BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Shimano STEPS MTB E8000 riders are set to recieve new firmware that allows electric mountain bike riders to tune their Boost and Trail modes with High, Medium and Low settings across three different riding styles – Dynamic, Explorer and Custom.
This range of settings will allow riders to customize their e-bike support levels to meet the optimum riding styles and demands they want to make from the STEPS E-8000 drive unit.
In the factory default Dynamic mode, the Boost setting will give riders a high level of pedal assistance whilst in Trail mode, riders will get a low level of assistance. Eco mode will still give the most economical battery setting and the lowest assistance level.
The new Explorer mode gives a medium level of Boost assistance and a medium level of Trail assistance, plus Eco mode. As most e-bike riding is done at a comfortable Trail pace, this is designed to boost normal riding pace but scrub off some top end speed for more control in tight technical sections.
In the Custom mode, riders can programme their own preferences, so for example a rider may choose a conservative low Boost and low Trail mode to conserve battery and extend riding time, or a high Boost and high Trail mode to maximize speed.
What Trail mode provided in the Dynamic default setting – and will continue to provide in the new Explorer and Custom settings – is to deliver the rider an intuitive and variable level of assistance depending on the force applied to their pedals, which is displayed by the graph on the E8000 computer display. Essentially the harder the user pedals in Trail mode, the stronger the assistance they receive. This can range from low support to a max torque of 70Nm to ride on steep inclines.
These settings can be adjusted and applied to the Shimano STEPS MTB system via the E-TUBE computer, tablet or phone app. The firmware will be available to download from Shimano’s E-TUBE website from mid-August 2017.
