They are kinda short, I was referring to something like this https://www.amazon.com/SKS-Bluemels-Bicycle-Fender-Matte/dp/B07HJ7TGSR/
A not quite newbie experience with the FLX Blade 2.0
- Thread starter dynamic
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They are kinda short, I was referring to something like this https://www.amazon.com/SKS-Bluemels-Bicycle-Fender-Matte/dp/B07HJ7TGSR/
dynamic
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- Region
- USA
I couldn’t find them available easily. (This listing is international). Otherwise bluemels was on the table. My bike shop recommended them but couldn’t get them either.
Looks like sks us store may have some 2.6 available. Will keep looking for them.
dynamic
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- Region
- USA
This is the one I will buy if the bike store approves: https://sks-us.com/collections/fend...der-set-27-5-29-wheels?variant=40672902348932
What I don’t know is if it will work with a rockshox pike ultimate.
dynamic
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- Region
- USA
A short aside, since this is my thread.
I have been riding the peloton for a week. And it has seriously dampened my desire to take the flx out in crappy weather. Today’s ride was a blast, but the time and mess is hard to justify comparatively.
My 16 mile ride took an hour and twenty minutes largely due to the crap roads. I did generate a new heart rate threshold from training peaks due to this one ride. I worked my ass off. It was great.
But peloton? 5 minutes prep and change once I have cooled off enough. 30-45 minute rides at the right level tend to leave me unable to do the final sprint of that ride. I just putter along at whatever cadence I can handle.
I am surprised by how much I like peloton. It’s an adequate substitute when outdoor rides are miserable for some reason.
Was that blasphemy?
I have been riding the peloton for a week. And it has seriously dampened my desire to take the flx out in crappy weather. Today’s ride was a blast, but the time and mess is hard to justify comparatively.
My 16 mile ride took an hour and twenty minutes largely due to the crap roads. I did generate a new heart rate threshold from training peaks due to this one ride. I worked my ass off. It was great.
But peloton? 5 minutes prep and change once I have cooled off enough. 30-45 minute rides at the right level tend to leave me unable to do the final sprint of that ride. I just putter along at whatever cadence I can handle.
I am surprised by how much I like peloton. It’s an adequate substitute when outdoor rides are miserable for some reason.
Was that blasphemy?
dynamic
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
So, vado vs flx.
This comparison is really specialized brose vs bafang ultra with frey smooth tune (via eggrider). But I have a thousand analogies to describe the two. If there is an "apple" in the cycling world, it's specialized. Everything is integrated and "built in" for better or worse. In an attempt to "emulate" this specialized tight integration, I left everything to garmin. And garmin does a pretty good job of seamlessly controlling the various bike stuff (radar, lights, navigation, power pedals, recording data... etc). I have all the data I need.
If flx (and bafang in general) is going to continue the apple analogy, it's the linux of the biking world. The control you have over the bafang motor is ridiculous. I haven't experimented beyond frey smooth tune, but I could easily see myself doing so to refine the motor response specifically for my needs. I would probably pull back on the power in some cases. I could feel my front tire lifting in some situations, and it was really disconcerting. Had to be careful with fast/hard starts.
So, let's dive in. The biggest difference between the two is when you start pedaling. The bafang is much slower to respond than the brose. This is known and expected behavior of bafang from what I am reading. This, by itself, is not much of a problem. However, when compared to the eviolo automatic, this is the difference between a luxury response and a premium. Let's move on to cars: if the specialized is a luxury vehicle, say a mercedes or audi, then the bafang is a subaru wrx (for the record, I have owned all these brands of cars, so I speak from experience). In a straight line, on a highway, the mercedes is comfortable at speed. But move to a dirt road, and the wrx rips that mercedes to shreds in pretty much every way. That is flx vs vado. And, I mean, specifically, on dirt roads. On road, the vado is clearly the superior option. The luxuriousness of the automatic IGH is undeniable. But the bafang ultra absolutely smokes it in harder less predictable conditions. (Part of this *is* the automatic vs manual debate which I am uninterested in addressing in depth)
I mentioned the slow response of initial pedaling. On the flx, there is a cut off to the motor when shifting. I assume this is to protect the rohloff. But, this makes it basically a stop pedaling, shift, start pedaling experience. This is worlds apart from the "move your legs how you want" of the automatic IGH. And, frankly, I think the automatic was better at optimizing my power than I am. So, from a "just want to bike" the vado wins.
But, then we move on to power: I have only ridden the flx in garbage weather so far. But, in that garbage weather I could push myself up a hill at 15-20 mph when I was willing to use higher assist levels. In mud slush and ice. The vado can't touch this. Not even close. I am kind of terrified of how fast this bike could go on pavement with some more road oriented tires (or the ones from the vado). It would be nuts.
Next thing: noise. The bafang is louder than the brose. I don't find it annoying, but definitely present. A quiet bike this is not. I don't need a bell on it (I have one). People hear me coming. Dogs are not shocked and jump when I show up (yes, this happened on the vado). They heard me a mile away. So, if quietness is a priority, this motor ain't the one.
When actually pedaling, I think I like the bafang experience more than brose. I was watching my power on the eggrider display, and at "casual" pedaling, it felt very much like the brose. It was outputting 200-300 watts and behaving very similarly. But once you start putting in some power, 3/4/500 watts at the pedal, the motor takes off. Frey smooth tune makes it possible to ride reasonably in pedal assist 5 (of 9) across all kinds of terrain without eating your battery like crazy. As a normal human, I can't sustain 400+ watts for any length of time. But while I *am* doing that, the motor is pushing 1K + even in assist 5. The end result, is I don't really micro-manage assist levels. What matters is the effort I am putting in.
