Vitus/Shimano E8000 range issues

[PaulE]

Hi Lads and Lasses, I need some more help please, if you can. My wife and I bought our bikes from Wiggle 16 month ago. The bikes have been a godsend and the only issue we've both had was from poorly fitted battery mounts, which led to intermittent motor cut outs. We’re mid and late sixties and although we prefer off-road, we don't bounce very well these days and both have pretty serious prolapse disc issues. So, unlike most of you, our riding is pretty tame woodland trails and quiet country roads. We also like to tour with the bikes and we were keen to ensure that we could get 50 miles from a full battery charge when we bought them. We often did a 50 miles ride and still had a good 10 miles reserve left.

When my wife's bike got to around 950 miles, her range started to reduce, from 60 to 45 miles per charge. Thinking that this may be a battery issue, I swopped her battery for mine, which was still giving me 60 mpc. The issue persisted, ruling out the battery and I contacted Wiggle and Vitus for advice. They agreed that my LBS should do a diagnostic check on the bike, also update the firmwear and that I should send them the results. The check revealed nothing untoward and the LBS queried our riding style, weights, tyre pressure etc. They also warned me about leaving the charger plugged in for too long - something that I didn't think would cause a problem. The issue continued as I read loads of stuff on here about riding techniques and searched for people having similar difficulties. One thing I learned, was that most owners would be very happy with 45 mpc!

However, at 1500 miles, my bike range changed has now got exactly the same issue. We've very carefully checked our daily ride stats and the range left after each ride but, try as I might, I can find no reason for the reduction and we now each get around 38 mpc range. We and the LBS, are finding this a bit of a mystery. The LBS did promise to forward it to Shimano UK, but they are so stretched with a huge work backlog at present, that they never got around to it. A few days ago, I wrote a detailed account of the issue and sent it to Shimano, via their FB Messenger site, Wiggle and to Vitus. To their credit, Shimano have got back and asked for more info and I'm hopeful, given the good things I've read about them, that they will be keen to help.

I've found that forums like this are, by far, the best way of getting advice and answers on any aspect of eMTBing. A few weeks ago, I had loads of help when considering trying the STUnlocker iOS App, something that really interested me, but is on hold until we get this range issue sorted. I'm staggered by the help that everyone selflessly gives and I hope that I one of you may be able to help us with this. That aside, thanks for all that you report and for the huge source of info you provide and that guide less technically minded enthusiasts, like me, to continue to care for our bikes.

All the best, Paul & Jackie

 

[steve_sordy]

The range of my bike changes with how I ride it, not just where I ride it. If you use the battery sparingly most of the time and then one day when you are not feeling as good, you use it less sparingly, the range will fall. The change would only be dramatic if your change of use was dramatic. It works both ways as well. If I went from an energy hog to Mr Parsimonious, my range would increase.

 

[mark.ai]

Getting 60 miles out of a charge does seem impressive - it suggests to me you were riding a lot of time above the assist limit to get that range (so the battery was not being used during that time). If you've now started to ride slightly slower (but the same distance), then the assist & battery might be being used more of the time, resulting in a lower range. Could that be possible? Or similarly if you've increased the speed at which the assist cuts out.

Which sort of assist modes do you tend to use? Eco most of the time?

 

[PaulE]

The range of my bike changes with how I ride it, not just where I ride it. If you use the battery sparingly most of the time and then one day when you are not feeling as good, you use it less sparingly, the range will fall. The change would only be dramatic if your change of use was dramatic. It works both ways as well. If I went from an energy hog to Mr Parsimonious, my range would increase.

Thanks Steve and good points but, although not on roads all of the time currently, the drop off in range between both of the bikes occured when my bike was giving me 60 mpc, or thereabouts. We do usually ride the same trail, at the same time and in the same manner, so it's a puzzle for us. This Friday we're going to do a long ride on quiet country lanes, mainly flat and easy riding to try and find out just how far we can go.

