REVIEW: QR-E 250W ELECTRIC BOOSTER BICYCLE MOTOR AND B60i AND B70 BATTERY

[3dxl]

Congrats you've completed your build! Looks very classic without too much of an ebike. I think the battery need to be wrapped with chrome to look like thermos water bottle for stealth looks. Looks like you've worn out the friction tape quite a bit for just 15 miles. Put that floor grip tape you'll be smiling like no tomorrow. Btw you got awesomely beautiful scenic place to ride! Mine just concrete jungle.

Btw sharing my recent days with Qi-roll during rush hours:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1732653338624495649

 

[3dxl]

I ride almost 20 days in a month and only need to replace once (1x) the (DIY) floor grip tape.........that will be around 12x per year for just total of $2 per-roll. Cheap! Now already passed more than a year i must say the the floor grip tape is 1000% far better than supplied stock Qiroll friction tape especially it grips 100% better in wet and rain. Can feel the wheel spin will full torque in the rain. Overall maintenance wise....just squirt lube into roller to remove squeeky noise after a year run.

However the grip tape and tire surface needs to be properly installed until it hit the sweet spot:

• Worn out faster: If you pump your tire too hard pressure (eg: 100psi on 700cx28 tires) it will worn out average in 3 days. Because small contact point on the clutch roller means the friction pressure concentrated on narrow line = higher wear and also lost traction in slippery wet condition.
• Sluggish ride and battery hogging: If you pump your tire at too low pressure (eg: below 50psi on 700cx28 tires) it may have too much friction on the roller because being too squishy and you'll have sluggish ride, slow and consume more battery.
• Perfect: If you pump your tire at moderate pressure (eg: 70~80psi on 700cx28 tires) you'll have moderate tire contact patch with the roller which makes good adequate traction to spin the tires and even wear on the grip tape. The grip tape will last a month just throttling around like a scooter even in wet patchy rain.

* Note: The myth of tires rubber worn out by friction roller type ebike kit is almost minimal or none. More likely the constant rolling of tires contact with road tarmac and gravel will have more impact worn out its rubber traction than on ebike friction roller kit. My tires still living well after more than a year use through Qiroll with rubber surface still thick and the grip grooves still visible.

 

[3dxl]

This is the original factory installed friction sticker. You can see that there is about 1mm gap where the ends meet up except in the middle depressed area where the ends melted together when it was slipping. The friction sticker is 2mm thick, where it was worn in the middle it was down to ~1mm thickness.
View attachment 168308

Here's what I applied today, 3M VHB which is ~1mm thick, followed by the anti slip tape which is ~1/2mm thick. Within 1/2mm thickness compared to the stock friction sticker.
The OEM friction sticker came off fairly easily in 2 layers, first the rubber layer then the adhesive layer which looked like double stick carpet tape.
View attachment 168309

Here they are installed on the roller. I staggered the joints so they don't come together at the same spot. The anti slip tape adhered very tightly to the VHB tape. The VHB tape was a true 1 inch width while the anti slip tape, advertised as 1" was actually 24mm wide so a thin rim of the VHB tape is exposed. I doubt if that will be an issue. I'm letting the adhesives cure overnight inside, hoping to give it a good test ride tomorrow depending on the weather.
View attachment 168310

BTW 14.4cm length of the tapes seemed about perfect without leaving a gap where the ends met. Picture above is a little blurred but the seam is barely apparent even in real time.

That looks quite thick after adding 3M VHB, i hope it holds well and and not squished on by its thickness once the roller clutch tightly on to the tyre surface. I'm sure you'll get 100% grip and anti-slip torque once the roller moves. You'll have great riding experience than default roller tape from Qiroll. Let me know how it runs on your side.

*Extra note: Make sure the 3M adhesives doesn't get melt by heat generated by the roller else the tape will slip loose. Industrial anti-slip floor grip tape usually super strong and hard to peel of from the roller like mine.

 

[3dxl]

The thinner the adhesive the better especially that already comes with the anti slip tape because it won't get slipped around if the adhesive is too thick. Don't worry about the roller, even in naked/without tape it can handle great amount of torture and abuse. My qiroll roller have been accidentally running without tape no issues for miles, only the black painted worn out but no problem. I even use sand paper to scrape off old adhesive as the roller motor runs, metal roller can take some beatings.

 

[3dxl]

Hey all! Happy new year 2024. Just arrived office scoot around with my roadie on Qiroll around traffic this morning. Was after rain leaving with lots of puddle and wet soil, didn't get any slip and had solid torque. I suspect maybe type of rubber tire compound may play much role over grip efficiency. My Pirelli P-Zero & Schwalbe One tires build for racing have soft sticky compound great grip around slippery roads which a makes a good combo with Qiroll diy friction floor tape. I had no problem with USB connection to motor, seems though and weather proof. I hope you'll getting much improvement later after some fine tune.

