Hello,
I am looking for a new electrical bike, since the motor on my old one recently died. It had the E6000 Shimano STEPS motor, but I'm hesitant to buy a new bike with the same motor for several reasons - it's and old design, you can't upgrade software without a special (and expensive) interface box, and the worst thing I hate about the E6000 is the noise. I'm surprised every time I read on forums or reviews how quiet the Steps E6000 is, or, as they usually describe it, "nearly silent" or something like that. This is not my experience at all. I found it to be very loud at all loads since it was new, even when driving flat, but when going uphill, it got so loud I was embarrassed to pass anyone on the road, and pedestrians could hear me from far away and would turn around to look who's making that strange noise. I have never seen any other e-bike on the road that has been so loud. I am not sure if they all are like that, or if my unit was bad, but I used it for about 3 years and it worked just fine, never had any problems with it. Anyway, I am looking for a new bike, and can't decide which motor/system I should choose.
I live in Norway, where we generally have a very hilly topography. I ride the bike every day to and from work, about 10km each way, and have several quite steep hills on the way. I never ride off-road. I prefer high cadence with low load, my goal is not to make as little effort as possible, but to be able to maintain high, steady cadence and speed, even when going up hills. I see a lot of people driving Bosch CX in high gear/low cadence every day on my way to work, this is not what I want, I want it to be closer to a regular bicycle, but without dying of driving up these hills every day. I pass the 25km/h limit all the time, so it's important that it's easy (relatively) to pedal even when the motor is off. And talking about torque, the 50nm from my STEPS has been enough, but I wouldn't mind a bit more, but then you are looking at the eMTB motors which are an overkill for me (I believe).
So, the options are:
Bosch Performance Line CX - as I understand, these are not the best to pedal with motor off/past speed limit due to the design of the chainring. Also, I have heard that they are not the quietest, or the most reliable motors. And I guess 75nm is an overkill for me anyway.
Bosch Active Line Plus - I like that it's a recent design/model, quiet (so they say) and is (on paper) about as powerful as STEPS E6000, however, I have heard that the STEPS E6000 feels a bit more powerful in real life. Has anyone driven both and can comment this? Is Active Line Plus and upgrade over E6000?
STEPS E8000 - I have seen some videos with this motor, and it seemed kind of loud? And if I were to buy such a powerful motor, wouldn't it be better to just buy Bosch CX then?
STEPS E6100 - upcoming model, 60nm sounds perfect, supposedly quieter than the E6000, new design etc, however, this model is not released yet, and I don't want to be without a bike till winter/spring when I assume new bikes with this motor will start appearing in stores.
Brose - hard to get in Norway, expensive, so not really considering this one, unfortunately.
Yamaha PW or PW-X - I have read that they are not good for high cadence riders.
So I'm kind of leaning towards the Active Line Plus, and if anyone knows how it compares to E6000 in real life, I would love to hear their opinion. Any other tips/recommendations would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Tom
I am looking for a new electrical bike, since the motor on my old one recently died. It had the E6000 Shimano STEPS motor, but I'm hesitant to buy a new bike with the same motor for several reasons - it's and old design, you can't upgrade software without a special (and expensive) interface box, and the worst thing I hate about the E6000 is the noise. I'm surprised every time I read on forums or reviews how quiet the Steps E6000 is, or, as they usually describe it, "nearly silent" or something like that. This is not my experience at all. I found it to be very loud at all loads since it was new, even when driving flat, but when going uphill, it got so loud I was embarrassed to pass anyone on the road, and pedestrians could hear me from far away and would turn around to look who's making that strange noise. I have never seen any other e-bike on the road that has been so loud. I am not sure if they all are like that, or if my unit was bad, but I used it for about 3 years and it worked just fine, never had any problems with it. Anyway, I am looking for a new bike, and can't decide which motor/system I should choose.
I live in Norway, where we generally have a very hilly topography. I ride the bike every day to and from work, about 10km each way, and have several quite steep hills on the way. I never ride off-road. I prefer high cadence with low load, my goal is not to make as little effort as possible, but to be able to maintain high, steady cadence and speed, even when going up hills. I see a lot of people driving Bosch CX in high gear/low cadence every day on my way to work, this is not what I want, I want it to be closer to a regular bicycle, but without dying of driving up these hills every day. I pass the 25km/h limit all the time, so it's important that it's easy (relatively) to pedal even when the motor is off. And talking about torque, the 50nm from my STEPS has been enough, but I wouldn't mind a bit more, but then you are looking at the eMTB motors which are an overkill for me (I believe).
So, the options are:
Bosch Performance Line CX - as I understand, these are not the best to pedal with motor off/past speed limit due to the design of the chainring. Also, I have heard that they are not the quietest, or the most reliable motors. And I guess 75nm is an overkill for me anyway.
Bosch Active Line Plus - I like that it's a recent design/model, quiet (so they say) and is (on paper) about as powerful as STEPS E6000, however, I have heard that the STEPS E6000 feels a bit more powerful in real life. Has anyone driven both and can comment this? Is Active Line Plus and upgrade over E6000?
STEPS E8000 - I have seen some videos with this motor, and it seemed kind of loud? And if I were to buy such a powerful motor, wouldn't it be better to just buy Bosch CX then?
STEPS E6100 - upcoming model, 60nm sounds perfect, supposedly quieter than the E6000, new design etc, however, this model is not released yet, and I don't want to be without a bike till winter/spring when I assume new bikes with this motor will start appearing in stores.
Brose - hard to get in Norway, expensive, so not really considering this one, unfortunately.
Yamaha PW or PW-X - I have read that they are not good for high cadence riders.
So I'm kind of leaning towards the Active Line Plus, and if anyone knows how it compares to E6000 in real life, I would love to hear their opinion. Any other tips/recommendations would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Tom
