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So ... I own a SC Heckler SL with a Fazua 60 motor and I really like it. The motor is just like someone pushing you up a hill.
However, I've just been riding on holiday and hired a SC Vala from the local bike place. Apart from the obvious different in weight (that was quite noticeable) the thing that struck me was I really didn't get on with the motor at all.
In the lowest assistance mode it seemed like you needed to be spinning the cranks at a ridiculous pace to get assistance and, even then, it tended to cut in and out.
This got better in the next two modes up (blue and purple?) but was still very dependent on cadence for assistance and a bit surgey. Really noticeable over run as well. The final mode (red) seemed to do next to nothing more than the purple.
It was definitely more powerful than my bike, but I'm really not convinced by how it delivered the power.
The question is, does this tally with what other people experience with a Bosch CX motor or have I had a duff hire bike?
I'm sure I could play around with the settings in the Bosch app for ebikes if I owned one, but obviously didn't try as it was a hire bike.
Thoughts and experiences please.
That sounds like the sx motor not the cx. The gen4 and Gen5 have plenty to give
Yeah, that read pretty much exactly like my experience of the SX motor. It sort of gave up when you needed to make any kind of crunch move. Spin to win only. Not heard of any similar behaviour with the CX. It's a hire bike though... might not have been working properly, never mind tuned for you.
The santa cruz vala has the Cx motor, so unless the op is talking about a different bike, it would have been the cx motor not the sx.Â
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I've got a bike with the gen4 cx motor and it doesn't feel how you described the hire vala. I suspect either it was faulty or the app had been used to configure the modes in some wierd way.Â
Yes, the SX motor on my e-gravel bike is kind of similar. Turbo is no different to Sprint really.
And if you're going up a tricky climb, trying to put power down, roll the bike, power etc, it's very stop/start. Where it's brilliant is just spinning away which thankfully is mostly what it's used for - it's basically my commuter bike although my commute can include various gravel sections including a 15% climb.
And on the positive side, it's done 2500 miles without missing a beat, it's genuinely fantastic for that. If I was using it for more technical riding though, the SX motor would annoy me.
Yeah, it was great off road... just not climbing where you're adjusting your cadence for obstacles and terrain. Spin to win.
Hire bike thoughts... if you had a fleet, would you tune the modes down to help preserve the motor from, er, abuse? And to stop people emptying the battery too readily when they inevitably overuse the higher modes?
So ... more than probably a tuning issue or a duff motor. On the bright side, it has meant that I'm in no rush to buy a new bike 😉
I've got a bike with the gen4 cx motor and it doesn't feel how you described the hire vala. I suspect either it was faulty or the app had been used to configure the modes in some wierd way.Â
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Yup - me as well. sounds like someone has messed with the settings.
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Sounds like you need to check the motor assist tuning in the app.
We've not long come back from another visit to Longleat Center Parcs, where once again, I hired a Specialized Turbo Tero 3.0 eMTB to go and ride the local hills and lanes. As supplied, the assist levels are very conservative, but the app made it much easier to get more assist to kick in with less effort from me and get more power assist for Eco/Trial/Turbo from the three presets (racing being best) or setting custom ease/power levels.
Yup sounds like someone's been messing with the settings to reduce the torque outputs and make the battery last longer...
I own bikes with both a Gen5 CX motor and also an SX motor. The CX on stock settings is an absolute torque monster, pulls from nothing. It's like driving a car with a 3L turbo diesel engine, you can rev it out for more power but there's very little point. The SX motor by contrast, is like driving a 1600cc Honda V-Tec engined car, absolutely gutless low down but then suddenly comes alive as you get it high up in the rev range, where it then keeps going and going until it produces the same amount of peak power as the 3L diesel, but at 50% more revs...
I like both and both have their place. For a quick thrash in the woods, the SX is so much fun, so engaging, like riding a normal MTB but with an extra burst of speed. For big days in the saddle the CX absolutely wins by miles though, it's always there, helping you along consistently (and efficiently) and can get you up some really steep technical stuff with minimal fuss as and when you need it to too...
Sounds very much like it had been messed with to me!
The eco setting on the CX is very dependent on spinning so the power you get depends on the gear your in. A lot less so for Tour and Emtb. the relationship between the motor and the gears is something you get used to after a few rides.Â