REVIEW: QR-E 250W ELECTRIC BOOSTER BICYCLE MOTOR AND B60i AND B70 BATTERY

[EMGX]

I just bought what was convenient off of Amazon, two pack of stick on push button momentary micro switches. There are a couple sellers of the same product for $10 or less. Not waterproof, the lever switches that I may or may not try depending on how I like the current setup are even less expensive and waterproof rated.


One of the many available lever action micro switches that I may or may not try, depending.


I had the same poor experience with the stock friction tape and a few brands of grip tape (including 3M safety walk and Gorilla). Sanding belt has worked well with no noticeable evidence of wear or slippage on reasonably appropriate tires for the Qiroll, YMMV.

 

[EMGX]

@EMGX, can you share what kind of switch you used? I might want to do the same thing. The S2 switch is too bulky and not comfortable on the handle bar.

I'm still trying to find a good position to mount my motor. The current setup keep rubbing off the rubber tape. I tried some grip tape (not 3M) and the grit are rubbing off too. I tried on both bikes and it was the same. Jason from Qiroll tole me to move the motor closer so it's more straight-up. I can probably do that on my Bike Friday but not on the Birdy.

BTW, nice bikes and I'm envious that you had the foresight to buy a Pro instead of Mute, wish I had.

Edit: I took a small ride with the DIY actuator and like it. As a bonus the braided cable is somewhat stiff unlike the floppy OEM so routing is neater.

 

[EMGX]

I bought a few of the waterproof momentary lever action micro limit switches and since the braided USB micro cords came as a pack of two I'm going to make another controler using them. Both the push button and lever action switches are much easier to feel and hear when they have been successfully engaged than the stock switches as well as offering different and more convenient location and mounting options.

 

[R2D2]

I bought a few of the waterproof momentary lever action micro limit switches and since the braided USB micro cords came as a pack of two I'm going to make another controler using them. Both the push button and lever action switches are much easier to feel and hear when they have been successfully engaged than the stock switches as well as offering different and more convenient location and mounting options.

Can you take some photos the next time you make that DIY switch again? I think I want to do the same since the current S2 switch are not comfortable at all. My hand get tired and fatigue.

I finally made some custom bracket to fit the motor. I discovered that my bike has 3 M6 screw holes that I believe are used for fenders. I use found 3 small L brackets at home and drilled two holes to fit the Qiroll motor. There is no flex and the motor is stable. I also tried the 1" sand paper and that did the trick. No more slipping and ripping the tape off. I did find that my rear wheel tire got rubbed off a bit and I can tell it is thinner than my front tire. I think that was caused by the grip tape slipping. The sand belt does not slip and rubbing should be less.

 

[EMGX]

Nice job with your mounting solution! Just messing around I've put my Qiroll on 4 different bikes in several mounting locations and like best on the seat stays where possible. That way I could easily look down and back at it to see what mode (red or blue) the motor was in as it wasn't always obvious to me, probably not an issue with the more powerful Pro.
I can try to take pictures but it is super simple. Like Blueberry noted there are 3 wires on the USB cable that you use: the green and white signal wires, one for each switch and the common ground used for both switches. A red (+) wire isn't used and can be clipped back out of the way. The hardest part is stripping the insulation without damaging the tiny copper wires - I just melted it with a lighter and stripped it off with my fingers but that can sometimes leave plastic residue on the wires making soldering somewhat more difficult. If you have a better method I'd like to hear it.

Did you apply the sanding belt directly to the roller? It looks like you have something under it. I used a 1/16" thick solid neoprene tape underneath and glued the sanding belt to that.

If you ride steep hills please post your impression of the Pro's assist on them. Subjective of course but that'd still be helpful info.

 

[R2D2]

I did use some double sided tape on the sanding belt. https://www.amazon.com/Duck-Strengt...114601&sprefix=duck+nano+,aps,119&sr=8-6&th=1

I'll order some parts and look into doing the same thing you did on the S2 switch. Thanks for all the inspiration.

 

[EMGX]

You're welcome, but Blueberry was the source of inspiration - I wouldn't have figured out how/which USB wires were to be used on my own.
Interesting choice of adhesive base layer for the sanding belt. I hope it works out for you. Keep us informed either way.

 

[Tuono]

Hey guys, I got my Flex, installed and thinking I must have done something wrong as this doesn't have enough power to get me up even modest hills. I"m thinking this has to be an error on my part somewhere as the set up can't be this weak or could it? I even installed some grip tape over the stock roller that has helped marginally. I've tried cranking it down some, repositioned the motor, increased my air pressure etc. Here are a few pics, keep in mind this is my temporary set up with battery and wiring, just trying to get it working right. My bike is 16-17lbs, im 180, so it's not a weight issue. I reached out to Jason as well and waiting to hear back. You guys think it would be any better mounting on the top triangle? I'm completely underwhelmed at this point, it's not even worth having on the bike, messing with, not to mention the money and time. Hopefully I'm missing something and you guys can help figure it out. BTW, my tires are 2.35 x 26 supermoto's. I have 2.00x26 marathon's on order

 

[EMGX]

What I've noticed for mine is that the assist is very noticeable on flats and gentle grades, where it's not needed (where I normally shut off assist on my mid drive bikes) but falls flat on any significant grade where assist is wanted. My experience may be skewed because I typically ride hilly routes with very steep sections. Just a guess is that assist in terms of torque is very low. Your mounting location looks good to me and if you aren't experiencing slipping of the roller on the tire maybe what you are experiencing is just the limit of what a Mute can provide. Post up if you come to some solution for your problem.

