Entered My First Gravel Race........with the Frey Beast

[juggernaut1]

A friend of mine mentioned he was participating in his first gravel race with his Amflow Pro. I had a look at the courses which varied in distance - 25klm, 49klm, 90klm and 125klm.

I entered in the 90klm race with 2025 vertical metres of climbing as I thought this would give the greatest personal challenge and really test out the Frey Beast. This also happend to be the same race my friend entered with his Amflow.

I only had a few days to prepare for the race and strapped on an additional bottle holder on the top tube and changed out the Magura rotors and pads for new ones. I left everything else as is.

The gravel race had over 2,000 competitors over the four distances and there were 436 cyclists in my race. The 125 klm race drew the largest contingent and included cyclists from all over Australia and some from other parts of the world. This race was also enable cyclists to qualify for the UCI world gravel championships which were being hosted at this location later in the year.

The 90 klm course also formed a majority of the 125 klm race. There were staggered starts for the various distances and ages. I was in the last group to leave, but were mixing with the 125 klm competitors further up the track.

Given I had never ridden the Beast 90 klm neverlone including 2025 of vm's I had no idea whether I or the battery would last the distance. I did the vast majority of the race in Eco 1 with Eco 2 used half way up a few climbs and Eco 3 with about 3 klm's to go. I crossed the line with 20% battery remaining! I was quite surprise how the big Bafang Ultra motor sipped away at the battery, even more so that I was running a tubed setup with the Schwalbe Radial Alberts Pro's in a gravity casing 27.5 x 2.6 (rear) and 29 x 2.6 (front).

Some of the downhill sections were quite fast and I reached rolling speeds approaching 55 klm/hr and was generally able to keep pace with the traditional gravel cyclists. I mainly lost ground on the straights and fast uphill sections against the faster traditional gravel cyclists who were riding in groups taking turns at the front whereas I was riding solo. I was able to make up some ground on the steeper gravel climbs.

The race certainly took a toll on my body. At around the 42 klm mark I stopped to refill my water bottles and could hardly walk to the refill station then suffered a leg cramp when I got back on. All in all it was a great personal challenge, I also had a lot of fun and would look forward to competing again next year.

My only goal was to finish the race........but to my surprise I actually won the ebike category!!

I also finished 114th outright out of the 436 competitors, and 12th in my age group (55-59).

In case you were wondering, my friend with his Amflow finished over an hour behind me with 3% battery left.

 

[Aushiker]

Nice work! I have been considering entering a gravel ride or two, but I just have not got around to it. You are making get off my butt, well maybe

 

[juggernaut1]

Thanks.

Just do it! I did see a couple of more gravel comps coming up later in the year. I'm sure your used to more seat time than I am, so a continuous four hour ride is probably nothing for you

I may also enter some single track competitions later this year as well, such as the Dwellingup 100 and the Cape to Cape (4 day event).

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Congratulations Jugger! You are doing what I'm doing now and I'm glad to hear about your experience!

Starting in eRide100 in Sudovia Poland today at 10:00. I have a strong competition this year, could be the last on the finish line!

(please write km not klm, or it hurts my eyes)

 

[juggernaut1]

Thanks Stefan.

Good luck for your race.

 

[stompandgo]

Congrats on the win. The Schwalbe Albert radials are outstanding competition tires. Our MTB race team guys swear by them.

The new Amflow bikes with the M2 motor are starting to come available in large size only.

 

[Gionnirocket]

Well done!
A property tuned Ultra is very efficient imo. I average around 9Kw/mi and have achieved as low as 7Kw/mi and this is in an area with a lot of hills. And when you want a beast, it's there too with what seems to be an unlimited amount of torque.
This motor is so much fun!

 

[juggernaut1]

Well done!
A property tuned Ultra is very efficient imo. I average around 9Kw/mi and have achieved as low as 7Kw/mi and this is in an area with a lot of hills. And when you want a beast, it's there too with what seems to be an unlimited amount of torque.
This motor is so much fun!

Mine just has the factory Frey/Bafang tune with the CANbus motor.

 

[juggernaut1]

Congrats on the win. The Schwalbe Albert radials are outstanding competition tires. Our MTB race team guys swear by them.

The new Amflow bikes with the M2 motor are starting to come available in large size only.

They are great tyres, but for this race the bike felt over tyred and draggy for a higher speed and less technical gravel race.

 

[Gionnirocket]

Mine just has the factory Frey/Bafang tune with the CANbus motor.

From what I understand they are doing a much better job with the factory tune on the CANbus motors as of late. I'm sure the 60V of the Beasts is an asset to efficiency as well.
That said I truely appreciate the UART personalized tweaks I've made. I have as little or as much assistance as I want, when and how as desired. I've also opted for a display that allows for 9 straight PAS over the 5/5 PAS of the Eco/Sport version.
But hey... no sense fixing what ain't broke.

