Mahle X20 System experience?

[Larry T]

Why not start with a conversion of your current road bike? You already and the fit right, add a 350w-500w mid drive system should put you where you want without breaking the bank even if you hire someone to do it for you. You didn't say where you are located so I have no recommendation for you as to where to look for help doing a conversion.

So far (just over 1000 kms) my X20 experience has been great! I ride my carbon gravel bike with 38 mm slicks everywhere now, most of the time with the system turned on so the MAHLE head-unit will display, but with 0 assist. I don't feel any drag. On the climbs where I would shift my gorgeous Italian steel bikes into the "granny gear" on Campagnolo triple chainset, instead I move the assist to level 1. It's still a workout but just a bit easier. I tried a few climbs at 0 assist but dragging the extra weight of the X20 system uphill for very long wore me out so whacking the button for the electronic "granny gear" is my preferred scheme. Once I hit the peak I go back to 0. I noticed the system seemed to crank up assist in level 1 if I stood up on the pedals, so maybe the torque sensor is doing something? I pay zero attention to cadence so can't help you there, same with inclination.
Meanwhile, my wife rides X35 bikes (gravel and road) using a heart rate monitor to control her assist levels. She checks post-ride data and finds she rides 1/2 the time with 0 assist but doesn't complain about feeling any extra drag over her gorgeous Italian steel machines, just that nice "tailwind" when her heart rate hits the preset max. So far, BRAVO to MAHLE!

 

[Denny D]

hi! nice to hear about someone using the x20 in this way, not much info anywhere online about it.

do you find the "power meter" accurate? i'm coming from a road bike with a 4iiii dual sided crank meter, as well as a specialized e bike with built in power, and the mahle data seems wayyyyyyyyy off. it also seems to be strongly biased to the left leg; since i tend to be about 56/44 right leg biased, that may partially explain the power numbers, but even so the data is very jumpy and probably 10-20% lower than real values. (assuming the 10k miles i have on the well calibrated 4iiii setup is accurate lol)

https://imgur.com/a/nBEd0Mz

I just did my second ride on the Orbea Gain. The power readings are low for me too. Today I used a 4iiii left crank and the X20 average was 24% lower than the 4iiii. I'm fairly balanced. I'm going to continue checking it and if the difference is consistent Input a suggestion to provide for a calibration adjustment in the app.

 

[Larry T]

I just did my second ride on the Orbea Gain. The power readings are low for me too. Today I used a 4iiii left crank and the X20 average was 24% lower than the 4iiii. I'm fairly balanced. I'm going to continue checking it and if the difference is consistent Input a suggestion to provide for a calibration adjustment in the app.

I care nothing about power meters, etc. I only have the MAHLE brain unit to monitor battery level, assist level + the usual distance, speed, etc. like the old-daze with a simple Cateye thing reading off the front wheel. In a perfect world I'd be 40 years younger and my wife wouldn't have issues that require her heart rate to be limited - so we'd be riding our beloved Italian steel bikes with polished aluminum Campagnolo triple groupsets without any electronic gizmo of any sort...or maybe a simple Cateye for me.
X20 for me is an expensive, heavy, inner chainring for when the hills get steep with an added benefit of helping me if I overdo it and want to avoid a death march/slog to get back home. X35 for my wife is the difference between being able to enjoy riding and getting some decent exercise vs doing pretty much nothing as she was having more and more trouble holding my wheel and her cranky old husband didn't really want to slow down.
I bought the X20 bike only after caving-in and buying an X35 equipped gravel bike last summer after suffering in the Alps while my wife was all smiles. She convinced me if I was gonna get a gravel bike with the fatter tires and lower gears why not get an X35 assisted one like hers and be all smiles too? I found a barely used one at a good price but didn't have time to play with it before we returned home, but when an X20 assisted gravel bike with Campagnolo EKAR (instead of Shimano's GRX) went on-sale I figured why the f__k not have one here in Sicily too?
So far, I'm all smiles

 

[Denny D]

Is the average power data from entire e bike rides in any way useful to compare against other similar rides on the non e-bikes?

do you know where the sensor is and how it works?

The average power data is the rider input. I'm very new to the Mahle X20 but I don't believe there is any way to know the average motor power other than a rough estimate based on the battery drain.

 

[Larry T]

After reading some of the comments about power data I viewed what I assume is WATTS on the MAHLE head unit on my last ride. Numbers varied widely and wildly - the only thing I could conclude was when I felt like I was pedaling harder (producing more power) the numbers went up. Useless to me.
As to power consumption my wife's X35 data she gets on her phone shows battery watts used, percentage of ride at what power level, etc. I just watch the battery charge % on the head unit drop when I have the power assist activated and maybe the range indicator goes down too? But that's kind of a joke, mine's been stuck on 999 kms since I last charged the battery. I guess I use the battery assist too infrequently? At one point, when I first got the bike (it arrived with 65% charge) I could watch the range # go up as I pedaled along without assist and then go down when I used it. I think at one point after some serious climbing (for me anyway...I would have been using the granny gear on my triple) the range dropped down to under 300 kms...but I was only 25 kms from home so who cares? I'm far from a "numbers guy" I just like to ride and maybe know how far and/or how slow I went.

 

[mclem43]

Dear mclem43, I have a Orbea Gain M30, bought September 2023, equipped with Mahle X20, now has 450 km, same error #74, the bike is completely dead, no chance to switch on, no reaction if charger is connected. What did you do to get rid of your problem? Thanks, Karl

Hey Karl63, I have just saw that I had a message and I hope your problem has been solved. My problem was the battery and was repaired by local BMC dealer through MAHLE’s third party warranty service provider.
Since then the BMC AMP 2 has worked flawlessly, very happy with the bike.
Now MAHLE has just updated their app which has few bugs dealing with the Smart assist. Hopefully, they will fix that issue soon.