BH 2018 EVO City Nitro Replacement

[Jerry Sweas]

For those of you located in the U.S. who have owned a BH Easy Motion EVO City Nitro, what other brand/model do you consider comparable to the performance of this eBike? While this bike is categorized as a City Urban bike, I have converted it to a "quasi gravel" bike after replacing the original tires (Schwalbe Balloon Big Apple K-Guard 3 size 50-622) with Schwalbe G-One Ultrabite tires (size 50-622). These Ultrabites are great as I no longer have any issues/concerns with sand/gravel washouts along trails after heavy rains, etc.

PS Since BH Spain abandoned its U.S. distributors in the summer of 2020, I am concerned that I will not be able to find a replacement battery (Model Code: UV468, Model #: FB-50-48V DC12.6 Ah 605 Wh) after my 3 year battery warranty expires. So, just starting future planning...

 

[J.R.]

Since you're not ready to buy right now, you should keep an eye on the Zen Shakti. It should be available later this year.

Zen Shakti

Looking forward to hearing the EBR community's feedback. Please share whatever you think. We are quite happy so far how it has turned out. Paul was instrumental in enabling the dual battery feature on this bike. We will be testing this rig for the next 2 months before it goes into full-scale...

electricbikereview.com

I think it could easily replace the Evo City. 28 mph, torque sensor and quality components. Since @Ravi Kempaiah has owned and liked a couple of BH bikes, including the Nitro, I think they may have even influenced the design of the Shakti. That's just supposition from me though.

 

[FlatSix911]

The Zen Shakti is a great bike. I would also take a look at the Yamaha Cross Connect Review | ElectricBikeReview.com
It has a solid mid-drive system and can be easily changed to a quasi-gravel or trail bike with the proper tires.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Since you're not ready to buy right now, you should keep an eye on the Zen Shakti. It should be available later this year.

Zen Shakti

Looking forward to hearing the EBR community's feedback. Please share whatever you think. We are quite happy so far how it has turned out. Paul was instrumental in enabling the dual battery feature on this bike. We will be testing this rig for the next 2 months before it goes into full-scale...

electricbikereview.com

I think it could easily replace the Evo City. 28 mph, torque sensor and quality components. Since @Ravi Kempaiah has owned and liked a couple of BH bikes, including the Nitro, I think they may have even influenced the design of the Shakti. That's just supposition from me though.

You are a very perceptive man, @J.R !
I definitely learned a lot from the designs of the BH Nitro. In the Shakti model, we improved the following over the BH Nitro, while costing half as much to the end-user.
BH was way ahead of its time and its failure was mainly because of the business decisions and failure to capitalize on the market share it had (which mainly rests on the people running the company, not the designs)

1. The torque-sensing assist on the BH bikes and occasionally on some earlier Stromer models can get jerky (meaning, it would surge and stop).
   We changed that behavior using a finely graduated torque sensor and controller tuning.
   
   
2. The battery on the Nitro was about 600Whr. While decent, the proprietary form factor would make it hard to get replacement packs as time goes by. For example, the OP is worried that he might not be able to source that.
   On the Shakti model, we use a form factor that is quite common but the internals (cells, BMS, parameter tuning is completely under our control).
   Also, the dual battery configuration would allow us to have 1250 Whr in total, which is truly amazing.
   
   
3. The brakes on the Nitro were very good but not excellent. The shakti model uses 4 piston Tekrto's which are used on high-end Haibikes and other bikes.
   
   
4. The lights on the BH were a disappointment and we upgraded that to a wholly new light that puts out more than 1300 lumens.

In the end, even though we designed a Bosch Gen 4 + Gates system for our other lineup, I still believe that well designed geared hub motor would as well as mid-drives while offering a very low maintenance setup and costing half as much.