 

[3dxl]

Is the Gorilla tread tape are same grade as rough sand paper like grip floor tape?
https://www.gorillatough.com/product/gorilla-anti-slip-tread-tape/#product-details-accordion
Yours looks very rubbery from the photo or is it other material? Is it possible your tire compound made from hard rubber?
Btw nice scenery!

 

[3dxl]

The Schwalbe Marathon tires don't have a particularly hard compound but they are very long wearing so maybe they are compared to other tire compounds - Qiroll does specifically mention them as a recommendation in their website FAQ section. I wonder if mounting location on top of the chainstays isn't as good as below the chainstays due to different geometry? I'm going to take it off this bike and put it on a bike where it will have to be mounted below the chainstay and see if that makes a difference. The other bike also has Marathon tires but I have a spare set of Continental Gatorskins (700x32c) that I might try to see if they work better with the Qiroll.

I have the feeling maybe their recommendation on tires doesn't count into wet condition scenario and others environmental factor such as slippery mossy soil. Some so called 'durable tires' are less likely to have good traction compound based on my experience riding with several commuter grade tires.

It rainy weather here and its been 2 month i haven't worn out my floor grip tape and still have grippy non-slip traction on my Qiroll. 2 months is a good record, hope it lasts longer.

Btw hope you could post video how your Qiroll performed on your tires and see what makes it slips.

 

[3dxl]

Another factor possibly affecting slippage is the temperature. Last ride temps varied between 36 and 38 degrees Fahrenheit which might make a difference compared to performance in warmer temperatures.
I don't know how to post a video, never done it, but it'd be difficult to capture while riding anyway. Very cold and raining/sleet with snow in the forecast so it'll be a while before I get to test it more.

Ah!! 38 fahrenheit = 3.3 celsius. Thats it! Cold rubber doesn't grip well on anything; its surface harden and doesn't provide good contact with roller's stock grip tape even with diy floor grip tape. Its shreds the diy tape because hardened tire rubber eats it. Where i live 26~30 celsius is normal and rubber soften well = grippy.

 

[3dxl]

*Beautiful view on the horizon! What's the name of that mountain in the pic?

Mid drive make sense for wet and slippery condition and great for hill climbing. I ride my Bafang 750w mid drive MTB if i want to do leg exercise or pure off-roading but i hate overweighted e-bike. But this season i'm too lazy to pedal so i ride my Qiroll just relaxing scoot and glide across on the road to commute to work. There are special scenario where friction drive like Qiroll does better for simple mobility especially in urban area where being light and portable especially moving inside the building, i like the feel of lighter normal below 12kg e-bike.

Btw share today pic of condition of my Qiroll pro in wet condition since its rainy weather this month. The Qiroll unit now looks old and the paint coating around the roller started to fade after more than a year worth of daily high speed ride but still function perfectly well as if it was day one outside the box. The grip tape looked pristine still provide good acceleration without slipping. No regret having the Pro version. Might getting another one for folding bike setup.

 

[3dxl]

Mt Hood in Oregon, overlooking Hood River valley near the Columbia river.

Nice! probably gonna try fly there to visit the place tonite in VR sim.

19kg is a good number on e-bike that rolls on gravel and off-road. Usually out of factory e-bike ready are around 25kg average and can be hard for those who live in high rise building lifting it and stuff. Hope you could report back the progress once dry summer season comes.

 

[3dxl]

Back on my mid drive PAS system for commute, need to get my legs muscle moving again than scooting easily around, lol.

 

[3dxl]

You guys have crazy weather over there, wind, tornado, typhoon, winter, cold and stuff. Btw if you get some wind behind your back on two wheels you can sail freely without e-bike kit.
We just got summer for whole year; tropic island but causes our rubber tires freckled early than its original life shelf due to heat.

Btw ride my stealth Qiroll Pro e-bike today, too lazy and too heavy to ride my mid drive mtb.

 

[3dxl]

Morning Qiroll e-bike photography.

 

[3dxl]

It'll be a while before I can get to trying to fab a handlebar mounted manual clutch for the Qiroll, not working in a cold garage.
My backyard, not much snow accumulated because of the wind and freezing rain but it's slippery.

Can't wait to see your manual clutch fabrication, i think its a great idea to on/off the clutch mechanism 'on the go' to make the bikes pedaling feels normal without extra friction. I might dig into project too if i had time.

 

[3dxl]

Hey i'm back, so hows the clutch project going on?

Steady weather over here, no longer rains and starts to get warmer and hot. Still busting some speed everyday on my Qiroll Pro. Here video commute in the dark. Not much space to bike on the side of the road but the speed helps to sync with traffic.

