Electric bikes !!

[wanderingbob]

Lets talk about your electric bikes and what you think about them ! We have had our fat tire , twenty inch , folding bikes for two weeks and have been riding them 8 to 12 miles per day . We pedal constantly just because it feels right although I assume you can go on battery twenty some miles . We maintain 14 MPH pretty easily and with more throttle we can get up to twenty ! Our brand " Ecotric Dolphin " , about $ 850 . We like to wander around small towns and some time have to park far away , out in the boondocks because of the length of our rig , we hope this will lead to more exploring and some trail riding . We tend to always pedal and use the battery when these 77 year olde legs get tired ! What kind have ya got , do ya use them as much as ya think ya would ?

[goducks10]

SFVdave wrote:

goducks10 wrote:

SFVdave wrote:
I bought a Lectric XP 2.0 last month and love it. But I didn't care for the pedal assist. Maybe I have it set up wrong in the adjustments. I delayed the assist to start after a few pedal turns . when it kicks in, it goes 5.5 mph and won't go slower on PAS1. So I tried using the throttle also with pedal delay start. That way I can pedal and give it a little throttle assist and keep my speed down. The DW rides a trike and crusies around 5-7.5 mph. so throttle use when needed seems to work. But I wonder if there is something wrong with just pedal assist not going slower than 5.5 mph?

Because you have a cadence sensor your bike is set up to go a certain speed at each level. The motor only senses that you're pedaling not how hard you're pedaling.
A torque sensor senses how hard you're pushing on the pedals and the motor responds to that.

So there is nothing I can do about it, right? Just usea little throttle to give a slow speed assist.

About the 2.30 mark this guy explains how to keep it at 5 mph and still pedal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APsrwWlqtyQ

[SFVdave]

goducks10 wrote:

SFVdave wrote:
I bought a Lectric XP 2.0 last month and love it. But I didn't care for the pedal assist. Maybe I have it set up wrong in the adjustments. I delayed the assist to start after a few pedal turns . when it kicks in, it goes 5.5 mph and won't go slower on PAS1. So I tried using the throttle also with pedal delay start. That way I can pedal and give it a little throttle assist and keep my speed down. The DW rides a trike and crusies around 5-7.5 mph. so throttle use when needed seems to work. But I wonder if there is something wrong with just pedal assist not going slower than 5.5 mph?

Because you have a cadence sensor your bike is set up to go a certain speed at each level. The motor only senses that you're pedaling not how hard you're pedaling.
A torque sensor senses how hard you're pushing on the pedals and the motor responds to that.

So there is nothing I can do about it, right? Just usea little throttle to give a slow speed assist.

[goducks10]

SFVdave wrote:
I bought a Lectric XP 2.0 last month and love it. But I didn't care for the pedal assist. Maybe I have it set up wrong in the adjustments. I delayed the assist to start after a few pedal turns . when it kicks in, it goes 5.5 mph and won't go slower on PAS1. So I tried using the throttle also with pedal delay start. That way I can pedal and give it a little throttle assist and keep my speed down. The DW rides a trike and crusies around 5-7.5 mph. so throttle use when needed seems to work. But I wonder if there is something wrong with just pedal assist not going slower than 5.5 mph?

Because you have a cadence sensor your bike is set up to go a certain speed at each level. The motor only senses that you're pedaling not how hard you're pedaling.
A torque sensor senses how hard you're pushing on the pedals and the motor responds to that.

[SFVdave]

I bought a Lectric XP 2.0 last month and love it. But I didn't care for the pedal assist. Maybe I have it set up wrong in the adjustments. I delayed the assist to start after a few pedal turns . when it kicks in, it goes 5.5 mph and won't go slower on PAS1. So I tried using the throttle also with pedal delay start. That way I can pedal and give it a little throttle assist and keep my speed down. The DW rides a trike and crusies around 5-7.5 mph. so throttle use when needed seems to work. But I wonder if there is something wrong with just pedal assist not going slower than 5.5 mph?

[dodge_guy]

The setting on my wife’s bike can be changed. The low and high are the same, but you can change from 1-3 to 1-5. I set it to 1-5. The lowest setting always seams to be the best.

[dedmiston]

kfp673 wrote:
To those talking about speed governing (not me I love the top speed ! ;-)) that is precisely how the Lectric XP2.0 works and likely all the new Lectric models as well. It is not specifically a governor but it sets the pedal assist top speed in roughly 5mph increments. For example, setting the bike to PAS 1 will only help you up to 5mph. You can go faster but only by peddling just like any other bike or by turning the throttle which again is a choice you are making as the rider. Within smaller campgrounds is pretty much the only time I ever use 1. PAS 2 is 10mph etc up through PAS5. Vast majority of my riding is PAS 3 which is a nice 15mph cruise speed.

I would assume many other electric bikes work the same way but look into it.

