This thread is so folks can share their impressions once they've installed the upgrade. I just installed it this morning, then took it out to my regular test-ride area. I have some initial observations, but my opinion might evolve after getting a few more miles on the upgrade.
The big thing everyone talks about is the torque increase. Yup, it's a thing. 120 Nm is clearly better than 100 Nm when hammering up steep sections. From low-cadence to high, it's better. That's not much of a surprise, however.
Traction seems to be improved. I don't know how they do this, but I wasn't getting as much wheel spin when going up steep sandstone or steep chunk interspersed with loose-over-hard. Once I suspected there was a difference, I got kind of silly and tried to spin the rear wheel. It does NOT want to spin like it did before. I don't think I'm imagining this.
Similar to the diminished tendency to spin while climbing the rough stuff, starting on a steep hill seems improved. There seems to be less spin and more low-end torque. It sure seems that way, but more experimentation is needed.
Race Mode is more tame now. In the past, it was somewhat twitchy on technical ground. Now, the bike doesn't have a tendency to launch itself on the start, or to run away with overrun. The bike seems more controllable. I left it in Race Mode on some technical areas where I'd never do that before, and it was ok. There's more power, and it's easier to get it to the ground.
Is it possible that efficiency is improved? Today's route was almost identical to a ride I did last week. Today I came away with 3% more battery, despite running in Race and EMTB+ most of the time. Once again, more experimentation is needed.
It's possible that I'm suffering from a case of New Bike Stoke, or more accurately, New Bike Software Stoke. However, I've suffered from that condition in the past and have built up a degree of natural immunity. I really do think the upgrade is way better. Anyone else had the chance to put the new software through its paces?
The big thing everyone talks about is the torque increase. Yup, it's a thing. 120 Nm is clearly better than 100 Nm when hammering up steep sections. From low-cadence to high, it's better. That's not much of a surprise, however.
Traction seems to be improved. I don't know how they do this, but I wasn't getting as much wheel spin when going up steep sandstone or steep chunk interspersed with loose-over-hard. Once I suspected there was a difference, I got kind of silly and tried to spin the rear wheel. It does NOT want to spin like it did before. I don't think I'm imagining this.
Similar to the diminished tendency to spin while climbing the rough stuff, starting on a steep hill seems improved. There seems to be less spin and more low-end torque. It sure seems that way, but more experimentation is needed.
Race Mode is more tame now. In the past, it was somewhat twitchy on technical ground. Now, the bike doesn't have a tendency to launch itself on the start, or to run away with overrun. The bike seems more controllable. I left it in Race Mode on some technical areas where I'd never do that before, and it was ok. There's more power, and it's easier to get it to the ground.
Is it possible that efficiency is improved? Today's route was almost identical to a ride I did last week. Today I came away with 3% more battery, despite running in Race and EMTB+ most of the time. Once again, more experimentation is needed.
It's possible that I'm suffering from a case of New Bike Stoke, or more accurately, New Bike Software Stoke. However, I've suffered from that condition in the past and have built up a degree of natural immunity. I really do think the upgrade is way better. Anyone else had the chance to put the new software through its paces?