 

[PaulE]

Getting 60 miles out of a charge does seem impressive - it suggests to me you were riding a lot of time above the assist limit to get that range (so the battery was not being used during that time). If you've now started to ride slightly slower (but the same distance), then the assist & battery might be being used more of the time, resulting in a lower range. Could that be possible? Or similarly if you've increased the speed at which the assist cuts out.

Which sort of assist modes do you tend to use? Eco most of the time?

Thanks Mark. We do tend to ride in Eco all of the time, to get as big a range as possible and also to make us work a bit harder. We've toured quite a lot on full susp MTB's, including around Holland and I've been from Telford to the Med on my old Whyte 46. We've only managed one decent ride last year, of 200 miles over 4 days on the eMTB's, this was fully loaded, as we always carry our gear with us. The terrain varied quite a bit between Telford and Gosport and included some good, long climbs. The guys at Vitus confirmed that we should expect to get 100km per charge - about 60 miles and we got this easily. I suppose that we did occasionally pedal over 15mph, but I really don't think that this did contribute that much to our performance. One thing that I have noticed recently is that I really can feel a very definate loss of assistance when pedalling over the 15mph assist limit. This isn't something that I remember a fews months ago, but back in March we did both have CV-19, I was quite bad and we were both left feeling extremely tired for a long time afterwards. This has resulted in my wife's bike having now done 300 miles more than mine and possibly we are now travelling more slowly and still recovering from this event. A possibility, but I don't think so. Anyway, we'll see how a longer road ride goes on Friday and what Shimano have to say. Thanks for your help.

 

[steve_sordy]

What bike is this.? I'm beginning to suspect that it is not a Vitus full suss, but a Vitus hybrid of some kind.

 

[Jansurf77]

Range also depends on how much effort/energy you put in personally, as in Eco the assistance percentage is at a fixed rate. So if you are a bit worn out from CV19, which is understandable, then the bike may be doing more work for each mile ridden.

As your fitness returns you may find that range improves. Enjoy.

 

[Frankenbetty]

Covid can leave you feeling fatigued for months after you’ve had it even if generally you feel ok according to my wife (she’s a nurse so plenty of experience) so you might be using more battery life than normal to keep at your pre Covid pace. Or it could be battery degradation over time or if your carrying more kit Touring the extra weight will use more charge as well. Or a combination of all of the above.

 

[PaulE]

What bike is this.? I'm beginning to suspect that it is not a Vitus full suss, but a Vitus hybrid of some kind.

Hi Steve, the bikes are both stock 2019 Vitus E-Sommet, no mods other than MTB mudguards. Before I bought them I contacted Wiggle, CRC and Vitus to check out various things about them. The range was an important consideration and Shimano seemed to star here. Vitus were happy with the multi use I suggested for the bikes and confirmed that on roads we should get 100km per charge - 60 miles. I intended to try hybrid tyres and did purchase some, but decided to convert to a tubeless system and stick with the Maxxis - a good decision. Initially we did turn off motor support when peddling easily on flat surfaces, but as we finished each 50 mile days ride with stil plenty of battery life, we soon stopped bothering. Despite some people saying that they only use trail mode and get good mileage, we can't see this providing the miles we need.

 

[PaulE]

Covid can leave you feeling fatigued for months after you’ve had it even if generally you feel ok according to my wife (she’s a nurse so plenty of experience) so you might be using more battery life than normal to keep at your pre Covid pace. Or it could be battery degradation over time or if your carrying more kit Touring the extra weight will use more charge as well. Or a combination of all of the above.

They're all good, logical points Frank and you are right about the fatigue. We may be putting less effort into the peddling and certainly, past 15mph, I certainly do seem to notice that it's much harder than I remember 12 months ago - also I am older! However, we haven't toured this year, due to Covid and the lockdown (we should be touring the Cotswolds as I write this) and the battery degradation, my first suspicion, I think we have disproved. At the time of my wife’s bike dropped to 45 miles per charge, my bike was still giving me 60. I swopped my battery with hers, she still got 45 and I still got 60 mpc! We were going to try a 50 mile road ride today to see how far we would get, but the exceptional heat has pushed this back a day or two.

