Prairie Dog
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Canada
- City
- Red Deer
The PWX2 motor in my Trance is whisper quiet compared to the Mahle 1.1 in my Creo SL. It whines like a banshee in Eco mode.
eMTB Options For 2024
- Thread starter Browneye
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DaveMatthews
Well-Known Member
My Sport motor is super/stupid quiet too. I think the mic should have been ear/helmet mounted.
I know! My Vado SL sounds like I'm strangling cats when I'm going up a steep incline!
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
How subjective it is.
One of the reasons I hated my Trance E+ was the noise of the PW-X2 motor off-road.
Listen to the part when the Trance rides into soft terrain and the buzz of the Yamaha motor sounds just nasty. Everyone here complains on the SL 1.1 motor noise. If it were so unpleasant, I would have certainly noticed that? But it is not that loud.
That motor test would be so much more informative if he rode the bikes without power as well - to factor in the different efficiencies.
It's funny, when I first rode the sl the noise annoyed me compared with my pwx2. I went back to riding the giant last week and the pwx 2 noise annoyed me!!! Some of that is because I now ride around 80 baseline cadence - just where the pwx starts to whine . I used to run 60-70 but the levo sl NEEDS you to spin.
The other thing that drove me crazy with the giant was how detached from the riding experience I felt - absurd that having extra assistance felt wrong, but I felt like I was riding with wads of cotton wool between me and the bike. The delay between pedal on / off causing power on / off felt like I had a hangover ( and the pwx was the quickest responding motor in its time) , the bike felt like an old yank tank instead of a sports car , and that manic grin turned into a sour grimmace.
I'm looking forward to 3/4 years from now when I'm raving about how much better the newerbetter whatzitcalled feels!
ps - apparently levo sl's are being heavily discounted in the us to make way for whatever comes next. If you enjoy a lively bike, go talk to your lbs!
It's funny, when I first rode the sl the noise annoyed me compared with my pwx2. I went back to riding the giant last week and the pwx 2 noise annoyed me!!! Some of that is because I now ride around 80 baseline cadence - just where the pwx starts to whine . I used to run 60-70 but the levo sl NEEDS you to spin.
The other thing that drove me crazy with the giant was how detached from the riding experience I felt - absurd that having extra assistance felt wrong, but I felt like I was riding with wads of cotton wool between me and the bike. The delay between pedal on / off causing power on / off felt like I had a hangover ( and the pwx was the quickest responding motor in its time) , the bike felt like an old yank tank instead of a sports car , and that manic grin turned into a sour grimmace.
I'm looking forward to 3/4 years from now when I'm raving about how much better the newerbetter whatzitcalled feels!
ps - apparently levo sl's are being heavily discounted in the us to make way for whatever comes next. If you enjoy a lively bike, go talk to your lbs!
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Your observations PDoz are very true even if I've given up trail riding and e-MTB.
Once I acquired a Vado SL, it is my most frequent ride now. I accepted low assistance because the natural riding feeling of a bike is extremely pleasant. Equipped with Redshift, the lightweight e-bike behaves finely on potty gravel roads or in mild off-road.
Even if my big Vado is actually a silent e-bike, any time I'm mounting it I have a feeling I'm cheating myself. It is too easy to ride! (And reducing the assistance does not make riding the Vado a pleasure).
Once I acquired a Vado SL, it is my most frequent ride now. I accepted low assistance because the natural riding feeling of a bike is extremely pleasant. Equipped with Redshift, the lightweight e-bike behaves finely on potty gravel roads or in mild off-road.
Even if my big Vado is actually a silent e-bike, any time I'm mounting it I have a feeling I'm cheating myself. It is too easy to ride! (And reducing the assistance does not make riding the Vado a pleasure).
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
That's why I reduced my practical stable to just two e-bikes: the lightweight; and the powerful one. I'd love chasing my gravel-cycling mates on the SL, however, the assistance required there would be very high (70-100% SL in Spec terms), and that is too battery intensive.
That is interesting. I have a Trek Domane HP with a Bosch motor which I really like and it has been trouble free. I have a Yeti with the Shimano EP8 MOTOR and I noticed that he made reference to the motor running out of steam at the top end. I think mine does the same thing. A lot of low end torque but then as you get near the top end of your speed. It does seem to like peak out before it hits 20mph.
Browneye
Well-Known Member
Except the Orbea doesn't have a motor. LOL
All this whining about motor noise...and I'm nearly deaf from racing 2-stroke motors with no muffler.
I have both Stance and Trance - the former has the sport motor - nearly silent. The latter the pro motor and it buzzes and whines. Something to do with the primary gears I guess.
And the 'auto-mode' on the Stance is okay for mild trails and road, but you wanna talk about disconnected...oh dear.
I need to start getting out again/some more.
Except the Orbea doesn't have a motor. LOL
All this whining about motor noise...and I'm nearly deaf from racing 2-stroke motors with no muffler.
I have both Stance and Trance - the former has the sport motor - nearly silent. The latter the pro motor and it buzzes and whines. Something to do with the primary gears I guess.
