An e-mtb for me...

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RonK
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An e-mtb for me...

Postby RonK » Thu Jul 19, 2018 9:34 am

After meeting several people riding e-bikes on the Alps 2 Ocean Trail in NZ last year, and checking out a Specialized Turbo Levo in a Dunedin bike shop, a ride over the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail last week gelled my interest.

With work commitments making it harder to accrue enough leave for longer tours, I'm going to focus more on shorter off-road tours around the local area. My dodgy knees though will struggle with some of the steep climbing I will encounter.

So a new Focus Bold2 Plus will soon be joining my stable...

With dual batteries the Bold2 Plus will have a range of 150km + in eco mode.

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Uncle Just
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby Uncle Just » Thu Jul 19, 2018 11:30 am

Good for you Ron. I've never understood the hate for these bikes. If they are used responsibly they allow people such as yourself and others who aren't quite up to the rigours of riding for whatever reason to be able to keep in the game. A mate who has no injuries, is a good mtber, very trail aware and responsible took one out for spin on his local trails and had a ball. Not for everyone but I could also see myself getting one as my dotage fast approaches. :wink:

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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby Calvin27 » Thu Jul 19, 2018 11:35 am

Beautiful. I'm loving the new breed of eMTBS. I've had my home job for over a year now and it has certainly presented me with a whole new take on riding going further and into harder terrain for longer - an I'm an average fitness regular MTBr.

As a side note, I'm still not liking the 25kph cutout though, much prefer a gradual progression of a 200w pas. Given the international markets I would assume this one is not 200W pas.
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby Mugglechops » Thu Jul 19, 2018 12:39 pm

Nice. I take it the extra battery slots in inside the downtube?

Perfect for a quick overnighter or longer if you can charge it along the way.

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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby RonK » Thu Jul 19, 2018 12:58 pm

Uncle Just wrote:Good for you Ron. I've never understood the hate for these bikes. If they are used responsibly they allow people such as yourself and others who aren't quite up to the rigours of riding for whatever reason to be able to keep in the game. A mate who has no injuries, is a good mtber, very trail aware and responsible took one out for spin on his local trails and had a ball. Not for everyone but I could also see myself getting one as my dotage fast approaches. :wink:
I don't know that there are so many haters - e-mtb's are making massive inroads into sales all around the world. But as you probably realise, what other people may think doesn't bother me much. :D

Maybe I will go out and smash a few of their Strava segments to really piss 'em off. :lol:
Last edited by RonK on Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby RonK » Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:04 pm

Calvin27 wrote:As a side note, I'm still not liking the 25kph cutout though, much prefer a gradual progression of a 200w pas. Given the international markets I would assume this one is not 200W pas.
This bike has the Shimano Steps E8000 motor, rated at 250 watts.

The 25kph limit is easily defeated. There are a number of relatively inexpensive devices which can increase speed where assistance is provided up to 50kph by halving the speed sensor signal.

Personally I don't see much point in it - 25kph is plenty fast enough on an MTB and going faster will more quickly drain the battery.
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby Calvin27 » Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:10 pm

RonK wrote: The 25kph limit is easily defeated. There are a number of relatively inexpensive devices which can increase speed where assistance is provided up to 50kph by halving the speed sensor signal.

Personally I don't see much point in it - 25kph is plenty fast enough on an MTB and going faster will more quickly drain the battery.
Yeah I'm aware of the options. My issue is not so much that I want power at 25kph, but rather that I completely lose epower at 26kph. It's quite sudden and most don't even bother to step the power down to make it more progressive. I've found one minute your pedaling along and the next, feels like your foot got caught in quicksand.

Are you buying one? I'm keen because let's face it, the mid drive mod is ugly as! :P
Last edited by Calvin27 on Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby RonK » Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:11 pm

Mugglechops wrote:Nice. I take it the extra battery slots in inside the downtube?

