Picked up my Stromer ST2 yesterday

[OregonN8V]

Hi. I'm Eric

I have been looking around for an electric bike for months to help me cover my 17 mile commute over the West Hills of Portland, OR. I have been on a road bike for years but my 50 year old knees starting begging for mercy and I wanted to speed up the hour commute a bit as well.

Rode a Turbo Vado 6.0 for a week but the 604 Wh battery did not have quite enough juice to do the entire 35 miles round trip. Then tried the Bulls Lacuba Evo 45 with a 650 WH battery. It was able to handle the round trip commute but I was not as impressed with the fit and finish and I also prefer a slightly more aggressive riding stance and the Bulls is a very upright ride.

Started looking at the Stromer especially because they allow you to upgrade to a larger battery. (Why don't other bike manufacturers have this option? I likely would have stayed with the Turbo Vado if I could have purchased a larger battery.) First looked at the ST1x which was in the same price range as the TV6 (approx. $5000). A bit more research and I liked some of the upgrades available with the ST2 (carbon fork, SYNO Drive, better components, lighting, larger std. battery, etc). I was ready to order one when I came across a 2018 end of year sale on one from a local dealer. They were offering the Stromer ST2 with the upgrade from the 814 Wh battery to the massive 984 Wh battery for $4899 which is $2100 off MSRP. Could not pass it up.

First ride into work this morning and my battery still has over 80% left. That is another 'shout out' to Stromer...thanks for putting the battery percentage rather than just a bar. Too hard to know how much life left when each bar represents 20% of the battery life.

Looking forward to many miles of fun.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Hi. I'm Eric

I have been looking around for an electric bike for months to help me cover my 17 mile commute over the West Hills of Portland, OR. I have been on a road bike for years but my 50 year old knees starting begging for mercy and I wanted to speed up the hour commute a bit as well.

Rode a Turbo Vado 6.0 for a week but the 604 Wh battery did not have quite enough juice to do the entire 35 miles round trip. Then tried the Bulls Lacuba Evo 45 with a 650 WH battery. It was able to handle the round trip commute but I was not as impressed with the fit and finish and I also prefer a slightly more aggressive riding stance and the Bulls is a very upright ride.

Started looking at the Stromer especially because they allow you to upgrade to a larger battery. (Why don't other bike manufacturers have this option? I likely would have stayed with the Turbo Vado if I could have purchased a larger battery.) First looked at the ST1x which was in the same price range as the TV6 (approx. $5000). A bit more research and I liked some of the upgrades available with the ST2 (carbon fork, SYNO Drive, better components, lighting, larger std. battery, etc). I was ready to order one when I came across a 2018 end of year sale on one from a local dealer. They were offering the Stromer ST2 with the upgrade from the 814 Wh battery to the massive 984 Wh battery for $4899 which is $2100 off MSRP. Could not pass it up.

First ride into work this morning and my battery still has over 80% left. That is another 'shout out' to Stromer...thanks for putting the battery percentage rather than just a bar. Too hard to know how much life left when each bar represents 20% of the battery life.

Looking forward to many miles of fun.

You should be able to do that nonchalantly without any range anxiety. SYNO drive has a lot of oomph compared to most mid-drives.
If it rains a lot, you may install some mud flaps.
Enjoy your commute ?

 

[Bruce Arnold]

Sounds like you got just the right bike for your needs, and at a great price, too! I hope we get to see some pics of your favorite rides.

 

[Feliz]

Congrats but pics or it didn't happen!

 

[OregonN8V]

It was a bit rainy yesterday when I brought it home. I'll try to get some better photos tomorrow.

First work commute today and I covered over 30 miles and still have over 50% battery and that was using the battery liberally. I was in 2 or 3 nearly the entire ride. I could definitely be more judicious and I have a few pretty steep descents where I could recoup some Wh as well.

This bike is a blast!

 

[Feliz]

That's great, you're getting great range. Do you have a dealer near you?

 

[OregonN8V]

That's great, you're getting great range. Do you have a dealer near you?

There is an authorized dealer and service shop 3.5 miles from my house. The shop I purchased the bike from is only 7.0 miles from the house. Feel fortunate there are two shops in town and both have great reputations.

I do have a question...the owner's manual says to drain the battery fully the first three times and then to top it off regularly thereafter but to never let it drain all the way. Are the first three full drains to set the battery at max capacity?

 

[Bruce Arnold]

There is an authorized dealer and service shop 3.5 miles from my house. The shop I purchased the bike from is only 7.0 miles from the house. Feel fortunate there are two shops in town and both have great reputations.

I do have a question...the owner's manual says to drain the battery fully the first three times and then to top it off regularly thereafter but to never let it drain all the way. Are the first three full drains to set the battery at max capacity?

There's disagreement on this point. Some say it's a good idea, some say not. I hold with the "yes" crowd, based on experience with portable ham radio operation. It seems that this procedure does in fact enhance the performance and life of lithium batteries. However, I have a lot of respect for some of the "no" folks. If you search on the forum, you will find interminable discussions of this topic.

