In this follow up episode we range test the Boost kit Boost Bike Range Test - Did it perform as they claimed it would? ua-cam.com/video/z8LgIGJXY-0/v-deo.html
I can't recommend these Boost kits enough. I bought one 6 months ago for my 32 year old GT Mountain Bike, which has had more use since it was fitted than it did in the previous 32 years! I decided to buy the basic kit and built my own rear wheel. Whilst this was quite a satisfying project, it definitely makes more economic sense to buy the kit with a pre-built wheel. Living in the Highland of Scotland and being somewhat overfed means that I doubt I'll get any more than 30 miles range, or perhaps even less, but this brilliant product has got me back into cycling with moderate enthusiasm. By the way, I weighed up the pros and cons of Boost with the front wheel mounted alternative brand and a few purpose built ebikes as well. I think Boost definitely has the edge if you have a half decent bike already. I wish I'd bought it sooner.
@@ArnoldLayne90 thanks for this detailed comment. Interestingly, I had never ridden with the Boost kit until Tuesday. I spent the day filming a leading Boost installer and did a 10 mile ride with one of his two Boost kitted bikes. After riding the Ribble CGR Ale I was expecting a much lower performance. As you’d expect, I was highly impressed and found I had to turn it down to Eco mode to match my steady pace. The big benefit for me is that, even though I can easily ride Boost with no power, I can quickly swap over to my standard wheel if I want my bike back to normal. I shall definitely be buying one of my own.
Hi Roy,the kit looks great,it’s something I will consider for our Bromptons in the future,thanks to Mary & your good self for a well explained video,atb Colin P 👍
Hello Roy. You won't be surprised to hear me say that I'm sure that Mary will be delighted with the kit, and it will be a great boon for her. That has certainly been my experience in using the kit I fitted. I hope she will have some great rides in the future.
Looks like a good system. And very easy to fit, I got a do it yourself kit about 5 years ago when I was working and going to see my partner in hospital every day, and just got so tiring., but was awful, it was about the cheapest I could afford, pleased they have improved so much and got cheaper.
Well done Mary. Know how you feel about not wanting to hold other riders up. That’s how I’ve felt this year and mainly ride alone or with hubs now so I don’t let anybody down. Hope your ride went really well. Enjoy 🙌🏻
My days of trying to keep up with a group are long gone. It’s either my pace or ‘see you later.’ Wendy and I are fairly evenly paced but I do get shouted at now and again 😀
Very interesting. I'm not in the market for anything like this.....yet. 😉 But if I ever decide to go this route, at least I know such a solution exists. Looking forward to hearing how Mary's ride turns out. I suspect she'll like it enough to buy the kit.
Brilliant video Roy, can't wait for part two now. I actually have a 2020 Trek Dual sport 3 hybrid that i dont use in the shed (I now have my Electric Ribble & a winter road bike that I use), so I would consider this kind to allow my son to come join me on rides & enjoy the assist.
Thanks for that. I’m just putting the finishing touches to part 2, today, so will publish next week. I know it’s heresy, but I would even consider adding the kit to my Tempest (when the through axle version is launched) as an alternative to my Ribble! If you haven’t done already, take a look at the price of a spare battery - half the price of the Mahle equivalent!
Adding a motor to turn an existing bike into an ebike is a very environmentally friendly idea. Getting old I did just the this to one of my bikes. I can ride 40 miles on my normal bike but shove in some hills and I struggle more. We love Brittany but it's not exactly flat so I started looking for some help. Firstly at ebikes but I couldn't find anything that really grabbed me. As you mentioned in the video, there is quite a large choice of systems , front wheel, rear wheel or mid drive. Each has pluses and minuses and I spent ages making up my mind. I ended up going for mid drive, for me it was the right decision. A little more difficult to fit but not bad. The biggest problem was all the spare wire. It took me ages but I managed to hide it between the motor and the bottle battery. If the terrain is flat I don't switch it on but now I welcome the climbs. So far I've managed 120 miles on a charge riding this way, not on one ride though😊. I'm sure Mary will love it and won't want to send it back. Thanks for a very clear video, I'm sure it will help lots of people.