Perfect for a quick overnighter or longer if you can charge it along the way.
The standard battery is inside the downtube, the extra battery clips on the rail on top of the downtube.
Considering my usual daily touring distances are around 50-70km, with both batteries it will have easily enough range to get me from power point to power point.
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby RonK » Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:19 pm

Calvin27 wrote:
RonK wrote: The 25kph limit is easily defeated. There are a number of relatively inexpensive devices which can increase speed where assistance is provided up to 50kph by halving the speed sensor signal.

Personally I don't see much point in it - 25kph is plenty fast enough on an MTB and going faster will more quickly drain the battery.
Yeah I'm aware of the options. My issue is not so much that I want power at 25kph, but rather that I completely lose epower at 26kph. It's quite sudden and most don't even bother to step the power down to make it more progressive. I've found one minute your pedaling along and the next, feels like your foot got caught in quicksand.

Are you buying one? I'm keen because let's face it, the mid drive mod is ugly as! :P
I understand the Shimano motor is quite progressive, and there are several assistance levels, but time will tell.

The integral battery is smaller than most e-mtb's, but with the extra battery the bike has a much better range, which suits my purposes best. The batteries are not cheap though.

Yes, I've ordered one and it's on the way. Should arrive early next week.

The Focus is about as streamlined an e-mtb as you can get. Very stylish, but quite imposing when you are standing next to it. There are also a couple of duallies - the Jam2 and the Sam2. The Bold2 and Jam2 are available as both 29ers or 27.5 Plus.
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby Calvin27 » Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:38 pm

RonK wrote: The integral battery is smaller than most e-mtb's, but with the extra battery the bike has a much better range, which suits my purposes best. The batteries are not cheap though.

Yes, I've ordered one and it's on the way. Should arrive early next week.
Nice one! Lets us know how it goes.

I've ridden the Trek demos and didn't like it as much as my torque sensing, but I understand the newer mtbs have improved a lot of areas. How much was the battery and what kWh if you don't mind me asking? The site says up to 760Wh - but I'm keen so see how much more the extender gives. I normally hit up about 100km on about 600Wh - but that is a crappy chinese motor and I believe the shimano is much more efficient and powerful (sort of like Chinese lumens I guess).

Edit: It says 10Ah (presumably at 36V) so the extra battery will essentially double it. Not bad considering the downtube is so neatly packaged.
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby RonK » Thu Jul 19, 2018 2:53 pm

Calvin27 wrote:
RonK wrote: The integral battery is smaller than most e-mtb's, but with the extra battery the bike has a much better range, which suits my purposes best. The batteries are not cheap though.

Yes, I've ordered one and it's on the way. Should arrive early next week.
Nice one! Lets us know how it goes.

I've ridden the Trek demos and didn't like it as much as my torque sensing, but I understand the newer mtbs have improved a lot of areas. How much was the battery and what kWh if you don't mind me asking? The site says up to 760Wh - but I'm keen so see how much more the extender gives. I normally hit up about 100km on about 600Wh - but that is a crappy chinese motor and I believe the shimano is much more efficient and powerful (sort of like Chinese lumens I guess).

Edit: It says 10Ah (presumably at 36V) so the extra battery will essentially double it. Not bad considering the downtube is so neatly packaged.
Hehe - as I mentioned, the Focus battery is smaller than the usual 500Wh battery. That is 760Wh for both batteries - 378 Wh each.

Most e-mtb's with internal batteries don't have an option for an extra external battery. And for e-mtb's with external batteries, a spare would have to be carried in a bag or pack.

The battery T.E.C. Pack is $899. I got a free one as part of the deal.
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby Calvin27 » Thu Jul 19, 2018 2:58 pm

RonK wrote: Most e-mtb's with internal batteries don't have an option for an extra external battery. And for e-mtb's with external batteries, a spare would have to be carried in a bag or pack.

The battery T.E.C. Pack is $899. I got a free one as part of the deal.
That's pretty awesome deal!