 

[PaulE]

Update - had a lovely, easy ride around the fabulous east Shropshire countryside yesterday on nice country lanes, exactly the type of riding that we do when taking an extended trip. Unfortunately, the total mileage we got from the fully charged battery was 45 miles, well down on what we used to get. When my wife's bike as tested at the LBS, her battery performance showed 98%, so it doesn't look like a battery issue. I'm hoping that Shimano will have an answer and maybe a solution - fingers crossed.

 

[Gary]

You'd not be the first person I've spoken to who has noticed a drop off in motor performance over time with their E8000 motor.
Myself and other riders I know (not on here) have noticed their E8000 motors with age/usage noticably outputting less torque and less range than when new and when compared side by side to newer motors.
This sorta hints to the motors becoming less efficient over time/useage. Other than internal parts wearing and becoming less efficient I've no idea why this would be the case though, sorry.

Out of interest, How are the main bearings on both bikes? any play in the crank axles?

 

[PaulE]

Hi Gary and thanks for your comment. You are the first person that has mentioned noticing this to me, my LBS didn't seem to appreciate this and they're a service centre for Shimano. I can well imagine that a drop off in performance would occur, particularly with the battery, but these bikes ate only 15 months old, the one just coming up to 2000 miles and the other 1700, it seems a bit premature it me. I'll post back when I hear from Shimano. BTW, there is no place at all in the crank axle/bearings.

 

[Gary]

A service centre for Shimano in the UK is simply a bike shop with a Madison account. (official UK Shimano distributor)
Pretty much every LBS will have a shimano account. But many won't have a Steps/Di2 interface to do diagnostic checks on shimano's electronic parts and even if they do it doesn't automatically mean any of their staff are particularly savy about Shimano's motors. or even ride Ebikes.
The shimano software when linked to the motor via the PCE1 adapter will show diagnoistic information, eg. check connections, sensors, function, errors and battery health. but other than battery health none of these checks will measure or diagnose a performance loss in the (otherwise perfectly functioning) motor..
Eg. It won't be able to diagnose a loss of torque or power output at the chainwheel/drive output.
Shimano themselves do mention the performance loss of their batteries in their literature, guaranteeing they hold 50% charge over 2 years or 1000 charge. (which if you think about it is actually nigh on impossible in 2 years.

FWIW the other riders I mentioned who have noticed a loss of performance have been a long term bike industry tester and ex pro racer and another highly regarded bike mechanic so it's not really the sort of thing a random punter is going to rock up to your LBS and start telling the staff about. or something most cycle shop staff will have encountered themselves.
I've been through tons of Shimano motors. (mainly bearing failure/play) and my current E8000 has noticably less range, efficiency and torque compared with when new. but it's also a creaking mess with tons on main bearing play and other unhealthy sounds. This is why I asked you about the bearing condition of yours
My battery health is around 91% but the battery has probably done over 6000miles and I'm not overly fussy about battery care, often leaving it on charge or fully charged and uniused a little longer than ideal so that's to be expected I suppose.

 

[Pivot]

Hi Paul,

Is it possible that your good lady has to select Boost mode regularly, to keep up with you? By doing that she would drain the battery faster than you. Or perhaps you ride in Eco mode out of respect for Jackie, while she is riding in Trail mode?

I am relatively new to eMTB so these are pure speculations, but I will follow with interest to see if I can learn something new from your investigation.

