Can't get up to 23mph - bummed out

[Bike_On]

Ok, do any of you ever get that feeling where you wake-up one day, and it's like you've slipped into a parallel universe, where things are slightly different, and what you thought you knew, now you don't really know??

I did a LOT of research before buying this bike. Not to say that I knew everything by any stretch, but I definitely did a fair amount of research. Here on this site, the bike is listed as 28 mph speed. Here on the Currie Tech site, the bike is listed with 28 mph speed (http://www.currietech.com). The bike is listed with a 500 Watt motor, and I read numerous places (including here on this forum) that this bike has the same engine and battery as the Stromer, and that this bike is actually made in the same factory (different assembly line).

At any rate, I'm pretty bummed to find this out. I mean all is not lost, as I was basically given this bike as a loaner, because when I went to purchase the ST1, it was on backorder... so I have the option to return this bike for a Stromer purchase - but I would have to ship it back, and pay the shipping. OR I can see if my boss will purchase this bike for the office, as he wants an ebike for the office, however he is in europe until August. But of course, a Stromer purchase would be much more expensive, not to mention I got a great deal because this was a demo bike. :-(

I also really liked the look of this bike, and bought accessories that I really liked with it. I'm so frustrated/depressed right now.

Buyer's Remorse: sorry dude. Friends don't let friends buy Currie... You had a deal! I jest. That bike, with 500W ddhub, should be able to hit 28mph on the flats with a fresh charge. As stated above, it is likely a torque setting mis-alignment issue.

 

[Bike_On]

Agreed - I LOVE THIS BIKE!!!!!!!

I just wish they made a version that would assist up to 28mph, because I need that for my long commutes. I'm actually considering just keeping this for personal use, and getting an ST1 strictly for my commute, but unfortunately, my funds are limited...

Op7,

Thanks for the honest feedback about the bike and transparency on your needs. Op7 is a prime example to the bike community and OEM manufacturers, of the hidden majority of current and future ebike customers, IMO. The future of ebike transportation and critical mass acceptance is utilitarian, not recreational. The majority of the models detailed on EBR in 2015 are more recreational and low speed/low power/20- bikes.

This is a diversion to Op7's thread, but it screams for faster bikes with more power, in the PAS and/or throttle option. The E3 bikes are solid and build well. But they are like a Ford Mustang with a speed governor set to 55mph. Frustrating that the OEMs are so legal -frozen with their designs, and the pro-CAli-law OEMs and friends keep pushing the ebike class 1-3 as standard, which will limit high speed offerings even more.

 

[Operator7]

I don't mind. I completely agree with everything you just said. This bike is great, but it's greatly limited/hampered by the lack of speed. If I just wanted to go short range, a regular bike would do. To me, the whole purpose of an ebike is to be able to go on rides of more than a couple miles. And while this bike is great at getting from zero to 16 or 18 mph fast, it then is like one big tease. I am a complete noob (though I HAVE done a significant amount of research), and this is just my amateur opinion, but I certainly wouldn't pay $3K or more to travel only a few mph faster than capable on a regular bike. That is a LOT more money than a regular bike!

I am not familiar with whatever law that is being worked on in California, but any law in the hands of THIS legislature... well that's a fate I wouldn't wish on anyone. (There is a reason why businesses are leaving this place in droves.) So I don't know if said law is going to help or hurt, but the way things are going, these sheeple seem to long for more and more government telling them what to do, and usually it's something which greatly limits freedom.

At any rate, California is a place where we have vast stretches of land to travel, and vast amounts of traffic. An ebike seems the perfect remedy. And the progressives here seem to really push biking... wouldn't surprise me if they turn around and pass legislation that greatly inhibits that which they are pushing for. That would be so California right there. All through my city of Long Beach people complain about the bike lanes that have been created, because they add to auto traffic. I was one of the people formerly complaining, because regular bikes simply aren't practical for commuting (especially here). But with ebikes, the whole game changes. I went from a person complaining about bikes, to someone purchasing an ebike. Anyways, those are my thoughts/opinions.

 

[Pastabatman]

I'm all about ebikes for commuting, so tend to agree with Bike_On regarding the potential growth of the ebike commuter demographic. EBikes made a bike commute feasible for me

Op7, why does your desired commute require > 20mph? Is it travel time? Or a need to keep up with traffic? Just curious, not challenging your need. My EM Evo Cross will do over 25Mph with somewhat hard pedaling, but I've found myself easing into a sweat-less 20Mph cadence on flats for my 12-mile commute (each way) on mostly bike trails (takes about 35-40 minutes).

Regarding your query about the BodyFloat, I highly recommend it. The BodyFloat (combined with an ISM Typhoon saddle) took out the hardtail harshness that was traveling up my seat post. It works so well, I'm now pondering a front suspension fork upgrade to match the smoothness of the back.