Thanks for this, Colin. I must admit I’d never considered this option before this. I won’t give too much away but I’ll certainly consider fitting this kit to my Tempest and selling my Ribble e assist.
colin. I presume by 'environmentally friendly' you are referring to the non-existent climate crisis myth, but people seem to forget that e-bikes run on fossil fuel, like everything else. When I fitted an e-assist kit it was to be 'leg friendly' and nothing to do with the environment. I am highly delighted with it, I have to say.
vince. I was referring to the saving in the energy needed to manufacture a complete bike. I'm very pleased with the help from the motor but I don't want to get into a discussion on climate change. @@vincekerrigan8300
Different brand, but this looks very similar to the kit I added to my old Audax warhorse. When the batteries were new I could easily get 100 km out of a 6Ah (200 Wh) battery. 18 months on the manufacturer reckons that capacity has declined by around 15%: I can still get 100k out but I have to do a fair bit of pushing myself. One thing Mary has probably already discovered is that if you stop pedalling for an instant the motor stops pushing. Not a problem on the flat, but if you change down when you're going up a hill and hesitate halfway through the shift you'll suddenly find yourself doing all the work while the motor relaxes; so it's important to keep the pedals moving even when transitioning from sitting to standing. The way to think of it is that the motor will try to maintain your current speed, so if you drop back, say, from 18 kph to 12 kph while changing gear on a hill it's not going to take you back up to 18 unless you supply the welly yourself. Also, you'll see a lot of other e-cyclists cruising along if in a BIG gear and pedalling at about 30 rpm. It's the best way there is of draining your battery prematurely and possibly overloading the motor. These motors work best at high revs, so pedalling at 60 rpm or more is better. Anyway, good luck to Mary, and I hope she gets a lot of fun out of it. Good thing you did there, Roy.
john. I think that to claim 100km range from a 200wh battery, is rather misleading for the uninitiated. They will assume that you rode 100km using the battery constantly, whereas that size of battery will not give that range in constant use, even, I should have thought, on the lowest settings.
John did say that he had to do ‘a fair bit of pushing himself’ but your clarification to the ‘uninitiated’ is a good idea. I got just over 100 miles out of my Ribble e assist on a single charge ua-cam.com/video/8NY-NF9KKJA/v-deo.htmlsi=VWWJn8InurUtvTdY, but that was by only using the power when needed. When people ask me what the range of an e bike is I always mention that piece of string 😀
@@vincekerrigan8300 You're right. The manufacturer - and luckily I live ~25k from their rather modest facility - told me that if you keep assistance level 1 on all the time and don't supply much power yourself you'll get around 50k. A lot depends on the terrain, though.
@@johne7100Yes, I guess that would be about right. I fitted a friction drive kit to my road bike and that uses a 200wh battery. It only has one power level though so that is equivalent to the top power level on other bikes. Constant use on mixed terrain gives a range of about 40km.
Thank you, Roy, for your stimulating series of cycling videos. This video came at an opportune time as, having visited Ribble's showroom and being sorely tempted, I am considering whether to buy something like the CGR AL e or even the Endurance SL e. Unfortunately, if I do buy a new e bike, my existing gravel bike is likely to fall into disuse which I don't want happen and so the option to upgrade the existing bike is attractive. I look forward to the test / review results in Part Two and am particularly interested in - what degree of control of modes there is e.g. choice of boost mode irrespective of speed, boost or no boost while riding - what range one can expect
Thank you, Derek. I shall keep you waiting regarding the range, but will tell you this much. Once they release their through axle motor I’ll be testing it on my Tempest gravel bike. If it performs as I expect it to, I may well sell my Ribble CGR ALe, and I never thought I’d say that. I really like the feel of the Titanium frame so prefer to ride that one. With the ease of changeover to unpowered with this kit, I could easily do it all with one bike. As for the display control. It only allows a switch from eco to high. However, I have been watching this company for a while now and their pace of development, based on customer feedback, is rapid, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they add a medium level to the display. I’m just waiting for some information to complete the range video, which is all edited, so I should have it out next week.
