Commuter bikes Qwic RD11S vs Stromer ST1x

[Petropoliskhan]

This is a looong post but I feel some context is necessary before I ask my questions.

Thank you in advance for your patience and answers.

For those who have less time/patience : Question is at last paragraph.



Hi! This is my new e-bike. After having watched many EBR videos on Youtube I had been wanting to try commuting to work on a speed pedelec.

I found a store that had both Stromer and HNF-Nicolai bikes I could try out. I immediately fell in love with the acceleration and effortless speed experienced with the Stromer rear hub motors vs top of the line Bosch offering.

I really like the look and ride feel of the bike on even surfaces (indoor parking lot), but when I tried the ST1x on the road it was very stiff , jerky…

The price premium for these bikes is huge considering the lack of fork suspension, the seat post suspension, rearview mirror, smaller wheels, lower torque rating etc… I guess that marketing and distribution comes at a cost…Not to mention european regulations which mandate insurance and higher quality helmets and locks for speed pedelecs to be insured.

The HNF-Nicolai XD2 Urban equipped with a gen4 Performance Line Speed motor rated at 75Nm of torque with a enviolo hub gear transmission, the successor to the NuVinci N380, was a superb ride but didn’t give that « push » that I really like and can’t say I was a fan of the Enviolo.

I know it feels more « natural » but that was not what I was looking for.

I had my hart set on buying a Stromer ST1x . I thought I had done all the » due diligence « research and went ahead and ordered it. That very evening I happened upon an ad for this: a RD11 Speed by dutch manufacturer Qwic. The specs, the quality of the components and price on this bike were extremely appealing.

I went to the local store, tried it out and was immediately hooked and convinced I had made a huge mistake….

This bike listed at 3900€ almost 900€ less than what I would have paid for a discounted ST1x.

The motor was a TDCM HCT6-Q (same manufacturer as Stromer) rated at 50 Nm of torque!!!!

( Stromer ST1x listed as 35Nm, ST3 44Nm, ST5 48Nm)

I think "30 minutes power : 0,5kW" means 500 watts?

The Battery is a 36V 525Wh

Max speed 45km/h or 28mph

Magura MT5e disc brakes have a double caliper and brake interruption sensor.

A Thudbuster (?) parallelogram suspension seatpost

A SR suntour magnesium suspension fork

Schwalbe marathon GT tires on 28"wheels

Shimano SLX transmission 11 speed cassette .

Busch + Müller Lumotec IQ-X front & rear light

Qwic also makes :a Mid drive model The MA11S which is powered by a Brose 90Nm motor and :a Mid drive model The MD11S which is also powered by a Brose 90Nm motor but has a Shimano SLX-11 speed derailleur gear

:a Mid drive model The MN380 which is also powered by a Brose 90Nm motor ,NuVinci gear hub with Gates carbon belt transmission



:a The RD11S with the hub motor and Shimano SLX transmission.



When I chose a rear hub motor I knew I would get that torquey feel and speed but climbing ability and range would suffer as a result of poorer efficiency as compaired to mid drive motors but I never found out how much of an impact it would be on a commuter bike vs a MTB.

I never got a chance to compare the 4 different Qwic configurations ( listed above) on my daily hilly commute and was unable to find a good , comprehensive side by side comparison of a same frame , same suspension different motor/transmission review.

My commute is 16km ( 10 miles) round trip so the low 25 km range of the battery in the most powerful (And fun ) Level assist isn’t an issue for me.

On flat and moderate inclines the RD11S is fast ,Zippy (as Court would say) but I am unable to reach and maintain a top speed of 45km/h on some of the steeper inclines. Little disappointed…





Is this normal? Does the ability to reach and maintain that speed going uphill have something to do with the voltage of the battery, the setup of the controller, the type of motor/ drivetrain on the road (commuter not mtb type use) or is that what you get/ justifies what you pay for when you buy more expensive bikes « a la » Stromer/ Riese&Muller?



Thanks

 

[toadsprocket]

Hi.

No. I have a new st1x and it has real trouble going uphill. Very disappointed. I had a much older stromer st v1 and perhaps due to smaller wheels it could go up hills pretty well. I was just looking into these qwic bikes. I figured with 50nm torque you could climb hills better

 

[toadsprocket]

Thanks @Timpo makes sense. I have a geared hub motor bike and the direct drive hub stromer. My question is why did my old stromer climb hills better than the new one. I will guess since it was spec’d for 20mph it had more power for low end. Where as the new stromer is set for 28mph it does not have as much to give in the low end. Also I think the 26inch tires made a difference. I wish stromer could adjust the software to cap at 24mph and give me more power for hills

 

[toadsprocket]

It’s definitely a different motor. It’s 11 years difference. The old motor was also direct drive but made some noise. The new motor is pretty much silent. With the old bike besides climbing better, Also pressing on the pedals of the older bike from a stop, it would jump off very quickly. The new bike takes a little time to start up.