 

[Frankenbetty]

You could get a spare battery. Maybe a little piggyback type thing or a full size spare. I appreciate it’s a cheap solution but it’d sort out your problem sharpish as It could be down to so many different things that you could be arsing about forever rather than just enjoying your rides
Or swap batteries half way round to even up the battery drain so you both get 50 mile (ish)

 

[PaulE]

A service centre for Shimano in the UK is simply a bike shop with a Madison account. (official UK Shimano distributor)
Pretty much every LBS will have a shimano account. But many won't have a Steps/Di2 interface to do diagnostic checks on shimano's electronic parts and even if they do it doesn't automatically mean any of their staff are particularly savy about Shimano's motors. or even ride Ebikes.
The shimano software when linked to the motor via the PCE1 adapter will show diagnoistic information, eg. check connections, sensors, function, errors and battery health. but other than battery health none of these checks will measure or diagnose a performance loss in the (otherwise perfectly functioning) motor..
Eg. It won't be able to diagnose a loss of torque or power output at the chainwheel/drive output.
Shimano themselves do mention the performance loss of their batteries in their literature, guaranteeing they hold 50% charge over 2 years or 1000 charge. (which if you think about it is actually nigh on impossible in 2 years.

FWIW the other riders I mentioned who have noticed a loss of performance have been a long term bike industry tester and ex pro racer and another highly regarded bike mechanic so it's not really the sort of thing a random punter is going to rock up to your LBS and start telling the staff about. or something most cycle shop staff will have encountered themselves.
I've been through tons of Shimano motors. (mainly bearing failure/play) and my current E8000 has noticably less range, efficiency and torque compared with when new. but it's also a creaking mess with tons on main bearing play and other unhealthy sounds. This is why I asked you about the bearing condition of yours
My battery health is around 91% but the battery has probably done over 6000miles and I'm not overly fussy about battery care, often leaving it on charge or fully charged and uniused a little longer than ideal so that's to be expected I suppose.

The report I had from the LBS on my wife's bike was titled "E-Bike Diagnosis Report, E-tube Project Version 3.4.5." and I don't know whether this is the genuine Shimano diagnostic testing equipment. It was a 4-page affair, reporting on Battery, Power Switch, Drive Unit, Indicator, Rear Derailleur, Switch Unit and Indicator Backup Information. To me, it looked very short on detailed, specific information and just seemed to confirm what the bike was fitted with and little else. I don't see how Shimano would be able to gain very much information from it quite honestly.

Compared to your bikes Gary and I suspect, most of you reading this thread, our bikes do very little "really hard" work and we are careful to look after them as well as we are able. For normal daily use, they still perform well enough, but we'd struggle to get the versatility from them now that have previously enjoyed. It was surprising how suddenly my wife bike changed from giving around 60, down to 45 mpc and then for my bike to also go exactly the same way, a few months later, was also a big surprise, hers around 1000 miles and mine at exactly 1500 miles - almost like it was pre-programmed!
Thanks again Gary, the detail you've provided is very helpful.
BTW Gary, both bikes are still in warranty. Given the experience we have had with great miles per charge, which of course it's difficult for us to prove, do you think that I could cite this as a fault, via Wiggle?

 

[PaulE]

Hi Paul,

Is it possible that your good lady has to select Boost mode regularly, to keep up with you? By doing that she would drain the battery faster than you. Or perhaps you ride in Eco mode out of respect for Jackie, while she is riding in Trail mode?

I am relatively new to eMTB so these are pure speculations, but I will follow with interest to see if I can learn something new from your investigation.

Hi Pivot, Jackie always uses Eco, we tend to do most things together and when we cycle together we match each others pace. I may sometimes go down an offroad hilly section quicker, but she's quicker than me on the road, 40.1mph last week - no assistance!

 

[PaulE]

You could get a spare battery. Maybe a little piggyback type thing or a full size spare. I appreciate it’s a cheap solution but it’d sort out your problem sharpish as It could be down to so many different things that you could be arsing about forever rather than just enjoying your rides
Or swap batteries half way round to even up the battery drain so you both get 50 mile (ish)

Hi Frank, the spare battery(s) may be something for the future and I take your point about the time we're spending trying to log exactly what's going on. This won't last forever, but I felt it important to be accurate. I have swopped batteries with my wife once, but that was when my bike was still performing better. They are now both exactly the same, so this is no longer an option.