 

[Operator7]

Hi Pastabatman,

With a longer commute, time becomes an issue. Life is really busy/hectic out here, and while I enjoy a bike ride, I need some speed for flat areas. There are some other areas where there is a crowd/action going on, and I actually don't mind slowing down for that, to enjoy that atmosphere. But then when I hit a long stretch, I need to be able to get some speed to get where I'm going. Not only that, but 23 to 28 mph seems a good speed to travel on the bike, when there is space.

Another issue is the cogging, and so if the bike is only traveling at 18 or 20 mph, as soon as you coast for a second to take a rest, the bike immediately slows down. It'd be nice to be traveling at a much higher speed, so after resting a second, the bike isn't back down to minimum.

And yeah, I've heard mixed things about the Body Float, but mostly people seem to love it. That is one drawback of the eflow, is that you can't use a suspension post.

 

[Cameron Newland]

If speed is what you desire, check out the 2015 IZIP E3 Dash. It'll do 28-34MPH on flat ground, albeit for only 15-19 miles (I get up to 47 miles of range in the lowest PAS mode, which averages 19-22MPH). It's pretty similar to the ST1 except that its battery isn't flush with the downtube and it lacks hydraulic brakes. The ST1 is a great bike. Can't go wrong with Stromer!

 

[Bike_On]

Op7-
Mid drives and geared hubs have no cogging, they freewheel and keep the speed better. Cost? more noise.

 

[Cameron Newland]

Op7-
Mid drives and geared hubs have no cogging, they freewheel and keep the speed better. Cost? more noise.

And they don't last as long as DD hubs (the internal gears wear out faster). And DD hubs do, in fact, freewheel. I don't experience any cogging on my DD hub unless I've turned the battery off. I feel like the cogging that Operator7 is referring to might in fact be something more akin to regenerative braking.

Are there any geared hubs that go over 25mph? I haven't seen any. Ditto with the mid-drives. Seems like the only mid-drive that goes over 20mph is the BBS02, and it's not very reliable. Or perhaps the IZIP mid-drive on the E3 Peak goes over 20mph, but I've heard it's not as fast as the DD hub motor on its cousin, the Dash.

 

[opimax]

there is a section in the reviews here for 28mph bikes, i would take a look

 

[Hurley]

The thing I like about gear-less hub motors is shhhhh quiet.
But yeah, the platinum Stromer is a nice looking commuter and does 28 mph pretty easily. I have yet to ride the 28 mph version of Nitro but again, Ann M. says it easily does 28 mph.
Eflow should have done a better job of distinguishing the two different versions.
I think if they had made the "Nitro" all black they would have sold more bikes. The red swiss symbol is ridiculous in my opinion in terms of looks.

 

[Bike_On]

Quick review

Mid drives over 20+:
Impulse Thron Speed
M1 Spitzing
Kalkoff Focus Aventura Impulse Speed
Haibike Xduro Race/super racer
Izip E3 Peak, DS
Optibike: simbb, R8, R11

DDhubs over 20+:
Specialized Turbo, X, S
Izip E3 Peak, DS
Polaris
BESV
Grace one, Easy
Stromer ST2, Platinum
A2B Shima
Falco hubs

Geared Hubs 20+:
Easy Motion- Nitro City, Cross, Carbon, Race

 

[Operator7]

The thing I like about gear-less hub motors is shhhhh quiet.
But yeah, the platinum Stromer is a nice looking commuter and does 28 mph pretty easily. I have yet to ride the 28 mph version of Nitro but again, Ann M. says it easily does 28 mph.
Eflow should have done a better job of distinguishing the two different versions.
I think if they had made the "Nitro" all black they would have sold more bikes. The red swiss symbol is ridiculous in my opinion in terms of looks.

If you mean the symbol on the seat post, I concur, but when the seat post is lowered, I think the bike looks tremendous. There is a Swiss symbol on the front fork, and I think it looks pretty snazzy, especially with the red trim. I absolutely LOVE the look of the black bike with the red trim. The all-black, not so much. The all-black isn't ugly or anything, but it's plain. Same thing with the Stromer... the Stromer is a "nice" looking bike, but it's not sexy. The eflow has a very sexy look to it (especially when I'M on it! ).

I originally thought my model was the 2014, but apparently I have the 2013. This is the model before they made two separate versions. I'll really be surprised if the 2014 is faster than this. I'd love that surprise though, especially if Ann is right, and this could possibly have "sensors re-aligned", and it would get a lot more speed!!

 

[Hurley]

I don't think it has anything to do with the sensor alignment. Too bad there isn't a hack to forgo the speed limiter. It would take it out of warranty though. The power/torque is there. One would think there has to be a software/firmware hack to get the speed limiter higher???

Any ideas anyone? They seem to do this on the Stromer.

 

[J.R.]

