Little Surprises - Upgrades and Promotions , Nov 2019

[pushkar]

Woohoo... Our own dedicated forum. This is exciting stuff.

Building bicycles is hard - but I have been able to iteratively improve / update components on the UC Pro with a ton of positive and constructive feedback. I will try to post cool things that we are live with / or upgrades we are providing moving forward.

• Upgrades - included for all new orders placed after Nov 1

1. Bell - upgraded to the amazing Spurcycle bell!
2. Rims - upgraded to the Velocity Blunt 35 rims. This makes the ride even more comfortable than before.
3. Handlebars - upgraded to the Surly Moloko. Has better sweep and more riding positions.

• Incentives / Promotion to buy in November - (Thanksgiving Promo)

1. A set of Ice Spiker Pro tires included at no cost. These will be $150 starting December 1st. Just a little encouragement to get everyone to ride in the winter!

• What if you want to post your review of the UC Pro on EBR? (Making Turkey Dinner too).

We got you fam!


If you purchase your bike and post a review about your bike, we will send you a set of our super awesome custom Miranda cranks made specially for the bafang ultra + UC Pro! This will add nearly $70+ to the price of the bike starting December 1st. Get it for free when you review goes live !

Tags: Miranda Cranks, Spurcycle, Watt Wagons, Ultimate Commuter Pro

 

[BillP]

The reviews on the Ice Spiker Pro's are great! I cannot wait to try them!

 

[tomjasz]

Ice fishing tires free. Gotta love that!

 

[Nicolas Rouquette]

After reviewing the UC Pro design video, I have a The design of the UC Pro is very close to my ideal commuter bike. I have a few questions about configuring a UC Pro:

• Bright turn lights with handlebar control.

Are there options available for the UC Pro? I use a Lumos helme with bluetooth remote is OK but the lights are barely visible in bright daylight. It would be nice to see an option for turn lights that are sufficiently powerful to be visible even in bright daylight.​

• Theft-proofing.

Which options (or others not listed there) are compatible with the UC Pro?​

• Side mirrors.

I like the Ergotec M-99L; it is really unfortunate that there isn't a right side version. The M-99 is OK but the arm is so short that I had to mount it at the very end of the handlebar on my ST5. That required cutting the lip of the Ergon GP1 so that it could slide far enough to make room for the M-99. Given the fact that the UC Pro can reach substantial speeds, it it is important to have sturdy mirrors that won't flop under wind pressure. What options do you recommend for this on the UC Pro?​

• Throttle enabled only as a torque sensor failure backup

Up until my experience with the Stromer ST5 torque sensor reliability problems, I would have never considered a bike with a power throttle for two reasons: 1) I don't want to be tempted to be lazy; 2) I'm scared of accidental activation of the throttle that could lead to an accident. So, from my perspective, it would be awesome to have the confidence of riding the bike safely -- i.e., power-assist only -- and have the throttle as a control redundancy option should there be a failure with the torque sensor. That way, if in the middle of a ride the torque sensor fails somehow, one could quickly enable the throttle and keep going in a backup control configuration.​

​

- Nicolas.

 

[pushkar]

After reviewing the UC Pro design video, I have a The design of the UC Pro is very close to my ideal commuter bike. I have a few questions about configuring a UC Pro:

• Bright turn lights with handlebar control.
• Theft-proofing.
• Side mirrors.
• Throttle enabled only as a torque sensor failure backup

Up until my experience with the Stromer ST5 torque sensor reliability problems, I would have never considered a bike with a power throttle for two reasons: 1) I don't want to be tempted to be lazy; 2) I'm scared of accidental activation of the throttle that could lead to an accident. So, from my perspective, it would be awesome to have the confidence of riding the bike safely -- i.e., power-assist only -- and have the throttle as a control redundancy option should there be a failure with the torque sensor. That way, if in the middle of a ride the torque sensor fails somehow, one could quickly enable the throttle and keep going in a backup control configuration.​

- Nicolas.

Thanks so much for this.Here are some responses. May be @Ravi Kempaiah or @Thomas Jaszewski have recommendations for some of these ?

1. Turn lights. I have tested multiple versions but have not found anything robust enough to last more than a year. If you wipe out, the turn lights are the first to go, esp the ones on the handlebar ends. If someone has a recommendation, I can test them and offer them as standard if they last through some tough all weather testing.

