Bosch CX eMTB mode

[Deleted member 25121]

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.

I'm not sure you'll see much difference with the Kiox in using the various power modes. Are you getting the Kiox retrofitted to an ebike, I thought they weren't going to be available until the end of the year for retrofits?

 

[Crossroads]

I had eMTB mode changed to Sport on my Cube CX from day one, following a test ride with e MTB before purchase. Sport is 210 % assist and is brilliant in traffic and blasting around undulating country lanes.

It's my favourite mode by far.

 

[MarcusT]

I use it when the terrain is variable (off road). So, instead of changing power levels because of the ups and downs, it senses which is needed. Important to remember that it is set from tour (120%) to Turbo (300%) (Eco is not included) and is based on your effort and gear you are in.
Unless you are on a very hilly road, I do not see any advantage it may offer on pavement

 

[Phil Dryden]

I had eMTB mode changed to Sport on my Cube CX from day one, following a test ride with e MTB before purchase. Sport is 210 % assist and is brilliant in traffic and blasting around undulating country lanes.

It's my favourite mode by far.

Thanks, Crossroads. First report I've seen from someone who has had eMTB changed back to Sport. Its exactly what I would anticipate for road riding, and I'll certainly have mine switched back. A fixed assistance level between Tour and Turbo - great.

 

[The Bear]

Does EMTB jump from Tour straight to Turbo, or dos it go to Sport mode in-between?

 

[Phil Dryden]

Does EMTB jump from Tour straight to Turbo, or dos it go to Sport mode in-between?

No, eMTB does not 'jump' at all. It is a progressive, gradual increase in power between Tour (120%), and Turbo (300%). The exact assistance delivered at any one time depends on the terrain, and rider inputs. It 'senses' the amount of assistance required, but all variations are smoothly delivered.

 

[BazP]

When riding uphill in tour mode and getting tired legs I want a bit more assistance, I don't want to have to pedal harder to get it which is what I needed to do with EMTB. Flicking several times between the two modes on a 1:4 hill made no difference unless I put quite a bit more pressure (torque) on the pedals.
I had the Sport mode put back on and after connecting the Bosch dongle it took about 10seconds.

 

[EddiePJ]

I'm not sure you'll see much difference with the Kiox in using the various power modes. Are you getting the Kiox retrofitted to an ebike, I thought they weren't going to be available until the end of the year for retrofits?

I fitted it my self. A dealer kindly sent me one to try.

I loved the simplicity of use and found it to be very intuitive when compared with say Nyon, but have removed it now, as I hate having a cluttered handlebar set up, and the positioning of the Kiox display meant that I then required an additional bracket system to mount my Magicshine Eagle F3 front light. I hated the look and the vulnerability of the light, so have switch back to Purion.
I also couldn't get the settings switch to line up in a natural feel to my thumb. This is no fault of the unit, it was simply down to my Reverb dropper post remote. I spent a load of time adjusting and switching things around, but it just didn't work out for me. If I had a road bike, I'd not hesitate in using one though.

 

[daniellondon]

Hi guys,

I have a riese and muller delite which I use for courier work in London.

To be honest, when using eMTB mode I haven't noticed a difference between turbo and eMTB mode. They both seem identical.

I know BOSCH says this mode senses pedal pressure, so maybe because i'm heavy at 120kg or I always pedal hard; it always go to turbo mode?

Wonder if anybody else has the same experience.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

Hi guys,

I have a riese and muller delite which I use for courier work in London.

To be honest, when using eMTB mode I haven't noticed a difference between turbo and eMTB mode. They both seem identical.

I know BOSCH says this mode senses pedal pressure, so maybe because i'm heavy at 120kg or I always pedal hard; it always go to turbo mode?

Wonder if anybody else has the same experience.

I think you hit the nail on the head there, in eMTB mode its switching to Turbo because you're always pedalling hard.
Try making the comparison between eMTB and Turbo modes while you are pedalling gently on the level, I suspect you'll see a big difference then, I certainly do.

 

[vfr400]

EMTB mode was added for people that ride their bikes off-road. It gives a faser response to the pedal effort. My guess is that in the power algorithms, they bias the power more towards the torque sensor than the cadence sensor or they reduce some sort of smoothing effect. I can't see that it has any benefit at all for road use, except a split-second faster start away from the lights in the London derby.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

EMTB mode was added for people that ride their bikes off-road. It gives a faser response to the pedal effort. My guess is that in the power algorithms, they bias the power more towards the torque sensor than the cadence sensor or they reduce some sort of smoothing effect. I can't see that it has any benefit at all for road use, except a split-second faster start away from the lights in the London derby.

There's a lot more to the EMTB mode than response time and initial acceleration:

The new eMTB mode

www.bosch-ebike.com

Depending on the pedal pressure the progressive motor support adjusts automatically to the individual's riding characteristics. Without shifting gears the engine supports even slight pedal revolutions constantly with ideal performance. The ride on steep slopes is almost effortless. This ensures a natural riding sensation and maximum performance on the trail.

Basically EMTB mode progressively moves between Tour and Turbo modes depending on pedal pressure and speed of pedalling. I've found it to be very useful on hilly roads.