@@RideWithRoy Thank your for your comments, Roy. I'm quite surprised that you should be considering disposal of the CGR AL e. The Boost system must have favourably impressed you. As a 76 year old living in hope of getting his fitness back I had the same thoughts as you on the ease of changeover from powered to unpowered and vice versa. I look forward to Part Two Yours, Derek
@@RideWithRoy: Hi! Roy. Do you then think that the kit will give you the same ride qualities as the Ribble? I bought my friction drive kit because I just wasn't in the market for the price levels of the Pukka bikes like the Ribble/Gain, but I always assumed that it was sort of 'second best', a compromise. Never having ridden an e-roadie, of course I don't actually know how it matches up. If you do put a kit on your Tempest I shall be interested to hear how you think it compares.
Thanks, Edward. No, I can’t say that yet as I haven’t tried it on a comparable bike. Also, I would be unfair to compare them like for like. What I will be considering is if it will meet my needs, which, of course, will be different to others. In my opinion, Boost Bike are very honest in making it clear their product isn’t designed to compete with the likes of the Ribble, but I feel they may be being a little too conservative in their claims. Of course, when I do get to test it on my Tempest it can only be my subjective view.
@@craighamilton5570 this article gives some detail but best to contact Boostbike for advice as they are constantly evolving the specs boostbike.uk/advice/measure-wheel-size
Interesting thanks Roy, I've been thinking of a switch kit or DIY kit to electrify my road bike. I don't mind riding it but here in Cornwall there's a lot of hills and they do discourage me from consistently commuting on it. The other idea is for my partner she has a Dawes Central e bike but it's a bloody heavy lump and she isn't quite getting the benefit out of it as we thought she might the battery gets used up so quickly and the bike has quite considerable pedal lag. I am thinking a lighter bike with a kit like this without the additional crank motor could be a better option for her. Anyway thank you and if you do have any recommendations I would definitely value your reply. Thanks again for your video and hope you have a good weekend 😊
Thank you. I came across a user of the Swytch Bike kit only a couple of weeks ago. He had the biggest battery but range anxiety saw him only riding a maximum of 15 miles, as Swytch claim only 18 miles range on the largest battery and only 9 miles on the standard one! That’s probably good for some commuters, but would severely restrict a leisure rider, especially where hills are involved. Boost claim 30 miles, but that’s a story for part 2 🙂 My brother bought a heavy electric bike without asking my advice. He hates it because once it dies he is stuck with a heavy, unridable lump.
@@RideWithRoy brilliant thank you I shall await part 2 I am curious about range. Her e bike battery is 36v and is a massive lump but even that the range isn't no way near 45 miles as suggested.
Christian. I fitted a moderately priced friction drive kit to my bog standard alumiinium entry level road bike. At 2.7kg the bike and kit combined only weighs 13.5 kg, which is easily rideable with the power off. This weight is comparable with the pukka e-road bikes like the Orbea Gain. Not so refined but a fraction of the cost. For lightness the friction kits are probably the best, because there is little bulk in the motor. If my experience is anything to go by, they work very well also.
@@vincekerrigan8300 thank you I haven't come across these yet but Googled I can't say I'm a fan though. Tyre wear would be interesting but again happy to give on a go. 😊
Does the handlebar display ( controller change settings from eco to normal to high ) touch screen ? or is it just a display only ? and it auto assists at speed changes ?
I've been waiting for a review on this kit, since I'm considering purchasing this kit for my carbon road bike. My bike has a through axle and I live in Canada (need a 32km/hr cutoff, not the 25km/hr you have in the UK. Your video was very thorough, but the one thing you didn't mention is the weight of the kit. Do you know what the kit weighs?
Yes, with everything it weighs just over 4kg. The battery weight is 1.5kg. I would imagine they could accommodate your increased speed as they seem both flexible and very approachable. The other thing that impressed me is that the price of a spare battery is half that of one for the Mahle x35.
While I appreciate that the Range Extender works in a different way, by topping up the main battery, and it contains some electronics to do this, I would be happy with a basic battery that I could just swap, if it meant it is half the price.
@@RideWithRoyMahle have definitely missed a trick by not releasing a cheaper (albeit smaller battery) for the X35 equipped bikes. The Specialized extender is only around £300.
