Steps e8000 walk mode

[RRebikes]

Bike with xt di2 gear, walk mode is so fast and powerfull that you hardly can keep up with the bike in any gears

Bike with mec gear, walk mode is like useless (very slow, weak), in light gear, if you shift down to smaller cogs, it gets a littel faster, but norhing close to the walk mode with di2 gears and the Bosch performance cx


Anyone with the same experience? And why is it like this?

 

[Kernow]

I have normal gears and walk mode is very slow unless your down near the end of the block , but if your pushing up almost impossible stuff it’s good to have and use in the slower gears .

 

[mark.ai]

Hmmm I have Di2 and whenever I've used walk mode going up hill it's often felt faster than I've wanted it to go ...

It had never crossed my mind it could be different depending on whether you have Di2 or mechanical gear shifting. Maybe the E8000 software could be acting differently - as with Di2 connected it will know which gear you are in so it can change how it operates. Whereas with mechanical gear shifts it maybe has to assume you could be on the smallest cog so always goes slower just in case?

 

[Kangr]

I have noticed this, but didnt put it down to di2. I thought it was either weight of the bike or factory programing.
walk mode on the Di2 pivot shuttle was fast and powerful. it could almost pull you up the hill as well as the bike.
On the Lapierre with xt gears it was hardly noticeable.
There is a 8lb difference in weight between the two bikes, so that could effect it but I didn't think it would effect it this much. I then thought it might be how the different manufactuers program the motor, as from my understanding they have access to settings that users dont.
both bikes were shimano bikes.

 

[mark.ai]

I have noticed this, but didnt put it down to di2. I thought it was either weight of the bike or factory programing.
walk mode on the Di2 pivot shuttle was fast and powerful. it could almost pull you up the hill as well as the bike.
On the Lapierre with xt gears it was hardly noticeable.
There is a 8lb difference in weight between the two bikes, so that could effect it but I didn't think it would effect it this much. I then thought it might be how the different manufactuers program the motor, as from my understanding they have access to settings that users dont.
both bikes were shimano bikes.

Mine is a Lapierre with Di2, so same weight as the one you tested @Kangr, also same manufacturer Yet it still walks fast!

 

[Kangr]

Mine is a Lapierre with Di2, so same weight as the one you tested @Kangr, also same manufacturer Yet it still walks fast!

Very interesting.... so it does seem as though Di2 makes a difference to walk mode.

 

[RRebikes]

I have sold a Lapierre 2019 727 and a 2019 Lapierre 927,
727 has almost useless walkmode
927 (di2) really fast walkmode

I also sell Merida, and have a Merida e-one sixty M#erida, and it has almost useless walkmode.

 

[suso]

Merida eone sixty 900e. Walk mode powerful and a bit to fast. But it can pull me up and I appreciate that. Never stops. The Bosch I had before did stop pushing to easily.

 

[Kernow]

It took me a while when I first had my bike to realise I needed to use the gears in walkmode to get the speed right , if your using low gears , which us usually the gears your in when you start walking the assistance is so slow it does feel useless , use a faster gear and it’s actually quite good on shimano , just be careful not to bash yourself on the pedals as they turn ?

 

[RRebikes]

It's total ridiculous that you have too use the gears, Bosch walk mode is super strong and fast in any gears! Problems is that when you come too a terrain where you are able too pedal again, you have to still hold it in walkmode and change gears to lighter gear to be able to start pedaling.

 

[Kangr]

@suso and @Kernow are your bikes Di2 equipped?

 

[Kernow]

@suso and @Kernow are your bikes Di2 equipped?

No not di2

 

[Kernow]

It's total ridiculous that you have too use the gears, Bosch walk mode is super strong and fast in any gears! Problems is that when you come too a terrain where you are able too pedal again, you have to still hold it in walkmode and change gears to lighter gear to be able to start pedaling.

I’ve not tried the Bosch , I guess you are saying the Bosch walk mode has variable speed , so gear selection isn’t so important .
The shimano feels weak when you use it on the flat or places you could easily ride , but when you’ve given up being able to pedal ist generally so steep or technical that you want to go steady and just take away the effort needed to move the bike when I push up really steep stuff I often find walk mode using the lowest gears , it’s hard to believe I till you really need it , a bit like the gearing in general , lots say it’s too low , for an ebike but when you really want to climb that low 48 or 46 rear is needed

 

[Kangr]

I'm not sure if there's angle sensor in the bike but the walk assist did seem to be stronger when on a steeper climb than on the flat.

 

[steve_sordy]

I discovered how useful walk mode was on a steep climb up a high railway embankment. The walk mode powered the bike up just fine and helped me up too. Almost at the top, my mate reached down from above, got hold of the bike, and yanked it out of my grasp. He thought he was helping, but I slid all the way back to the bottom!

 

[2unfit2ride]

I also think there must be some kind of angle sensor in the Shimano system as it doesn't seem to work when I try it on the flat but when I was pushing the bike up some step steps the rear wheel would push to the point of spinning as it lost traction between the steps. Di2 equipped BTW.

