Brakes certainly seem the most likely cause. Or maybe tyre rubbing on the frame.

 

The range indicator only uses very short memory so should give true readings after only a mile or two. (The downside of this is that it will vary very erratically depending whether your last couple of miles were up or down hill.) If the range indicator says 9 miles after a couple of miles this does indicate the motor is working too hard, so its another indicator that brakes are wrong.

 

 

You can't ghost pedal one of these. Torque sensor on turbo gives at most 340% of your effort, but you still need to apply 22% of the total effort. Ghost pedalling means putting in NO effort, as you can with cadence sensor setups. Still, 22% is a lot less than 100% so maybe it feels as if you aren't putting in any effort.

 

I've never quite seen why they don't arrange it that turbo will give full output even if you aren't putting in any effort, or have an extra turbo+ that does.

You're probably right, technically, but it feels like I'm putting in virtually no effort, just spinning the cranks.

Right guys

I think I’m getting somewhere now.

the bike I was comparing the electric ride to, was a brushless motor whereas the bosch is a different motor type so delivers power in a different way.

the best way to describe is it, the gen 4 Bosch motor helps you whilst you pedal, whereasI found the EZgo bike knows you are pedalling so does the work for you.

The dealer also mentioned my brakes had settled in so he adjusted them.

I am learning how to ride this bike now, it definitely needs turbo and reducing gears to make it up hills.

It’s not so much as putting it in turbo and letting the motor do the work for you. I guess I’m learning the style of ride I would have liked which is press turbo and go. But I guess the set up I currently have will benefit my health more as I am having to pedal more for the assist to Kick in. The only aspect I am still disappointed with is the weight. If I had done a little more research I would have chosen a bike around 15kg so if the battery runs out, it’s not the end of through world pedalling home.

Isn't this a CX motored bike?

It should manage pretty much any hill easily. At least if you're in the right gear and pedaling at the correct cadence.

The weight of the bike isn't the issue.

So what was your cadence and can you give more info about how fit you are, how steep the hill actually is etc etc.

(and what was the ebike you tried before that you're comparing this to)

I was comparing to an EZ go commuter bike

https://ezego.bike/commute-ex-gents-red-2020

I’ve since learnt that the power delivery on these bikes is completely different.

mans tbh I much Preffered the way the EZ go delivered power. I found it much more efficient too.

Yes my bike is a CX gen 4, I assumed I would be getting a bike that just fly’s if I put it into turbo, but I’m finding that this kind of motor only helps u if you are pedalling hard.

On eco mode I’m really not a fan of it, it’s like I can feel the weight of the bike.

 

You can't ghost pedal one of these. Torque sensor on turbo gives at most 340% of your effort, but you still need to apply 22% of the total effort. Ghost pedalling means putting in NO effort, as you can with cadence sensor setups.

 

Well ... if you're turning your legs around, then unless the motor is directly attached to the pedals and your feet are strapped to those, then its incorrect to say that cadence sensing needs 'NO effort' either! You still need some kind of muscular activation

 

The question is - how much extra effort is needed.

Many people will tell you that at low speeds at least, a Bosch CX motor in turbo seems totally effortless. Its almost hard to imagine putting in LESS effort, and you do indeed seem to be ghost pedaling.

 

I admit it might just be the oddities of human perception - you know you're riding a bike. Your brain thinks you need to be putting in a certain amount of effort, so when its vastly less than you expect, it seems like almost zero effort, even though it might actually be a few tens of watts.

But I've also had this suspicion that the Bosch algorithm is cleverer than they make out, and if it knows you're in turbo, going slowly yet spinning your legs (so in something like 1st gear going up a hill), so it might be pumping out max power, over and above the simple 340% torque multiplier figure.

 

Who knows. But whatever, its easy to go up steep hills (slowly) with a CX. REALLY easy. REALLY REALLY easy !!!

I was comparing to an EZ go commuter bike

https://ezego.bike/commute-ex-gents-red-2020

I’ve since learnt that the power delivery on these bikes is completely different.

mans tbh I much Preffered the way the EZ go delivered power. I found it much more efficient too.