@@Brookes79 I agree. This system was introduced by Ebikemotion, and Mahle hasn’t changed it since taking over. It amounts to the same amount of weight to carry whichever way it’s done. Also, the Range Extender has to have separate firmware updates, so a further complication. When BoostBike bring out their through axle version I’ll test it on my Tempest. If it works for me I’ll even consider selling my Ribble 🫢
No, works just the same as any bike. I’m not a tech expert but I can’t see how that could happen, unless install incorrectly, which would be almost impossible it’s that simple.
If you’ve got that length of cable, can’t you fit it on the downtube mounts instead. That’d overcome the front mech clamp issue? And I’ve seen your pink nail varnish. 😂
@@RideWithRoyI don't see why. With it on the downtube it is accessible without dismounting, as she had to in the video, or was that because she had no handlebar controls?
@@RideWithRoy. My point was that it is much more visible/accessible on the downtube, which is where my battery is fitted. I can reach it reasonably easily, although poor balance could be a problem.
I put in a comment a few days ago and when I checked to see if there was a response it had disappeared. I therefore commented again in a similar vein, and when I checked again for a response it had again disappeared. Anyone know why this might be?
That’s a bit odd, Edward. I usually see your comments and they never fall into a category YT, or I, would remove. Try making it again in reply to this one.
In this follow up episode we range test the Boost kit Boost Bike Range Test - Did it perform as they claimed it would?
ua-cam.com/video/z8LgIGJXY-0/v-deo.html
I can't recommend these Boost kits enough. I bought one 6 months ago for my 32 year old GT Mountain Bike, which has had more use since it was fitted than it did in the previous 32 years! I decided to buy the basic kit and built my own rear wheel. Whilst this was quite a satisfying project, it definitely makes more economic sense to buy the kit with a pre-built wheel. Living in the Highland of Scotland and being somewhat overfed means that I doubt I'll get any more than 30 miles range, or perhaps even less, but this brilliant product has got me back into cycling with moderate enthusiasm. By the way, I weighed up the pros and cons of Boost with the front wheel mounted alternative brand and a few purpose built ebikes as well. I think Boost definitely has the edge if you have a half decent bike already. I wish I'd bought it sooner.
@@ArnoldLayne90 thanks for this detailed comment. Interestingly, I had never ridden with the Boost kit until Tuesday. I spent the day filming a leading Boost installer and did a 10 mile ride with one of his two Boost kitted bikes. After riding the Ribble CGR Ale I was expecting a much lower performance. As you’d expect, I was highly impressed and found I had to turn it down to Eco mode to match my steady pace. The big benefit for me is that, even though I can easily ride Boost with no power, I can quickly swap over to my standard wheel if I want my bike back to normal. I shall definitely be buying one of my own.
Hi Roy,the kit looks great,it’s something I will consider for our Bromptons in the future,thanks to Mary & your good self for a well explained video,atb Colin P 👍
Brilliant, another game changer! Can't wait to hear her experience in part 2. Flip it on for the hills or wind and off again while on the flats.
Neill. The on/off facility is common to all these kits, it is not unique to this one.
Hello Roy. You won't be surprised to hear me say that I'm sure that Mary will be delighted with the kit, and it will be a great boon for her. That has certainly been my experience in using the kit I fitted. I hope she will have some great rides in the future.
Thanks, Vince, it’s good to have an independent confirmation.
I have the boost kit too and fitted it myself, it's brilliant I absolutely.....love it.
Looks like a good system. And very easy to fit, I got a do it yourself kit about 5 years ago when I was working and going to see my partner in hospital every day, and just got so tiring., but was awful, it was about the cheapest I could afford, pleased they have improved so much and got cheaper.
Well done Mary. Know how you feel about not wanting to hold other riders up. That’s how I’ve felt this year and mainly ride alone or with hubs now so I don’t let anybody down. Hope your ride went really well. Enjoy 🙌🏻
My days of trying to keep up with a group are long gone. It’s either my pace or ‘see you later.’ Wendy and I are fairly evenly paced but I do get shouted at now and again 😀
That’s the main reason for me. Everyone is just faster than me. I call it Way of the Snail 😁
Very interesting. I'm not in the market for anything like this.....yet. 😉 But if I ever decide to go this route, at least I know such a solution exists.
Looking forward to hearing how Mary's ride turns out. I suspect she'll like it enough to buy the kit.