 

[Jerry Sweas]

You are a very perceptive man, @J.R !
I definitely learned a lot from the designs of the BH Nitro. In the Shakti model, we improved the following over the BH Nitro, while costing half as much to the end-user.
BH was way ahead of its time and its failure was mainly because of the business decisions and failure to capitalize on the market share it had (which mainly rests on the people running the company, not the designs)

1. The torque-sensing assist on the BH bikes and occasionally on some earlier Stromer models can get jerky (meaning, it would surge and stop).
   We changed that behavior using a finely graduated torque sensor and controller tuning.
   
   
2. The battery on the Nitro was about 600Whr. While decent, the proprietary form factor would make it hard to get replacement packs as time goes by. For example, the OP is worried that he might not be able to source that.
   On the Shakti model, we use a form factor that is quite common but the internals (cells, BMS, parameter tuning is completely under our control).
   Also, the dual battery configuration would allow us to have 1250 Whr in total, which is truly amazing.
   
   
3. The brakes on the Nitro were very good but not excellent. The shakti model uses 4 piston Tekrto's which are used on high-end Haibikes and other bikes.
   
   
4. The lights on the BH were a disappointment and we upgraded that to a wholly new light that puts out more than 1300 lumens.

In the end, even though we designed a Bosch Gen 4 + Gates system for our other lineup, I still believe that well designed geared hub motor would as well as mid-drives while offering a very low maintenance setup and costing half as much.

You answered one of the questions I raised to you a few minutes ago before I read your above posting. To reassure me that your company will not go bankrupt in the next 3 years, where can I read about the history of your Company, independent reviews of other model eBikes you have launched in recent years, market share info, etc. Plus, I still can't find your website???

 

[Johnny]

For those of you located in the U.S. who have owned a BH Easy Motion EVO City Nitro, what other brand/model do you consider comparable to the performance of this eBike? While this bike is categorized as a City Urban bike, I have converted it to a "quasi gravel" bike after replacing the original tires (Schwalbe Balloon Big Apple K-Guard 3 size 50-622) with Schwalbe G-One Ultrabite tires (size 50-622). These Ultrabites are great as I no longer have any issues/concerns with sand/gravel washouts along trails after heavy rains, etc.

PS Since BH Spain abandoned its U.S. distributors in the summer of 2020, I am concerned that I will not be able to find a replacement battery (Model Code: UV468, Model #: FB-50-48V DC12.6 Ah 605 Wh) after my 3 year battery warranty expires. So, just starting future planning...

Wait until you have a problem, you will probably be able to get your battery rebuilt if you need it when the time comes.

When you are ready to change you can get Ravi's offering.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

To reassure me that your company will not go bankrupt in the next 3 years, where can I read about the history of your Company, independent reviews of other model eBikes you have launched in recent years, market share info, etc. Plus, I still can't find your website???

Thanks for this note.
We will have a separate section dedicated to this on our website. The company is run by engineers and scientists who are deeply involved in the EV space, not by salespeople or marketing people.
So we are acutely aware of the market offerings and some of the persistent problems. I will answer more in detail to your private message. Thanks

 

[Ebiker01]

BH was way ahead of its time

after my 3 year battery warranty expires.

Nitro city owner here also , the new one(there were 2 designs 2015-2018/2018-2019) ,the battery and the motor they have two year warranty , not 3 years . I have 3 of them,They are upgradable to 672wh .

As you know already this model from BH it still is the best E bike as of right now , once you factor in the : Reliability, easy maintenence , price ( it was only 4k) ,FAST CHARGING capability( Since we're not dependent on Bosch as with most ebikes, it it is possible to use the GRIN TECH SATIATOR charger @6.2amps , and performance.

Being Very reliable and that 31mph top speed , Pas level 4 torque are the key parts esp. in a crazy traffic as it is in Us. Stromer st5 (with the Wren front shock) is nicer i agree , but not as agile and responsive in traffic . 860watts motor vs 650watts for Stromer .

