Availability update...

[Bike_On]

I was able to test ride the Haibike FS RX 27.5 at my LBS last weekend. It is their only model, so I rode it through the grass, up small steep hills, jumped off curbs and varied the assist.

Impressions? Very good quality and componentry. For a FS bike with motor/battery, it had a more solid feel. Not heavy, but not light enough to throw around. If I was going fast on a trail, it would feel lighter, I expect.

Price was around $4k I think.

Cogging? No cogging, because no hub. HOWEVER, the Bosch system midrive does have reduction gearing and this add some slight resistance when pedalling without assist. That was my expereience. Someone correct me if that is not true and I imagined the slight resistance.

I wonder if other mid drives, 8fun, Yamaha, Impulse 2, E3 do the same? The Optiibke mbb freewheels and doesnt turn the motor.

peace,
Bike_on

 

[DashRiprock]

Our E3 Peak (TranzX) midrive seems to pedal like any another bike.

 

[Nader]

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to share my experience searching for an eBike and how happy I am that I ended up with a Haibike (I will post a couple of pictures as soon as I figure out how to do that)

I started my eBike search in June. After a little searching I found an awesome local dealer: San Diego Fly Rides. The owner, Ike, is great to work with. Besides being very personable, he is knowledgeable and helpful. He worked with me for 3 months to make sure I picked the best bike for me; and I was all over the place in terms of what I thought I wanted. He answered my many questions and allowed me to rent different bikes; some for a few days. That was so great. I tried a Stromer, iZip, Neo City and Jet, and Haibike.

I'm really happy with my decision. I really like the mid-drive, the bike seems to be well built, and Bosch system is nicely dialed in. From the big aspects like the peddle assist to the small touches like being able to detach the display and having the controls on the left so you don't have to move your hands.

I did have a small crises when I took my bike home on Friday. The speed sensor was not correctly aligned. It's a small magnet attached to a spoke on the rear wheel. Amazing that being off by 1" rendered the bike fairly unusable, even as a non-eBike. That was a really big disappointment (that I may not have coped with very well). Bringing my new bike home and not being able t ride it; and having to wait for 3 days (until Monday) to find out what's wrong.

But the good news is, I posted a comment here, and within 1/2 hour I had a reply from Larry Pizzi which links to documentation that allowed me to correct the problem. That was awesome customer support late on a Friday night!

 

[Bike_On]

Nice post Nader, and congrats. Which Haibike did you get?

 

[Nader]

Nice post Nader, and congrats. Which Haibike did you get?

Thanks, and I got the FS RX 27.5



By the way, I took a 11 mile ride today on some pretty hilly paved roads. At the end I had 4 bars and 22 mile range.
If I'm pessimistic about the 4 bars and I consider that 60% that gives a range of 27.5 miles. Going by the range, I would have a 33 mile range. (avg 30)
That's riding 95% of the time on Tour the rest on Sport at an avg of 15 mph. I think that's really good range compared to the other eBikes I tried, even the Stromer with the larger battery.

 

[Nader]

I was reading that the 2015 Haibike Bosch system will support a feature on the display that indicates to the rider when a higher gear would be a better idea. Will older Bosch system be upgradeable to this feature?

A somewhat related question: I bought an XDURO FS RX in August 2014, can I assume that is a 2014 model?

 

[Chris Nolte]

I was reading that the 2015 Haibike Bosch system will support a feature on the display that indicates to the rider when a higher gear would be a better idea. Will older Bosch system be upgradeable to this feature?

A somewhat related question: I bought an XDURO FS RX in August 2014, can I assume that is a 2014 model?

It may be possible, but not very likely. It will require a custom software package and wiring harness. The trouble is, installing software packages can generally only happen on the manufacturer level. I will ask some the Bosch tech's at Eurobike about this tomorrow, as I am also interested.

 

[Rusty]

Our E3 Peak (TranzX) midrive seems to pedal like any another bike.

Yes! As a matter of fact, I find myself taking the IZIP Peak (even sans battery) for 6-8 mile jaunts because it rolls very well. Even took it up a 12% grade - with no assist - the one time I actually used all the gears!

I assume that all mid-drives have zero resistance when pedaling unassisted. Is that accurate? Can anyone respond to Bike On's query about this? Thanks!
Rusty

 

[Shea N Encinitas]

Hey Nader, congrats on the purchase and especially the due diligence it sounds like you and Ike achieved, so many test rides I'm jealous.

Hey is Torrey Pines Gliderport within your battery range, or distance you like to travel? If so we should meet up there and take a silly pic with our ebikes. You can try the BodyFloat too.

-Shea

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Yes! As a matter of fact, I find myself taking the IZIP Peak (even sans battery) for 6-8 mile jaunts because it rolls very well. Even took it up a 12% grade - with no assist - the one time I actually used all the gears!

I assume that all mid-drives have zero resistance when pedaling unassisted. Is that accurate? Can anyone respond to Bike On's query about this? Thanks!
Rusty

Not really, Rusty.

I have tried both Haibike Trekking RX and FS RX and it certainly wasn't easy or zero resistance in unassisted mode. Of course, if the battery died, you could pedal it easier than a Stromer. I have also tried E3 Peak, I felt it was slightly easier than the Bosch system.