If you choose to follow this advice, don't run it down to zero. It is a fact that lithium batteries will lose performance and longevity if they are stressed hard. Extreme temperatures (hot or cold), charging too fast, and draining too low, especially under load, are all culprits in this scenario.

If your bike shows voltage on the display, as mine does, then don't go much below 42 volts, which is right at the 20% charge that most sources say represents the bottom of the margin of safety. Mind you, dipping down as low as 40 volts (between 5 and 10%) won't thrash the battery on the spot, but it could affect long-term usefulness.

If your display doesn't show volts, but only has one of those 5 bar graphics (or more -- mine has 9 bars), then this gives you a rough-and-ready estimate of the state of charge. When you get down to one bar left, it's time to call it a day pretty soon. Don't trust those displays too much -- notoriously unreliable.

Batteries are the single most expensive component of most ebikes, and worth caring for. Most of the time I keep my battery between 45 and 95%, so I'm only using one-half the stated capacity. Below 46 volts (45% of charge), performance starts to degrade perceptibly, until by the time I get to 44 volts (30%), it's pretty sluggish. I've only taken it down to 42 volts 3 times, two of them when it was new and I didn't have a good feel for how many miles I could go before having to recharge.

A lot of folks here charge their bikes between 20-80% -- and you'll find all of those discussions if you do a search on battery also. There's no question in my mind that doing so will give a good combination of useful charge vs. battery longevity. I don't think that sticking with 80% will give significantly more charge cycles to make it worth it to give up the performance my bike presents at a higher state of charge. Also, my stock charger cuts out at 95% so I don't have to take any further measures; just plug it in and let it charge.

If you want to go with the careful crowd and stick with 20-80% -- and with that beast of a battery, you certainly could -- then either spend the bucks on a Grin Cycle Satiator which allows you to program a cut-out for charging at different percentages of full charge, or (the poor man's option) do a little experimentation, learn how long it takes to get to 80%, and then use a $5 timer to turn the charger off.

Finally, I've attached a handy graph which shows voltage and state of charge for various systems, such as 36 volt, 48 V, 52 V, etc.

 

[OregonN8V]

Bruce,

Thank you for the excellent information and the detailed description. The Omni on the Stromer shows the battery percentage left available. I currently have 40% left on this charge and It will probably be close to 15%-20% by the time I get home. Sounds like I can go ahead and charge up from there and I don't need to ride around the block 73 times to drain the battery to nothing...as a matter of fact, I should NOT do that.

Cheers,

Eric

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

the owner's manual says to drain the battery fully the first three times and then to top it off regularly thereafter but to never let it drain all the way.

As a fellow ST2 owner, stromer commuter, I can share a few things.
The manual was written in 2014 and may not include all the fine details. Someone like you who is doing 35 miles everyday, can benefit immensely by taking care of few things.

https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/e-bike-battery-guide.24443/

The above guide can help you find useful information about battery care.

 

[OregonN8V]

As a fellow ST2 owner, stromer commuter, I can share a few things.
The manual was written in 2014 and may not include all the fine details. Someone like you who is doing 35 miles everyday, can benefit immensely by taking care of few things.

https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/e-bike-battery-guide.24443/

The above guide can help you find useful information about battery care.

Thanks Ravi.

 

[OregonN8V]

Bruce,

A nice thing about the Stromer is they have a built in computer they call Omni. This built in computer shows the charge of the battery in real time. I plugged my bike in and I will monitor the care to ensure that it does not get to 100%. I will try to stop it between 80% and 90%.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Can @Angela M. or @rich c move this thread to the Stromer forum?

 

[Angela M.]

Can @Angela M. or @rich c move this thread to the Stromer forum?

Will do! Thanks @Ravi Kempaiah !

 

[PDX_Commuter]

Welcome @OregonN8V! I also bought a stromer st2 due to the west hills and the rainy weather. My commute is only 5 miles from ~ skyline to the river front but some days just want to get home quick as possible and it’s cut my ride back home in 1/2 from ~45 minutes to 22minutes riding through Washington park. That’s sounds like a great deal you got esp with the upgraded battery. I got mine earlier in the year so it’s a 2017 but only the 814wh battery ordered online for ~4600 including shipping. Now I’ll keep an eye out for an stromer!

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

It was a bit rainy yesterday when I brought it home. I'll try to get some better photos tomorrow.

First work commute today and I covered over 30 miles and still have over 50% battery and that was using the battery liberally. I was in 2 or 3 nearly the entire ride. I could definitely be more judicious and I have a few pretty steep descents where I could recoup some Wh as well.

This bike is a blast!

View attachment 27862

All you need is a BodyFloat suspension seatpost and then its perfect!

 

[PDX_Commuter]

If I didn’t already have my ST2, definitely would be interested in the ST2S that a local shop here in Portland has posted on their site for ~5399.