 

[suso]

@suso and @Kernow are your bikes Di2 equipped?

Yes.

 

[R120]

I like the fact you use the gears with walk mode as it means you can control it better, last thing you want is the bike running away from you.

 

[Tamas]

It's very strange Di2 shouldn't have any effect on the walk mode. I think it's a bug in the firmware and makes the walk mode power output different when it's set to Di2 instead of mechanical.
My non-Di2 works well around the middle of the cassette, the low gears are too slow.

 

[Kangr]

I heard a rumour once that shimano motors work better when Di2 is equipped. I was told that motor assistance is better.
Myself I doubt this to be the case, having ridden both Di2 equipped and none equipped bikes. Any if at all difference of assistance I have put down to increased weight of the bike. and also not having ridden for a couple of months.
It would be interesting to test a bike back to back with and without Di2.

 

[Kernow]

I heard a rumour once that shimano motors work better when Di2 is equipped. I was told that motor assistance is better.
Myself I doubt this to be the case, having ridden both Di2 equipped and none equipped bikes. Any if at all difference of assistance I have put down to increased weight of the bike. and also not having ridden for a couple of months.
It would be interesting to test a bike back to back with and without Di2.

Have ridden Merida with di2 back to back with my commencal , I didn’t notice any power difference in the motors , di2 is nice to use . In our regular group there are now 3 di2 bikes and 3 normal all shimano and no one has picked up on any power differences so far

 

[ThokEMB]

In the trouble shooting in the manual it has this.

“W032 – Electronic derailleur may have been installed in place of mechanical derailleur

Restrictions:
Power assist in [WALK] mode may be lower than usual (NOTE: [Walk] mode may not be accessible in certain regions outside EU.)
Remedy:
Reinstall the derailleur for which the system is configured to support. If no improvement, contact place of purchase. “

Can confirm that if steps motor is set to electronic shift but you have manual shifters, walk mode will be down on power.

Can also confirm if you change it back, walk mode becomes normal and powerful.

 

[Gasser]

Ohh, might have to check that now...

 

[RRebikes]

Am also gonna check this on my bike, but I think you have to use the E-max tuning software to change between mec. derailleur and Di2

 

[Tamas]

Am also gonna check this on my bike, but I think you have to use the E-max tuning software to change between mec. derailleur and Di2

Yes, that’s correct but if you have it set to different than your actual shifting system then an error code should come up anyways.

 

[E-Glen]

It's a feature, not a bug.
From the DM-E8000-04-ENG.pdf manual...

"The intelligent walk assist function activates when an electric shifting system such as XTR, DEORE XT SEIS is connected. System individually supplies assist power to detect gear position. "Intelligent walk assist" support rider more torque output in steep climb condition in lower side gears. "Quick walk assist" function works quickly by holding down SW from any mode. "

 

[Tamas]

It's a feature, not a bug.
From the DM-E8000-04-ENG.pdf manual...

"The intelligent walk assist function activates when an electric shifting system such as XTR, DEORE XT SEIS is connected. System individually supplies assist power to detect gear position. "Intelligent walk assist" support rider more torque output in steep climb condition in lower side gears. "Quick walk assist" function works quickly by holding down SW from any mode. "

That makes sense... with mechanical shifting no gear detection.

 

[RRebikes]

I don't agree that it makes sense, walk assist on the non DI2 bikes i totally useless, I was out with a friend with a Yamaha motor today, and the Yamaha is even worse then the Shimano... today i used my Lapierre Overvolt with Bosch motor, and with the Bosch, I get the same speed and assistance in all gears. I wonder why not Yamaha and Shimano could provide the same assistance and speed as Bosch. I will upgrade my Merida eOne-Sixty M#erida with DI2 gear soon and will not have this problem anymore, but that Shimano delivers such bad assistant on the non DI2 bikes is strange, most of the bikes with Steps motor is without DI2 gears. But then again, I guess that not all people "climb" such steep mountains as we do here in Norway, and therefore don't have the same need for strong and fast walk assist.

 

[R120]

IME the walk assist works fine if you have it in the right gear

 

[RRebikes]

That's true, but when you are not able too to pedal bike anymore cause it's too steep, bike is already on the largest cog on the cassette, you then have to gear down to third or second smallest to make it work fine, and then when it`s possible to pedal the bike again, you have to gear upp will you are in walk assist to the biggest cog again, this takes time, and if you are out on a ride along with people with either Shimano with DI2 or Bosch, you will be left behind, because they are so much faster. And another issue is that because of this useless function on the non DI2 bikes, you don't take the time to gear up and down in walk assist, and then push the bike with force, and you will be totally exhausted compared to people with proper walk assist.
The trip we had today, have really steep climbs, and we are talking about 400-500 meters of walking, and 100-150 height meters. Works great on my bike with Bosch, but is a pain in the A.. on my Merida with Shimano without Di2