Bosch CX eMTB mode

[Fishy]

What are people's opinion of this mode?
My new bike (2 weeks now), came with this installed, have to say, not really liking it.
I ride mostly on- road, and can't see any benefit with using this mode, Its supposed to switch assistance levels automatically, up to turbo, but I find if pedalling hard uphill, if I flick from eMTB to turbo, there is a very noticeable increase in assistance, so eMTB is not going all the way up.
Maybe you need to be younger and fitter than me to get proper use of this mode?
Would like to hear other people's opinions or experience of this.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

What are people's opinion of this mode?
My new bike (2 weeks now), came with this installed, have to say, not really liking it.
I ride mostly on- road, and can't see any benefit with using this mode, Its supposed to switch assistance levels automatically, up to turbo, but I find if pedalling hard uphill, if I flick from eMTB to turbo, there is a very noticeable increase in assistance, so eMTB is not going all the way up.
Maybe you need to be younger and fitter than me to get proper use of this mode?
Would like to hear other people's opinions or experience of this.

I use EMTB mode for most of the time and switch to turbo for long steep hills where I appreciate the more consistent assistance.

 

[Fishy]

I do pretty much the same, but eMTB mode should switch for you, so what's the point?

 

[Deleted member 25121]

I do pretty much the same, but eMTB mode should switch for you, so what's the point?

I believe that it does switch to turbo mode but it sometimes seems to drop out of it too soon. It reminds me of the old unsophisticated automatic gearboxes in cars which all too often used to change gear at the wrong times.
EMTB works well for me for most of the time so I choose to use it rather than not.

 

[Phil Dryden]

As I understand it, eMTB mode provides a dynamic variable degree of assistance dependent upon operating conditions and rider inputs. At maximum input I believe it only goes as high as 270%, and not the 300% blanket assistance provided by Turbo mode. The advantage is supposed to be that for off-road riding where the terrain is constantly and quickly changing, eMTB will actively tailor its assistance dependent upon the input from the rider. This saves changing manually between the various modes. For someone like myself, however, who does not go off-road its a bit of a waste, and a fixed assistance level somewhere between Tour and Turbo would be better. I may well get mine changed back when the bike is next in to the shop.

 

[Fat Rat]

Emtb mode when bosch updated it was a down grade in my eyes
Its not that intuative and it was a great loss for me at least when they dropped sport mode
Ive had a cx with the 4 manual modes and 2 cx motors with emtb mode and didnt like the later and very seldom used it .

Not that it helps but shimanos trail mode is much more seamless and intuative they do seem to have nailed it
Maybe bosch can sort out a software update but its highly unlikely if most people like it , they should on the other hand have a reverse update scheme to return the motor back to a manual 4 power selection for those that prefer it .

 

[Phil Dryden]

When I bought my Cube last year it was updated by the shop with eMTB instead of Sport (still comes up as Sport on Intuvia display), and I was assured that it was easily reversible if Sport was preferred. Mine is definitely dynamic, in that you can feel the different level of motor response with varying pedal pressures, but I just find it unnecessary for road riding. Different if you are quickly over rutted trails I suppose.

 

[Fishy]

Emtb mode when bosch updated it was a down grade in my eyes
Its not that intuative and it was a great loss for me at least when they dropped sport mode
Ive had a cx with the 4 manual modes and 2 cx motors with emtb mode and didnt like the later and very seldom used it .

Not that it helps but shimanos trail mode is much more seamless and intuative they do seem to have nailed it
Maybe bosch can sort out a software update but its highly unlikely if most people like it , they should on the other hand have a reverse update scheme to return the motor back to a manual 4 power selection for those that prefer it .

Dealers can very easily turn it back to sport mode, no software downgrade needed, I'm going to get mine done next time I visit my dealers.

 

[Fat Rat]

When I bought my Cube last year it was updated by the shop with eMTB instead of Sport (still comes up as Sport on Intuvia display), and I was assured that it was easily reversible if Sport was preferred. Mine is definitely dynamic, in that you can feel the different level of motor response with varying pedal pressures, but I just find it unnecessary for road riding. Different if you are quickly over rutted trails I suppose.

Definately a pointless on road mode but personally not much better off road for me at least
Update / reversible i was told that couldnt happen maybe because my 2 had emtb mode from new so it was already at its base software version .

 

[Fat Rat]

Dealers can very easily turn it back to sport mode, no software downgrade needed, I'm going to get mine done next time I visit my dealers.

Intresting i think i should have asked another bosch dealer

 

[Fishy]

Intresting i think i should have asked another bosch dealer

Yep, when the bike is plugged in to the Bosch software, there's just a box to tick, eMTB or Sport, takes about 5mins apparantly.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

I've recently updated my Kiox firmware via the Bosch eBike Connect app on my phone, I'm hoping that in the future the app will allow the system to be customised by the user eg EMTB vs Sport.

 

[Fishy]

I've recently updated my Kiox firmware via the Bosch eBike Connect app on my phone, I'm hoping that in the future the app will allow the system to be customised by the user eg EMTB vs Sport.

Would be nice, but can't see it happening.

 

[Nev]

Maybe you need to be younger and fitter than me to get proper use of this mode?
Would like to hear other people's opinions or experience of this.

I didn't think much of it for the first 6 to 8 week after I bought my bike. The reason was I just didn't have the leg strength required to get it to work properly. Now I use it almost all the time, both on road and off road. I've always had it though, so not known anything different. Perhaps if I had started off with sport mode then had the bike converted I might not feel so happy with it.

 

[Nev]

Talking to the guys in my LBS where I bought the bike, they absolutely love emtb mode. These guys are young fit lads that do an awful lot of really technical off road stuff and they said emtb mode was ideal for that.

 

[Fishy]

Talking to the guys in my LBS where I bought the bike, they absolutely love emtb mode. These guys are young fit lads that do an awful lot of really technical off road stuff and they said emtb mode was ideal for that.

Yea, that's what it was designed for, but for on road use, I think 4 distinct modes would be much better.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

Yea, that's what it was designed for, but for on road use, I think 4 distinct modes would be much better.

If the roads are fairly flat I'd agree but for undulating terrain I think EMTB works well, it saves having to keep switching assistance modes as well as gears and may possibly increase range.

 

[EddiePJ]

I hated the mode when first released, as for my use it proved too aggressive when pulling away from a start on slippery hill climbs. It transpired that there was a glitch with it, and once sorted the system became fine to use.

I have tried it all kinds of conditions, and found it particularly useful when riding in the Swiss Alps, and in a test with other riders, it soon became apparent that it actually gave a slightly better range, albeit just by a couple of miles. That was my biggest surprise about the system, as I had assumed that it would rob range by giving greater assistance than I require. The reality for my use is that it doesn't.
Even with the four power mode set up, I think that I have only ever used turbo on two occasions, so that aspect isn't of any concern to me.

These days I tend to be a little more lazy with my riding, and more often than not, just leave the bike in eMTB mode.

I'm trying Kiox for a while on the bike from next week, so it'll be interesting for me to gauge and learn more about how I actually use the various power modes, and of interest to me is cadence and how I use it.

.

 

[Fishy]

For riding up the Swiss Alps, it's probably the dog's danglies, but on Norfolk roads, it's proving to be pretty useless.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

For riding up the Swiss Alps, it's probably the dog's danglies, but on Norfolk roads, it's proving to be pretty useless.

Yep, for flat roads I can see that it won't be very effective.