slackness http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Toba_0323.jpg NB: these particular pannier bags from Lidl weren't up to much, split on the first day.

Plastic cone obscures tightening nut for headset. /www.glaucus.org.uk/Headset-0018.jpg

640 miles, headset worked loose. I hope I can fix this easily? PS: still good for 50+ miles on one charge.

20 mile round trip from Shoreham to the Amex and back completed without any trouble. Plenty of juice left. Heavy bike on very bumpy roads was not a good ride though. Traffic of all sorts was horrendous including other cyclists on pale green bikes. http://www.glaucus.org.uk/AmexReturn.jpg

550 MILES. Hub gears working without problems. Lots of bikes on the road in Shoreham. It seem about 30%. Still don't like the Toba. Thin wheels and heavy weight do not make for an enjoyable ride. Really back heavy.

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/beat-bike-toba-crossbar-bike-log.27632/

Done by experience of two bikes, one with thin tyres that cannot hack it by a big margin and the one with slightly thicker tyres that does. Loose surfaces, narrow gouges in paths, mud, pebbles, gravel, whatever surface the thicker tyres do the job and the thinner ones hopelessly fail.