 

[juggernaut1]

From what I understand they are doing a much better job with the factory tune on the CANbus motors as of late. I'm sure the 60V of the Beasts is an asset to efficiency as well.
That said I truely appreciate the UART personalized tweaks I've made. I have as little or as much assistance as I want, when and how as desired. I've also opted for a display that allows for 9 straight PAS over the 5/5 PAS of the Eco/Sport version.
But hey... no sense fixing what ain't broke.

The 60V Beast also has a lower 28A controller compared to the usual 30A Ultra controller. So more volts and less amps likely also helps efficiency …..and less heat.

In theory I prefer your display, but the reality is I ride on eco pas 1 everywhere regardless of wind, terrain, or elevation. So the type of display becomes a moot point. Although I did up the pas on occasions in the gravel race as mentioned.

 

[Aushiker]

Thanks.

Just do it! I did see a couple of more gravel comps coming up later in the year. I'm sure your used to more seat time than I am, so a continuous four hour ride is probably nothing for you

I may also enter some single track competitions later this year as well, such as the Dwellingup 100 and the Cape to Cape (4 day event).

Which race did you enter?

My thinking is to do it with my son, who rides an analog Canyon Grizil 6. He is still building up his kilometres, so 60 km would be the ideal distance at first.

 

[juggernaut1]

Which race did you enter?

My thinking is to do it with my son, who rides an analog Canyon Grizil 6. He is still building up his kilometres, so 60 km would be the ideal distance at first.

I went in the Seven gravel race, and did the 90 klm course.

 

[Gionnirocket]

The 60V Beast also has a lower 28A controller compared to the usual 30A Ultra controller. So more volts and less amps likely also helps efficiency …..and less heat.

100% on the higher voltage and less heat being a factor with efficiency.. but the lower current really only facilitates hardware protection. The only way it would play any part in efficiency is if you maintained it right at that limit and I'm guessing riding mostly in Eco 1, that's not happening. Not to mention that would be one hell of a death ride. That said I lowered my global current to the same 28a max, but again only to add a little additional hardware protection.

In theory I prefer your display, but the reality is I ride on eco pas 1 everywhere regardless of wind, terrain, or elevation. So the type of display becomes a moot point. Although I did up the pas on occasions in the gravel race as mentioned.

Now that doesn't make sense to me. How can one of nine PAS be usable for all situations unless it's (in my mind) overpowered?
Of course a lot has to do with where and how you ride and what's expected as far as assistance.. but for example I have my PAS 1 tuned so low it's barely noticeable. Great on a flats or slight downhill allowing the use of a higher gear (more speed) and only get about 50w of feathered help without having to vary pedal pressure. PAS 1-4 are tightly spaced just giving slightly more assistance than the previous and is great for maintaining your desired cadence on ever changing terrain and ride resistance. PAS 5 - 9 you really get to feel the power and make flying up hills a blast. I typically don't use all 9 on any given ride, but 6 for sure, even if only briefly.
Now my bike is in the SUV class.. and no Beast, that's for sure. And I wouldn't even think of competing with it. But in my use being able to take advantage of 9 PAS options and having exactly the amount of assistance makes the bike feel very personal.. and as aforementioned, very efficient.
These Ultra motors are very versatile.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Thanks Stefan.

Good luck for your race.

My thinking is to do it with my son, who rides an analog Canyon Grizil 6. He is still building up his kilometres, so 60 km would be the ideal distance at first.

28th of 102 (12 DNF) overall race, 5th of 11 e-bikers. All e-bikes but two were e-gravel bikes! Four relatively young men riding gravel e-bikes took the first 4 places. All with the 25 km/h restrictors. 102.5 km, 1,536 m elevation gain. The first e-biker completed in 3 h 48 minutes riding on a small battery!

 

[juggernaut1]

100% on the higher voltage and less heat being a factor with efficiency.. but the lower current really only facilitates hardware protection. The only way it would play any part in efficiency is if you maintained it right at that limit and I'm guessing riding mostly in Eco 1, that's not happening. Not to mention that would be one hell of a death ride. That said I lowered my global current to the same 28a max, but again only to add a little additional hardware protection.