Like Ravi mentioned earlier, besides that cheap light ( upgraded it to B&M IQ- XE +Seca 4000 ) there's little else to complain (I might add the triple chairing for a fast class 3 like this one ;it doesn't need a triple, But it makes it a mountain goat). A shimano double crank fits very nicely, or a single 52t.
It gets up to 30 -32mph if you put the 52T ring and I have thougt about the same question which one should I replace it with .

I am looking at the :
1)Watt wagon
2)Galiano(Canada) https://hilleater.ca/hilleater-galiano/
3)M1 Spitzing
4) Stromer ST5
Imo Galiano is a top contender due to using the vastly superior performance of Grin Tech technologies. But for now the Nitro is running perfectly fine and I also have a few spare parts just in case.

This is another Emtb. Nitro with the 27.5 wheels that I terribly missed and I heard that they were sold like hotcakes. Only 15 of them in the Us . Love the color scheme on it !

So take good care of it , i am glad that you know what you own and try to get some spare parts (Lcd in case you loose it and controller) this is a good website to get some.

https://www.voltairecyclesveronanj.com/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage&q=bh

And the Nitro in Manhattan( mine actually b4 i bought it). Store employee in the vid.

 

[Ebiker01]

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1. The torque-sensing assist on the BH bikes and occasionally on some earlier Stromer models can get jerky (meaning, it would surge and stop).

It has to do with the PAS level that ebike is in and the right gear size; level 3,4 are FAST (750-860watts fast)

I wouldn't describe it as jerky and definitely there's no stopping after the initial acceleration , it ALL depends IF the rider knows What gears to use once they in those high assist levels .
If they have a gear too long (48x15/14) the torque the motor based on the TMM sensor will will cause the fast acceleration to briefly pause or lag because the gear is too long so they need to select a medium or a shorter gear in order to provide for the acceleration so this is a finely tuned machine but it has to have a good rider.


There were also many variations of this tq sensor. They can be replaced .

Also the TQ sensor can be calibrated ,the value it's supposed to be 0.9 to 1.1 and maybe the one that you have tried didn't have it calibrated .

But most likely that vroom and pause has to do like I said with the wrong gear being selected . I use the rear shifter (Deore XT) very often when I ride mine.

Getting close to 15k miles ( Had The rear axle ends changed , and the dropouts rebuilt they are very easily replaceable).

All the best with the Shanti ebike model , i think that it will do very well !!

 

[Ebiker01]

I definitely learned a lot from the designs of the BH Nitro.

This part is also v. imp. : the rear axle ends , and replaceable dropouts .I can send you the info and the service photos on how they (Bh) warrantied mines and what are the parts(brilliant design !!).

Axle ends: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ly2u7ugrYHxGOjJPf0IwkuO01damWqVo/view?usp=drivesdk

For the dropouts there's a similar engineering masterpiece .

 

[Johnny]

I wouldn't describe it as jerky and definitely there's no stopping after the initial acceleration , it ALL depends IF the rider knows What gears to use once they in those high assist levels .

You have changed the controller with a phase runner right? How would you compare new and the old controller in terms of smoothness.
I think the jerkiness in some offerings is not because of tmm but it is a controller/programming issue.

 

[Ebiker01]

a phase runner

It could only fit on the outside b/c it's big and it looked not so nice , I reverse it to the original one inside the downtube.

That responsiveness in acceleration....it just wants to go, but it's present only in level 3/4 b/c it's 750-860watts of power at those levels.

I do know that they've tuned the controller for this ebike , maybe an xpert can detail the difference of TMM sensor calibration (0.9-1.1volts) vs controller tune up ?

If the tq sensor voltage would be too low it would not respond so fast right ? That's just my gut feeling.
But on a long flat road having and feeling that ROAR of power being delivered is very exciting and thrillsome . It overtakes a lot
of cars accelerating between 20-30mph .
I will get a GoPro very soon and make a few videos of how it goes.