And the 'auto-mode' on the Stance is okay for mild trails and road, but you wanna talk about disconnected...oh dear.
I need to start getting out again/some more.
Yes, I suspect I'm heading towards an extra bike with no motor in the next few years - having gone from 360% to 100% support, it's not THAT crazy an idea ......at least not whilst I'm sitting at home....On monday I went riding with some women from work and they all took the SL for a run. I'm now capable of 15 min on their regular bikes before collapsing in a heap .
My 13 yo has stopped riding the giant, he enjoys tossing around the lighter normal norco and has been working on his fitness so can now do 3 hour sessions without a motor. I had hoped he would " need" the sl and I'd " need" to buy whatever replaces the sl, but he just started growing again (6'2" this week, but size 14 shoes are getting tight....)
From memory, your trance has the old pwx 1? There is a huge difference in noise plus cadence support between it and the pwx2 . Definitely time to get it replaced under warranty - you might even score a pwx3 - so get out riding before you run out of warranty!!!!
What he is talking about is less high cadence support - if you spin the cranks fast on the shimano it feels like it provides less assistance. It FEELS like dropping off around 70-80 cadence, and definitely once you get into triple figures it lags behind the other motors. I'm not convinced there really is a significant difference in power, though - just a feeling of less support. One of the places we ride at has a central shuttling track -3.5 km / 350 m elevation gain with magical down hill tracks either side. It's a great opportunity to sit beside other bikes and compare support / performance. Eg if an ep8 rider changes gears to spin faster, they don't suddenly go a lot slower.
Thanks for that insight. I haven't ridden my EP8 enough as we are just now touching spring in the Midwest (US) and most trails are closed as they are soft. I have been riding my Bosch Domane and it is a different feel and of course it is a catagory 3 bike not a Cat 1 like the EP8, I think that might be effecting me somewhat too.
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Salivate
The Slovak brand Kellys is well known in the area.
The Slovak brand Kellys is well known in the area.
But surely Stefan the noise level (and tone of motor noise) is dependent on the terrain used? You live on a billiards table flat area where there are little to no hills. My SL motor squeals when riding up hill. Especially in ECO and particularly if gradients are steep. SPORT mode has a deeper note, less sharp, or less high pitched whiny, the motor isn't having to work so hard. If I'm on a steep trail or narrow quiet road and I meet walkers I often switch to Sport or off because I'm embarrassed by the cat noises!! On the flat it's not loud, plus usually the roads are bigger and busier or noisier and of course the motor is not having to work so hard.
Found this interesting test by the Fazua fellas, Of course it's probably biased as the Fazua comes out quietest, but being German it does look like they were very in depth and go to crazy lengths to measure motor sound output! Interesting:
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Oh, but I happen to climb in the areas here, too.
I was listening to the Vado SL motor on my yesterday's ride very carefully. The motor noise was barely audible in the city. The city and wind noise were masking the motor to the level I even didn't pay any attention to it. However, there was a principal difference when I rode into the forest south of Warsaw: The SL 1.1 motor was definitely audible in the silence, and it was especially loud at a very low ride speed. When I increased the speed and cadence, the noise became bearable and to be ignored.
On the other hand, the type of the noise Giant SyncDrive Pro produced off-road was unbearable to me.
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
P.S. The measurements the Fazua engineers did are really impressive.
I would laugh if they tested Specialized 1.2 and 1.2s motors though (Pity that these motors are being discontinued).
I would laugh if they tested Specialized 1.2 and 1.2s motors though
(Pity that these motors are being discontinued).
RandallS
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Canada
- City
- Calgary
I don't normally notice it, but then again, I do have an appointment with an Audiologist next week...
I've just had my levo sl motor replaced under warranty and the new motor is incredibly quiet - much less noise than my giant pwx2 , and pretty close to a shimano ep8. It also feels quicker to respond and possibly has more torque ( same settings on mission control, but definitely feels more punchy) .
The difference has to be more than just manufacturing tolerances. I know there has been a software update or two, but that doesn't explain the lack of noise. I've ridden other sl's and they all had a whine at higher cadence, this thing just buzzes.
This has me thinking - there is rumor about a new levo sl coming out , so I wonder if they have made some mechanical changes to the motor? I had a similar experience when my giant pwx1 was replaced with a pwx2 under warranty - scoring a new motor before it hit the market ( and right at the end of the bikes warranty period) .
BTW, giant warranty beats specialuzed by 3 working days for a motor replacement. At least in Australia. I'll ignore minor issues like a pandemic and global supply chain issues.
The difference has to be more than just manufacturing tolerances. I know there has been a software update or two, but that doesn't explain the lack of noise. I've ridden other sl's and they all had a whine at higher cadence, this thing just buzzes.
This has me thinking - there is rumor about a new levo sl coming out , so I wonder if they have made some mechanical changes to the motor? I had a similar experience when my giant pwx1 was replaced with a pwx2 under warranty - scoring a new motor before it hit the market ( and right at the end of the bikes warranty period) .
BTW, giant warranty beats specialuzed by 3 working days for a motor replacement. At least in Australia. I'll ignore minor issues like a pandemic and global supply chain issues.
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