 

[Gary]

The report I had from my the LBS on my wife's bike was titled "E-Bike Diagnosis Report, E-tube Project Version 3.4.5." and I don't know whether this is the genuine Shimano diagnostic testing equipment. It was a 4 page affair, reporting on Battery, Power Switch, Drive Unit, Indicator, Rear Derailleur, Switch Unit and Indicator Backup Information. To me, it looked very short on detailed, specific information and just seemed to confirm what the bike was fitted with and little else. I don't see how Shimano would be able to gain very much information from it quite honestly.

Yeah. that's the diagnostic report you get from the Shimano PCE1 connected to a laptop via Shimanos E-Tube software. basically just a diagnostic showing what's working. (not just what's fitted ) and any errors.

If all your riding is on the tamer side, as a first point of call to try and claw back some range have you thought about changing your bikes tyres to tubeless and much lighter, faster, lower profile tread and harder compound lower rolling resistance tyres. There can be as much as 40w difference per wheel between wide soft compound DH casing tyres and the heavy tubes that come in the ESommets and a narrower lightweight fast rolling XC tubeless tyre set-up run at higher pressures.

did the 1000 and 1500 miles points on the bikes coincide with any other changes to the bike or components or terrain conditions?

 

[PaulE]

Yeah. that's the diagnostic report you get from the Shimano PCE1 connected to a laptop via Shimanos E-Tube software. basically just a diagnostic showing what's working. (not just what's fitted ) and any errors.

If all your riding is on the tamer side, as a first point of call to try and claw back some range have you thought about changing your bikes tyres to tubeless and much lighter, faster, lower profile tread and harder compound lower rolling resistance tyres. There can be as much as 40w difference per wheel between wide soft compound DH casing tyres and the heavy tubes that come in the ESommets and a narrower lightweight fast rolling XC tubeless tyre set-up run at higher pressures.

did the 1000 and 1500 miles points on the bikes coincide with any other changes to the bike or components or terrain conditions?

Hi again, yes, I did buy some hybrid tyres as we'd run similar ones on our earlier Rocky Mountain and Whyte MTB's when touring, but decided to stick with the original tyres. These give us a nicer ride and do run well on the road, we also converted them to tubeless. Best of all and because we have the addition of the motor, we can now tackle much harder off road sections than we've been able to in recent years and this is what we most enjoy doing. I suppose that we may be asking too much of the bikes in wanting a multi-purpose role, but it did use to work.
I'm sorry, but the drop off in performance didn't coincide with any changes to the bikes, or the riding conditions, in a way, I wish that it had!

 

[PaulE]

I've had this reply from Shimano (Madison?) today -

Hi Paul,
We have actually fed our findings back to CRC on this matter already so I gather you are in communication with them?
In any case, one possible option is difference in eco/trail settings:

Based on the Unit Log Acquisition report we can see that the Eco mode is set to High and the Trail and Boost modes set to Medium. As we don’t have a ULA from both bikes we can’t compare the settings to make sure that they are both running the same. It could be that one is set to Eco High – the other to Eco Low. If you are riding side by side but one bike set to high and one to low then the bike set to high will always be using more battery energy. This is a good place to start I think and can be changed if you use the etube project App on your phones.
You state they keep the tyres inflated but I’d recommend a full bolt check and disc brake rotor alignment check, you can ride an ebike and not notice the rotors rubbing as much as you would if you had to use human power. Unlikely, but worth a check.
So downloading the E-tube project app may be a good place to start if you haven't already - https://www.shimano-steps.com/e-bikes/united-kingdom/en/service/E-tube

I hope that helps.

Many thanks,
Aled @ Shimano

I have pointed out that Wiggle supplied the bikes, that the oldest bike (by one month) was the first to suffer range issues, then the other with identical issues, that we both have been riding in an identical manner etc etc. I've suggested that I now approach Wiggle for a new battery to try on one bike and if this doesn't improve things, a pair of new motors, being as the bikes have not seen a lot of hard work and are still within warranty. You'll probably be thinking "good luck with that one", but I can't think of another way.