Here's a good (but not great) explanation of the limits of Class I, Class II, and Class III ebikes.

https://bike.com/blogs/ebikes/understanding-the-differences-between-class-i-ii-and-iii-ebikes

[kfp673]

To those talking about speed governing (not me I love the top speed ! ;-)) that is precisely how the Lectric XP2.0 works and likely all the new Lectric models as well. It is not specifically a governor but it sets the pedal assist top speed in roughly 5mph increments. For example, setting the bike to PAS 1 will only help you up to 5mph. You can go faster but only by peddling just like any other bike or by turning the throttle which again is a choice you are making as the rider. Within smaller campgrounds is pretty much the only time I ever use 1. PAS 2 is 10mph etc up through PAS5. Vast majority of my riding is PAS 3 which is a nice 15mph cruise speed.

I would assume many other electric bikes work the same way but look into it.

[fullmoonoversal]

I'm hoping to purchase an electric trike. I am old, too fat by far, but I don't care if people don't like looking at me. I am out to have fun. My neighbor got one and has a ball. The problem is, how/where do we store it in the winter?

[ktmrfs]

Lantley wrote:
I get it on speed but E bikes are no faster than regular bikes.
I am often get passsed by regular non E-bikes all the time.
Your gripe is with the biker not the bike.
You must ride/bike at a speed appropriate for the conditions, no different than driving a car.
Appropriate speed applies to both Ebikes and non E bikes.

I agree, we often get passed on our e bikes by other bikers. Now I will admit it is easier for us to go faster on the e-bikes than we would or had been going on our regular bikes, (uphill) but on level ground we travel at about the same speed.

Now for e bike ratings, the two common systems (pedal assist and throttle assist) have built in motor control for electric assist to quite at 20 mph. But it is easier to go 20mph+ on level ground e bike or not. and downhill even easier.

Now our e-bikes are pedal asist, not throttle assist and when you stop pedalling, just like a regular bike you slow down. you MUST keep pedalling to maintain speed. Throttle assist bikes can keep going with the throttle only.

[dodge_guy]

goducks10 wrote:

dodge guy wrote:

magicbus wrote:
I just wish the electric bike riders would keep their speed to “pedal bike speed” on our shared-use bike paths. Many of them are a hazard to walkers and other bikers.

Dave

I agree. I just got my wife an E bike and found that even the lowest setting was still faster than most people casually ride. The highway setting gives you 19 mph. I got 22 with full on pedaling. While it’s nice to go fast, most of us are out there to enjoy nature while riding!

Guessing you have cadence sensors. Not matter how slow you pedal the sensor still tells the bike how fast to go. Once you start pedaling the bike goes to the speed equal to the PAS level you're in.
Torque sensors are easier to go slow because they require you to actually pedal to go faster. The bike will actually go really slow in PAS 1.

Yes I’ve been researching to convert my 2 year old bike over. It sounds like a mid drive kit has the torque sensor and the hub kit has the pedal sensor. It’s not really an issue as you can just pedal a bit to pick up speed and then stop pedaling. Not a deal
Breaker but it would be nice to pedal as slow as the bike and person needs to go.

[goducks10]

dodge guy wrote:

magicbus wrote:
I just wish the electric bike riders would keep their speed to “pedal bike speed” on our shared-use bike paths. Many of them are a hazard to walkers and other bikers.

Dave

I agree. I just got my wife an E bike and found that even the lowest setting was still faster than most people casually ride. The highway setting gives you 19 mph. I got 22 with full on pedaling. While it’s nice to go fast, most of us are out there to enjoy nature while riding!

Guessing you have cadence sensors. Not matter how slow you pedal the sensor still tells the bike how fast to go. Once you start pedaling the bike goes to the speed equal to the PAS level you're in.
Torque sensors are easier to go slow because they require you to actually pedal to go faster. The bike will actually go really slow in PAS 1.

[Lantley]

I get it on speed but E bikes are no faster than regular bikes.
I am often get passsed by regular non E-bikes all the time.
Your gripe is with the biker not the bike.
You must ride/bike at a speed appropriate for the conditions, no different than driving a car.
Appropriate speed applies to both Ebikes and non E bikes.

[dodge_guy]

magicbus wrote:
I just wish the electric bike riders would keep their speed to “pedal bike speed” on our shared-use bike paths. Many of them are a hazard to walkers and other bikers.

Dave

I agree. I just got my wife an E bike and found that even the lowest setting was still faster than most people casually ride. The highway setting gives you 19 mph. I got 22 with full on pedaling. While it’s nice to go fast, most of us are out there to enjoy nature while riding!

[schlep1967]

valhalla360 wrote:

wa8yxm wrote:
I would like to see Electric vehicles (Golf Cars, Bikes, Scooters) with a user settable "Max speed" Governor.

The campground I frequent has a 5MPH speed limit. they don't enforce for Bicycles but it would be nice if I could dial in say 10MPH and not worry about going 20.

Bigger issue is an unrealistic speed limit. Most cars will do more than 5mph just idling on level ground. Realistically, people aren't going to drive around dragging the brakes to keep the speed at 5mph...and there really isn't much need.

Yeah, people can go too fast for conditions but it sounds more like an enforcement issue.

Looping back to the topic...any ideas for an electric bike for a big guy (6'2" - 300lb) without getting crazy expensive.

The Lectric XP 2.0 has a 330lb carrying capacity. You may need a longer seat post and maybe a longer steering neck. Depending on how much of your height is in your legs.