Impressive and informative video, it will be interesting to see the range capacity
Brilliant video Roy, can't wait for part two now. I actually have a 2020 Trek Dual sport 3 hybrid that i dont use in the shed (I now have my Electric Ribble & a winter road bike that I use), so I would consider this kind to allow my son to come join me on rides & enjoy the assist.
Thanks for that. I’m just putting the finishing touches to part 2, today, so will publish next week. I know it’s heresy, but I would even consider adding the kit to my Tempest (when the through axle version is launched) as an alternative to my Ribble! If you haven’t done already, take a look at the price of a spare battery - half the price of the Mahle equivalent!
@@RideWithRoy thanks Roy I will, I was just curious if it could be adapted to use on the Ribble Endurance SL e 🤔
Adding a motor to turn an existing bike into an ebike is a very environmentally friendly idea.
Getting old I did just the this to one of my bikes. I can ride 40 miles on my normal bike but shove in some hills and I struggle more.
We love Brittany but it's not exactly flat so I started looking for some help. Firstly at ebikes but I couldn't find anything that really grabbed me.
As you mentioned in the video, there is quite a large choice of systems , front wheel, rear wheel or mid drive. Each has pluses and minuses and I spent ages making up my mind. I ended up going for mid drive, for me it was the right decision. A little more difficult to fit but not bad. The biggest problem was all the spare wire. It took me ages but I managed to hide it between the motor and the bottle battery.
If the terrain is flat I don't switch it on but now I welcome the climbs.
So far I've managed 120 miles on a charge riding this way, not on one ride though😊.
I'm sure Mary will love it and won't want to send it back.
Thanks for a very clear video, I'm sure it will help lots of people.
Thanks for this, Colin. I must admit I’d never considered this option before this. I won’t give too much away but I’ll certainly consider fitting this kit to my Tempest and selling my Ribble e assist.
colin. I presume by 'environmentally friendly' you are referring to the non-existent climate crisis myth, but people seem to forget that e-bikes run on fossil fuel, like everything else. When I fitted an e-assist kit it was to be 'leg friendly' and nothing to do with the environment. I am highly delighted with it, I have to say.
vince. I was referring to the saving in the energy needed to manufacture a complete bike. I'm very pleased with the help from the motor but I don't want to get into a discussion on climate change.
@@vincekerrigan8300
Another Great video Thanks Roy Very well put together.. 👍🏻
Excellent and informative, thanks.
Different brand, but this looks very similar to the kit I added to my old Audax warhorse. When the batteries were new I could easily get 100 km out of a 6Ah (200 Wh) battery. 18 months on the manufacturer reckons that capacity has declined by around 15%: I can still get 100k out but I have to do a fair bit of pushing myself.
One thing Mary has probably already discovered is that if you stop pedalling for an instant the motor stops pushing. Not a problem on the flat, but if you change down when you're going up a hill and hesitate halfway through the shift you'll suddenly find yourself doing all the work while the motor relaxes; so it's important to keep the pedals moving even when transitioning from sitting to standing. The way to think of it is that the motor will try to maintain your current speed, so if you drop back, say, from 18 kph to 12 kph while changing gear on a hill it's not going to take you back up to 18 unless you supply the welly yourself.
Also, you'll see a lot of other e-cyclists cruising along if in a BIG gear and pedalling at about 30 rpm. It's the best way there is of draining your battery prematurely and possibly overloading the motor. These motors work best at high revs, so pedalling at 60 rpm or more is better.
Anyway, good luck to Mary, and I hope she gets a lot of fun out of it. Good thing you did there, Roy.
Thanks, John, that’s great advice and I’m sure it will help many.
john. I think that to claim 100km range from a 200wh battery, is rather misleading for the uninitiated. They will assume that you rode 100km using the battery constantly, whereas that size of battery will not give that range in constant use, even, I should have thought, on the lowest settings.
John did say that he had to do ‘a fair bit of pushing himself’ but your clarification to the ‘uninitiated’ is a good idea. I got just over 100 miles out of my Ribble e assist on a single charge ua-cam.com/video/8NY-NF9KKJA/v-deo.htmlsi=VWWJn8InurUtvTdY, but that was by only using the power when needed. When people ask me what the range of an e bike is I always mention that piece of string 😀
@@vincekerrigan8300 You're right. The manufacturer - and luckily I live ~25k from their rather modest facility - told me that if you keep assistance level 1 on all the time and don't supply much power yourself you'll get around 50k. A lot depends on the terrain, though.
