So my beloved Haibike died on me. Nothing major, just a cracked on/off switch letting in rain and causing errors.
Anyway the upshot was I had to hire a bike for the day.
What I ended up with was a Cube Stereo, Bosch Gen 4 etc.
I guess very few people get a chance to evaluate a different bike over such a distance/time.
I had a full day at Whinlatter bike park.
I was keen to see what the Bosch system was like. I’ll admit I’ve been very snobbish/protective of the Flyon.
First impressions, wow. Nice bike. The fit was perfect and comfortable and it immediately felt agile and playful. The Flyon is a monster truck by comparison.
I can’t say anything about the suspension as I didn’t bother trying to fiddle, I just rode it. There is nothing at Whinlatter you can’t manage easily on a hard tail.
So the drive system. Loved it. The Bosch is super quiet. Existing users may think it’s noisy but trust me, compared to mine, it’s quiet.
I spent most of the time in ECO with a bit of Tour.
I did two laps of the North Altera and two of the South plus a lap of the Blue, 47k.
At the end I had three battery bars left.
Amazing. I will try to go back with my own bike and do a range comparison. Gut feeling I won’t get anywhere near with mine. Perhaps the Bosch motor is more efficient.
I did try the EMTB mode. It felt to me as if the minimum power level it delivered was equivalent to TOUR which isn’t the most economical way of riding.
Also I felt it promotes laziness. With a particular power setting you know when you need to raise your game in terms of effort but with EMTB I started to get lazy.
Only my opinion.
Looking at spec sheets, the Cube is about 4 kg lighter than my Flyon but it felt more like 10.
The rental guy told me the motors were de-tuned to 75 torques. I never felt underpowered anywhere.
What I did notice with the Bosch was the slight momentary power surge on pedal uptake. Initially a bit off putting but ok once I was used to it.
It definitely made me want to change my bike. I thought I never would as I do love the Haibike.
I would really like to test a Fazua power bike, something really light.
Failing that, next bike will definitely be Bosch powered.
Anyway the upshot was I had to hire a bike for the day.
What I ended up with was a Cube Stereo, Bosch Gen 4 etc.
I guess very few people get a chance to evaluate a different bike over such a distance/time.
I had a full day at Whinlatter bike park.
I was keen to see what the Bosch system was like. I’ll admit I’ve been very snobbish/protective of the Flyon.
First impressions, wow. Nice bike. The fit was perfect and comfortable and it immediately felt agile and playful. The Flyon is a monster truck by comparison.
I can’t say anything about the suspension as I didn’t bother trying to fiddle, I just rode it. There is nothing at Whinlatter you can’t manage easily on a hard tail.
So the drive system. Loved it. The Bosch is super quiet. Existing users may think it’s noisy but trust me, compared to mine, it’s quiet.
I spent most of the time in ECO with a bit of Tour.
I did two laps of the North Altera and two of the South plus a lap of the Blue, 47k.
At the end I had three battery bars left.
Amazing. I will try to go back with my own bike and do a range comparison. Gut feeling I won’t get anywhere near with mine. Perhaps the Bosch motor is more efficient.
I did try the EMTB mode. It felt to me as if the minimum power level it delivered was equivalent to TOUR which isn’t the most economical way of riding.
Also I felt it promotes laziness. With a particular power setting you know when you need to raise your game in terms of effort but with EMTB I started to get lazy.
Only my opinion.
Looking at spec sheets, the Cube is about 4 kg lighter than my Flyon but it felt more like 10.
The rental guy told me the motors were de-tuned to 75 torques. I never felt underpowered anywhere.
What I did notice with the Bosch was the slight momentary power surge on pedal uptake. Initially a bit off putting but ok once I was used to it.
It definitely made me want to change my bike. I thought I never would as I do love the Haibike.
I would really like to test a Fazua power bike, something really light.
Failing that, next bike will definitely be Bosch powered.
