A not quite newbie experience with the FLX Blade 2.0

[dynamic]

So, here we go again. I am now the proud owner of an FLX Blade 2.0. This in my fourth e-bike since june. Since my thread in the specialized forum was oh so loved, I thought it would be a great idea to start one here.

I haven't gotten more than 20 miles on the bike because my battery won't charge. FLX has sent out a new charger and that will arrive soon.

I am also having a power drop out occasionally. It *might* be related to shifting as there is a cutoff for that. I will pay more attention once I have a working charger.

It is winter, so I don't know how much long hard riding I will do. But, on a whole, the one good ride I did do on it, I loved. The power was crazy. Almost the whole thing in eco 1. I can't wait to take it on my more backroads routes. It feels like it has the grip to climb straight up a wall. This bike might pull me into that whole single track thing.

Once the bike is really fully functional, I'll post pics and a detailed list of upgrades.

Happy Riding!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

You should have told us before you needed a mini-motorcycle that would not improve your fitness and which had no connectivity whatsoever
Does it work with the Apple Watch?
You could also consider putting something under your new e-bike.

Rohloff e-14 oil leak

Hi All, Way back I had a discussion re: my R&M Supercharger Rohloff E-14 oil leak, where after less than a year it developed a major oil leak , resulting in being returned under guarantee back to Rohloff who changed the oil seal , well it appears that I have another one , same left side and...

electricbikereview.com

 

[dynamic]

would not improve your fitness

*snickers* I don’t think you understand the hills here. It will definitely improve my fitness. I will get up the first hill at 25mph, run out of battery and have to pedal home on my own power.

Does it work with the Apple Watch?

Yep! Exactly as much connectivity as the specialized or priority had.

You could also consider putting something under your new e-bike

Rohloff sells a bunch of versions of their hub. I *think* this was an issue with one of the newer through axle or other versions. (Just based on a brief search of people complaining and the rohloff hub model on the bike. Not particularly scientific but I am crossing my fingers)

My bike lives in the garage. If it develops this issue, I will be frustrated, but my garage will be fine.

I ultimately just want a bike that works. With belt drive. That‘s the bar. In a few years when I am fitter, and know more about what I want, I will pick a more “dream” bike. I would seriously consider swapping a rohloff onto the vado sl (or maybe a regular) at that point (assuming rohloff lives up to its high quality reputation). Or maybe even a normal bike.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

You now own a very heavy e-bike (29 kg). Just know that the Como SL IGH is the most heaviest of the Specialized SL e-bikes (21 kg), which is almost as much as the chain version of the full power Como. While Vado SL unequipped is 15 kg.

I cannot understand your hatred against the chain system. It looks you would sacrifice anything to be riding a belt drive e-bike Now, Riese & Muller in Germany offer lightweight UBN bikes with (I think) Fazua motor, and there is even a single-speed version! (What a shame these e-bikes are not available in the U.S.)

 

[dynamic]

I cannot understand your hatred against the chain system.

I don’t hate them. But I am not going to buy a blackberry for a phone, a horse to grocery shop or outhouse for a toilet. We have better options.

I want to ride a bike. Nothing else. If the cycling industry isn’t ready to be as low maintenance as possible, they will be leaving money on the table. I think the relative success of low maintenance startup bike companies is starting to show that. Specialized has certainly acknowledged that with the IGH models. Belts will likely dominate consumer focused bikes at some point in the future. Elites will likely stay with their chains for good reason. Remember, ebikes are not for elites, they are for consumers. The big companies jumped on it once they realized the market potential. Same thing will happen with belt in time. It is when, not if.

 

[keithj69]

I for one am happy for your choice. I actually saw it a few weeks ago and it is on the top of my list for the next bike. Not to concerned about connectivity, but the rest of your buying points are the same as mine. Can't wait for more reports.

 

[David C]

My recent thinking is that a belt drive is also the only way to go in any future eBike because it doesn’t need any maintenance. Except that if you pair it with say a Rohloff hub. Rohloff recommends changing the oil at least every 3000 miles, or once a year. That would have been 2 oil changes/year for the past 2 years for me. So much for lack of maintenance. Is there any other setup with a belt drive that requires really low maintenance?

 

[dynamic]

My recent thinking is that a belt drive is also the only way to go in any future eBike because it doesn’t need any maintenance. Except that if you pair it with say a Rohloff hub. Rohloff recommends changing the oil at least every 3000 miles, or once a year. That would have been 2 oil changes/year for the past 2 years for me. So much for lack of maintenance. Is there any other setup with a belt drive that requires really low maintenance?

I have no issue with that because it will be done by my LBS along with other routine maintenance like brake pads and tires.