@@johne7100Yes, I guess that would be about right. I fitted a friction drive kit to my road bike and that uses a 200wh battery. It only has one power level though so that is equivalent to the top power level on other bikes. Constant use on mixed terrain gives a range of about 40km.
Thank you, Roy, for your stimulating series of cycling videos.
This video came at an opportune time as, having visited Ribble's showroom and being sorely tempted, I am considering whether to buy something like the CGR AL e or even the Endurance SL e. Unfortunately, if I do buy a new e bike, my existing gravel bike is likely to fall into disuse which I don't want happen and so the option to upgrade the existing bike is attractive.
I look forward to the test / review results in Part Two and am particularly interested in
- what degree of control of modes there is e.g. choice of boost mode irrespective of speed, boost or no boost while riding
- what range one can expect
Thank you, Derek. I shall keep you waiting regarding the range, but will tell you this much. Once they release their through axle motor I’ll be testing it on my Tempest gravel bike. If it performs as I expect it to, I may well sell my Ribble CGR ALe, and I never thought I’d say that. I really like the feel of the Titanium frame so prefer to ride that one. With the ease of changeover to unpowered with this kit, I could easily do it all with one bike. As for the display control. It only allows a switch from eco to high. However, I have been watching this company for a while now and their pace of development, based on customer feedback, is rapid, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they add a medium level to the display. I’m just waiting for some information to complete the range video, which is all edited, so I should have it out next week.
@@RideWithRoy Thank your for your comments, Roy. I'm quite surprised that you should be considering disposal of the CGR AL e. The Boost system must have favourably impressed you. As a 76 year old living in hope of getting his fitness back I had the same thoughts as you on the ease of changeover from powered to unpowered and vice versa.
I look forward to Part Two
Yours, Derek
@@RideWithRoy: Hi! Roy. Do you then think that the kit will give you the same ride qualities as the Ribble? I bought my friction drive kit because I just wasn't in the market for the price levels of the Pukka bikes like the Ribble/Gain, but I always assumed that it was sort of 'second best', a compromise. Never having ridden an e-roadie, of course I don't actually know how it matches up. If you do put a kit on your Tempest I shall be interested to hear how you think it compares.
Thanks, Edward. No, I can’t say that yet as I haven’t tried it on a comparable bike. Also, I would be unfair to compare them like for like. What I will be considering is if it will meet my needs, which, of course, will be different to others. In my opinion, Boost Bike are very honest in making it clear their product isn’t designed to compete with the likes of the Ribble, but I feel they may be being a little too conservative in their claims. Of course, when I do get to test it on my Tempest it can only be my subjective view.
Can you tell me what the rim width is on that wheel and is there a choice of rim width available?
@@craighamilton5570 this article gives some detail but best to contact Boostbike for advice as they are constantly evolving the specs boostbike.uk/advice/measure-wheel-size
@@RideWithRoy Thank you. Will do.
Is the Torque and speed sensor integrated in the back engine?
Interesting thanks Roy, I've been thinking of a switch kit or DIY kit to electrify my road bike. I don't mind riding it but here in Cornwall there's a lot of hills and they do discourage me from consistently commuting on it. The other idea is for my partner she has a Dawes Central e bike but it's a bloody heavy lump and she isn't quite getting the benefit out of it as we thought she might the battery gets used up so quickly and the bike has quite considerable pedal lag. I am thinking a lighter bike with a kit like this without the additional crank motor could be a better option for her.
Anyway thank you and if you do have any recommendations I would definitely value your reply.
Thanks again for your video and hope you have a good weekend 😊
Thank you. I came across a user of the Swytch Bike kit only a couple of weeks ago. He had the biggest battery but range anxiety saw him only riding a maximum of 15 miles, as Swytch claim only 18 miles range on the largest battery and only 9 miles on the standard one! That’s probably good for some commuters, but would severely restrict a leisure rider, especially where hills are involved. Boost claim 30 miles, but that’s a story for part 2 🙂 My brother bought a heavy electric bike without asking my advice. He hates it because once it dies he is stuck with a heavy, unridable lump.
