Focus Aventura BS10 w/ Bosch Speed Motor

[Mike leroy]

I live in the Bay Area. This bike is on my list due to the hill climbing features.

I think the eBike industry is overlooking a critical link. The reason I have not bought any eBike is explained below. I actually run 2 miles to my local grocery and carry back 10-35 pounds of food. I could use a bike that would actually meet my needs.

I started a www.NextDoor.com group called "Neighborhood Electric Vehicles". The NEV group aim is to collect local requirements and limits for a very specific area. I believe my Nextdoor.com neighborhood is about a one mile radius.

Tools like this make great products go "viral" on the Internet. In other words, an early adopter struggles to find a solution that genuinely improves his/her circumstances. Neighbors take notice and follow suit. Sometimes the stumbling block to gathering "critical mass" is the "chicken-or-egg" dilemma. Someone has to establish a viable, enduring solution to avoid the Best Buy market exit due to a 30% product return rate. A "shotgun" approach is probably less appropriate than a "rifle". EBikes are very powerful, special purpose tools that seem to reflect the rider's personality.

 

[Deleted member 803]

I live in the Bay Area. This bike is on my list due to the hill climbing features.

I think the eBike industry is overlooking a critical link. The reason I have not bought any eBike is explained below. I actually run 2 miles to my local grocery and carry back 10-35 pounds of food. I could use a bike that would actually meet my needs.

I started a www.NextDoor.com group called "Neighborhood Electric Vehicles". The NEV group aim is to collect local requirements and limits for a very specific area. I believe my Nextdoor.com neighborhood is about a one mile radius.

Tools like this make great products go "viral" on the Internet. In other words, an early adopter struggles to find a solution that genuinely improves his/her circumstances. Neighbors take notice and follow suit. Sometimes the stumbling block to gathering "critical mass" is the "chicken-or-egg" dilemma. Someone has to establish a viable, enduring solution to avoid the Best Buy market exit due to a 30% product return rate. A "shotgun" approach is probably less appropriate than a "rifle". EBikes are very powerful, special purpose tools that seem to reflect the rider's personality.

I concur

 

[PowerMe]

That link on L.I. bikes specifies the Impulse 1.0 Speed motor. You mentioned you are going to purchase the 2.0 Speed version.

ETA: they need to change the title of their listing. The 2.0 is mentioned down in the details.

 

[Deleted member 803]

Just to be correct, the model I was referring to has a Gates belt drive.

 

[Deleted member 803]

It's funny when I purchased my Neo Carbon I want a sleek road bike that had little rolling resistance. I loved the push from a dead stand still. However, 6 months into it and I am less enamored with speed and more enamored with the torque mid-drives have for hill climbing. Part of my evolving education........

 

[Mike leroy]

My primary route has an 18% grade. When I look up at the hill, my mind screams torque, like 120NM. I actually run up the hill. I am drenched in sweat. I outrun most cyclists on the hill half as steep.

I could care less how fast a bike is. Just get me up the hill at 10mph, so I do not roll backwards down it!

 

[Focus Electric Bikes NA]

Interestingly, it appears difficult, if not impossible, to find a web page in the USA that shows this new Aventura with Impulse 2.0 speed motor. I found a page listed in Google for Focus Bikes Aventura Impulse 2.0 speed, but then clicking on the link goes directly to the Focus home page. All the other sites that mention Impulse 2.0 in the US are not the 'speed' version of this motor.

Why is this product so difficult to find?

Hi PowerMe,

The best way to get information about the products is via www.focus-bikes.com - make sure you are on the US landing page on the top right then click "Bikes", "2015 Models" "E-Bikes" to see all the available US products.

Here is a direct link to the Aventura Impulse Speed: http://www.focus-bikes.com

Apologies for any difficulty!

Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Warm Regards,
~ Representative Focus Electric Bike NA

 

[Focus Electric Bikes NA]

That link on L.I. bikes specifies the Impulse 1.0 Speed motor. You mentioned you are going to purchase the 2.0 Speed version.

ETA: they need to change the title of their listing. The 2.0 is mentioned down in the details.

