
- REVIEWS
First Ride Review: Scott E-Genius 720 2018 Shimano Steps eBike
By Martin Brown |
Introduction
I’ve been looking forward to getting out on a Shimano Steps E8000 system for a little while now, so when Scott dropped by with a Demo E-Genius 720 2018 in my size, I was soon brandishing a shock pump and my favourite winter pedals. A quick play with air pressures, rebound settings, and some wheelies in the carpark (why not), the 2018 E-genius was soon squirrelled away in the back of the car, “claimed” for the weekend.Initial Impressions
Turning on the Shimano Steps system is as simple as pressing the power button situated on the downtube. After a couple of seconds the display changes from the loading screen to show speed, assistance mode and battery levels, a nice little touch is a power bar showing the input from the motor.
Assistance Modes
Assistance modes on the Scott E-Genius 720 are controlled via a Shimano Firebolt Shifter on the left-hand side of the bars.
Riding The Scott E-Genius
The start of my ride on the Scott E-Genius 720 was along some freshly laid tarmac in eco mode, hardly a grueling test for the bike but I found myself exceeding the Shimano motors assistance on the flat easily enough, this was noticeable compared to other systems where you can feel a little resistance through the motor, requiring a bit more effort to get the bike past this.
Moving Off Road
My first stretch of off-road was along a local bridal path, whilst a relatively flat route, the recently melted snow added to some amusing puddle skipping, and plenty of claggy mud sections. With one section, in particular, I found my shoes and pedals were being introduced to the detritus, but eco mode continued to push on keeping me from dropping too much speed and having to wade out. A quick hop back onto the roads and I was soon at my next little test section, a rooty singletrack with some off-chamber sections followed by some technical climbing. This particular section is clay giving way to a bed of chalk in certain sections, so I was glad for Scott's sensible tire choice of some Maxxis Minions on the 2018 E-Genius. These shed the mud well when keeping a relatively relaxed speed going and helped to keep me rubber side down.Assistance Modes Whilst Riding
I found myself skipping between the 'Trail' & 'Boost' mode through this section, using 'Boost' to get a bit of speed up quickly for a technical feature and dropping down to trail when a bit more traction was needed. The Shimano Firebolt shifter allowed for these snap changes in assistance modes with little thought or planning, allowing me to focus on the important stuff.
To Conclude
I found the Shimano E-8000 system to offer smooth power from starting off, and plenty of power when out on the trails and rolling.