Powabyke X or Infineum?

[Sarge]

Studying the differences between the two.

Main difference seems to be the motor - in the Infineum instead of conventional toothed gears, it uses a series of satellite discs to ensure a smooth, powerful and silent ride.

No idea what this means or how its differs from the toothed cogs in the Powabyke X.

Infineum has an LPX battery (at £300 for a spare) !!!

Infineum has a throttle (fancy that idea) but the Powabyke has a thumb switch (and a three revolution pedal delay before the motor cuts in)

Not a huge price difference but I would fancy the Infineum if I thought the motor was as good as the Powabyke.

Any views on this?

 

[TwistNgo]

I'm comparing the two as well. I think the Infineum has a full grip throttle but i'm not sure.

I would be interested to know which bike is the most powerful. Peak power wise.

I think they both are 900w peak power, so they should hill climb about the same ?

Oops ignore the above its the wrong information ! I got the peak power ratings from a couple of sites selling Electric bikes and their facts are obviously wrong ! I trust the info on this forum far more.

 

[Caph]

I've heard from more than one source that the Infineum has problems keeping the battery in the rack whilst pedaling. You might want to check in to that more. If you search this forum you'll find a couple of posts about the Infineum.

 

[flecc]

I think they both are 900w peak power, so they should hill climb about the same ?

Neither is near 900 watts peak. The old Powabyke motor in it's original form on the heavy lead acid powered bikes topped out with a peaky 700 watts, matching the most powerful eZee models but without their broad power spread. The same motor is in the X byke but it may be controlled to a lower power commensurate with the small battery, and I've seen mention of 400 watts but can't vouch for the accuracy of that.

The Infineum looks like it uses the Tongxin Nano roller drive motor which peaks at about 450 watts.

The X byke is apparently a good climber and praised for that ability by owners in some very hilly areas. The Tongxin motor can be a reasonably good climber if the correctly geared version is used, with the accent on climbing at the cost of no power over 15 mph.
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[fcurran]

Studying the differences between the two.

Main difference seems to be the motor - in the Infineum instead of conventional toothed gears, it uses a series of satellite discs to ensure a smooth, powerful and silent ride.

No idea what this means or how its differs from the toothed cogs in the Powabyke X.

Infineum has an LPX battery (at £300 for a spare) !!!

Infineum has a throttle (fancy that idea) but the Powabyke has a thumb switch (and a three revolution pedal delay before the motor cuts in)

Not a huge price difference but I would fancy the Infineum if I thought the motor was as good as the Powabyke.

Any views on this?

You need to try both before deciding. For your information the Powabyke is no longer a 3 pedal revolution before the motor cuts in, its back to the 1 revolution.

The Powabyke also has a twist throttle, not a thumb shift. Its very similar to how a twist grip gear shift works.

Regards

FrankC
Powabyke Ltd

 

[TwistNgo]

You need to try both before deciding. For your information the Powabyke is no longer a 3 pedal revolution before the motor cuts in, its back to the 1 revolution.

The Powabyke also has a twist throttle, not a thumb shift. Its very similar to how a twist grip gear shift works.

Regards

FrankC
Powabyke Ltd

I had 2 test rides of a Powabyke X-6 today from different dealers.

The first test ride wasn't a good experience. I had to do 5 or 6 revolutions of the pedal before the motor kicked in !. Not very good if you are stopped on a steep hill !. ( and yes I tried both modes on the key turn ).

So I nearly crossed the Powabyke off of my shortlist.

My 2nd test ride of the X-6 was far different ( lucky I spotted one at another dealer ). It only took a short press of the pedals before I could use throttle.

The 'thumb Throttle' worked better than I thought, but I much prefer the full throttle of my old Powabyke. Why the change ?

The bike climbs hills as well as my old Speed Commuter 24, so I'm very happy with that. The bike feels very lively on the flat, very impressed.

I still can't believe that the battery isn't locked to the bike ! I would either have to leave it on and risk getting it nicked or take it with me in a bag ! Ludicrous !

But even with the 'faults' ( the points above might not bother some people ) the X-6 is my new bike choice so far as it is good value and has excellent power for hill climbing.

FrankC I would be interested to hear your comments on my above points. Is the first bike I rode faulty or an earlier version which needs more pedaling to get the motor to kick in ? The battery not being locked to the bike ? and Why not keep the excellent full throttle ?

Thanks TwistNgo.

 

[Sarge]

Thanks for comments. Does an electric bike motor 'freewheel' down a hill or is there some resistance from it and you have to pedal or use the motor? So if this is correct 24 gears would be better than 6?

Sorry if these seem basic questions but before I part with my cash I'm trying to build up as big a picture as I can.

 

[flecc]

The Powabyke motor does freewheel Sarge, and it's one the best in that respect, able to easily run away downhill. That's not true of all e-bike motors, some hub drive ones having some definite drag, though none actually have to be pedalled downhill.
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[Sarge]

Thanks for that Flecc. Leaning very strongly towards the Powabyke, especially as my local dealer is just 25 miles away and has a good reputation.