Yes my bike is a CX gen 4, I assumed I would be getting a bike that just fly’s if I put it into turbo, but I’m finding that this kind of motor only helps u if you are pedalling hard.

On eco mode I’m really not a fan of it, it’s like I can feel the weight of the bike.

It seems that you may be missing the point that this is "peddle assist"

I have exactly the same bike, in the largest size, so heaviest option, I've also fitted a seatpost mount rack and bag which adds another 2-3kgs, I am 6' 5" and 260lbs, I very rarely come out of eco mode only occasionally using tour for the steepest hills...

You need to ride and select the correct gear as if riding a non assisted bike and just rely on the motor to assist you, not to do the donkey work.

It sounds like what you wanted was a 1000w hub motor with a throttle?

Edited April 22, 20206 yr by darren66

Im waiting for this bike to be delivered - is there a nack to selecting the gears so not to put too much strain on the drive train or is it just the same as changing gears on a non assisted bike?

Im waiting for this bike to be delivered - is there a nack to selecting the gears so not to put too much strain on the drive train or is it just the same as changing gears on a non assisted bike?

I try not to exert as much force through the crank when changing gear, similar to a non assisted bike, I personally stop pedalling for a split second, the chainring will continue to rotate with the motor (for a fraction of a second) this will allow a smooth change with no undue strain on the drive train, certainly more important when selecting a lower gear.

I've had this bike for a few months now and I'm happy with it and finding myself doing more miles more often. Battery life is good. I easily get 2-3 days on my work commute (26km round trip) in TOUR. Longest I've done in 70KM in TOUR (mixture of road and off-road across Dartmoor) and still had 2/5 bars charge left. I clocked up 580KM is April which is the most I've ever done in a month! I find TOUR and ECO adequate, very occasionally use SPORT for a steep hill (and it flys up), but TOUR is usually enough. Never ever needed TURBO. It's my first E-Bike and of course you have to put some effort it but it definitely takes the sting out of hills, and they no longer 'wipe me out' , and I just generally enjoy going faster for longer (compared to my hardtail MTB).

Hi guys

ive beeen using this bike for 300 miles now and a few questions

- I’m noticing drag below 15mph, my friends acid hybrid mtb e bike which is entry level, can roll downhill faster than mine, with the power off, and on eco mode, when we are riding together I generally have to Select a higher mode to keep up with him. and I’m watching his pedal, he is pedalling less.

- I’m Changing the tyres to marathon e plus to try and combat this

- the gears are very noisy when changing, they make a clunk sound everytime, against comparing this to the entry level cube acid hybrid, which is smooth shifting without sound every time.

whats going on here, why is my bike plagued with these kind of issues?

Your friends bike is a litter lighter due to our bigger battery. Are you both roughly the same weight and size? Are your fitness levels similar?

 

I agree with the gears though I did have to re-index them a few times and they did sounds better after that. I may be wrong but our higher torque motors can sometimes cause the gears to thud more when shifting - I noticed they were quieter when I had the bike Off

Hi guys

ive beeen using this bike for 300 miles now and a few questions

- I’m noticing drag below 15mph, my friends acid hybrid mtb e bike which is entry level, can roll downhill faster than mine, with the power off, and on eco mode, when we are riding together I generally have to Select a higher mode to keep up with him. and I’m watching his pedal, he is pedalling less.

- I’m Changing the tyres to marathon e plus to try and combat this

- the gears are very noisy when changing, they make a clunk sound everytime, against comparing this to the entry level cube acid hybrid, which is smooth shifting without sound every time.

whats going on here, why is my bike plagued with these kind of issues?

 

Not seen or perceived an issue with drag on downhills. Although I think I've noticed drag/resistance with the power off in general at low speeds (don't often turn it off, but just wanted to see what it'd be like to get home with a flat battery!). At first I thought it was just the weight of the bike but it does feel like resistance (or drag) too?

