Ebike musings – bosch vs shimano

but you’re still relying on parts being available in 3 years time, plus the battery not giving out,

We have Bosch powered bike on the work fleet, 10 years old and the battery has lost 25% capacity. Spares are still available, a hefty £462 to replace it.

Comparisons with the Wisper bikes (Bafang powerered we think); have had batteries required after 2 years, control units after 3 years and wheels from last year that appear to have spokes made from cheddar. Wouldn’t touch with a barge-pole for own use.

Which geo fits you best?

The blue one looks nicer*, but that really is the difference other than motor.

Have you considered a Specialized with the Brose motor, transferable warranty and very good dealer network.

You don’t half pay for that though. I’ve firmly considered the kenevo then decided as I can buy two bikes which don’t make me think “that’ll need swapping” on every line of the three spec for the same price I’ll go with one or eventually both of those.

Judging by all my friends’ bikes I’d not touch a Shimano motor. All failed, long warranty times and no support out of warranty.

what someone needs to do is design an aftermarket motor that has the same mountings as a Shimano motor

It’ll be interesting to see what you eventually buy.

There are some cracking deals on Spesh eebs at the moment if you have a hunt around.

what someone needs to do is design an aftermarket motor that has the same mountings as a Shimano motor

With a gear box in it?

It’ll be interesting to see what you eventually buy.

Knowing me, in about 12 months a rigid steel single speed 😂

I’ve had both , The first Vitus went theough two shimano motors in just over 235 miles so I got a refund. Then I bought a cube stereo with the bosch gen 4 motor . The only problems I’ve had are a Battery holder coming loose , that said its only down about 350 miles. The Bosch motor has cut out twice but both times its been on the steepest hills I could find and the motor must have reached a temperature that prompted a shut down.

The Eco mode in shimano seems to have more power than its Bosch equivalent and the motor is silent. The Bosch certainly seems to have more initial power and a reassuring kind of ratchet sound when back pedaling. Ebikes are great and you will get a decent range for your typical winch and plummet type Tweed valley rides. That said I still use my other bikes for regular biking as It seems pointless charging a bike when Im still fit enough to do decent rides.

The last thing I would say is that when the warranty goes the depriciation of the bike is massive and they will be hard to sell. I wont rush into buying another until they are more reliable.

My old Gen 2 is on its 6th motor

Gosh that’s not very encouraging

5 year old Kenevo on Brose motor. Had zero issues

There are some cracking deals on Spesh eebs

Well having struck the shimano off the list I found myself sat in hospital for the second time in as many weeks (unrelated) and thought I’d get the bosch one ordered…
… Then I found a levo turbo that’ll actually fit at a price I don’t think is too offensive and isn’t a 6 hour drive away if something goes wrong. Fortunately the discount code they were showing didn’t work as well otherwise I’d probably be picking one up tomorrow!
The pondering begins again.
(the offers are mostly on ’22 models which are tiny, which is a shame because I quite like the looks of them the kenevo sl especially, just not the santa cruz esque £50 fork on a £7k bike specs)

Well as is the way these things are done on STW I ignored everyone’s recommendations including my own.

The initial thoughts of the mondraker crafty R (bosch) or Dust SE (ep8) ended up being shuffled and shifted, variously via specialized levo, back to the mondraker, then a current model orbea wild and back, then kenevo sl etc. but I kept circling back round to the crafty.

The only thing which didn’t fit for me with the crafty was the fixed battery. Various minor niggly concerns about charging aside – largely assuaged by “mine’s been fine” posts on this thread – the big thing with a non removable battery is ease of charging when away; it being easier to take the battery up a flight of stairs in a hotel than the whole bike.

It came down to a choice between the kenevo sl, which I want to be the right bike but I’m pretty convinced isn’t the right ebike for me and the focus JAM2 6.9 which I’m pretty sure is the right ebike – the current levo was a close second bar the 650b rear (I absolutely do not need a different wheel size adding to my collection, it’s bad enough I now have 11 and 12 speed to keep on top of) and price for a decent spec.

Wheelbase met me a bit more than halfway on a price match to surge bikes (£4250 if anyone fancies one) which was close enough to warrant buying it from somewhere close.

I’ve picked up the focus this evening, nothing more than wheeling to the car to go buy so far however I’m pleased at that much but will need to figure out a good way of getting the wheels off to put it in the car if I can’t move the display as I can’t flip the bike with it as is.

A quick shakedown tomorrow or Thursday evening then away to Wales with it for the weekend all being well ready for a NeBD thread next week!

Cheers for the feedback etc on the various threads over the last month.

The simple way to look at this is what are Bosch known for ? Making professional power tools, which are motors driven by batteries.

what are Shimano known for ?. F***ing up the simplest of hydraulic brakes. Can you fix those brakes ?, no you throw them in the bin and buy a replacement, in the hope that one isnt micro-leaked to hell also.

Bosch because you can get them rebuilt. I would consider a second hand Bosch ebike and I’d consider the rebuild cost into the purchase price so I would know how much it might cost me. Batteries are another thing but a proper bike shop can tell you how many charges it’s had.

what are Shimano known for ?. F***ing up the simplest of hydraulic brakes.

Don’t forget seventy-hundred and six incompatible versions of ispec.

Not supplying spares for their brakes which means that when the tiny little rubber bit perishes you’ve got to get a new brake.

Shimano brakes are basically disposable which isn’t great for the environment. At least with the likes of Hope you can basically replace every tiny single piece to keep them going

The simple way to look at this is what are Bosch known for ? Making professional power tools, which are motors driven by batteries.

Exactly this. Brose have been supplying the motor industry for ages with electric motors too.

Awesome deal on that Focus. Very similar suspension set up to my Cannondale, but for a couple of hundred quid more you have Fox Factorys and nice Fox X shock! That looks like it’ll be a great ride 🙂

The thing that is going to get bigger is the OEM side of things. Bosch will need to buy a groupset company like trip or Microsoft and sell as a package like SRAM or Shimano.

Yeah I’m chuffed, will get some pedals on it this evening and then have a look see if I can move the display or at least get another mount for it.

[shame face] I did have to look in the manual to find the on button 😳

Bosch will need to buy a groupset company like trip or Microsoft and sell as a package like SRAM or Shimano.

I’m not so sure to be honest, shimano aren’t locking people into their drive train yet (watch this space though I guess) and the sram motor is really only applicable at the very high end for now – transmission and as reverb equipped full builds, that’s not threatening anything but bosch’s position in the pointy end of the market.

Ridden both motors on various bikes and the Brose on Specialized and hands down the Brose is the most natural feeling power delivery compared to the other two. Specialized are having a bit of a sale so I’d take a look and also see if you can test ride.

see if I can move the display or at least get another mount for it.

I’ve rotated the display to directly over the stem (you don’t look at it much after the first few rides), means I can have my Garmin out front of the stem. Turning the bike upside down is a sod. I only have to remove the front wheel to get mine in the car, so have a blanket to rest the forks on – think if removing the rear as well, I’d do it with the bike rightwayup, pop the rear out and lift it straight into the car (forklift at the ready 😀 )

It’ll go in the car with the rear on so long as its just me but it’s snug. (of course the fork undoes from the drive side, the rear from the nds which makes lying it on its side to remove the wheels a pita too)

So much as anything else it’s been a long time since I had a puncture so I guess I’m due…

The biggest problem with shimano is lack of back up so most repairers are not interested. This leads to a lack of first hand knowledge that is usually gained by working on a product regularly.