When I ride, the bike gets to 18 mph very fast. No matter what assist mode, if I pedal decently, in top gear or second to top gear, I average around 17 to 20 mph. Cogging is significant, so whenever I stand up from the seat to get a relief, speed goes down VERY quickly (this sucks).

I am 6 feet 200lbs

but when the seat post is lowered, I think the bike looks tremendous.

I've had this thought since you first posted about lowering your seat all the way for looks, but didn't want to post on it for fear you would think I was criticizing. I didn't want to bring you down when you were so excited!

Bike fit really comes into play with a lot of your problems with this bike. You're a fairly tall guy and with the seat all the way down you cannot get the power into the cranks you should be able to and the effort you do put into it will be greater and more difficult to achieve any distance or speed. If your bike was fit properly, you would achieve higher speed and greater distance with the watts you put in and you would not feel the need to stand up for relief and comfort.

Your setup:

When your leg should look like this:

The way I look at it is who cares how a bike looks, you can't see it when you ride it and that's where you get the real enjoyment.

Good luck!

 

[Operator7]

JR, good stuff to consider, and I'll have a try at this when I get home, but couple things -

1) In that pic of mine that you posted, that was when I was assembling the bike, and the seat post was not even in yet. So that is much lower than when the seat post is in.

2) The position I have the seat post in, my feet barely touch the ground! But I am definitely a noob so I will take this diagram and reconsider my position and everything else. One thing I know is that this bike is a size medium, not a large, so it is a little smaller, but when I looked at the specs, it is only like an inch or two smaller in the frame sections. That might make a difference though?

Here is how the bike is normally:

http://electricbikereview.com/community/threads/pics.2336/

 

[Hurley]

At 6 feet tall you really should have a large frame but a medium frame barely gets you by. The seat is definitely too short, especially considering you have medium frame (unless you have very short legs for your height).
A larger frame would lend itself to a more comfortable riding position. I am 6' 2" on a large frame. Notice the seat height...

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

 

[Operator7]

I'll try the seat out higher when I get home, and will report back.

 

[J.R.]

JR, good stuff to consider, and I'll have a try at this when I get home, but couple things -

1) In that pic of mine that you posted, that was when I was assembling the bike, and the seat post was not even in yet. So that is much lower than when the seat post is in.

2) The position I have the seat post in, my feet barely touch the ground! But I am definitely a noob so I will take this diagram and reconsider my position and everything else. One thing I know is that this bike is a size medium, not a large, so it is a little smaller, but when I looked at the specs, it is only like an inch or two smaller in the frame sections. That might make a difference though?

Here is how the bike is normally:

http://electricbikereview.com/community/threads/pics.2336/

Op, these comments about fit are VERY GENERAL. Most MTN bike setups, the saddle is level with the bars and road bikes, the saddle is higher than the bars (where the bar mounts to stem). That's just a starting point and you fine tune from there, getting the proper leg extension. I expect you have an 18-19" frame, which should work fine for most 6' riders. 18" is the measurement from the bottom bracket to the top of the seat-tube (your bike: battery seat-tube). You may just need to make minor adjustments on saddle height and saddle fore/aft and angle. Minor adjustments in these areas make big changes.

Most riders on a properly fitting bike can barely touch the ground while seated with the tips of their toes and than only with one foot, but many new riders are not comfortable with this. It takes time and riding experience to gain confidence. Checkout some Youtube videos on professional bike fitting.

Hang in there!

 

[Deleted member 803]

I've been following this thread for a day or so. OP, either you were misled by the dealer and/or you simply did not do your homework and ask the right questions. There are many 28 mph assist options for both rear and mid drive bikes. And the political comments about California are factually incorrect.

 

[Deleted member 803]

Op, these comments about fit are VERY GENERAL. Most MTN bike setups, the saddle is level with the bars and road bikes, the saddle is higher than the bars (where the bar mounts to stem). That's just a starting point and you fine tune from there, getting the proper leg extension. I expect you have an 18-19" frame, which should work fine for most 6' riders. 18" is the measurement from the bottom bracket to the top of the seat-tube (your bike: battery seat-tube). You may just need to make minor adjustments on saddle height and saddle fore/aft and angle. Minor adjustments in these areas make big changes.

Most riders on a properly fitting bike can barely touch the ground while seated with the tips of their toes and than only with one foot, but many new riders are not comfortable with this. It takes time and riding experience to gain confidence. Checkout some Youtube videos on professional bike fitting.

Hang in there!

Height of rider has NOTHING to do with correct bike sizing. Everyone's inseam is different. Only way to ensure proper bike size is to have your local dealer take your measurements AND then stand over the bike you think fits. Given top tube design and geometry, proper clearance can change quite a bit. A bike must "feel" good to you before you even consider the componentry and, for those that are not cyclists, this is very subjective.

While not a fitting expert, I see about 90% of riders on a bike that is not the right size or properly fitted.