Now that doesn't make sense to me. How can one of nine PAS be usable for all situations unless it's (in my mind) overpowered?
Of course a lot has to do with where and how you ride and what's expected as far as assistance.. but for example I have my PAS 1 tuned so low it's barely noticeable. Great on a flats or slight downhill allowing the use of a higher gear (more speed) and only get about 50w of feathered help without having to vary pedal pressure. PAS 1-4 are tightly spaced just giving slightly more assistance than the previous and is great for maintaining your desired cadence on ever changing terrain and ride resistance. PAS 5 - 9 you really get to feel the power and make flying up hills a blast. I typically don't use all 9 on any given ride, but 6 for sure, even if only briefly.
Now my bike is in the SUV class.. and no Beast, that's for sure. And I wouldn't even think of competing with it. But in my use being able to take advantage of 9 PAS options and having exactly the amount of assistance makes the bike feel very personal.. and as aforementioned, very efficient.
These Ultra motors are very versatile.

1. Doesn't higher voltage and lower amps aid system efficiency in that there is also less battery sag? Less battery sag = more volts? More volts = more power and more range?

2. PAS 1 suits me fine. I wouldn't say it's over powered nor weak. IMO its actually a great balance from slow steep technical climbs to medium speeds on the flats (38 klm/hr). I also like the exercise PAS 1 provides. Yes I can use higher levels of PAS for up to 60 klm's/hr, but I'm mindfull of the possible consequences when sharing bike paths, and cars on roads pulling out in front of me at intersections.

I have done over 3600 klm's on the bike and checked the original chain in several places after this event. It still hasn't stretched to .5 as yet, and I'm also still on the original cassette and 48T ali Wolf Tooth chainring I replaced from the original soon after buying the bike. Shifting is still perfect. So it not as if I'm putting a lot of power through it as evidenced from the lack of component wear.

Appreciate your desire to tune the bike to suite your circumstances, but I've probably gotten use to mine now and how to get the best out of it with the factory tune.

 

[Gionnirocket]

1. Doesn't higher voltage and lower amps aid system efficiency in that there is also less battery sag? Less battery sag = more volts? More volts = more power and more range?

All true... My comment was about the 28a controller global limit. The reason you're so efficient is because you're only using Eco 1 which is limiting the current. So the controller max really has nothing to do with it.

2. PAS 1 suits me fine. I wouldn't say it's over powered nor weak. IMO its actually a great balance from slow steep technical climbs to medium speeds on the flats (38 klm/hr). I also like the exercise PAS 1 provides. Yes I can use higher levels of PAS for up to 60 klm's/hr, but I'm mindfull of the possible consequences when sharing bike paths, and cars on roads pulling out in front of me at intersections.

I have done over 3600 klm's on the bike and checked the original chain in several places after this event. It still hasn't stretched to .5 as yet, and I'm also still on the original cassette and 48T ali Wolf Tooth chainring I replaced from the original soon after buying the bike. Shifting is still perfect. So it not as if I'm putting a lot of power through it as evidenced from the lack of

I'm sure Eco1 is very usable. I say over powered in that it handles a wide range of situations. So in some low current situation you may need to go up in gear or reduce pedal pressure to keep from spinning. Imo, that isn't maximizing efficiency. My PAS 1 current is so low that I can't do that and I'm forced to go to PAS 2 and so on without altering pedal pressure/cadence. This makes for great exercise as well and getting just the right amount of assistance to stay comfortable.
Then the same here on wear... over 6k mi on my chain and I haven't reached .75 stretch. But I am using an IGH so lateral forces on chain and gears is non issue.

component wear.

Appreciate your desire to tune the bike to suite your circumstances, but I've probably gotten use to mine now and how to get the best out of it with the factory tune.

And there you go... We learn about our machines and with experience we get the best out of them. The programmable UART is a dying dinosaur and sooner or later all will be CANbus. Hopefully down the road end user tweaking will be part of the package.

 

[juggernaut1]

Eco 1 certainly does not spin the tyres. On the steepest part of the climbs it’s barely pulling itself up. Legs are on fire on the climbs in Eco 1. The roadies on there gravel bikes are spinning there tyres though. From memory the peak climb was 20 degrees.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

From memory the peak climb was 20 degrees.

This one was 20.6% grade. I made it with a 520 W peak power motor twice

 

[Gionnirocket]

Eco 1 certainly does not spin the tyres. On the steepest part of the climbs it’s barely pulling itself up. Legs are on fire on the climbs in Eco 1. The roadies on there gravel bikes are spinning there tyres though. From memory the peak climb was 20 degrees.

I'd love to ride a Beast for a day... but in reality that's probably too much bike for my aging ol' ass and the standard version really leaves me wanting not. I have a spare motor so I've contemplated building a lighter weight off road rocket... but then reason convinces me that those days are probably better off left in the past.

And that also illustrates the difference between Ultra owners and those with less. We go up 20 degree grades all day long like a walk in the park, barely worth mentioning and they document and post about it like it was a lunar mission.