 

I find the gear changing is just about getting used to an e-bike and the increased torque from the assist when you're changing gear. Some mentioned earlier in the thread about stopping pedalling for a split second when changing gear and this definitely makes for a smoother change (and undoubtedly less stress on components). The higher the assist, and the tougher the incline, the more careful you have to be when gear changing (I find, at least). Just practice.

I’ve noticed a perceived drag above an indicated 16 but thats just the assistance cutting out, a few seconds later its all forgotten. Never noticed on a downhill and I’ve hit some silly speeds....30 plus while braking.

When I’m above 16 and prolonged I click down to off mode , the motor disengages and more natural pedalling.

 

I did start out chunking the gears quite often , I‘ve learnt to pause for a spilt second to let it engage properly and then continue, can certainly feel the assistance kick back in. It definitely smooths out the changes and becomes second nature soon enough.

After a fall the other day and landing partly on the derailleur I have straightened the hanger and my gears now move much more smoothly , so the chunkiness on shifts must have been due to the hanger alignment! With tools to hand I also moved the spoke pin about 5mm further outwards and my assistance cut off point is now 17mph on the purion display , 15.5mph on my runkeeper gps. Did 18 miles this evening averaging 13.45mph in gale force winds , very happy at the end of the ride to still see 5 bars showing and a tour range left of 50 miles.

Good news it is working better. Depending how bent the hanger was it may be worth replacing it. If it was significantly bent it could fail at any time.

After a fall the other day and landing partly on the derailleur I have straightened the hanger and my gears now move much more smoothly , so the chunkiness on shifts must have been due to the hanger alignment! With tools to hand I also moved the spoke pin about 5mm further outwards and my assistance cut off point is now 17mph on the purion display , 15.5mph on my runkeeper gps. Did 18 miles this evening averaging 13.45mph in gale force winds , very happy at the end of the ride to still see 5 bars showing and a tour range left of 50 miles.

 

A small increase to 17mph would be great. Assuming the spoke pin was sitting directly over the centre point of the sensor originally, where have you moved the spoke pin to in mm from the centre point of the sensor??

Does the 17mph reading mean the system is over reading speed as the GPS reads 15.5mph ? A 9.8% discrepancy that will also mean odo reading is out as well.

So I’ve just taken a picture and it appears I’ve moved it to its correct position, mine was originally positioned to the right above the S.

The speed reading has been out since i first checked against gps. I’ve read elsewhere it’s common as to compensate for different tyres and air pressures , but over 10% seems too much and surely if they fit “smart sam” to this model then calibrate accordingly. I have increased tyres to 2.6 bar from 2.4 but it made no difference. I was going to ask at service time for them to recalibrate as it will be reading approx 1000miles for every 850 ridden. I’m doubting the reasons given about tyres.

On the fall it was mainly cosmetics to the derailleur, it was out of line when I started again so I‘ve gently pulled at the derailleur and hanger to line it up. I’ll get it all checked out when any of my local cube service shops reopen for servicing.

 

First of all I think this sounds like a very good crank drive bike.

 

But I also think that the posts of Lostis4d illustrate the boring importance of better research and more test rides of different types of bikes, of course not so easy during the lock down.

 

There is a sort of assumed belief prevalent at the moment that crank drive bikes are best in almost all circumstances and for every different type of person at the moment.

 

I have one and love it but bought mine for riding in potentially demanding and technical off road situations where crank drive bikes absolutely shine.

 

It sounds to me that Lostis4d for his first bike purchase might have far more enjoyed a good quality simple cadence rear hub bike and he would have really enjoyed riding it and in the process saved a lot of money.

It sounds to me that Lostis4d for his first bike purchase might have far more enjoyed a good quality simple cadence rear hub bike and he would have really enjoyed riding it and in the process saved a lot of money.

Agreed I have a hub and a crank drive, both equally good but in differing ways.

