Gearing Issue

[Deleted member 803]

Having put 50 miles on my Neo Carbon riding a variety of grades and surfaces, I find no need to use anything but the largest front gear. It makes me think that perhaps I should change the bike into a ten speed by removing the two gears and the front gearshift. I can then upgrade to a beefier front gear and eliminate some complexity and weight.

Do others find the smaller front gears to0 easy to use efficiently? Is there any downside to turning the bike into a 10 speed? I notice that there are lots of e-bikes that are 10-speeds.

I appreciate your comments.

 

[Vern]

You probably don't need all those gears, but I don't think that the benefit of removing it would be worth the cost and potential weight savings(IMHO). If your battery dies on you while out, you would be wishing you still had those gears. I use my bike almost exclusively for commuting so I might have a different perspective on the matter. There are times when I have forgotten to charge my battery at work and barely make it home on "one tank." Knowing those extra gears are there is a comfort to me in those situations.

 

[Deleted member 803]

You probably don't need all those gears, but I don't think that the benefit of removing it would be worth the cost and potential weight savings(IMHO). If your battery dies on you while out, you would be wishing you still had those gears. I use my bike almost exclusively for commuting so I might have a different perspective on the matter. There are times when I have forgotten to charge my battery at work and barely make it home on "one tank." Knowing those extra gears are there is a comfort to me in those situations.

I may make it into a twenty speed with a new Shimano XT crankset. I tried the middle ring with the lowest gear and I can ride without power pretty well. Of course, my local bike shop already thinks I'm nuts and just tells me to ride the hell out of it till it breaks and then do something.

 

[Peter]

On my race I go 3 mph faster uphill whrn riding in with the smallest frontring compared to the largets.
I would not becwith out the smallest front ring.

 

[JoePah]

Ideally you should be spinning the crank at least 75 rpm to get the most of your efforts.. I rarely use the largest chain ring on my Stromer.. Spin 80 rpm 24 mph.

 

[Deleted member 803]

Ideally you should be spinning the crank at least 75 rpm to get the most of your efforts.. I rarely use the largest chain ring on my Stromer.. Spin 80 rpm 24 mph.

Wow, am I off. I prefer a stiffer and slower pedal to get to speed. I dislike spinning a lot and going nowhere. What I do is adjust gearing to my preferred resistance based on my endurance and strength. Front middle gear is usually way too easy unless I am going up a fairly steep hill. However, when I say hill I usually mean something less than a quarter of a mile. I find that on relatively flat terrain, the largest front gear and the 2nd largest rear cog gets me past 20mph very quickly and is something I can maintain for 30-45 minutes.

 

[JoePah]

Wow, am I off. I prefer a stiffer and slower pedal to get to speed. I dislike spinning a lot and going nowhere. What I do is adjust gearing to my preferred resistance based on my endurance and strength. Front middle gear is usually way too easy unless I am going up a fairly steep hill. However, when I say hill I usually mean something less than a quarter of a mile. I find that on relatively flat terrain, the largest front gear and the 2nd largest rear cog gets me past 20mph very quickly and is something I can maintain for 30-45 minutes.

Everyone has to do what's best for them... Most articles will tell you to conserve your legs by reducing the resistance and increase the crankspeed. And I think hyou get more pedal assist with higher crank speed...

 

[Deleted member 803]

On my bike crank speed and pedal assist have nothing to do with each other. Pedal assist on the Neo products are torque sensing so assist is configured based on pedal pressure. I also find that maintaining adequate pedal pressure allows the motor to provide consistent assistance without a lot of on/off behavior.

 

[EddieJ]

I made a similar decision some time back to junk the OE gear train and this is what I ended up with, http://electricbikereview.com/community/threads/neo-xtrem-chain-rings.248/ Clearly my choice won't be suitable for your use, but I'd certainly investigate the options and make the change.

And this is the rest of the mods. http://electricbikereview.com/community/threads/neo-xtreme.19/page-2#post-2633 Just a shame that the bike has turned out to be such an unreliable piece of junk, with unacceptable UK support.

 

[Mtnm]

Give it some more time before diving into switching gears.
I have the Jumper, and use it off-road. I use the entire gear range.

Keep in mind there will be a time when you misjudge the battery and need to come back on your own power.
It finally happened to me yesterday. I was very happy I had lower gears.

If you can develop a cadence you begin to take advantage of the "slow" twitch muscles, which have longer endurance.
I've read most recreational riders are in the 50-60 RPM range; professionals double that.
Like yourself I used to always change pedaling to match conditions. I've been working on cadence, and when I can do it the ride works better.

 

[R3d_N3ck]

I recommend you to do a lot more than 50 miles before changing anything.
That said, I have the same problem.
My bike is a 7 speed and I use top gear most of the time.
My pedal cadence at cruising speed is 85rpm and I would love to slow this down a bit.

Accouring to ...
http://www.machars.net/bikecalc.htm
... using a bigger front (bigger than 46) or smaller rear (smaller than 12) would this.

I'm guessing changing the rear is easiest as the front is the Bafang mid drive cog.

 

[Deleted member 803]

I recommend you to do a lot more than 50 miles before changing anything.
That said, I have the same problem.
My bike is a 7 speed and I use top gear most of the time.
My pedal cadence at cruising speed is 85rpm and I would love to slow this down a bit.

Accouring to ...
http://www.machars.net/bikecalc.htm
... using a bigger front (bigger than 46) or smaller rear (smaller than 12) would this.

I'm guessing changing the rear is easiest as the front is the Bafang mid drive cog.

I plan on doing many more miles before making any decision.

 

[EddieJ]

Keep in mind there will be a time when you misjudge the battery and need to come back on your own power.
It finally happened to me yesterday. I was very happy I had lower gears..

Other than OE wear and reliability and weight issues, that was the exact reason why I swapped out to a 38/24 chainset and an 11-36 cassette. Obviously fast road work has gone out the window, but I'm not interested in that aspect of things anyway and pretty much only ever ride off road.

 

[Mtnm]

Other than OE wear and reliability and weight issues, that was the exact reason why I swapped out to a 38/24 chainset and an 11-36 cassette. Obviously fast road work has gone out the window, but I'm not interested in that aspect of things anyway and pretty much only ever ride off road.

I've found the original set-up acceptable on the NeoJumper. Front is 42-32-22.
I notice Shimano makes a 48-38-28 which I think would fit (likely under $100), but I'm rather happy with my current gears.
I have noticed more wear on the front ring than I experienced with my Specialized Stumpjumper as I come up on my first 500 miles.

Mike
Colorado, USA