 

[Rusty]

Thanks Ravi! I just came back from a 40 miler and still have 5 bars on my battery gauge. How? I just didn't use the assist and kept it off for most of the entire ride. And I was keeping up with a bunch of young bucks on their mountain bikes, so I find the Peak pretty darn easy to ride as a regular bike, I just don't think that there is any drag cause I am not that great a rider. It is faster than my older mountain bike even in no assist mode. If the Bosch or any mid drive bikes have drag I have to wonder where it comes from.
Rusty

 

[4REEE]

I would like to see a throttle on the Haibikes. As I've mentioned before in other forums, it doesn't have to give me gobs of speed, it just has to get me home safely if I get hurt or I'm dog tired.

 

[Chris Nolte]

I would like to see a throttle on the Haibikes. As I've mentioned before in other forums, it doesn't have to give me gobs of speed, it just has to get me home safely if I get hurt or I'm dog tired.

4REEE - I know many would like this as well, but I don't see it happening. I find you can still operate it with minimal effort if you need to, like if your really tired. This has been a bold move by brands releasing bikes like this in the US, but I have found that when most get used to not having the throttle they never use it. Some members like Shea I think even went as far as removing his throttle. It's really a decision made by Bosch and I don't think it's going to change, they even disabled the walk button on bikes coming into the US, it's my feeling they don't want someone hacking it and making it into a throttle. I'm sure it would happen.

 

[4REEE]

@Chris: Well, one can always wish...

I've been spoiled by my BionX. I have freedom to use human power only, PAS, or throttle.

I wrote to Mr. Pizzi about a trip my wife and I took in Vancouver, BC. We rented BionX equipped bikes and rode to Stanley Park. Near the middle of our ride, I somehow hurt my leg: At Stanley Park of all places. That's a super eeeeeeeasy ride. Anyway, it was extremely painful to pedal even using Level 4 assist. Thank goodness for the throttle. We made it all the way back to the bike rental place. I drained down the battery pretty good, but hey, I made it back safely and on time.

The lesson I learned from that experience is that a throttle has its place.

 

[Chris Nolte]

@Chris: Well, one can always wish...

I've been spoiled by my BionX. I have freedom to use human power only, PAS, or throttle.

I wrote to Mr. Pizzi about a trip my wife and I took in Vancouver, BC. We rented BionX equipped bikes and rode to Stanley Park. Near the middle of our ride, I somehow hurt my leg: At Stanley Park of all places. That's a super eeeeeeeasy ride. Anyway, it was extremely painful to pedal even using Level 4 assist. Thank goodness for the throttle. We made it all the way back to the bike rental place. I drained down the battery pretty good, but hey, I made it back safely and on time.

The lesson I learned from that experience is that a throttle has its place.

Good point. I'm glad to see you are still here to ride another day I think you definitely have a pretty good argument there. As much as I believe it won't happen I guess it is still good to state these things publicly. It will be good to make the case for the higher ups. Maybe it can be an added accessory... idk... just thinking out loud.

 

[Rusty]

Hey Chris, yet another reason for a throttle - I think it creates less, not more terrain damage, if that is a concern. I single track my IZIP Peak, and I encounter numerous situations where I cannot pedal (large rocks that I would bash lowered pedals on, tight downhill corners followed by a steep and gravelly uphill segments, for example, amongst others) where I would normally lose momentum or just spin out - I just use the throttle to silently glide over these obstacles and keep on going.

Let's face it, most of our bikes are like, what, less than one-half a horsepower?? and far from what is portrayed in some circles as gravel spewing, ditch digging monstrosities. I ride an off-road motorcycle too, and to try to equate the two is disingenuous at best.

I actually find my ebike to be much more forgiving terrain-wise than my regular (non-electric) mountain bike.

Rusty

 

[Chris Nolte]

This is a good point Rusty. Just for my reference do you feel the low speed throttle or pedal assist boost options the Peak has works well for your needs. The Focus Impulse drive has a operational throttle (walk button) that will get you to about 7mph and climb assist and can work for those scenarios where you can't get full pedal strokes. Frankly I have to test the climb assist in those scenarios, but I feel like it would do it.

 

[Rusty]

Hey Chris- I wish there more modulation, it's a bit too much like an on/off switch. Also wish it would not shut off at around 6mph, but I am glad that it is there. It can really save your bacon on some nasty single track - it keeps you on track and moving. I will be interested to see how the Throm works for you.

 

[Shea N Encinitas]

You wish there [was] more granularity. I just noticed the Haibike walk button in a demo video, kinda eyeing that Xduro FS 27.5, would be a bitchen 2nd bike .. -S

 

[Chris Nolte]

You wish there [was] more granularity. I just noticed the Haibike walk button in a demo video, kinda eyeing that Xduro FS 27.5, would be a bitchen 2nd bike .. -S

The walk button has been disabled on US bikes, but I just received the below email noting the walk function will be enabled coming soon and can be later enabled on bikes that don't currently have it. See below:

"Just an update for you today on the Bosch Walk assist mode function addition. As many of you know the Walk Assist function in the USA was omitted pending a safety review. There is a formal review of these safety requirements on Dec 4th, and then the formal application for the USA market. This will be retrofittable to all systems in the USA right now, and we should see this file from them in January! So for your customers asking for this, rest assured it will happen. The only thing needed would be a software update on your end, and then the walk assist button will function when depressed."

This is exciting news!