 

[PaulE]

Well, I've not heard anything back from Wiggle yet, but I have had this back from Vitus yesterday -

"Hi Paul,

Thanks for coming back to us on this and attaching the report.

We have been over this quite closely to see if we can get to the bottom of the battery life issue you have encountered.

There are a couple of things that have jumped out at us which may result in the reduced distance.

On the Drive unit section of the report, there are 3 sections relating to Assist mode - Boost, Trail and Eco. Currently the Eco mode is set on high, which would explain somewhat the shorter distances and drain on the battery life. Ideally these modes should be set as follows:

• Assist mode Boost - High
• Assist mode trail - Medium
• Assist mode Eco - Low

Now if you have access to the Shimano Etube app at home, you can change these yourself, have a look at the following link.

• How to customize the power-assist levels of your Shimano E8000 motor

If however you don't have access to this and you need to pop back to your mechanic, could you also have them check the tyre circumference of 2265mm as this does need to be quite accurate, as for example, if you have changed the tyres to a bigger size and the bike still thinks you are running the original tyre, there would be a slight increase in speed which also results in an additional drain on the battery.

I hope that helps Paul and solves the problems on both bike's. We would be interested to hear what Shimano have said in relation to this drain.

Anything else I can help with, please feel free to drop me a line.

Thanks,

Alan"

I can well see that if Eco is set to high, reducing it to low will help with the range, particularly if that is the main mode used, but I've read that eco in low, gives hardly and assistance at all - we do need some help! Does anyone have a mode setup they consider perfect overall?

Also, even if this does extend the range, it still doesn't explain why the range has dropped off so much, especially as the bikes are both identical and with original standard components. The only thing we have changed is to tubeless tyres, although we did change the mode on both bikes to Explorer mode soon after we bought them.

 

[PaulE]

Update - we're still experiencing difficulties with our bikes range and this is slowly worsening. Whilst out on a recent sightseeing 41 mile day ride whilst staying in the Cotswolds, mainly on quiet country lanes, my bike lost all battery at 38 miles and my wife's bike got back to our caravan showing 1 mile range left. I told Wiggle about this and they asked me to get another dyno test done, using a SMPCE02 unit. My LBS only has the earlier 01 version, but they tell me that this is good enough. They (Plush Hill Cycles, Telford) have been very good and have been in regular contact with Shimano but the recent tests, as the previous ones, have not shown any problem with either bike. Indeed, they insist that the 38 - 48 mile range we are getting is very good and normal, something that I'd agree with if we were using the bikes on gruelling, steep offroad slogs, rather than simple trails, bike paths and country lanes and if we hadn't originally enjoyed 50 - 60 miles per charge, for similar rides.

Whilst with the LBS, they updated to the latest firmware and also did some calcs, derived from the tests, that showed up some odd results. The battery report showed a cycle count of 41 for my bike and a total mileage of 3457 km. They used this to prove that I had averaged 84 km/charge, or 52 miles. By using the same calc on my wifes identical bike they got a result of 65 miles per charge. For the life of me, I can't understand how this can be right, when our bikes are running out of charge at 38 - 48 miles. To make matters even more confusing, on the way back from the LBS my wife lost a bar on her battery - after 5 miles!!! I've reported this all back to Wiggle and suggested that they should make a new battery available for me to try and see if it makes a difference, so we'll wait an see what happens next.

On a thread I read from back in 2008 from AlwaysOff, he mentioned carrying out a battery reset, by charging the battery, taking it off the bike, holding the on switch until the lights went out and then refitting and continuing to charge it. I've not managed to find anything else out about this, but does anyone know whether this really works?

Also, the original Maxxis 2.5" tubeless tyres are great, but they're meaty and I know that I can improve the range by fitting something with less resistance, as Gary has previously suggested earlier. Does anyone have any recommendations for an alternative tyre please? I don't need anything capable of massive downhill, offroad hell-raising courses, but I do want to feel confident offroad and lord knows, at 68 years old, I do enough falling off on simple trails with the existing great tyres, without putting myself in an even more precarious position!