 

[daniellondon]

EMTB mode was added for people that ride their bikes off-road. It gives a faser response to the pedal effort. My guess is that in the power algorithms, they bias the power more towards the torque sensor than the cadence sensor or they reduce some sort of smoothing effect. I can't see that it has any benefit at all for road use, except a split-second faster start away from the lights in the London derby.

There's a lot more to the EMTB mode than response time and initial acceleration:

The new eMTB mode

www.bosch-ebike.com

Depending on the pedal pressure the progressive motor support adjusts automatically to the individual's riding characteristics. Without shifting gears the engine supports even slight pedal revolutions constantly with ideal performance. The ride on steep slopes is almost effortless. This ensures a natural riding sensation and maximum performance on the trail.

Basically EMTB mode progressively moves between Tour and Turbo modes depending on pedal pressure and speed of pedalling. I've found it to be very useful on hilly roads.

Thanks for all the replies. I'm lucky enough to have the Rohloff Hub which electronic shifting and my usual riding style is keeping it in 8th gear when i'm at a stop, then gear 10 a few seconds after I start pedalling and progressively shift towards 14 when i'm on a free straight without much traffic. When i'm taking off from the traffic lights i definitely think it goes to turbo straight away due to the amount of extra torque i'm having to exert.

What then seems confusing is that when i'm on the highest gear 14 it still feels like it's on turbo mode even though i'm not putting in that much pedal torque. I did a test and I could feel a big difference between eMTB mode and Tour mode when I was in 14th gear but not exerting that much effort.

However, since it was meant for off-roading i'll try to find some trails outside of London next week.

 

[The Bear]

It would be nice if the.Bosch display gave an indication of the type of assistance your getting when in EMTB mode, currently I haven’t a clue.

 

[vfr400]

There's a lot more to the EMTB mode than response time and initial acceleration:

The new eMTB mode

www.bosch-ebike.com

Depending on the pedal pressure the progressive motor support adjusts automatically to the individual's riding characteristics. Without shifting gears the engine supports even slight pedal revolutions constantly with ideal performance. The ride on steep slopes is almost effortless. This ensures a natural riding sensation and maximum performance on the trail.

Basically EMTB mode progressively moves between Tour and Turbo modes depending on pedal pressure and speed of pedalling. I've found it to be very useful on hilly roads.

That's what I said. They bias the power towards the torque sensor and reduce the effect of the cadence sensor. That means that you don't have to pedal so fast to get the power. It has the effect of quicker response and faster power when you press the power. Each press of the pedal will give higher power at low pedal speed.

 

[Nev]

What then seems confusing is that when i'm on the highest gear 14 it still feels like it's on turbo mode even though i'm not putting in that much pedal torque. I did a test and I could feel a big difference between eMTB mode and Tour mode when I was in 14th gear but not exerting that much effort.

Have you tried the following. Ride up a bit of an incline in eMTB mode, don't use much effort. As you ride up switch over to Turbo mode (not Tour) and you should notice an immediate difference. If you don't switch back to eMTB mode and put even less effort into your riding then once again switch over to Turbo mode and the difference should be very noticable.

If you can't notice a difference then you are either super fit with extremely strong legs (you job is certainly going to give you very good cycling fitness). Or there is something wrong with your bike.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

I think daniellondon answered his own question in his last posting, when he's putting in some effort in top gear the EMTB and Turbo modes give a similar response. When he's putting in very little effort he does feel the difference.

Basically EMTB mode progressively moves between Tour and Turbo modes depending on pedal pressure and speed of pedalling. I see the same thing and I find EMTB more useful on hilly rather than flat roads.

I don't think there's anything wrong with your bike daniellondon.

 

[RetiredAndRolling]

Re "it would be nice if the Bosch display gave an indication of the assistance you're getting".

The Intuvia display has a power meter on the right side. In eMTB mode you can clearly see how much assist you are receiving as you vary the effort you put into the pedals.

For me, cycling mainly on pathways on a compact bike, eMTB mode is something I appreciate. On the flat, eco is fine. Up slight incline or going into wind, tour mode is good. For evil hills, it's turbo. When the terrain varies, eMTB is like having an automatic gearbox, of sorts. Coupled with Nuvinci gears, eMTB works well for me. While I look where I am going, eMTB takes care of the gradients. I can certainly feel the assist varying as I vary my pedalling effort.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

EMTB mode replaced the Sport mode a year or 2 ago and I think it might still be possible for dealers to enable Sport in place of EMTB. I believe that Sport mode provides an assistance somewhere between Tour and Turbo and might be more suitable for users like daniellondon who are cycling mostly on flat roads.

See:

Kiox: The eBike display for sporty eBikers

These displays can be intuitively controlled via the control unit, they're compact and protected from splash water and dust – the ideal sporting companion.

www.bosch-ebike.com

 

[Nev]

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 am the same, here are some stats for a service I had a few weeks ago. These are all miles covered in the four modes.
Eco 223 miles
Tour 153 miles
eMTB 1555 miles
Turbo 664 miles
This gives a total of 2595 miles, however the bikes total mileage is 4170 so I assume the additional 1675 is when I am free wheeling or riding above cut off. Most of this mileage is done when I am in eMTB mode, so my total miles in eMTB mode is around 3230 miles. So more than three quarters of my total mileage is done using eMTB mode.