What are your plans with it? Personally I find with an ebike you are more willing to explore the B route and can still afford to laugh it off as a bad choice instead of coming home 2 hours late and flogged to death :D
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby RonK » Thu Jul 19, 2018 3:07 pm

I'm planning to do local trail rides - nothing overly technical, and also multi-day rides around SEQ.

I'll take inspiration from Neil Ennis (but perhaps his less extreme rides).
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby Scintilla » Fri Jul 20, 2018 12:24 am



With dual-battery mount.

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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby RonK » Fri Jul 20, 2018 6:55 am

^ and the point is?
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby Scintilla » Fri Jul 20, 2018 7:20 am

I reckon one might tour very nicely with one of these. Just one (humorous) outlook; don't take it as a threat :wink:

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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby RonK » Fri Jul 20, 2018 1:37 pm

Mods, I meant to post this thread to the Touring Bikes and Equipment forum. Could you please move it. TIA
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby }SkOrPn--7 » Fri Jul 20, 2018 6:52 pm

Nice bike Ron should be great to assist you with your troubling knees not a bad range on it that's pretty impressive look forward to hearing about your shake down on it.

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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby find_bruce » Fri Jul 20, 2018 8:07 pm

RonK wrote:Mods, I meant to post this thread to the Touring Bikes and Equipment forum. Could you please move it. TIA
Done

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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby baabaa » Sat Jul 21, 2018 11:05 am

Good call Ron,
the whole off road ebike thing is just starting to make waves....
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby RonK » Sat Jul 21, 2018 2:26 pm

Yes, the UBCO is a very impressive vehicle. I would have loved one back when I was on the farm.

I bet those cop bikes are not speed restricted. :o
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby rifraf » Tue Jul 24, 2018 1:49 pm

Your not tempted to go fat with an e-bike Ron :?: :idea:
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby RonK » Tue Jul 24, 2018 2:28 pm

rifraf wrote:Your not tempted to go fat with an e-bike Ron :?: :idea:
No - I went Plus which I think is wide enough. Tyres are 2.8". However, I chose this bike in particular because of its range.
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby RonK » Wed Jul 25, 2018 6:32 pm

I took delivery of the bike after work last night, and spent the evening digesting the slab of documentation Focus and Shimano provide (including a CD), charging the batteries, installing a cycle computer and sensors, mounting a bidon cage, setting the sag and damping on the suspension fork, and making a few ergonomic adjustments.

Then this afternoon I managed to sneak out of the office in time to take a short ride before sundown, to get a feel for the motor assistance and to bed in the brakes, so of course I needed a hill. A big one. I followed the river bank around West End then cruised easily up Dornoch Terrace to the top of Highgate Hill, using only Eco and Trail mode.

First impressions? The 27.5 x 2.8 Maxxis Recon + tyres seem enormous, and the hydro-formed alloy frame unashamedly robust. It's a very imposing bike when you stand next to it. Weight is 20kg.

And to ride? Wow - like, Wow. It is a magic carpet ride.

Image
Damn - I forgot to align the wheel/tyre labels.

Now I've just got to get rid of that ugly piece of plastic on the back wheel and fit a decent pair of pedals. Oh, and I don't much like the wide flat bar - I think a narrower riser bar may be the first upgrade. Regrettably there are not a lot of choices in Di2 bars.

Oh, and the dropper post - fantastic, why haven't I got one on all my bikes?

So - on the weekend I'll be heading up to the Ewen Maddock dam near Caloundra with some friends to give the bike its first real workout over a few MTB trails. I've told them I have a new bike, but not what kind of bike. They'll be shocked. :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol:

And while I was taking this pic, a name popped into my head, so it shall be know from this day on as "Limey".
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Re: An e-mtb for me...

Postby andrewjcw » Wed Jul 25, 2018 8:55 pm

Damn looks like fun. Will be very interested to hear how you like it on the trails.
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