Yes guys you’re right In saying that.

im on my 3rd e-bike now due to lack of trying before purchase, and not doing the full research, but tbh even if to do All your research you would still need to take the bike on your usual commute to see if it rides in the style you were hoping/assuming it would ride, my first and second EBike were both purchased assuming it would write a certain way and each time I’ve got on my usual commute I realised this bike is not for me but it’s too late to return because I’ve left the showroom with it, so I’ve had to sell privately, luckily in this market not an issue.

- sizing is a big factor and each manufacturer plays differently so it’s Hard to know what size to pick, unless you take it for a ride, once again an short ride round the block most dealers will let you do gives a false impression, the iek will ride differently once you are really out and about up hills and on your usual commute, so I would take the mini test ride as a inclination of how the bike will ride rather than a guarantee. Even within the same brand there are sizing differences between how they size mountain vs Commuter bikes E.g CUBE

My friends think im a bike expert but in reality I’ve just ended picking up all these silly unwritten rules. Even the bike shop tell their staff that I know more about eBikes than they do.

ive realised a lot of EBike stores will bulls### you to try and sell you whatever they have in stock. Also the wrong size bike will make the motor feel draggy I’ve found, if you ride a bike that’s too Big for you, it will ride with more resistance than a bike that is your size or smaller than you.

- the motor is a key factor, there are variation in, size, noise, torque, resistance when pedalling, resistance after the motor cuts off

- battery size

- suspension forks

- number of gears VS what you need the bike for - no need for a 12 speed hub if all you do is ride in the city on flat terrain and on the other hand the 5 speed belt rive won’t help you much if you’re riding up hills constantly

tyres - grippy, vs high speed, this will depend on your use scenario of the bike on the regular terrain. No point loooking for thin commuter tyres if you’re constantly riding in the mud off roading.

price range - can you get a bike that ticks most of the boxes you need for a lot cheaper than ticking all the boxes. I can get a bike that does the job for all my boxes for 2k, but I ended up spending 3.5k because I wanted a Bosch Kiox with the bike. Yes I ended up with higher grade components, but ultimately the higher end components weren’t of massive benefit to me, as I am a casual commuter and don’t intend to use my bike to it’s full potential.

on a side note I know then SLX has 12 gears, but besides that they don’t feel any much smoother than the Shimano Deore 11 speed I and previously.

so please really do your research otherwise it’s an expensive lesson.

Hi guys,

 

love the forum template here and the community! I’m a total noob and I was almost put off by the review of cube 625 bikes after reading stuff here! But thanks to this post I was able to establish that one of cubes main sellers is in Halifax which is near to me and do discounts! So I called them and although the site advised no stock at all almost they had some stuff in store! The 2 bikes I was to look at were 500 cubes but they had just built this also https://www.ukbikesdepot.com/m163b0s1132p39625/Electric_Bikes/Mens_Hybrid_Electric_Bikes/CUBE_Kathmandu_Hybrid_EXC_625_2021 which I bought for £2600!

 

I took It out last night and was blown away! How on earth anyone can say they struggle going uphill is beyond me, I actually chuckled with how these bikes turn hills into straights!

 

one question though is it only 33 miles on turbo mode for this battery, seems on paper it’s more....like eco is only showing 67.

Hi guys,

 

love the forum template here and the community! I’m a total noob and I was almost put off by the review of cube 625 bikes after reading stuff here! But thanks to this post I was able to establish that one of cubes main sellers is in Halifax which is near to me and do discounts! So I called them and although the site advised no stock at all almost they had some stuff in store! The 2 bikes I was to look at were 500 cubes but they had just built this also https://www.ukbikesdepot.com/m163b0s1132p39625/Electric_Bikes/Mens_Hybrid_Electric_Bikes/CUBE_Kathmandu_Hybrid_EXC_625_2021 which I bought for £2600!

 

I took It out last night and was blown away! How on earth anyone can say they struggle going uphill is beyond me, I actually chuckled with how these bikes turn hills into straights!

 

one question though is it only 33 miles on turbo mode for this battery, seems on paper it’s more....like eco is only showing 67.