What I object to is the between LBS maintenance work. Chain is the primary cause. I am happy to bring the bike in for stuff every X months. Cost isn’t even my concern. I want this to be like my car. I put gas in it. I inspect it. I bring it to the dealer once a year for scheduled maintenance. Predictable and requires basically nothing from me.

 

[keithj69]

a 3000 mile oil change. geez. I wonder what people did before synthetic oil in their car.

 

[CodyDog]

So, here we go again. I am now the proud owner of an FLX Blade 2.0. This in my fourth e-bike since june.

Curious....why 4 bike since June? Have you kept them all (which would be really cool) or just one?

 

[dynamic]

Curious....why 4 bike since June? Have you kept them all (which would be really cool) or just one?

You should probably catch up on the drama of my other threads. Short version:

2 priority currents, 1 specialized vado 5.0 igh, all developed motor/drivetrain issues of one kind or another. All 3 were returned. I *am* suspecting a pattern in part of it as all 3 of those bikes used identical enviolo heavy duty hubs. The first priority did this weird slip and crack thing and then the motor would die while on a ride. The second one developed some odd power response and *very short* battery life. The vado had a string of issues the last of which was slippage that just caused me to throw in the towel. Specialized surprised me by taking it back. I still don't know the underlying causes to any of them. The priorities both developed these issues within 2 weeks. The vado took quite a bit longer but spent weeks dealing with "speed sensor" "weird shifting" "flaky ant+" and finally gear slippage. They were sending out a new hub when I just asked to end the process and move on.

I do wish the vado worked better. The bike was otherwise phenomenal. Exactly what I wanted in a bike.

 

[Johnny]

You should probably catch up on the drama of my other threads. Short version:

2 priority currents, 1 specialized vado 5.0 igh, all developed motor/drivetrain issues of one kind or another. All 3 were returned. I *am* suspecting a pattern in part of it as all 3 of those bikes used identical enviolo heavy duty hubs. The first priority did this weird slip and crack thing and then the motor would die while on a ride. The second one developed some odd power response and *very short* battery life. The vado had a string of issues the last of which was slippage that just caused me to throw in the towel. Specialized surprised me by taking it back. I still don't know the underlying causes to any of them. The priorities both developed these issues within 2 weeks. The vado took quite a bit longer but spent weeks dealing with "speed sensor" "weird shifting" "flaky ant+" and finally gear slippage. They were sending out a new hub when I just asked to end the process and move on.

I do wish the vado worked better. The bike was otherwise phenomenal. Exactly what I wanted in a bike.

That is quite a misfortune. Maybe it is the climate you are riding in but you have been riding since summer so idk.
Chains can be great especially when waxed.
But if you want an almost maintenance free bike I think belt is the way to go.

That FLX seems quite the value with some good components and Rohloff. How is the efficiency/feel with the stock controller?

 

[dynamic]

How is the efficiency/feel with the stock controller?

I haven’t ridden it enough since the charger isn’t working.

It’s not as natural as the vado. The vado does a much better job making it feel like you have been given bionic legs. Part of the reason is the power is so prominent and raw that it just feels untamed.

If acting like a bicycle is the priority, this won’t be the bike. That’s not an issue for me.

My bigger concern is battery life. The short time I put it in highest pedal assist I was watching the battery % reduce by the second. On the plus side, the lowest assist let me handle most of my standard loop with plenty of battery.

I will report more once I can get a few hundred miles on it.

 

[Johnny]

It’s not as natural as the vado. The vado does a much better job making it feel like you have been given bionic legs. Part of the reason is the power is so prominent and raw that it just feels untamed.

If acting like a bicycle is the priority, this won’t be the bike. That’s not an issue for me.

Are you having a delay in the response or the response not being proportional to your input? Those are usually the problems with these systems.

What is the grade of the hills you are climbing and your average speed while doing so?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

So, what connectivity can the FLX offer? Could I see any stats? (Nothing on Strava yet?)
Is the motor tuneable?
How easy is to carry that e-MTB over any obstacle?
How does the belt handle them little twigs met on the trail?
How easy is to field-repair the rear wheel?
What with the charger that was DOA?
Is it easy to return the e-bike if the owner has not been satisfied?

 

[TomD]

Congrats on the purchase. Hopefully you got the UART version of the Ultra that can be programmed,. If so, check out the FREY smooth tune topic, or for the ultimate experience upgrade to the Archon X1 controller. That's what I did and I love it. More efficient than the stock Bafang controller and smoothness on par with Stefan's beanie weenie motor (he doth protest too much).

 

[dynamic]

not being proportional to your input?

More this. It starts out way stronger and then doesn’t stay as proportionally stronger.

What is the grade of the hills you are climbing and your average speed while doing so?