 

[Tuono]

Because this is all new to me, I'm not sure sometimes if I'm slipping unless it's obvious like when using the stock tape. However, seems a little better when I added the grip tape yesterday. not sure if it will hold or not longer term but cleaned the stock tape with goof off, then added this 80 grip over top of it off of Amazon for $6. So far it's holding well. I didn't want to invest in another tape to put underneath and this way if it comes off I'll have the stock tape in place as a back up. By your post, it looks like the sanding belt would be a better option though.

I'm kinda of sad right now realizing I may have just wasted over $200 on a system that can't even help pull me over simple hill. Back in 93, I met a couple of electrical engineers in San Diego who designed a simular friction system that really worked well and even had the convenience of electrically attatching to/off the wheel and run with a simple functional power button. The water bottle battery pack back then would only power for about 15min....todays lithium would be much better. Unfortunately, I lost track of these guys many years ago and don't think their system really got off the ground commercially. It was designed around boosting you over local 8-10% grade, 2 mile hills at the end of a ride. Guess I'm really in the tourqe camp end of things rather than top speed. My present 6yr old 250w Shimano mid drive bike has 70nm of torque and will power up to 20mph, new 250w motors hit 85-90nm and 28mph. The QR system i've got feels like 5nm of tourqe, don't understand why it wasn't designed with more. I'm ok with lighter performance of 15- 20mph top speed, don't care about inefficient regen braking, just need some work horse grunt to get me over a hill.

 

[3dxl]

Hey guys, I got my Flex, installed and thinking I must have done something wrong as this doesn't have enough power to get me up even modest hills. I"m thinking this has to be an error on my part somewhere as the set up can't be this weak or could it? I even installed some grip tape over the stock roller that has helped marginally. I've tried cranking it down some, repositioned the motor, increased my air pressure etc. Here are a few pics, keep in mind this is my temporary set up with battery and wiring, just trying to get it working right. My bike is 16-17lbs, im 180, so it's not a weight issue. I reached out to Jason as well and waiting to hear back. You guys think it would be any better mounting on the top triangle? I'm completely underwhelmed at this point, it's not even worth having on the bike, messing with, not to mention the money and time. Hopefully I'm missing something and you guys can help figure it out. BTW, my tires are 2.35 x 26 supermoto's. I have 2.00x26 marathon's on order

How much gradient hill climb you tried? What battery you use? Your setup look perfect, i don't see any problem. My Pro version could keep up climbing between 10% to 20% hill gradient moving at 8~15km/h with 50% leg pedaling effort (34t front chainring and 32t cassette on the back). Does your Flex maintain proper speed on flat road as published on the specification.

* I notice on FLEX model it says "Speed: The maximum speed is 23-27mph (pedaling )." ....hmmm i can see why it struggle up the hill. You need PRO if you live in hilly area.

 

[Tuono]

Thanks XL. My main hill is 2 miles at 8% grade. I'm not even close to being able to go up this or any hill for that matter, there is no torque. This is my battery

https://fullbattery.com/collections/batteries/products/37v-lithium-battery-pack

 

[EMGX]

I wonder how this friction drive unit performs. Couple good reviews on Amazon and one on a Redit forum that I could find. Relatively inexpensive, uses standard 48v battery, retracts from wheel, bidirectional capable, claimed 350w which is more than the Qiroll Pro.

 

[karkodup86]

Mamy to qiroll mute plus jutro montowanie pozdrowienia z Polski

 

[karkodup86]

I chyba mam pecha po powrocie do domu z pracy podłaczyłem wszystko i mam problem bo gdy wciskam przycisk od hamowania szarpie silnikiem i to wszystko co myslicie załaczam filmik a i tak sie grzeje silnik ze nie idzie utrzymac w ręce

 

[EMGX]

Sorry to hear that, looking forward to viewing your video.

 

[karkodup86]

Przykro mi to słyszeć. Czekam z niecierpliwością na obejrzenie Twojego filmu.

Kurcze nie moge wstawić filmiku

 

[Tuono]

how do I translate thi

I wonder how this friction drive unit performs. Couple good reviews on Amazon and one on a Redit forum that I could find. Relatively inexpensive, uses standard 48v battery, retracts from wheel, bidirectional capable, claimed 350w which is more than the Qiroll Pro.

View attachment 185815

This looks interesting. Having an electronically retractable motor is a big plus, the system I tried 30 years ago had one and really liked it. Wonder how much it weights? I'm really tempted

 

[3dxl]

I wonder how this friction drive unit performs. Couple good reviews on Amazon and one on a Redit forum that I could find. Relatively inexpensive, uses standard 48v battery, retracts from wheel, bidirectional capable, claimed 350w which is more than the Qiroll Pro.

View attachment 185815

I saw the setup, looks bigger and bulky than Qiroll. If they make it compact and smaller i might pick one up and mix with my hailong/bafang battery pack.

 

[EMGX]

how do I translate thi

This looks interesting. Having an electronically retractable motor is a big plus, the system I tried 30 years ago had one and really liked it. Wonder how much it weights? I'm really tempted

They list weight as 1.5kg, not sure if that includes the control.