E-Bikes..Any test rides on new models?

[Tommasini53]

My wife and I will be e-bike shopping this spring. She is a very experienced rider interested in the "performance" level all-road models.

I'm curious if any forumites have test-ridden the Treks, Specialized, Pinarello, Orbea, or others. What did you think of the bikes? How knowledgeable were the shops? E-bikes seem like a big leap in technology for bike shops.

[fa63]

Based on the reactions to e-bike related topics on the forum, I am going to guess that you are not going to get a good answer to your performance e-bike questions :)

There are obviously hub motors (e.g., ebikemotion x35) or mid-mount (e.g., Bosch, Shimano, Fazua). The Bosch and Shimano mid-mount motors can offer more power and/or torque, while the x35 and Fazua seem to provide a gentler assist. I think for a lightweight person, the x35 or Fazua would be just fine. Plus they are way lighter. The Fazua system also allows removal of the battery and motor if desired.

One issue to keep in mind with a hub motor is that it limits the choice of wheels (you are pretty much stuck with what comes on the bike, at least the rear wheel). Also, it will be harder to fix a rear flat with the hub motor (I believe you need to carry a wrench to undo the bolts).

Overall, the x35 system seems to get pretty good reviews, plus you can buy an Orbea Gain for half the price of the Fazua bikes from Trek or Pinarello. If money is not a concern, the new Trek Domane+ HP looks interesting as well.

Good luck!

[Tommasini53]

Based on the reactions to e-bike related topics on the forum, I am going to guess that you are not going to get a good answer to your performance e-bike questions :)

There are obviously hub motors (e.g., ebikemotion x35) or mid-mount (e.g., Bosch, Shimano, Fazua). The Bosch and Shimano mid-mount motors can offer more power and/or torque, while the x35 and Fazua seem to provide a gentler assist. I think for a lightweight person, the x35 or Fazua would be just fine. Plus they are way lighter. The Fazua system also allows removal of the battery and motor if desired.

One issue to keep in mind with a hub motor is that it limits the choice of wheels (you are pretty much stuck with what comes on the bike, at least the rear wheel). Also, it will be harder to fix a rear flat with the hub motor (I believe you need to carry a wrench to undo the bolts).

Overall, the x35 system seems to get pretty good reviews, plus you can buy an Orbea Gain for half the price of the Fazua bikes from Trek or Pinarello. If money is not a concern, the new Trek Domane+ HP looks interesting as well.

Good luck!

wow!, thanks for the post. Those websites are helpful. I fear that the the information in your reply will surpass that provided by local Trek and Specialized dealers.

[unterhausen]

it seems like some companies are using the bafang sports mid drive. Like Pinorello, for example.

[alvinholbrook]

Ebikemotion for life honestly

It's the most natural-feeling drive unit I've used by far. It feels like when a fellow rider comes up and gives you a push from the back, or like a nice tailwind. You're still working but not as hard. It's light; carbon bikes like the Orbea Gain cost ~$4000 and weigh 27 lbs. Not a ton of drag either, and at least as someone who is fairly fit I could ride with the assist off and not ~absolutely~ hate riding my bike. The range extender easily doubles the range, and Q-factor stays the same as a road bike. Very cool.

Downside? It only assists to 20 mph. There's only one freehub option (Shimano HG). The battery is technically removable, but not easily.

Also, FWIW you can't get a Fazua-equipped Pinarello in the U.S. They're all Ebikemotion.

Background: I've ridden road bikes with Shimano STEPS, Bosch, and Specialized's thing. I work in a shop that sells Pinarello/Orbea/Colnago/Cannondale/BMC and stocks nearly all of their e-road bikes

[fa63]

Ebikemotion for life honestly

It's the most natural-feeling drive unit I've used by far. It feels like when a fellow rider comes up and gives you a push from the back, or like a nice tailwind. You're still working but not as hard. It's light; carbon bikes like the Orbea Gain cost ~$4000 and weigh 27 lbs. Not a ton of drag either, and at least as someone who is fairly fit I could ride with the assist off and not ~absolutely~ hate riding my bike. The range extender easily doubles the range, and Q-factor stays the same as a road bike. Very cool.

