2000 miles on Ride1up 700 - what I learnt and what I want now

[Marrduk24]

Just completed 2000 miles on my Ride1up 700. Probably one of the best purchases I have made. I live in NYC and having the bike has given me an amazing level of flexibility and mobility. My subway/ taxi usage has gone down by probably 80%.

A few things I learnt:

1. Some of the specs I was researching for didn’t matter. Eg
- Motor power: I barely use more than 20% to 30% of the assist
- derailleur : I was crazy about getting top of the line gear set from Shimano. Doesn’t really matter given my use case.
- mid drive motor: I probably test drove 20+ midddrive bikes from Gazelle, Bulls, Trek etc but always kept coming back to rear hub drive for the city use

2. Some specs really do matter
- Brakes: really good brakes are a must
- tires: love the supermotto 2.4”
- Battery: wouldn’t want less than 600wh
- Topeak rack with a bag is a huge convenience: grocery shopping, general storage, extra jacket etc

So what would I improve on :
1. Wondering if there is a way to reduce weight: don’t want to give up on fenders and rack. Only thing I probably could do away with is a front suspension

2. A smoother power assist controller, which probably requires s more refined torque sensor

Any ideas would be welcome.

 

[rich c]

You would get the smoother power assist with a mid drive.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

I was actually looking at installing a torque sensor to my 700xr. I think I’d have to replace the controller to get it to work, or buy the $200+ Cycle Analysis to get my current set up to work with the new sensor. I don’t know for sure, but I’ve seen where a torque sensor on flat land is not very good since your load doesn’t vary much on flat land (as compared to hilly areas). Maybe someone with a torque sensor can chime in about that.

I did swap out my original controller to….

US $31.77 20％ Off | 36V 48V 500W 25A Electric Bicycle Brushless 9 Mosfet Sine Wave Controller with KT LCD3 LCD8 Display Panel Ebike Accessories

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mNcglSu

I’m using the LCD8H display. The 25a controller was a perfect fit inside my downtube. The aim of having a new controller was to have more torque. I live in a very hilly area and the extra push (amperage) is great help. Though it comes at the cost of diminished range. I only travel 8 miles (round trip) for work. I charge after about 30 miles.

I should also note that I have the older generation of 700 series, the one with the 18650 cells. If your batter is newer and has the 21700 cells, your battery is longer. I’m not sure the size of the stock controller is the same.

 

[Rexlion]

My LMTD has the torque sensor. I don't get a feeling of "not very good on flat land" at all. It works fine for me.

 

[AHicks]

Just completed 2000 miles on my Ride1up 700. Probably one of the best purchases I have made. I live in NYC and having the bike has given me an amazing level of flexibility and mobility. My subway/ taxi usage has gone down by probably 80%.

A few things I learnt:

1. Some of the specs I was researching for didn’t matter. Eg
- Motor power: I barely use more than 20% to 30% of the assist
- derailleur : I was crazy about getting top of the line gear set from Shimano. Doesn’t really matter given my use case.
- mid drive motor: I probably test drove 20+ midddrive bikes from Gazelle, Bulls, Trek etc but always kept coming back to rear hub drive for the city use

2. Some specs really do matter
- Brakes: really good brakes are a must
- tires: love the supermotto 2.4”
- Battery: wouldn’t want less than 600wh
- Topeak rack with a bag is a huge convenience: grocery shopping, general storage, extra jacket etc

So what would I improve on :
1. Wondering if there is a way to reduce weight: don’t want to give up on fenders and rack. Only thing I probably could do away with is a front suspension

2. A smoother power assist controller, which probably requires s more refined torque sensor

Any ideas would be welcome.

You can find hub driven bikes down to about 55lbs. Trick is to get no more battery than you need. 13.5-14.5ah is fine for a city bike. 500w gear driven hub motors work great. We have 3 Espin Bikes, 2 are Flows which is a step through, and we also have a Sport. The Sport is no longer sold, but is a twin to the Flow other than it's a step over. All were purchased due to their light weight. All are holding up really well. I've mounted seat suspensions, Schwalbe Super Moto X 2.4" tires, and converted the stock controller and display to KT-22a.

Flow

The perfect ebike for a casual cruise. Features an upright cruiser frame geometry and step-through for better accessibility. The urban commuter's dream. Flow is an affordable fat tire off-road electric bike with step-through & 20'' x 4” fat tires for added grip and stability that is ready to...

www.espinbikes.com

Not pushing the Espin bikes. Those are just meant to be an example of what can be done with some careful shopping...

 

[teskow]

You would get the smoother power assist with a mid drive.

That is not necessarily correct. My mid drive did not have a smooth power delivery at all.

 

[Ben J]

- Motor power: I barely use more than 20% to 30% of the assist
- mid drive motor: I probably test drove 20+ midddrive bikes from Gazelle, Bulls, Trek etc but always kept coming back to rear hub drive for the city use

I agree a hub drive feels easier for city/road use, but I think that might be partly because it is just sloppy and generous with the power application. I wonder if "smoother" is actually in opposition to your feelings about middrive bikes, because I know Trek (from your list) is smoother than a torque sensing hub bike. It's just got a huge advantage in that it applies power at the pedal with you, so the controller isn't playing guessing games about how your torque should influence speed (when the hub drive controller can't see what gear you're in).

But the main reason I replied was to make sure you were trying full power middrives in comparison. My Tero X 6.0 can smoothly ramp from 10-100% assist and you can tell the difference for every 10%. By comparison, my Aventure.2 is like a Tero X on 80/90/100% power. It just doesn't have any real "eco" mode. If I had someone ride both on "eco" they'd think the middrive was a dog. But if I set them both to "turbo" the Aventure.2 would feel the same and the Tero X would be an entirely different bike.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I don’t know for sure, but I’ve seen where a torque sensor on flat land is not very good since your load doesn’t vary much on flat land (as compared to hilly areas). Maybe someone with a torque sensor can chime in about that.

Chiming in in favor of torque-sensing here. Ride a mix of flats and short, steep hills on a 500W rear hub-drive with a simple torque sensor in the right rear drop-out. The torque-sensing's probably nothing special, but power delivery feels natural and seamless at all assisted speeds in all terrains — including on the flats.

Not a problem in my book, but I do notice a slight surging now and then when spinning in too low a gear for the resistance at hand. More noticeable at higher PAS. Upshift to get back down to preferred cadence, or reduce PAS to better match resistance, and it's gone.

Could depend on how the bike's used, I suppose. So for the record, not a strong rider, but I always pedal — mostly at PAS 1/9. Generally keep a knee-friendly cadence (around 80 RPM) with gearing before asking the motor for more help.

Not looking for the high speeds a city commuter like the OP might want. Typically make around 13-17 mph on the flats, depending on headwind. Don't mind spinning uphill at 5 mph if that's what cadence demands. Use blips of throttle only for starts and instant bursts of speed in traffic. Works well on city streets with or without bike lanes.

I've also seen claims that torque-sensing is bad for elderly riders and bum knees. I'm 74 with bum knees. No idea what they're talking about.

I do know that both of us disliked the power delivery on all 5 of the cadence-sensing hub-drives we tested, some more than others.