Pedal assist 9: Ok, so, I really liked this toward the end of a 3.5 mile climb. I was running minimal power for most of the ride up to that point, just to see how it went, and just got tired. So I floored it, and it was like the hills were gone. From a battery perspective, you can't do this a lot or you will be walking home. But, it's pretty spectacular. And, I am still working a lot at high watts of my own effort, but you just fly up the hill as a reward.
I genuinely like this bike. It needs full coverage fenders more than anything else. Even the traction of the standard tires is more than sufficient for anything that isn't ice. Could it use some refinement? Sure. But it puts a smile on my face and mud in my hair. It's fun. And, I set new efforts in terms of the work *I* put in. That's pretty remarkable.
Happy Riding!
This comparison is really specialized brose vs bafang ultra with frey smooth tune (via eggrider). But I have a thousand analogies to describe the two. If there is an "apple" in the cycling world, it's specialized. Everything is integrated and "built in" for better or worse. In an attempt to "emulate" this specialized tight integration, I left everything to garmin. And garmin does a pretty good job of seamlessly controlling the various bike stuff (radar, lights, navigation, power pedals, recording data... etc). I have all the data I need.
If flx (and bafang in general) is going to continue the apple analogy, it's the linux of the biking world. The control you have over the bafang motor is ridiculous. I haven't experimented beyond frey smooth tune, but I could easily see myself doing so to refine the motor response specifically for my needs. I would probably pull back on the power in some cases. I could feel my front tire lifting in some situations, and it was really disconcerting. Had to be careful with fast/hard starts.
So, let's dive in. The biggest difference between the two is when you start pedaling. The bafang is much slower to respond than the brose. This is known and expected behavior of bafang from what I am reading. This, by itself, is not much of a problem. However, when compared to the eviolo automatic, this is the difference between a luxury response and a premium. Let's move on to cars: if the specialized is a luxury vehicle, say a mercedes or audi, then the bafang is a subaru wrx (for the record, I have owned all these brands of cars, so I speak from experience). In a straight line, on a highway, the mercedes is comfortable at speed. But move to a dirt road, and the wrx rips that mercedes to shreds in pretty much every way. That is flx vs vado. And, I mean, specifically, on dirt roads. On road, the vado is clearly the superior option. The luxuriousness of the automatic IGH is undeniable. But the bafang ultra absolutely smokes it in harder less predictable conditions. (Part of this *is* the automatic vs manual debate which I am uninterested in addressing in depth)
I mentioned the slow response of initial pedaling. On the flx, there is a cut off to the motor when shifting. I assume this is to protect the rohloff. But, this makes it basically a stop pedaling, shift, start pedaling experience. This is worlds apart from the "move your legs how you want" of the automatic IGH. And, frankly, I think the automatic was better at optimizing my power than I am. So, from a "just want to bike" the vado wins.
But, then we move on to power: I have only ridden the flx in garbage weather so far. But, in that garbage weather I could push myself up a hill at 15-20 mph when I was willing to use higher assist levels. In mud slush and ice. The vado can't touch this. Not even close. I am kind of terrified of how fast this bike could go on pavement with some more road oriented tires (or the ones from the vado). It would be nuts.
Next thing: noise. The bafang is louder than the brose. I don't find it annoying, but definitely present. A quiet bike this is not. I don't need a bell on it (I have one). People hear me coming. Dogs are not shocked and jump when I show up (yes, this happened on the vado). They heard me a mile away. So, if quietness is a priority, this motor ain't the one.
When actually pedaling, I think I like the bafang experience more than brose. I was watching my power on the eggrider display, and at "casual" pedaling, it felt very much like the brose. It was outputting 200-300 watts and behaving very similarly. But once you start putting in some power, 3/4/500 watts at the pedal, the motor takes off. Frey smooth tune makes it possible to ride reasonably in pedal assist 5 (of 9) across all kinds of terrain without eating your battery like crazy. As a normal human, I can't sustain 400+ watts for any length of time. But while I *am* doing that, the motor is pushing 1K + even in assist 5. The end result, is I don't really micro-manage assist levels. What matters is the effort I am putting in.
Pedal assist 9: Ok, so, I really liked this toward the end of a 3.5 mile climb. I was running minimal power for most of the ride up to that point, just to see how it went, and just got tired. So I floored it, and it was like the hills were gone. From a battery perspective, you can't do this a lot or you will be walking home. But, it's pretty spectacular. And, I am still working a lot at high watts of my own effort, but you just fly up the hill as a reward.
I genuinely like this bike. It needs full coverage fenders more than anything else. Even the traction of the standard tires is more than sufficient for anything that isn't ice. Could it use some refinement? Sure. But it puts a smile on my face and mud in my hair. It's fun. And, I set new efforts in terms of the work *I* put in. That's pretty remarkable.
Happy Riding!
dynamic
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Not really. I am not riding in the winter (Peloton is way better/more fun this time of year). I still like vado automatic IGH from a ride experience better. The gear shifting experience on the FLX isn't really better than chain for me. It's an aggressive bike in every way compared to the vado. IT can handle bumps, hills and the unexpected better in every way. But the cost of that is a lack of finesse.
Pick your poison. It should be noted, I am considering selling it and going back to specialized because of that lack of finesse. My environment/hills are tough, but not *too* tough for the specialized (maybe the IGH though). While FLX could handle much much more than I throw at it.
Feel free to ask specific questions.
How long until summer?
dynamic
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- USA
Winter is coming. Sometimes we skip a summer here.
It will really depend on how dedicated I am to riding. We had a day last week I could have ridden it. There will probably be a few days in march as well. But it can snow here in may. So, you never know.
Very much Bi-Polar
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