turbobeagle
New Member
This site was very helpful as I learned about electric bikes, and I figured I'd contribute a review back to the community for my recently purchased Haibike XDURO RX 29. I've owned the bike for about 2 weeks now, and have used it for my daily commute which is 20 miles each way. I've only made a couple changes to the bike:
- The store swapped out the tires for smaller and slicker 700x48s.
- SPD pedals, just because that's what I'm used to.
- I'm really happy with it. It's more than lived up to my expectations.
- I'm getting good range so far. I lose about 1 bar of charge (out of 5) after 14 miles of riding. So unless the system is fudging the the battery charge level, that means I should get up to 70 miles on a charge. I leave it in "eco" mode 99% of the time.
- The application of electric assistance is very smart. Before buying the bike, I thought I would have to turn up the power level manually to tackle hills or headwinds, but it turns out the computer does that for you, and it does so quite well. I also like how it tapers the assistance off gradually as you approach the cutoff speed, rather than just cutting out abruptly.
- Having a separate controller right at my fingertips to adjust power levels and display modes allows me to keep my hands where they should be.
- I like the clean look with the cables routed into the top and bottom tubes.
- The range indicator is wildly off. It's basically useless. You should just look at the battery indicator instead. I think the system tries to calculate an estimated range based on a really short time/distance window of recent riding so it fluctuates wildly within seconds.
- The Bosch system has some features removed/crippled, which I assume is done only for the US market. For example, there is a "walk" button which is supposed to provide some assistance while walking with the bike. That does nothing on my bike. The manual also claims that the computer's recorded circumference of the wheel+tire can be adjusted, just like you can do with any bike computer. I would have wanted to do this since the store swapped smaller tires on for me. That is also not possible. So I suspect the computer doesn't actually have accurate readings for speed and distance.
- I am hearing quite a lot of rattling over bumpy roads that I can't pinpoint. Some of it seems to be coming from the cables routed inside the frame. The bike shop says they should be able to eliminate this at my next tune up, so hopefully that's a simple fix.
- The rear break squeals, and I'm feeling a grinding sensation in the lever. Hopefully that's just another adjustment that needs to be made at the tune up.
- Bosch doesn't allow us to update the firmware ourselves. Other manufacturers are ahead on this front, and some even do updates wirelessly. It would suck to have to pay for updates later.
- Going electric has eliminated the anxiety with having to stop at a light and waste energy braking. I now almost look forward to having to stop, because the surge from the motor when you get going is fun.
- I already have a road bike so I figured I'd get something closer to a mountain bike for my electric bike, in the hope that I might one day hit the trails. I'm starting to wonder if this was a mistake. I think I should have gotten something without suspension. The motor more than makes up for the added weight of the suspension, but I miss the lighter steering of a regular fork.
- I don't mind the sound of the motor. I don't miss having a throttle. Online reviews usually point these out as the two major downsides to the Bosch system, but for me, they haven't been an issue.
- I hope the Bosch Powerpack 400 becomes a new standard that lasts several years. When my battery does degrade to the point that it needs to be replaced, I hope there's a decent marketplace to find a new unit at an affordable price. That's clearly not the case at the moment.
It has saved me couple of trips to the bike shop.
