Owner of a New Focus Adventura S10, 2014

[Bike_On]

I want to give a short report on my new mid drive. I was riding a Falco HX500 on a Trek DS8.5, which got rear ended by a car and is out of commission. I decided I wanted to go back to a mid drive, have it be a Speed Pedelec, and be an all around commuter bike. I ended up buying a demo from Propel Bikes in NY and they upgraded a new battery.

This bike (not the specific one pictured) has exceed my expectations. It advertises as 350W and 70nm of torque. The power is very sufficient for my commutes and drives up the hills as strong as the 500W falco Hub, but with less power, more efficient. The drive thru the gears combined with PAS system makes in enjoyable and smooth. The extras are fenders, built in lights, which are ok, but not as good as other after markets. The battery is 16.9 Ahrs and allows me to bike to work and back on one change, in the third, POWER mode, and average 20-21mph. Even using the forth level, it is very efficient. Overall, I give it a solid A.

The bike is near perfect, but here is what I can't change.
- Larger Front sprocket. The bike tops out under power at 28mph and gear wise around 30 mph. A bit higher sprocket would be nice.
- No room for seat suspension. Due to the battery location, the seat is displaced a couple inches back, and the top tube is fairly flat and takes up space under the seat, so no thud buster.

What about the Falco hub? It was saved. I just got a deal on a frame and will transfer brakes/shocks/shifters, etc. I have a couple 26" mtn wheels, so I will re-spoke the Falco to a 26" wheel, which ups the torque. The top speed of the hub is plenty fast.

More later.

 

[grench]

I want to give a short report on my new mid drive. I was riding a Falco HX500 on a Trek DS8.5, which got rear ended by a car and is out of commission. I decided I wanted to go back to a mid drive, have it be a Speed Pedelec, and be an all around commuter bike. I ended up buying a demo from Propel Bikes in NY and they upgraded a new battery.

This bike (not the specific one pictured) has exceed my expectations. It advertises as 350W and 70nm of torque. The power is very sufficient for my commutes and drives up the hills as strong as the 500W falco Hub, but with less power, more efficient. The drive thru the gears combined with PAS system makes in enjoyable and smooth. The extras are fenders, built in lights, which are ok, but not as good as other after markets. The battery is 16.9 Ahrs and allows me to bike to work and back on one change, in the third, POWER mode, and average 20-21mph. Even using the forth level, it is very efficient. Overall, I give it a solid A.

The bike is near perfect, but here is what I can't change.
- Larger Front sprocket. The bike tops out under power at 28mph and gear wise around 30 mph. A bit higher sprocket would be nice.
- No room for seat suspension. Due to the battery location, the seat is displaced a couple inches back, and the top tube is fairly flat and takes up space under the seat, so no thud buster.

What about the Falco hub? It was saved. I just got a deal on a frame and will transfer brakes/shocks/shifters, etc. I have a couple 26" mtn wheels, so I will re-spoke the Falco to a 26" wheel, which ups the torque. The top speed of the hub is plenty fast.

More later.

How is the transition back to the taller skinnier tires? I have been avoiding anything without mountain bike tires after switching to big bens. The wider tires seem to dampen the rough spots for me. Your big battery is awesome. Do you feel like the climbing ability of the mid drive out performs you hub? I may have an unequal comparison but my ST1 hub will definitely out climb my Opti mid drive. I know the common thought is mid drives climb better but not in the case of my two bikes. I would say extreme grades at crawling speeds the mid drive would prevail...no big long hills here to prove the theory.

Are you riding clipped in pedals? How fast is your cadence at the 28mph?

 

[Bike_On]

Grench,
The Focus has 1.4" tire x 700mm. I had 2" x 700 on the Trek DS. They are fast, the bike is fast. The non hub freewheel is noticeable and a real plus of a MD over a ddhub.
Power wise, I think the 350w MD is about the same as the 500W hub. It has been a while since riding the hub and the Focus does get up the steeper hills just a well. The hub could do peak power in the 1200w range per my Cycle Analyst. At that point, it would be more powerful, but it uses a lot of power too.

On the next ddhub build with Falco, I plan to run a 1.5 on the front and 1.95 on the back, 26" wheel. More torque vs the 29", lower stand over . For commuting, I plan to mix up the rides between the Focus and Falco combination . I will compare more then.

I considered an Optibike Pioneer Carbon for a MD buy, but backed off because of unknown performance . From your input, it sound like it is not a strong 500w motor on the Pioneer. I think the gearing is different than the Impulse 2 system.

No clips yet, but I did buy new pedals and shoes, but not installed yet. I'll add after getting some miles on it first.

Cadence at 28? Right around 85 or so.

 

[Bike_On]

Pic of bike at work.

 

[Bike_On]

Pic of bike at work.

Quick video from commute to work today.

 

[Bike_On]

I'm in season 2 with the Focus S10 speed pedelec mid drive. At the end of last season, the chain started to skip. I had to ride at a lower level for less torque. About a month ago, I replaced the rear cassette, but the slipping came back. So I replaced the chain and all is well.

The battery was suppose to be new last April, 2016. It has dropped down in capacity. I can still do a round trip commute on one charge, in warm weather, 36-38 miles, with 1-2 miles left at level 4. I have to use level 3 going to work to save energy.

Last year, I could do the RT in level 4 and have 5-7 miles left.

The original rating for the battery was 612 Whr. I think I'm near 500 whr now.

 

[Bike_On]

Accessories: Having fenders and lights that are trouble free has added much peace to the commutes. I love the dependable frontlight - extends the riding season.

Now I have external , rechargeable lights too, but they are backup and additional to safety and visibility. But I don't need them.

I consider these essential for a regular commuter (where it rains).

 

[Bike_On]

Upgrades: Added a Body Float and Ergo grips and bar ends. Ride is more enjoyable for 2017. So far I have about 1200 miles of commuting.