@@RideWithRoy brilliant thank you I shall await part 2 I am curious about range. Her e bike battery is 36v and is a massive lump but even that the range isn't no way near 45 miles as suggested.
The problem with those heavy E bikes is they need to use a fair amount of power just to shift the weight of the bike.
Christian. I fitted a moderately priced friction drive kit to my bog standard alumiinium entry level road bike. At 2.7kg the bike and kit combined only weighs 13.5 kg, which is easily rideable with the power off. This weight is comparable with the pukka e-road bikes like the Orbea Gain. Not so refined but a fraction of the cost. For lightness the friction kits are probably the best, because there is little bulk in the motor. If my experience is anything to go by, they work very well also.
@@vincekerrigan8300 thank you I haven't come across these yet but Googled I can't say I'm a fan though. Tyre wear would be interesting but again happy to give on a go. 😊
Hope part 2 not too long coming ,really want to know final verdict 😢😊
Should be out on Wednesday, David 😀
Does the handlebar display ( controller change settings from eco to normal to high ) touch screen ? or is it just a display only ? and it auto assists at speed changes ?
It’s push button and it overrides the system to either eco or full power, Jon. Without the display it works automatically in the ranges I mentioned.
I've been waiting for a review on this kit, since I'm considering purchasing this kit for my carbon road bike. My bike has a through axle and I live in Canada (need a 32km/hr cutoff, not the 25km/hr you have in the UK.
Your video was very thorough, but the one thing you didn't mention is the weight of the kit. Do you know what the kit weighs?
Yes, with everything it weighs just over 4kg. The battery weight is 1.5kg. I would imagine they could accommodate your increased speed as they seem both flexible and very approachable. The other thing that impressed me is that the price of a spare battery is half that of one for the Mahle x35.
@@RideWithRoypity we couldn't adapt it to use it on our Ribble's Roy 🤔
While I appreciate that the Range Extender works in a different way, by topping up the main battery, and it contains some electronics to do this, I would be happy with a basic battery that I could just swap, if it meant it is half the price.
@@RideWithRoyMahle have definitely missed a trick by not releasing a cheaper (albeit smaller battery) for the X35 equipped bikes. The Specialized extender is only around £300.
@@Brookes79 I agree. This system was introduced by Ebikemotion, and Mahle hasn’t changed it since taking over. It amounts to the same amount of weight to carry whichever way it’s done. Also, the Range Extender has to have separate firmware updates, so a further complication. When BoostBike bring out their through axle version I’ll test it on my Tempest. If it works for me I’ll even consider selling my Ribble 🫢
Does this kit pedal backwards and go forwards? I just saw on a video that said this kit has this tricky problem.
No, works just the same as any bike. I’m not a tech expert but I can’t see how that could happen, unless install incorrectly, which would be almost impossible it’s that simple.
@@RideWithRoy You can see videos how it works on Brompton bike @brilliantbikes
If you’ve got that length of cable, can’t you fit it on the downtube mounts instead. That’d overcome the front mech clamp issue?
And I’ve seen your pink nail varnish. 😂
You promised you’d never mention that 🫣 I did think the same about the cable although they do recommend the seat tube.
@@RideWithRoyI don't see why. With it on the downtube it is accessible without dismounting, as she had to in the video, or was that because she had no handlebar controls?
Yes, she could have easily switched on from the seated position but it was her first time, plus she suffers from balance problems.
@@RideWithRoy. My point was that it is much more visible/accessible on the downtube, which is where my battery is fitted. I can reach it reasonably easily, although poor balance could be a problem.
Similar to geeko kit
Geeko battery water tight
That looks like a good kit. The only problem for me is they don’t make a through axle version.
I put in a comment a few days ago and when I checked to see if there was a response it had disappeared. I therefore commented again in a similar vein, and when I checked again for a response it had again disappeared. Anyone know why this might be?
That’s a bit odd, Edward. I usually see your comments and they never fall into a category YT, or I, would remove. Try making it again in reply to this one.
I just checked the comment log, Edward, and I can see all your comments there. What thread was it on?