I don’t know yet on this bike. But I do know I flew home on it. I will look at and post data once the bike is fully functional. Hills here tend to average 9-10% over the hill. But routinely have half mile stretches of 12-14%. On the vado this could be as slow as 6-8mph.

So, what connectivity can the FLX offer? Could I see any stats? (Nothing on Strava yet?)

I have more data than the vado. Left/right power, whole bunch of stuff around left/right. Speed sensor that doesn’t drop data. That’s an upgrade. I may be abandoning strava. My data is on garmin and training peaks. My data priority will be to get peloton + flx centralized. That may not involve strava at this point.

Is the motor tuneable?

My understanding is it is. And I have a choice of controllers.

How easy is to carry that e-MTB over any obstacle?

I believe this bike weighs less than the vado igh. If not, it’s very similar.

How does the belt handle them little twigs met on the trail?

How would I know? I don’t trail ride.

How easy is to field-repair the rear wheel?

Don’t know. I imagine it is dropouts just like the vado.

What with the charger that was DOA?

I would rather deal with dead chargers than bikes that keep having new issues every 50 miles. Still ahead of specialized here.

Is it easy to return the e-bike if the owner has not been satisfied?

Nope. This is my last ebike. If it doesn’t work out I sell it and abandon ebiking.

Let it go Stefan dynamic is a robot.
I have not seen any real time pictures of said ebikes.

This checks out! Honestly, I don’t care about taking pictures until something proves it is worth owning. No ebike has gotten to that point.

Hopefully you got the UART version of the Ultra that can be programmed

I did!

or for the ultimate experience upgrade to the Archon X1 controller

I looked for it and couldn’t find it separately. Everything pointed at watt wagons.

Do you know much about the eggrider? My LBS wants me to go that direction.

More efficient than the stock Bafang controller and smoothness on par with Stefan's beanie weenie motor (he doth protest too much).

I am now quite familiar with Stefan’s overstated “advantages” to specialized.

 

[AHicks]

More this. It starts out way stronger and then doesn’t stay as proportionally stronger.

Do you know much about the eggrider? My LBS wants me to go that direction.

The stock Bafang OEM tune on the UART (or CANBUS for that matter) Ultra totally sucks as compared to what can be done with it. Think bull in a China shop as it comes from the factory. The torque sensing is nearly turned off for instance. You seriously need to look into the FREY "Smooth" tune controller settings. With these installed, and no other changes, you will have one of the most refined, civilized motors available anywhere - with awesome torque sensing. That, and you will have a giant torque monster for a motor. I think you'll find it's not at all picky about what gear it's in for that reason.

That "Smooth" tune is highly desirable as compared to an EggRider when talking the UART based motors. The EggRider is generally paired up with a CANBUS motor as they are not able to be set up/adjusted, and many that have done that often get into weird handling issues.

I would NOT recommend an EggRider even be considered. Not until you see what can be done with the Smooth tune at least. Though many of us have done this controller update on our own, I'm hoping the shop you're working with would be willing to do this for you if you don't feel your up for it. It's not that hard.....

There's some concern here about the Ultra/Rohloff pairing? It would seem to me, with the Ultra's abilities in mind (yes, I have one), that it might be pushing the Rohloff's ability to handle big power like this? I could be wrong, but with that in mind, you might ask others with some experience in this area about turning down the power available from the Ultra. There's a max amperage setting that comes set to 30 amps. It's easily adjustable in the controller settings/programming, and it may pay to turn it down to 20 or 25 amp max..... depending on your confidence in the Rohloff. No doubt that's going to cut down on available power from the Ultra, thought being here it's very likely there's still going to be plenty available..... My thoughts, FWIW. -Al

 

[dynamic]

You seriously need to look into the FREY "Smooth" tune controller settings.

Is this just a reprogram of the motor? Do I need a new controller? Can I do it from a mac? Does it require an archon x1? Can I do it with the included pdc18 or whatever stock controller?

Do your comments about eggrider apply to the v2 model?

I do think torque to the hub could be a problem. I would love to hear from others on that. Power is insane, so tuning it down is likely acceptable.

 

[AHicks]

It is a reprogram of the OEM controller (UART based only). No aftermarket controller required. This is what makes the UART Based Ultra so desirable!

And I was talking about any EggRider. There is no comparison.

I've always done it with a PC based laptop. Mac not spoken in this house. @tomjasz has written about some slightly different software used to access the controller settings, and that software may be Mac compatible.

Do spend some time reading up/educating yourself on this. There's a lot to it when considering the hundreds of possibilities. However, if the focus is kept on the Frey Smooth tune, that can be installed as a package - avoiding having to deal with the hundreds of variables.... If you install the Smooth tune, it's still customizable/able to be tweaked for personal tastes, like the change in max amps for instance. -Al