Thanks, as usual for any helpful suggestion. Stay safe, PaulE

 

[R120]

I think your mileage is pretty good, I dont do same riding as you, but have got close to your mileage on my E-Sommet - 30 mile with about 2000ft elevation is the most I have got, ridden 80% trail/20% Eco. I suspect I could get 40 miles with minimal elevation and using ECO.

Shimano have just released the new 630wh external battery, which should fit on your bikes, but you will also need a new bracket. They area available at some European on line retailers already, but not yet in stock in UK AFAIK.

More range: New 630 Wh Shimano battery and new display for all Shimano-STEPS motors

Shimano just released three new batteries with a capacity of up to 630 Wh. The new external and two internal batteries should allow for even longer rides. What does this mean for those who already own an eMTB with the current Shimano system? Can the new battery be retrofitted? Another novelty is...

ebike-mtb.com

 

[PaulE]

I think your mileage is pretty good, I dont do same riding as you, but have got close to your mileage on my E-Sommet - 30 mile with about 2000ft elevation is the most I have got, ridden 80% trail/20% Eco. I suspect I could get 40 miles with minimal elevation and using ECO.

Shimano have just released the new 630wh external battery, which should fit on your bikes, but you will also need a new bracket. They area available at some European on line retailers already, but not yet in stock in UK AFAIK.

More range: New 630 Wh Shimano battery and new display for all Shimano-STEPS motors

Shimano just released three new batteries with a capacity of up to 630 Wh. The new external and two internal batteries should allow for even longer rides. What does this mean for those who already own an eMTB with the current Shimano system? Can the new battery be retrofitted? Another novelty is...

ebike-mtb.com

Thanks R120. We tend/can to use Eco most of the time and think that it makes us work harder - better exercise. Yes, I've been reading up on the new batteries earlier. They look pretty exciting. I did read one review suggesting that they wouldn't fit my bike, but with a new mount I can't see why would be the case.

 

[jpj. 92]

Hi Paul, interesting read.. I'm now on my second week of owning an E sommet. I have the 2.5 maxxis assegai tyres running tubeless and I would agree for what you say you are riding they're far too soft a compound and weighty. I'm still learning the limits of my range and ran out of battery riding home from the bike park last weekend.. Tried to continue with it off after 1 hilly mile decided it was very unpleasent. I got about 32 miles in before it died. This did include 10 runs of the steep trails with climbing back up mostly in trail so not horrendeous I guess.. I'm now looking at changing the assist settings to try and find the sweet spot. Going back to your tyres from previous experience I would say maxxis high roller tyres could be a good try. Otherwise I have also run onza ibex on previous mountain bikes with good results. All the best Josh

 

[jpj. 92]

These are the values that are installed on the dynamic setting and explorer setting using etube app. Explorer mode being the one with 200%assist in boost mode.

 

[jpj. 92]

I think your mileage is pretty good, I dont do same riding as you, but have got close to your mileage on my E-Sommet - 30 mile with about 2000ft elevation is the most I have got, ridden 80% trail/20% Eco. I suspect I could get 40 miles with minimal elevation and using ECO.

Shimano have just released the new 630wh external battery, which should fit on your bikes, but you will also need a new bracket. They area available at some European on line retailers already, but not yet in stock in UK AFAIK.

More range: New 630 Wh Shimano battery and new display for all Shimano-STEPS motors

Shimano just released three new batteries with a capacity of up to 630 Wh. The new external and two internal batteries should allow for even longer rides. What does this mean for those who already own an eMTB with the current Shimano system? Can the new battery be retrofitted? Another novelty is...

ebike-mtb.com

My ride is showing 4200 feet of elavation gain and I managed about 32 miles with probably 50 50 trail eco and a couple of boost moments too.. Just a comparison for you!

 

[R120]

Yes using Eco makes a big difference, however I am a stick it in trail and go ride kind a guy