Well I got to try a £2K Bosch bike at the Raleigh event last week. I wasn't impressed. Power seemed on a par with my cheap front hub motor and top speed was slower. Didn't like the lack of a throttle, and having to mess around with the controls to stop it kicking in when I was riding slowly was a pain. The bike geometry also meant that my weight was way too far back in the bike which rendered the sub-par front suspension useless when we rode over the most rocky path in our area. Is this the normal state of affairs for a Bosch crank drive bike?
Bosch Crank Drive - Unimpressed
- Thread starter Caph
- Start date
Bosch have done a wonderful job of marketing their motor....I wonder whether we would all be using hub drive if they put the same money and effort into a Bosch hub drive???
The problem of crank drive is not the principle it is the limitation of the power transfer and gear changes under load. If Bosch incorporated a gearbox into the motor and an efficient means of transferring the power to the wheels then that would possibly be the ultimate e-bike power system,surprised they haven't developed such a system.
KudosDave
Forgot to say, it was also a pig to ride uphill with the power turned off. Absolutely no comparison to my bog standard Decathlon MTB with a front hub motor fitted, which is a breeze to ride uphill with the power off, although obviously in a lower gear. Is that normal?
Yes, Bosch bikes are shite and the million plus satisfied owners are all idiots who don't know what they are missing.
Often when we advise newcomers to try before buying, we remark on how different systems can be. Nowhere is this more so than in crank drives versus hub motor, and it really is a "Marmite" issue for many. Some cannot stand one or the other.
The Bosch as a crank drive while good is no different from any other crank drive in this respect, some of those who enjoy hub motors will hate it.
I like riding all pedelec motor types, recognising their differences and adjusting the riding to suit their strengths and differences. Once used to each, they can all be enjoyed.
.
Am I allowed to answer my own posting.
Anyway,I found a bike named Neox,Italian marketed which has a crank bb mounted motor attached to it is an 8 speed sequential gearbox,really the same as many performance auto applications.
The Neox is expensive,produced in small numbers,needs an Asian motor manufacturer like Bafang to volume produce.
I think the Neox was discussed before on this forum.
But will it ever compete in price with hub drive plus derallieur,the torque range on these motors is now so wide as to offer torque at slow speed on the steepest hills.
KudosDave
Probably 100 million plus hub drives now being used in China,I don't think I have ever seen a crank drive in China,hehe !!!
KudosDave
... What model bike, what model motor was it ? . Was it set up for your height and leg length? . Everything you have said runs contrary to my experience.
There is no reason for any drag with a central drive motor, there is no reason for the motor to appear to kick in , that only happens and it is rare when the turbo assist mode is on.
The power should be comparable to a hub motor so no surprise there , provided of course that the kit on your modified MTB is of legal power.
Not least because the Chinese support their own industry instead of importing everything from whichever country has the cheapest slave labour.
Which is often, but not always, China.
Funny old world, innit?
... But they do incorporate a gearbox, remember that the human powered crank is fed into a 2.5 to 1 speed up gear before being mated with the electrical power shaft. By joining the power together before the dereilliur the benefit of the gears is obtained. .. otherwise one would have the limitations of a hub without its simplicity.
.. of course. And I also assume a torque sensing shaft on the motor. Else how can they match the effort from the servo to the power of the rider.
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But you cannot change the torque.
I had an Alfa GTV it had the gearbox built into the back axle. No real downside but why not connect the gearbox to the engine,much simpler. The GTV was typical Italian,'fast but don't last'
5 years from now we may see a transformation in e-bikes....it seems to me that we are building these bikes by taking a selection of current bike bits and adding a battery and motor.....at some point some big manufacturer will integrate all new parts integrated into a purpose designed frame,the whole designed as a unit without recourse to current available parts.
KudosDave
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Each to their own I guess, but totally disagree.
CERTAINLY NOT MY EXPERIENCE OF BOTH MY BOSCH CRANK DRIVE BIKES, which provide a well balanced ride with sophisticated interpretation of assistance when demanded.
For a genuine cycling experience with assistance a plenty when needed I consider they beat my hub drive bike by a country mile.
the reality is that the bosch motor won't suit all. i'm happy with mine and imho that all that counts 
What amazed me on my latest China trip was the rise in wages of the white collar workers,in the big cities I was told that uni educated clerical workers and highly skilled machine setters could expect to earn 250,000 - 300,000 rmb,that's probably more than their equivalent in the UK.
Education is a passport to a good job.
KudosDave
Apparently, Diane Abbot is in charge of the recruitment campaign.
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