Most people ignore the predicted range figure. It calculates on the most recent part of a ride (don’t remember if it’s the last mile or last 5 mins or something like that). If you’ve just been up a steep hill the range will go down, go down a hill and the opposite happens. Use the % charge remaining to guide you on range. With the 625 you shouldn’t have to worry too much.

Hi carlbiker,

not sure about negative reviews apart from the 1 poster on here who seemed to expect the bike to do all the work for them, I think they bought and sold 3 in as many weeks.

I had also planned to buy from the Halifax shop after speaking to them as I was in the vicinity just before lockdown but that weekend stumbled into a cube event, no shop local to me would match their prices. I was accidentally shown a screen in one shop with some of the wholesale prices so I know they could have matched, best I was offered was 5%.

I’m amazed they are still offering discounts when demand has been outstripping supply, so well done.

I'm nearly 6 months into ownership, it takes a few 100 miles to learn how to use the modes for the best efficiency and assistance. I’m managing inclines in tour which originally I had been using sport so I guess my fitness is also improving. I tend to switch between tour ,eco and off mode and I get around 90 miles between charges.Sport comes in handy against headwinds over 20mph making you a speed demon. I’ve had it showing 3 miles range and still coaxed it 10 miles home. Apart from the mishap when I fell off clipped in the bike itself hasn’t missed a beat. They are as sturdy as they look. Had mine serviced at 1000 miles , more for peace of mind as I doubt it was needed as I do regular checks of the brakes and bolts.

I see you also got the power update to 85nm, I’ll be asking the shop to flash this at the next service.

Most people ignore the predicted range figure. It calculates on the most recent part of a ride (don’t remember if it’s the last mile or last 5 mins or something like that). If you’ve just been up a steep hill the range will go down, go down a hill and the opposite happens. Use the % charge remaining to guide you on range. With the 625 you shouldn’t have to worry too much.

Ah I see, makes sense just like a car pretty much

Hi carlbiker,

not sure about negative reviews apart from the 1 poster on here who seemed to expect the bike to do all the work for them, I think they bought and sold 3 in as many weeks.

I had also planned to buy from the Halifax shop after speaking to them as I was in the vicinity just before lockdown but that weekend stumbled into a cube event, no shop local to me would match their prices. I was accidentally shown a screen in one shop with some of the wholesale prices so I know they could have matched, best I was offered was 5%.

I’m amazed they are still offering discounts when demand has been outstripping supply, so well done.

I'm nearly 6 months into ownership, it takes a few 100 miles to learn how to use the modes for the best efficiency and assistance. I’m managing inclines in tour which originally I had been using sport so I guess my fitness is also improving. I tend to switch between tour ,eco and off mode and I get around 90 miles between charges.Sport comes in handy against headwinds over 20mph making you a speed demon. I’ve had it showing 3 miles range and still coaxed it 10 miles home. Apart from the mishap when I fell off clipped in the bike itself hasn’t missed a beat. They are as sturdy as they look. Had mine serviced at 1000 miles , more for peace of mind as I doubt it was needed as I do regular checks of the brakes and bolts.

I see you also got the power update to 85nm, I’ll be asking the shop to flash this at the next service.

[ATTACH=full]37960[/ATTACH]

 

its my first real bike as a ’grown up’ but love it! I was at the local park and went up ethe steepest hill sat down, it’s ridiculous and enables the impossible which is exciting!

 

eMTB mode is this in conjunction with the flash upgrade? I see this in sports mode but I’ve no idea what it does....the Instructions for the bike are totally generic and I was puzzled whether the battery needed a full charge before using.

 

can you experienced peeps let me know how to secure the bike for trips out, if it was camping or just going for a trip out etc.....or is it eyes on at all times, I mean the wheels clip off so guess you need to hook a chain all the way through somehow and fix that to something. I saw kryptonite locks with pictures cut through, apparently not grinder proof!

 

again the original poster must have had a broken bike or body not to get this up hill, it’s comical!

 

just for reference the Halifax store, their website slaps you with 10% off already reasonable prices but in store I reckon it’s 15%, currently there are some absolute throwaway prices on their remaining 2020 stock