 

[flecc]

Thanks for that Flecc. Leaning very strongly towards the Powabyke, especially as my local dealer is just 25 miles away and has a good reputation.

Powabyke service is generally very good and highly regarded in this forum.
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[fcurran]

I had 2 test rides of a Powabyke X-6 today from different dealers.

The first test ride wasn't a good experience. I had to do 5 or 6 revolutions of the pedal before the motor kicked in !. Not very good if you are stopped on a steep hill !. ( and yes I tried both modes on the key turn ).

So I nearly crossed the Powabyke off of my shortlist.

My 2nd test ride of the X-6 was far different ( lucky I spotted one at another dealer ). It only took a short press of the pedals before I could use throttle.

The 'thumb Throttle' worked better than I thought, but I much prefer the full throttle of my old Powabyke. Why the change ?

The bike climbs hills as well as my old Speed Commuter 24, so I'm very happy with that. The bike feels very lively on the flat, very impressed.

I still can't believe that the battery isn't locked to the bike ! I would either have to leave it on and risk getting it nicked or take it with me in a bag ! Ludicrous !

But even with the 'faults' ( the points above might not bother some people ) the X-6 is my new bike choice so far as it is good value and has excellent power for hill climbing.

FrankC I would be interested to hear your comments on my above points. Is the first bike I rode faulty or an earlier version which needs more pedaling to get the motor to kick in ? The battery not being locked to the bike ? and Why not keep the excellent full throttle ?

Thanks TwistNgo.

Hi TwistNgo, the 1st one would have been and early version, it was only in April that they changed to 1 revolution from the 4 revs.

Battery not locking in is something we are working on, yes it was something we didn't think would be that important when designing the bike! How wrong we were!

Throttles have always been one of the main problems with electric bikes over time as it is a delicate and moving part, we find the grip shift style far more reliable. However some have said its not as comfortable as the full throttle! Once again you can't please everyone!

Regards

FrankC
Powabyke Ltd

 

[fcurran]

Just to add, all Powabykes can have their sensor over ridden by adding what we call a disabler. This will turn the bike to a twist and go bike meaning you can do away with the bottom bracket sensor.

Regards

FrankC

 

[TwistNgo]

Hi TwistNgo, the 1st one would have been and early version, it was only in April that they changed to 1 revolution from the 4 revs.

Battery not locking in is something we are working on, yes it was something we didn't think would be that important when designing the bike! How wrong we were!

Throttles have always been one of the main problems with electric bikes over time as it is a delicate and moving part, we find the grip shift style far more reliable. However some have said its not as comfortable as the full throttle! Once again you can't please everyone!

Regards

FrankC
Powabyke Ltd

Thanks for the response. All in all the bike was excellent and I can cope with the half throttle but the battery issue is a sticking point for me.

Going back to a one turn on the pedals was a brilliant move, I just wouldn't have been able to put up with the other one !.

I don't need a bike for a while is it worth waiting for a version with a lockable battery ? or will that be a long way off.

Thanks again.

 

[fcurran]

We hope to have a solution which will be retro fittable available within the next 6-8 weeks which will lock the battery on. I will post details on the forum when that is available.

Regards

FrankC
Powabyke Ltd

 

[Patrick]

Just to add, all Powabykes can have their sensor over ridden by adding what we call a disabler. This will turn the bike to a twist and go bike meaning you can do away with the bottom bracket sensor.

Regards

FrankC

That sounds interesting, how can we get hold of one?

Patrick

 

[fcurran]

That sounds interesting, how can we get hold of one?

Patrick

Hi Patrick, contact your local dealer and just ask for a 3.3 disabler and adaptor for your XByke and they can order one for you. SRP is £19.99 plus fitting which is 10 minutes work.

Regards

Frank

 

[Patrick]

Thanks Frank

Patrick

 

[Rad]

Just to add, all Powabykes can have their sensor over ridden by adding what we call a disabler. This will turn the bike to a twist and go bike meaning you can do away with the bottom bracket sensor.

Regards

FrankC

Frank would this mean that pedal assist mode would be made redundant?

 

[TwistNgo]

We hope to have a solution which will be retro fittable available within the next 6-8 weeks which will lock the battery on. I will post details on the forum when that is available.

Regards

FrankC
Powabyke Ltd

Just a couple more questions -

Am I safe to buy a bike now and be guaranteed to be able to fit on a retro fit lock later ?

The dealer I tried the X bike with ( the one revolution version ) has to order the bikes in. Are all X bikes in the Powabyke warehouse now the one revolution versions ? ( I don't want to order one and find out its the 4 revolution version and be stuck with it ! I just couldn't live with that version ! )

By the way i'm very impressed that Powabyke is listening to customer comments and finding solutions to problems that customers are finding. I think its great that Powabyke has a knowledgeable voice on the forum. It makes a refreshing change to get good customer service these days ! Well done Powabyke and FrankC !

Thanks TwistNgo.

 

[fcurran]

Frank would this mean that pedal assist mode would be made redundant?

Hi Rad, yes, you would have pure power in both key positions. However you can still pedal as much or as little as you like. The power would purely be controlled by the twist grip.

Regards

FrankC