Hi PowerMe,

I understand the confusion! The Aventura Impulse Speed 1.0 is the name of the model that has the Impulse Speed 2.o motor, in fact all 2015 models have the Impulse 2.0 system -some with Speed versions, Off-Road versions etc.

Derby Cycle, our manufacturer names some of the Focus models with a value scale 1.0 - 5.0 (with 1.0 representing the highest quality specs out of 5 models produced). For example the Aventura Impulse Speed 1.0, available in the US, indicates the spec range as the highest quality components available and does not indicate the motor system - Impulse 2.0 Speed.

I hope this helps explain! For more details you can find the Aventura Impulse Speed 1.0 and other US models at http://www.focus-bikes.com.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Warm Regards,
~ Representative of Focus Electric Bike NA

 

[Mike leroy]

Could you please explain the hill climbing options? The web page description was brief.

WRT hill climbing, is there any increase with the Jarifa?

I do find the marketing very confusing.

Thank you.

 

[Focus Electric Bikes NA]

Hi Mike,

The hill climbing options are what we call "Climb Assist Technology". This is a proprietary technology specific to Focus Impulse 2.0 Off-Road motors. Climb assist technology is available in all the Impulse 2.0 Off-Road motors including the Jarifia Impulse 3.0, Thron Impulse Speed and Thron Impulse 3.0.

What is Climb-Assist?
Climb-assist can be activated on the Impulse Off-Road motor to sustain assistance and ensure constant uphill motion when climbing. This proprietary technology is the first motor engineered specifically for steep terrain. You have the option of selecting 1-10 assistance; the higher the number the more the assistance for tricky hills. The motor senses the amount of torque applied to the pedals and assists accordingly i.e. the harder the pedaling becomings the more the bike will compensate.

Going hand and hand with Climb-Assist, all Impulse 2.0 motors have Shift-Sensor technology.

What is Shift-Sensor technology?
The Impulse 2.0 shift sensor technology allows for the perfect gear change: faster, quieter and low-wear, even with pressure on the pedals. Perfectly integrated in the overall system, the shift-sensor interrupts the power flow for a fraction of a second with each gear-shift. The time of interruptions can be individually adjusted for both hub gears and derailleur gears to flawlessly suite your shifting preference.

So, when you are trying to tackle the tricky hills, your bike can increase assistance as well as shift smoothly so you are not grinding gears. The best way to understand is to try it! I highly recommend visiting a retailer for a test ride; find one near you through the dealer locator on www.focus-bikes.com; ebike dealers are listed as "Focus & Kalkhoff EBike Dealers". Hope this is helpful information!

Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Warm Regards,
~ Representative of Focus Electric Bike NA

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Hi Mike,

The hill climbing options are what we call "Climb Assist Technology". This is a proprietary technology specific to Focus Impulse 2.0 Off-Road motors. Climb assist technology is available in all the Impulse 2.0 Off-Road motors including the Jarifia Impulse 3.0, Thron Impulse Speed and Thron Impulse 3.0.

What is Climb-Assist?
Climb-assist can be activated on the Impulse Off-Road motor to sustain assistance and ensure constant uphill motion when climbing. This proprietary technology is the first motor engineered specifically for steep terrain. You have the option of selecting 1-10 assistance; the higher the number the more the assistance for tricky hills. The motor senses the amount of torque applied to the pedals and assists accordingly i.e. the harder the pedaling becomings the more the bike will compensate.

Going hand and hand with Climb-Assist, all Impulse 2.0 motors have Shift-Sensor technology.

What is Shift-Sensor technology?
The Impulse 2.0 shift sensor technology allows for the perfect gear change: faster, quieter and low-wear, even with pressure on the pedals. Perfectly integrated in the overall system, the shift-sensor interrupts the power flow for a fraction of a second with each gear-shift. The time of interruptions can be individually adjusted for both hub gears and derailleur gears to flawlessly suite your shifting preference.

So, when you are trying to tackle the tricky hills, your bike can increase assistance as well as shift smoothly so you are not grinding gears. The best way to understand is to try it! I highly recommend visiting a retailer for a test ride; find one near you through the dealer locator on www.focus-bikes.com; ebike dealers are listed as "Focus & Kalkhoff EBike Dealers". Hope this is helpful information!

Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Warm Regards,
~ Representative of Focus Electric Bike NA

I think he means the capability of the 2.0 drive train to climb certain % grade hills vs energy consumed in Whr. This is how one defines the efficiency. For eg., Direct drive hubs suck at hill climbing and their efficiency drops significantly at low RPM's. The sweet spot for DD hubs is high RPM but mid drives can have high torque over different RPM's.

Bosch webpage in German has certain graphs indicating the Torque curves. Most Dyno graphs for automobiles indicate RPM and power in Whr or HP.

Climb assist is a nice a feature but doesn't really say much about the dyno graph. Mike is referring to this kind of technical data to assess his commute over 18% grade hill.

 

[Deleted member 803]

Went for a test ride in SF. I took a kahlkoff impulse drive bike. Upon exiting the store and looking at the hill I flagged the sales rep and told him no way. He said just keep pedaling. Damn,,,,,, pushed me right up a very steep hill with modest effort. I love the fact that with just a few pedal pumps I am at 18-20 mph on my Neo Carbon. However, as I gain more experience, I realize that the biggest benefit to me is hill assist and not speed. I can get to a cruising speed of 18-20 mph on a mid-drive with a little more effort so I have decided to move from rear wheel direct drive to mid-drive. The other advantage appears to be that mid-drives are more energy efficient and seem to get more range out of their batteries.

 

[Deleted member 803]

The other thing I like about the new Focus bike is the gates belt drive. quiet and maintenance free.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

The other thing I like about the new Focus bike is the gates belt drive. quiet and maintenance free.

Awesome 86..
I'm very close to pulling the trigger on a ST2 or a Focus Aventura. Will keep you posted if I decide on the Aventura.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

The other thing I like about the new Focus bike is the gates belt drive. quiet and maintenance free.

I always admired the componentry of Focus bikes but they skimped out on the carbon drive system. Shimano Alfine is a mid-tier IGH and can't handle the 60+Nm torque of mid drives over long distances (at least this is what I gather from German forums). Many people have problem with Grace MX2 and NuVinci (which is slightly better than the Alfine). Now, if you take the 2015 Focus and put a Rohloff hub, THAT would be a beast of a machine. I would suggest you discuss this with Brett @newwheel. You can look it up on German forums as well.

 

[Deleted member 803]

Ravi, you rode the st2 at Interbike (I got there late so I missed the fun). How impressive is the motor and controller?

 

[Deleted member 803]

Is there an existing e-bike with a rohloff hub on the market today??

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Ravi, you rode the st2 at Interbike (I got there late so I missed the fun). How impressive is the motor and controller?

It's a great bike, smooth as butter. Motor almost feels like a geared one with excellent torque (even though its only rated 35Nm). Give it a try before deciding your next bike.

 

[Chris Nolte]

Ravi - I wouldn't really consider the Alfine 11 a mid-tier IGH. It's one of the best ones out there. I mean sure I'd love a Rohloff but an extra 1K is a lot of money to drop on a hub. If you want one we'd be happy to build it for you though. I think the damaging effects of the mid-drive is dramatically decreased with the Inpulse shift sensor as most wear happens during shifting.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Ravi - I wouldn't really consider the Alfine 11 a mid-tier IGH. It's one of the best ones out there. I mean sure I'd love a Rohloff but an extra 1K is a lot of money to drop on a hub. If you want one we'd be happy to build it for you though. I think the damaging effects of the mid-drive is dramatically decreased with the Inpulse shift sensor as most wear happens during shifting.

Thanks Buddy.
I saw your pic in front of the Brooklyn street art w/ your Aventura. very cool.
I plan to commute 30miles each way, 4 days a week. Read about Alfine but still, I'm not totally convinced (It would work fine on a human powered bike but on a speed pedelec w/ mid-drive...mmmm)

I will stopby your store in a few weeks. Anyways, ST2 is not going to be here until late March, I would love to test the Thron and Aventura.