Downside? It only assists to 20 mph. There's only one freehub option (Shimano HG). The battery is technically removable, but not easily.

Also, FWIW you can't get a Fazua-equipped Pinarello in the U.S. They're all Ebikemotion.

Background: I've ridden road bikes with Shimano STEPS, Bosch, and Specialized's thing. I work in a shop that sells Pinarello/Orbea/Colnago/Cannondale/BMC and stocks nearly all of their e-road bikesWhat is it like removing the rear wheel on those ebikemotion hubs? Just a quick disconnect for the cable, undo the bolts, and it pops out? On my commuter e-bike with a Bafang hub motor, there is a zip tie before the quick disconnect, which means the wire dangles around after disconnecting it to change a flat (I know carry a spare zip tie with me).

Also, what is the real life battery range like without the extra battery?

[MikeD]

I have an Orbea Gain, but I think the best bike currently in this genre of ebikes is the Specialized Turbo Creo (if you can get past the 1x drivetrain and wide Q factor and the price).

[Robot870]

Owned a Giant for a year! Tortured the thing and it never failed - Yamaha motors are the best ( IMO) Giant warranty and level of service is great! One thing to remember......Drive systems wear out really fast on e bikes so dont get the fancy stuff!

[alvinholbrook]

What is it like removing the rear wheel on those ebikemotion hubs? Just a quick disconnect for the cable, undo the bolts, and it pops out? On my commuter e-bike with a Bafang hub motor, there is a zip tie before the quick disconnect, which means the wire dangles around after disconnecting it to change a flat (I know carry a spare zip tie with me).

Also, what is the real life battery range like without the extra battery?

The Ebikemotion drive unit depends on the bike. On the Colnagos the connector is deep in the frame and requires a good five minutes extra to get it reconnected. Pinarello has the connector mostly sheathed but its simple to reconnect. Orbea has a plastic cover on the bottom of the NDS chainstay. No zip ties necessary for any of them.

Real world range varies around here in SLC; a friend of the shop with MS did the 60-mile loop with 3500 feet of climbing with the main battery. Another person (~220 lbs) did a gran fondo in Washington with the secondary battery and had plenty of juice after. But I've also had people kill the battery after 30 miles. Elevation gain, amount of assist used, and riding weight matters.

A year in at the shop with these drive units and we haven't had issues with any of them. No warranty issues, nothing. Pretty good so far.

[MikeD]

The Ebikemotion drive unit depends on the bike. On the Colnagos the connector is deep in the frame and requires a good five minutes extra to get it reconnected. Pinarello has the connector mostly sheathed but its simple to reconnect. Orbea has a plastic cover on the bottom of the NDS chainstay. No zip ties necessary for any of them.



Real world range varies around here in SLC; a friend of the shop with MS did the 60-mile loop with 3500 feet of climbing with the main battery. Another person (~220 lbs) did a gran fondo in Washington with the secondary battery and had plenty of juice after. But I've also had people kill the battery after 30 miles. Elevation gain, amount of assist used, and riding weight matters.



A year in at the shop with these drive units and we haven't had issues with any of them. No warranty issues, nothing. Pretty good so far.


The cable on my carbon Gain is hard to pull out so I can access the connector. The cable has slack in the bottom bracket area, but is coiled up in there, inhibiting pulling it out. I had to remove the plastic bottom bracket cover and push the cable out to reconnect the cable connector. Glad I have tubeless tires. I'll have to see if I can improve the situation, maybe uncoil the wire so it can be easily pulled out and pushed back in. That plastic cover makes access more difficult. Any thoughts to improve the situation?

Have you worked on the freewheel of the Ebikemotion system? Mine has play in it that I'd like to remove. Is this possible?