2. The rear rohloff already comes with the delta hublox. I have found that to work really well. It has been standard on the UC Pro for a while now - i must update pictures on the website
I haven't found a good thru axle lock. I have talked to a few bike security providers - and after testing those,they appear to be rather gimmic-y. There were a couple that are "highly recommended" but were extremely poor in real-world tests.

3. Side mirrors - Happy to take recommendations. If there is something that works well, I am happy to include that as standard.

4. The UC Pro comes with a throttle. However, to my knowledge there is no way to enable it only when the torque sensor else fails. It is always available at the moment.

Please let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[Nicolas Rouquette]

Thank you for being responsive.

Thanks so much for this.Here are some responses. May be @Ravi Kempaiah or @Thomas Jaszewski have recommendations for some of these ?

1. Turn lights. I have tested multiple versions but have not found anything robust enough to last more than a year. If you wipe out, the turn lights are the first to go, esp the ones on the handlebar ends. If someone has a recommendation, I can test them and offer them as standard if they last through some tough all weather testing.

Good points. I remember seeing some motorcycle turnlights that are have some kind of rubber mount to mitigate some of the problems you mentioned. I would like to know if there are any such options that are reasonable to consider.

2. The rear rohloff already comes with the delta hublox. I have found that to work really well. It has been standard on the UC Pro for a while now - i must update pictures on the website
I haven't found a good thru axle lock. I have talked to a few bike security providers - and after testing those,they appear to be rather gimmic-y. There were a couple that are "highly recommended" but were extremely poor in real-world tests.

Ah, this is very useful information. I'm glad to hear that you have thought about this and researched options. This would be worth mentioning somewhere.

Regarding the Abus 6500 alarm lock: I understand the rationale; however, I caution about how effective it is.
I've become a huge fan of the LockPickingLaywer -- A couple of years ago, someone noticed a couple of strange guys taking more than interested glances at my ST2 several times the same day while it was parked during the day at my vanpool pickup/dropoff location. That comment led me to research how good was my orange Kryptonite u lock and I'm very glad to have discovered LPL! Basically my Kryptonite was junk. At that time, the most resistant lock I found against picking and brute-force attacks that I could find was the Abus Granit XPlus 540. LPL hadn't reviewed this lock yet; someone in Europe showed how tough it was to break and someone in France took well over 2 minutes of skilled hand work to pick it. That it was good enough for me. Fast foward to today and just this week LPL rated that lock as "enough pick resistance to secure a bike on the street". On the other hand, he also showed how easy is it to bypass the Abus Bordo 5700 lock. It is unclear whether this design vulnerability applies to the Abus Bordo 6500. I encourage you to find out more about this.

Personally, notwithstanding a better alternative, I would use two of the new Abus 770A SmartX locks; one for securing the front wheel to the frame, the other for the frame itself. This new bluetooth design eliminates physical lock picking vulnerabilities altogether; however, it also opens the door to a new class of bluetooth cyber attacks that have yet to be characterized. Meanwhile, I believe that Abus' expertise in lock security gave them ample perspective to address this topic sufficiently well to ward off wannabe cyber theft junkies; hopefully for a few years.

3. Side mirrors - Happy to take recommendations. If there is something that works well, I am happy to include that as standard.

For me, that would be the Ergotec M99L on the left and Ergotec M99 on the right mounted at the very end of the handlebar.

4. The UC Pro comes with a throttle. However, to my knowledge there is no way to enable it only when the torque sensor else fails. It is always available at the moment.

Is it possible to physically unplug the throttle or insert an electrical switch to effectively disable the throttle with the possibility of enabling it when it is needed?

-- Nicolas.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Is it possible to physically unplug the throttle or insert an electrical switch to effectively disable the throttle with the possibility of enabling it when it is needed?

It is a simple HIGO connector similar to the light connector on ST2. Once you unplug it, throttle feature won't work.
So, yes. It is as simple as unplugging the throttle wire and tucking it into the spiral wrap.

Ergoten M99 is an excellent mirror. It can be mounted on the handlebar or the bar-end.

Bright turn lights with handlebar control.

The initial spec was SECA 1800 but it has been changed to something else.
I know you commute early in the morning (are a fan of the Supernova M99 Pro, which is a superb light) and perhaps Pushkar can help you get the SECA 1800 or two Busch & Muller Lumotec iQ-X.

Two IQ-X lights: https://www.bumm.de/en/products/e-bike-beleuchtung/parent/164/produkt/164r60ts7-01.html?

each one putting out about 800 lumens would be sufficient for early morning commute.

