Haibike xduro fs 29 vs Felt Nine e

[Longhorngary]

Alright I was able to visit my LBS, and test ride a Felt NINe, a Felt Sporte, and a Stromer ST1 platinum. I mentioned in another thread I'm a big guy 6'3" 250# guy looking for a commuter/light trail bike for five mile RT commute in the hills of West Austin, TX.

On the test ride I liked the Stromer St1 and the Felt Nine 3 best. I liked the larger tires on both better and the sizes seemed to fit better. I liked the smooth speed of the Stromer but liked the geared torque of the bosch mid drive on the Felt. I was pleasantly surprised the motor wasn't as loud as I was expecting after watching the videos. However I'm not sure I like it enough for the cost difference between the two.

Court recommended the Haibike 29" with the same Bosch mid-drive. Unfortuantely I don't have a dealer nearby to test ride. Can anyine say how comparable the ride of the Haibike is compared to the Felt. It's quite a less expensive and closer to my budget.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

I believe your visited rocket electrics based on the recommendation.
They should be able to help you with any other bike as well.

 

[Longhorngary]

Thanks Ravi, but they aren't a dealer for Haibike and as such don't have one to ride. I'm interested how a Haibike 29 rides relative to a Felt as that's my only comparison bike in a Bosch that I've ridden.

 

[Chris Nolte]

Longhorngary - The Haibike 29 is very similar to the Felt. The ride feel is going to be very similar except the Felt has some upgraded components and a little lighter frame. Frankly most won't really notice the difference as both bikes are spec'd out pretty well. You still get the same drive, so the ride feel is going to be essentially the same. We have both bikes here in the shop and we generally sell a bit more Haibike due to the price difference, but the less budget conscious customer will sometimes go for the upgrade.

 

[Nebster]

Great thread, because I had the opposite question: my dealer had the Haibikes to ride but not the Felts! But they just became a Felt dealer, and I loved the Haibike 29er, so I ordered the Felt. (For not much more dough, I might add.)

I already have an ST1, but I really like the way the Haibikes feel more like a regular bike, I think mostly because of the weight. And the Felt is 6 or 7 pounds lighter again, so... easy call.

I have also already procured a cadence signaling hack to allow the Bosch to unleash its inner speed demon. I purchased the device in advance and installed it on each of the Haibikes I tested. My Felt is still in a shipping container somewhere... maybe by spring.

 

[Mike leroy]

I am interested in the cadence signaling hack. Please explain how to obtain one.

 

[Mike leroy]

I found the SpeedUp sensor for Bosch. Some people get 102 errors on recent Bosch motors.

Did you consider changing the motor sprocket to achieve the same results?

 

[Shea N Encinitas]

I like the bikespeed RS, while it is not perfect, dropping out sometimes & jacking average speed it does show actual speedometer and odometer values and there are no wire splices so the install can be seamlessly reversed. I've heard motor sprocket changes can require the adjustment of the gear ratio setting with Bosch diagnostic & firmware software. BTW there is no demon inside the motor but it is sure nice to still have assist above a paltry 20 mph. 30 - 33 is achievable for those with strong legs, a bit faster on a downhill. Mine came from Germany in about two weeks. -S

 

[Mike leroy]

Shea,

Thanks for responding so quickly. I am a software developer, so I can figure out how the controller is programmed. I do not own any bike. I am a very fast uphill runner. My calculations tell me to run, not bike the 10-20% grade hills in my neighborhood. I am very unhappy about that. I want to carry food back from the store.

First, what happens in the most simple case? Simply disconnecting the speed sensor? Does Bosch default to the slowest speed, or is the speed input ignored? Can one manipulate the Bosch into relying solely upon cadence and torque sensors?

Help me understand why the firmware needs updating. The existing motor sprocket has 16 teeth. I want the Bosch controller to continue believing it has 16 teeth, to fool it into delivering more low-end torque with a different number of teeth.

I am not sure how to calculate the outcome. My guess is to replace the sprocket with more teeth? That way the crankset has a lower RPM than the controller believes. And the torque sensor will feel more pressure?

 

[Chandlee EBS]

@Longhorngary, I often use the ST1 for commuting and Haibike 29er for mountain biking. Personally, I prefer each in those roles, but the Haibike still makes a great commuter (just change the tires, small block 8s).

On the trail, the Felts REALLY shine. After spending months on the Haibike, I was really impressed with the responsiveness and ride of the Felt. Like Chris said, exact same drive system, but I loved the Felt for the actual bicycle aspect. Not sure if that's actually a big deal for casual commuting though.

If you're in Austin, have Rocket show you the Lebowske as well. That would definitely be my ride in that town.

 

[Nebster]

I am interested in the cadence signaling hack. Please explain how to obtain one.

This is the one I bought: https://www.badassebikes.com/en/a-106/. It works great.

 

[Shea N Encinitas]

One of the earlier 'workarounds' was a mechanical reduction of the speed sensor ticks, removing it (or just the magnet) will leave you dead in the dirt. I would not recommend re-inventing the unlocking process when others have made it available for a reasonable price. It's not like you can simply pop open the controller and put an oscilloscope on a 555 chip or arduino circuit, think big company, proprietary VLSI. Modifying the gear ratio does not necessarily mean a new firmware, I simply stated that the diagnostic software, which also reads and modifies firmwares is used AFAIK. Like UFO theories I can only hint at where to research, you must draw your own conclusions and proceed with caution. -S