speedub.nate
Member
So now that I have my Raleigh Misceo iE re-motored and up-and-running, I'm noticing the same unsatisfactory auto shifting behavior that I observed on the original motor, which had a faulty torque sensor.
For background, this bike is running the Shimano Alfine 8-speed hub, and uses Di2 electronic shifting via push buttons. The Shimano Steps E6000 drive system allows for on-the-fly switching between Auto or Manual shifting.
On flat terrain or gentle inclines, the auto shifting seems to perform well enough.
It quickly falls apart on hills, though. I pedal at a normal cadence, probably 60 to 70 RPM. It seems like when I hit an incline, the bike ignores all torque and speed inputs, and only looks at my cadence. As I spin up, it shifts early to a high gear, so high it even bogs down the motor. Only as the speed decays and my pedaling torque is extreme does is attempt a downshift, which is foolhardy due to the high load the chain is carrying.
If I back off and maintain a slow cadence, it performs nearly as poorly.
I try to override the Auto system by manually downshifting as I enter the hill, but in no time at all the Auto system overrides my gear selection and returns me to a higher gear.
I played with the Auto settings in the menu on the handlebar head unit (1st attachment - E6000 user manual) and this makes barely any difference at all.
I spoke to Shimano Tech, and was told there is a Auto setting available in e-Tube (2nd attachment - E6000 shop manual). However, upon further examination of the e-Tube Project documentation (3rd attachment), it looks as though this adjustment is the same -13 to 13 range that's available to me on the motor's handlebar head unit.
I asked for specifics from Shimano about what parameters are being monitored and used to determine gear selection, and he replied "only Japan knows." There's supposedly no super secret Shimano employees-only user manual for these back-end settings, despite the fact that some variables can only be modified though a remote log-in session between the bike shop and Shimano (parameters like tire roll-out and gearing, so end-users can't "trick" the system into violating the speed limit). The thing is, I don't see these settings referenced in the shop manuals I've downloaded, which makes me thinks Shimano should have additional internal material that covers what only they have access to.
Anyhow, none of this is a deal-killer. Manual shifting works just fine. The bike makes easy work of steep hills. I just have trouble believing Shimano would roll out a half-baked auto-shift function on this motor that performs this poorly in unremarkable conditions.
For background, this bike is running the Shimano Alfine 8-speed hub, and uses Di2 electronic shifting via push buttons. The Shimano Steps E6000 drive system allows for on-the-fly switching between Auto or Manual shifting.
On flat terrain or gentle inclines, the auto shifting seems to perform well enough.
It quickly falls apart on hills, though. I pedal at a normal cadence, probably 60 to 70 RPM. It seems like when I hit an incline, the bike ignores all torque and speed inputs, and only looks at my cadence. As I spin up, it shifts early to a high gear, so high it even bogs down the motor. Only as the speed decays and my pedaling torque is extreme does is attempt a downshift, which is foolhardy due to the high load the chain is carrying.
If I back off and maintain a slow cadence, it performs nearly as poorly.
I try to override the Auto system by manually downshifting as I enter the hill, but in no time at all the Auto system overrides my gear selection and returns me to a higher gear.
I played with the Auto settings in the menu on the handlebar head unit (1st attachment - E6000 user manual) and this makes barely any difference at all.
I spoke to Shimano Tech, and was told there is a Auto setting available in e-Tube (2nd attachment - E6000 shop manual). However, upon further examination of the e-Tube Project documentation (3rd attachment), it looks as though this adjustment is the same -13 to 13 range that's available to me on the motor's handlebar head unit.
I asked for specifics from Shimano about what parameters are being monitored and used to determine gear selection, and he replied "only Japan knows." There's supposedly no super secret Shimano employees-only user manual for these back-end settings, despite the fact that some variables can only be modified though a remote log-in session between the bike shop and Shimano (parameters like tire roll-out and gearing, so end-users can't "trick" the system into violating the speed limit). The thing is, I don't see these settings referenced in the shop manuals I've downloaded, which makes me thinks Shimano should have additional internal material that covers what only they have access to.
Anyhow, none of this is a deal-killer. Manual shifting works just fine. The bike makes easy work of steep hills. I just have trouble believing Shimano would roll out a half-baked auto-shift function on this motor that performs this poorly in unremarkable conditions.