 

[pushkar]

I would say, please discount LPL videos if you are looking at bike security. An anecdote - I mounted my battery a couple of weeks ago and lost the keys. I had to call a professional lock picker, and it took him nearly 45 minutes to pick it. This is with all his tools at this disposal. And it cost me $75 ! LPL video showed him running through it in under 45 seconds!

I can safely say that LPL is atleast 2-3 orders of magnitude higher level than an average bike thief. Average time to steal a bike is probably well under 10 minutes. The Abus locks hold their own (LPL video with specialized tools) unless you are getting a high power electric drill / dremel tool to it.


Mirrors - I will look into options and get back to you. Ergotec looks great so far based on the videos I have seen - let me explore if there are any better options there.

Lights - I can add a more powerful light to the bike. I have a couple of options i am testing right now (1800 lumen / 2500 lumen) - they will add a little to the price but will be worth it.

I will DM you my number and we can talk in some detail.

Thanks

 

[Nicolas Rouquette]

It is a simple HIGO connector similar to the light connector on ST2. Once you unplug it, throttle feature won't work.
So, yes. It is as simple as unplugging the throttle wire and tucking it into the spiral wrap.

Thanks Ravi! I like the idea of having a disabled throttle as a backup motor torque control feature should there be a problem with the torque sensor.

The initial spec was SECA 1800 but it has been changed to something else.
I know you commute early in the morning (are a fan of the Supernova M99 Pro, which is a superb light) and perhaps Pushkar can help you get the SECA 1800 or two Busch & Muller Lumotec iQ-X.

Two IQ-X lights: https://www.bumm.de/en/products/e-bike-beleuchtung/parent/164/produkt/164r60ts7-01.html?

each one putting out about 800 lumens would be sufficient for early morning commute.

Indeed, a powerful light helps me anticipate road hazards such as bicyclists, stakers and unicyclists whose unpredictable behavior could be very surprising and dangerous (e.g. driving on the wrong side of the street, jumping off sidewalks onto the street, dark clothing, no lighting, utter disregard for traffic signs).

-- Nicolas.

 

[tomjasz]

I would say, please discount LPL videos if you are looking at bike security. An anecdote - I mounted my battery a couple of weeks ago and lost the keys. I had to call a professional lock picker, and it took him nearly 45 minutes to pick it. This is with all his tools at this disposal. And it cost me $75 ! LPL video showed him running through it in under 45 seconds!

I can safely say that LPL is atleast 2-3 orders of magnitude higher level than an average bike thief. Average time to steal a bike is probably well under 10 minutes. The Abus locks hold their own (LPL video with specialized tools) unless you are getting a high power electric drill / dremel tool to it.


Mirrors - I will look into options and get back to you. Ergotec looks great so far based on the videos I have seen - let me explore if there are any better options there.

Lights - I can add a more powerful light to the bike. I have a couple of options i am testing right now (1800 lumen / 2500 lumen) - they will add a little to the price but will be worth it.

I will DM you my number and we can talk in some detail.

Thanks

I break mirrors and gave up buying spendy versions I have 4-5 MirrCycle, inexpensive but great clarity and haven’t busted one. But, I tuck them Inwards.

 

[Explorer-1]

I would say, please discount LPL videos if you are looking at bike security. An anecdote - I mounted my battery a couple of weeks ago and lost the keys. I had to call a professional lock picker, and it took him nearly 45 minutes to pick it. This is with all his tools at this disposal. And it cost me $75 ! LPL video showed him running through it in under 45 seconds!

I can safely say that LPL is atleast 2-3 orders of magnitude higher level than an average bike thief. ....

While I agree LPL is well above any bike thief and is also well above the average locksmith at picking, when it comes to your bike/locksmith experience, it is likely the locksmith was just not familiar with the type of cylinder used on your battery. If he had worked with them in the past I'm sure we'd be talking only a couple of minutes to open or less. Why is this relevant? because theives may not be talented with locks, but they learn a technique and perfect it. That is why so called secure locks are often compromised by thieves as they learn from others how to exploit them and then just do that. With the right tool and a bit off practice they get really good at it. So if a certain type of key/cylinder starts to be used it is possible the bike thief will open it faster than your local locksmith. If LPL is doing SPP to open the lock then ya likely the typical thief is going to use other means, but if he is using a set of jigglers, or possibly a rake, or some random piece of junk, then they will eat that up.