Mid Drive motor noise. Differences between makes.

[EddiePJ]

After using the Bosch powered bike at the organised MTB event today, and receiving flak and adverse comments from just about everyone that I passed, I'm now firmly of the belief that mid drives are not the way to go in respect of entering orgainised mtb events. The BH with it's near on silent hub drive has received no such comments, other than a bit of light hearted friendly banter. Today was completely the opposite, with even the organisers coming across as negative.
As I see it, three things go against using mid drive motors at these events.

1- motor noise
2 The position/sight of the motor
3 The battery packs being so prominent

I have to say that the motor was great fun to use in this environment, and would obviously have to say that it was different from the hub drive, but nothing more, as each has plus points and minus points.

Now before I rule out the possibility of using mid drives in the future, points two and three wouldn't be quite so major, if a quiet motor could be found, so not drawing attention to the bike when following or overtaking people.

I'm curious to know whether the Impulse II Sport 36 V / 250 W, with sensor-shift-technology would be any quieter, or whether there are other options out there such as the Yamaha motor.

If it wasn't for the fact that mid drives appear to offer so much more mileage range, and also potentially better water wading properties, then I would be 100% happy to stick to hub drives.



edit... In the past I have been quick to dismiss the eco setting on the bosch system as a waste of time, but after using the setting off road when following much slower riders, I can now see that it does it's place, and that it proved to be quite handy.

 

[flecc]

The only one I can speak for is the very quiet Panasonic system which shouldn't offend anyone. And they are 100% waterproof which I can vouch for, having ridden one fording through deep water with the unit submerged. Batteries are up to 36 volt 14Ah or 26 volt 24Ah, so range is no problem.

Unfortunately there aren't many models available in the UK using it now.
.

 

[mike killay]

How noisy are Bosch motors then?
My Tonaro is silent, no noise at all.

 

[EddiePJ]

How noisy are Bosch motors then.

Sadly noisy enough to get people looking and commenting when you pass them.

 

[Wander]

Is it as simple as just asking about the differences between makes though?

I've got it in mind that your purchased quite an old Haibike, from overseas? Obviously please correct me if I'm wrong.

My 2014 Bosch powered bike Haibike (still a 'gen 1' motor) is pretty quiet regards motor noise. Wondering if they got better & quieter as they developed.

 

[Gringo]

Was that the 2014 Bosch motor ?
My Cube has a whirring sort of noise but it's not loud, in fact today I was enjoying the great outdoors listening to the birds while doing about 14 mph when out of the blue, a pr of Lycra's wizz'd passed without a word, they made me jump
Fortunately this was just before a long steep hill, I hit turbo and caught up without them knowing, waiting until the steepest part and hearing them grunting, I chirped up saying " these steep hills are a bugger" They hadn't heard me at all & nearly fell off

So long story short, my bikes not loud

 

[Croxden]

I thought it was my hearing, but I find the noise is never the same, sometimes quite quiet other times more audible but never obtrusive.

 

[Jonah]

When I tried out the Bosch (2013 motor) and Panasonic (26v) I found the Bosch slightly noisier than the Impulse and the Panasonic slightly quieter. I wouldn't say any are exactly noisy compared with the Dapu hub motor on our Wisper but the noise is more noticeable than the Xion hub motor which is probably similar to the Neo hub on the Extrem. In my experience, the Impulse 2 is not noticeably quieter than the Impulse 1.

 

[Geebee]

How noisy are Bosch motors then?
My Tonaro is silent, no noise at all.

I maybe fussy but my Tonaro is quiet but not silent especially off road without traffic noise, plus the noise varies with load, but my reference drive was Tongxin hubs which are silent at least at 24v.

 

[RobF]

One of my Bosch bikes, the Rose, is a bit noisier than the other.

They are both the lumpy 'old' motor, so my conclusion is motors from the same maker can vary.

I also agree with Croxden that either bike can sound louder some days than others.

Noise and how loud it sounds in different conditions baffles even experts, so we are never going to get to the bottom of it technically.

Just one example, my 'noisy' Rose is still routinely not heard by pedestrians who are clearly not aware of me until I speak, ting the bell or get within line of sight.

One thing I am sure of is my hub drive Brompton is always quieter in every situation.

So my ideal bike would have the ride of a crank, the silence of a hub - and a battery the size of a peanut which lasts forever.

 

[Geebee]

A few riders on Endless Sphere have indicated the BBS01 is extremely quiet.

 

[flecc]

Noise and how loud it sounds in different conditions baffles even experts, so we are never going to get to the bottom of it technically.

Very true. I have an article online about this subject on one particular motor type, but the content applies in many ways to all types.

Here's the link
.

 

[mike killay]

Very true. I have an article online about this subject on one particular motor type, but the content applies in many ways to all types.

Here's the link
.

Thanks Flecc, that is the most lucid explanation I have seen.
I was quite surprised when I ran my electric outboard out of the water at the noise. Because the motor is underwater, you cannot hear anything other than the wash of the water thrust backwards.

 

[Wander]

Okay, with this thread in mind took my (Bosch Powered) Haibike out for a 15 mile ride today, mix of on road & off road. Left my earphones at home so I could listed to the noise levels,

Whilst there can be a whirr, not enough to be a whine, I actually found very little motor noise. Even in Turbo mode the noise of the wheels on the track and / or the drive train tended to be greater than any motor noise.

This was also whilst I was doing my best to listen for noise. I would have thought, to the uninitiated that they would struggle to notice, by noise alone, that I was riding an eBike. Of course as it's a crank drive then as soon as you stop pedalling any / all motor noise ceases as well.

So I'm with Gringo above, my bike's not loud either.

 

[Tim]

The Impulse 2.0 motor has a new gearbox which allows for greater torque and is engineered to a higher precision and is definitely quieter than that used in the Impulse 1.0. I don't have dB readings for either though.

 

[Dubster]

Okay, with this thread in mind took my (Bosch Powered) Haibike out for a 15 mile ride today, mix of on road & off road. Left my earphones at home so I could listed to the noise levels,

Whilst there can be a whirr, not enough to be a whine, I actually found very little motor noise. Even in Turbo mode the noise of the wheels on the track and / or the drive train tended to be greater than any motor noise.

This was also whilst I was doing my best to listen for noise. I would have thought, to the uninitiated that they would struggle to notice, by noise alone, that I was riding an eBike. Of course as it's a crank drive then as soon as you stop pedalling any / all motor noise ceases as well.

So I'm with Gringo above, my bike's not loud either.

I'm in agreement as well. My Bosch powered Kalkhoff behaves the same. Yes, you can hear the motor, but it is never more than a quiet whirr.

 

[amigafan2003]

My Bafang BBS02 is MUCH quieter than the Bosch units - it's as quiet if not quieter than my old Tongxin hub drive actually.

 

[Geebee]

Just a proviso regarding the Tonaro noise level, I swapped to silent tyres, if using knobies I doubt you would hear the motor at all.

Good to hear about the BBs from a user, thanks Amigafan2003.

 

[cwah]

Apparently the BBS is using an integrated Sine wave controller. That's maybe the reason it's so much quieter!

 

[oldtom]

My early-model Panasonic crank-drive is to all intents and purposes, silent.

My FWD Tongxin motor is equally silent.

My most recent addition, a Xion RWD motor is also silent.

My other half insists I need a hearing test.

It's all about perspective, I think!

Tom