I finally got around to taking the KTM e-Race P out for quick spin/test ride, and I had forgotten about just how much fun and easy that hub drive bikes are to ride.. )
I've used the same 18 mile test route, which has 1,504ft of elevation gain, for all of the bikes to date, and returned home from today's, to discover that I trashed countless of my previous Strava KOM's and beaten all previous best efforts. (Yes I did change the ride immediately to e-bike ride, so removing it from the system stats) All without even trying.
Admittedly the bike may have felt so much quicker and smoother, because the crank drive Lycan is wearing a set of Hutchinson mud terrain tyres that seemingly weigh a tonne, well 1,020g each before tubeless sealant, and with only 25psi in them, the bike is very draining to ride on the road above the legal cut off point. I guess that is the price that you pay for having phenomenal grip on wet knarly tree roots. It is actually quite surprising, what a negative effect that a set of tyres can also have on battery life. I guess that there is far more drag and weight, which in turn means that I am also using more assist than I might otherwise have done. A small price to pay for staying upright.
From the off, the acceleration was super smooth, with no real attention to gear change required. I'd say that the noise of the Panasonic hub could actually be a touch louder than the Bosch mid drive, but I really couldn't swear to it.
I'd also forgotten about an aspect of hub drives that I really enjoy, and that is the very brief fraction of over run that they afford when you stop pedalling. It might only be a split second, but for off road use, it comes in very handy when negotiating a section where perhaps you can't get a full pedal stroke, or don't want to pedal for some other reason, such as in short sections of deep mud. That extra little kick of power and cheat can and does make a difference.
My little road only test route takes in a sensible and varied terrain, and from the off, each time that I have ridden it, the highest power setting is used for the duration. The reason being that at 18 miles long, I'd expect any bike to be able to complete such a ride and still have some in reserve. In the case of today, the Panasonic battery had just dropped to three bars from the five available. Not in any way scientific, but it is isn't a bad base marker for comparisons. It isn't meant for negative comparison between bikes, just a pleasant way to give real world expectation of range from any given/ridden bike, with a reasonably fit 75kg rider. I seem to recall that the BH nearly failed complete the ride in standard mode!
The ride takes in country roads/lanes and one 'A' road, but annoyingly I had five sets of traffic lights to contend with. Only mentioned as upon my return, even with having to stop briefly, my ride time was the quickest to date. Perhaps I'm fitter than I used to be, who knows. One thing was for sure, this bike was just so easy to ride at between 18-25mph on the flat.
Making the route as varied as possible, it has a few climbs one of which is shown below. On the Bosch Macina, I am in second gear by the two thirds point, and always hope that I don't have to venture into first, although I haven't yet. A swap from the 11-36 cassette to 11-42 would change that aspect of things, so in many respects comparisons on the hill are pointless, but useful when gauging average range.
Today it was tackled using the middle chain set, and mid way down on the rear cassette. The hill felt almost effortless, actually it was effortless, with a chilled and relaxed average ride speed of 12.2mph for the 1 mile climb. I need to check, but by memory and really going for it on a non test route ride, that the BH averaged close to 15.5mph. I'd expect the same to be achievable with the Panasonic system. My own fitness could be the deciding factor with that one.
Oddly the system did give a blip towards the top of the climb, with the display flashing and a reduction on power. An on the move re boot, cleared whatever it was. The system turns on and off in seconds, so no walking off to make a hot drink, when compared with the Bosch Nyon system.
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
Video link for the climb.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...&mid=663204C2E672F6B6208B663204C2E672F6B6208B
Sadly the ride was over way to soon, but I know look forward to getting out and putting some winter road and off road miles in on the bike, and I'll return to this thread at some stage in the future to report how I feel about both motor systems and how I perceive the flaws and benefits of each.
I'll add the technical details of both systems a little later when I find them again!
A review of the bike will be written in due course., but first impressions are very good, although I would have designed a couple of things in relation to the Panasonic system slightly differently.
