AVE XH 3...any thoughts??

[barrycoll]

It was great fun being at Blenheim palace last Sunday for the Brompton World Championships.....pure madness, but fun..

my wife and I parked up about 10 miles away from Woodstock, and and she on her Tongxin Brompton and me on a leg powered 6 speed used NSN 51 to get us there, which was fabulous...and we avoided the impossible traffic jams

there was a big electric bike presence on the trade stands, and I was quite taken with the AVE XH3 being marketed by Whisper and E motion, and had a ride around on one....the Bosch system looks pretty bullet proof, and even the 8ah battery would suit, BUT, does anybody have any experience on the system, and/or the basic bike as it is only branded as an AVG....although components look pretty good

thanks barrycoll

 

[flecc]

The Bosch system has received widespread praise and it's probably one of the safest e-bike purchases possible. Member Eddie0 has an AVE now which he is full of praise for, and he is judging from experience with some of the recognised best e-bike brands. Here's a link to a thread of his for you to read:

AVE MH7

 

[barrycoll]

thanks for the link flecc, and Eddi0 seems like a satisfied customer....although replacement batteries are running at £450

but apart from the Bosch set up, any ideas about the provenance of the bike itself??

who are AVE, and are they new to the scene???....

on the XH 3 the Bosch motor/drive unit is below the bottom bracket, which brings with it the risk of damage, and I am wondering if anybody else has had any experience of this

 

[flecc]

AVE are a 6 year old German company making e-bikes, never unpowered bikes, and in the e-bike market where there are many newer companies that makes them middle aged! The design is German but they have them manufactured by one dedicated company in Taiwan. Most Bosch using bikes have the motor mounted that way, and it's the way Bosch originally designed it to be used. It's mainly the e-bikes for trail use that mount it the other way up, Haibike being the first to do that. Like the Panasonic unit, the crankcase is a tough casting which is unlikely ever to suffer damage.

AVE stands for Advanced Vehicle Engineering.

Being German and mainly selling in Germany, it's likely they have to conform to that country's high engineering standards and reviews are favourable.
.

 

[barrycoll]

excellent...........thanks for all that info flecc, as you certainly have managed to dot the I's and cross the T's for me

at £1799, the XH 3 does seem to be the "cheapest"way into the Bosch equipped bike...

to pick your brains (or anyone else for that matter) how would this dedicated e-bike compare with an Oxygen kit on my upmarket Specialised Rockhopper....and trying to ignore the £££s, between the two!

 

[flecc]

I don't personally know the Oxygen kit, other than it's neat execution and the fact it uses well known sound components. The main differences will be the usual hub motor versus crank drive ones, hub motor simplicity well suited to average conditions with hills that are not the most extreme. The crank drive Bosch will handle any gradient with ease and has the advantage of integration of most of the system within the one unit, rather than the bits attached around the bike that is typical of hub motor systems.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Barrycoll,

If you are considering a conversion kit you might be interested in an eZee which we supply in the UK.

You can find more information here on our website eZee Conversion Kits - electric bikes and conversion kits

Regards,

 

[eddieo]

Just saw this thread as was away on holidays at the time. The AVE MH7 was great during 6 week tour of Italy/Croatia...Hardly got a look in, as its wife's bike in theory But was allowed to use it occasionally The hill climbing is superb, and Tuscany has some hills that would frighten the life out of you. truly a get anywhere bike, but big apple tyres not suitable for soft stuff as come of a few times on very loose gravel

 

[martin@onbike]

We at Onbike are impressed with the overall build quality of all the Ave bikes we've seen,they do feel better than some other brands that are priced in a similar bracket.
Though i would like definitive information concerning their origin of build,as i'm pretty sure i've seen on the bike that they are "manufactured in the European Community" or something similar-i shall look into it further when i get a chance...i may be mistaken.

 

[eddieo]

Flecc answered this above.....

bikes probably assembled in Europe, frames etc from Taiwan. Bosch units built in Germany and new factory in East. Very robust and light,120kg capacity and no problem with my weight, has to be the best compact bike around for now......

 

[barrycoll]

finally had a decent ride on a Haibike Xduro RC, provided by just e-bikes aat there new Portobello road showroom...
....'twas only a short run, but enough to confirm that the 'middle-motor' layout is a great improvement over a front hub drive and rear battery position....
having cycled down there from Nth London on my wife's Juicy conversion, it was a revelation to experience the proper upmarket bike feel to the steering, with no weight on the front wheel, and even under no power the bike felt very sprightly
....when powered up to the first setting, every pedal stroke gets a quantum of additional oomph, unlike the conversion kit, which relies on a quickening cadence to get things going, so a very smooth feel from the very first pedal stroke
..no need for a throttle, as there seems to be no lag
...put the setting up to No 3 though, and adrenaline really courses through the system, and there is real get up and go.........A toB mag remarked that the Bosch motor 'growls' under full throttle, but this particular model was un-noticeable

I was interested to see whether the quality of the components, would influence the feel, but I couldn't really say, as the stem was long enough for a Tour de France Time trial, and the saddle would have been a good alternative to water boarding...
...so now I will have to wait untill next week, when a local supplier of Ebco kit, is providing me with a long term AVE XH3 trial....this is £350 cheaper than the Haibike, and I have vague feeling that the Bosch system is probably more significant than the quality of the forks, or whether the gearing is Deore or SLX

roll on next week

cheers Barryc.

 

[GORDONAL]

Sounds to me like another Bosch convert in the making.

Alan

 

[eddieo]

Sounds to me like another Bosch convert in the making.

Alan

Indeed.....

Have been on about this system for what seems like a very long time, nice to see message finally getting through, not helped mind you by lack of bikes to ride!

The KTM 29'er has excellent spec and expensive forks etc...really worth a look.

My work is done here.. .oft to d pub