Picked up a new ST2 at Mike's Bikes last Sunday and it's been great fun with some frustrations.
The Fun
ER
Thanks for all the great info on the Stromer Forum. I'm excited to work through the kinks on the bike!
The Fun
ER
- Sunday night ride in the dark bombing around like a child on his first bike ride. Took awhile to get used to the amazing speed and near-instant accelaration. Of course I rode in power level 3 and the torque sensor was on high, which I've since moved down a few clicks.
- Two commutes - about 30 miles each way with the following rough metrics:
- 30 miles, 1724ft elevation gain, averaged 19 mph. First half of trip at Power 2, second half at Power 3. Moving time - 1 hr 34 mins. Power consumption: 64%
- 30.5 miles, 1514 ft elevation gain, averaged 19 mph. Power 3 entire ride. Power consumption: 87%.
- 29.3 miles, 2151 elevation gain (seems high, but that's what Strava recorded ... did take a different route, so possible). Average speed 21.1 mph (due to route with fewer stops). Power 3 entire ride, except for powering down to 1 or 2 on some trails. Moving time: 1 hr 23 mins. Power consumption: 78%
- 30.1 miles, 2216 elevation gain. Average speed 19.9 mph. Power 3 entire ride. Moving time 1 hr 30 mins. Power consumption: 78% (although in my first 3 miles of mostly uphill into strong wind I lost 10% power).
- No negative shout-outs yet, but some smirks from strong riders wondering how anyone could possibly be passing them uphill.
- I bought the Bike during Mike's Bikes Annual sale, so there was minimal support and I was told to come back mid-week to have the bike synched. Understandable as they were mobbed, but disappointing nonetheless.
- Battery compartment locking issue. As others pointed out, if you turn the key too far when removing the battery, the key is almost impossible to remove. I removed the battery at work to charge it and simply left the key in the unit, thinking I'd deal with it when I replaced the battery. Of course, once I replaced the charged battery, the key would not remove and the battery compartment would not close. Ultimately, I reached into the unit and was able to push against the internal spring while turning to key to release it. I've since followed the advice of others to barely turn the key to release the battery.
- Activation and Synching. I went back to Mike's Bikes and spent about 30 minutes there. At first they had a problem with the various codes on my bike didn't match what they had in their system. They took all of the information after several attempts and took all of my information. Later the next day, I finally received an email from Stromer with a link to confirm the activation. All good, right? Nope. I never received a PIN and my bike has no bars or "G" (just the Zero with the line through it), so I can't synch with the iPhone App or more important, use the locking feature. I've been in communication with Stromer support over the past few days and am told they're working on it.
- Pulsing. Voted "yes" on the pulsing survey. I haven't quite isolated exactly when this happens; I recall from my last ride that as I was hitting level ground after a climb in power level 3, the pulsing occurred, almost as if the motor were gasping a bit from the climb. After several more seconds and upshifting and focusing on a smooth pedal stroke with stronger effort, I noticed it smoothed out.
Thanks for all the great info on the Stromer Forum. I'm excited to work through the kinks on the bike!