Video:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1750845888422174871

 

[3dxl]

How many month is winter over there? Got roller or indoor bike trainer to keep that legs fit?
Its very hard to ride safe here; unleash dogs, sandwich traffic and shared lanes are constant challenging task for bike commuter in this 3rd world country infrastructure.

Anyways thinking picking up n+1 bike road bike with disc brake. Qiroll putting too much torque speed and my finger kinda tired fighting with press on classic cantilever brakes. Thinking getting affordable carbon bike but seem challenging to mount Qiroll because the rear triangle frame gap is almost non-existence.

 

[3dxl]

Have you try ride up hill and going fast downhill? My early DIY have similar like yours have a bit thickness but sputter at high speed going down the hill. Which is why now i prefer thin lighter layer. Hope it works well for you once your weather over there stabilized.

 

[3dxl]

Try to keep the hinge look stealthy or clean minimalist look on your build.
I think for my first priority build i would ended up with a titanium bike as my forever bike that will stick with me till my old end. The build is still long way to go as i need to save up budget for custom chrome wheels, parts and stuff before adding Qiroll Pro. I want my bike to look very classic metal but a stealth old mans e-bike. If i have another spare budget then i would get 2nd bike in carbon form as weekend Ferrari. More likely ended up having 2x Qiroll Pro fitted bike.

 

[ordinator]

Came across this thread searching for info on what seems to a common issue with the qiroll; wear on the friction tape. I wished I had read through all the posts prior to starting a tour/bikpacking with the qiroll (750+ miles/1210+ kilometers) from southern Illinois to New Orleans via Baton Rogue. I tested all my equipment prior to starting out, but was mainly on road and mostly flat (I am in illinois after all). The tape showed some wear but nothing serious, and I brought a spare regardless as I was expecting 400 miles from it. Day 1 and everything worked flawlessly, with the small boost from the Qiroll my legs weren't even tired.

Low water on Mississippi meant I had to go west and cross Ohio river. This where the issues started, lots of gravel roads and some serious inclines caused the the friction tape to come off. I put on the spare and got another 10 miles before that one failed as well. There was fraying on the ends on the first one that failed. For the second it was strictly the adhesive. Had I not been doing a road side repair the second would probably lasted longer with proper cleaning and time. I was near the highest point, so from there it was downhill to the Ohio & wouldn't need the Qiroll for the rest of the day.

I never go camping without bringing duct tape as it's good for all kinds of fixes. I reattached the second qiroll strap, and used the standard duct tape (2" width) to cover it with and extra 1/2 inch on the roller on each side to help secure it. I wrapped it twice to increase the wear time. The duct tape quickly wore through but made it to a store and bought a roll of gorilla tape. The gorilla tape worked much better, but still needed to be replaced each day. I would spend 15 minutes each day replacing the tape at camp. Not a great solution but acceptable. The height of friction strap is slightly higher than the roller, so the edges are not perfectly flat but the portion the wheel contacts with is.

Even with the issues, I really like my Qiroll mute. For me the small boost it gives and not having slough through long (smaller) inclines is great. I only ride in eco mode and with a B70 battery I would consistently get 42+ miles with it. Everyday I would run it all the way down with the only issue is the recharge time has gotten very long, 5 hours. But considering how long it lasts and the build quality it's tough to find a better battery for the price. Only $100 or $120, Admittedly I am only using 25 volts.

I have looked through all the posts I can find on the Qiroll. Has anyone ever down a teardown on one? The reason I am asking is; The friction wrap and adhesive is the weakpoint, so I was thinking to about trying a fix for both. The use some kind of sleeve over the roller may work better. I have seen other friction drive offerings where it is a solid tube over the roller. Depending on the material I can rationalize it should work better. But would require removing one of the arms temporarily to slide it over.

 

[ordinator]

Thanks, The Montague is a little heavy for my liking but has the advantage of being able to fold small enough in an emergency I can take it on at any Amtrak station as a carry on.

Many friction drive manufactures sell replacement bands. I measured the Qiroll roller to 45mm and depending on the material something slighting smaller should give a good fit. Unfortunately the I can't find id sizes for bands from devices similar to the Qiroll, but trying something ready made will be my first choice. Two I found on aliexpress worth trying are:

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256....0.0.585f38daeNzciu&mp=1&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806224595957.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.19d738dawXxCwW&mp=1&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

If those don't work then I may try something like

ebay Universal 4-Ply Reinforced 1.75" ID Straight Coupler Silicone Hose 44mm Red

But first I need to verify it can be easily taken apart. I will probably remove the plastic "Qiroll" circles this weekend, if there's an allen screw (hoping/guessing) I will take it apart a little more, but don't want to hurt it.