Is it me or the bike..?!

[Salophatter]

Hello everyone - seems like a great community on here and I hope someone can give me some advice. I've got Cube Touring Hybrid 500; I bought it because I've ridden standard Cube bikes in the past and like them but where we live - very rural and quite hilly Shropshire - I wanted to move over to an e-bike. I don't know if its me, the bike or my expectations but it just seems desperately under-powered, even in the highest (turbo) setting. My wife has a second-hand women's Pendleton e-bike and going up steepish hills she's cruising but I'm putting in what feels like as much effort as if it was a standard bike :-( And it's a flippin' heavy bike to move up a steep hill with little help!
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a bit of effort but the whole point of going electric was to encourage me (us) to get out on our bikes more often locally. I have very little experience of the diffrent types of e-bike and went for the Cube for the reasons I've said - they look great, really good quality and get good reviews. But now I'm wondering a) if its faulty or b) have I just gone for the wroing bike for my needs?
It's probably an impossible question to answer without actually riding it but I thought I'd see if anyone has any insights that might help me?
Thanks in advance.

 

[thelarkbox]

more expensive and sophisticated bikes can have torque sensors for the motors which let the control systems provide assistance depending on the input from the pedals, while cheaper systems tend to use simple cadence sensors that just detect the pedals moving around, to engage assistance.

you should be able to adjust the level of assistance the bike gives, the default is probably zero or the lowest level of assistance requiring some input via buttons to increase?

Do you experience more and less assistance according to the level set via the handlebar interface? if so it might just be the bike and its control system are not suitable for you. And you may benefit more from the simpler and cheaper style of cadence sensor pedal assist control where the bikes motor will provide full power when the pedals rotate stopping at the speed level for the level of assistance selected.

The torque sensor bikes are imho aimed at sports and peak fitness cyclists who want to maintain pushing themselves while covering a few more miles perhaps.. while cadense sensors suit folk like me who hop on a bike to get to the shops and round town, and are happy letting the motor do all the work some of the time ( - via 'ghost pedalling', just keeping the pedals moving around with no pressure).

 

[thelarkbox]

However, almost forgot to add.. IF the difference between levelse of assistance selected at the handlebar interface is not vast(from one end to other) or noticale when stepping up/down, your torque sensor may be faulty.

Even with a torque sensor with the highest level of assistance and the correct gear hills should not be Hard work..

 

[saneagle]

Hello everyone - seems like a great community on here and I hope someone can give me some advice. I've got Cube Touring Hybrid 500; I bought it because I've ridden standard Cube bikes in the past and like them but where we live - very rural and quite hilly Shropshire - I wanted to move over to an e-bike. I don't know if its me, the bike or my expectations but it just seems desperately under-powered, even in the highest (turbo) setting. My wife has a second-hand women's Pendleton e-bike and going up steepish hills she's cruising but I'm putting in what feels like as much effort as if it was a standard bike :-( And it's a flippin' heavy bike to move up a steep hill with little help!
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a bit of effort but the whole point of going electric was to encourage me (us) to get out on our bikes more often locally. I have very little experience of the diffrent types of e-bike and went for the Cube for the reasons I've said - they look great, really good quality and get good reviews. But now I'm wondering a) if its faulty or b) have I just gone for the wroing bike for my needs?
It's probably an impossible question to answer without actually riding it but I thought I'd see if anyone has any insights that might help me?
Thanks in advance.

It's probably just the difference between a crank-drive bike and a hub-motor one. The hub-motor makes good power in the mid-range and gives fairly constant torque. The crank-drive makes the most power at abot 75% of it's max rpm, which for a Bosch is something like 80 rpm, which is a bit faster than most people pedal. The most important thing is that you use the gears to keep spinning at that speed. If you change down too much and spin too fast, the motor makes no power. If you grind at low pedal speed, you get likewise not much power. Crank motors are generally slower the hub ones during climbing, but they can climb steeper when using the lower gears to trade speed for torque.

Another factor is mass. The power and torque you need to climb a hill at a certain speed is in direct proportion to your total mass, so if you weigh 50% more than your wife, you need 50% more power to do the same speed.

If none of those things help, then there is something wrong with your bike. Take it back to the dealer to get it checked. Also, check the simple things like that the wheels both spin freely.

I'm pretty sure that you haven't got the wrong bike for your needs unless you have some disability that prevents you from pedalling with normal force. You should be able to get up any normal hill with minimal effort on that bike as long as you select a low gear and pedal at at least 60 rpm unless you're very heavy.

To be more objective, we need to know the weights of you and your wife.

 

[Az.]

The torque sensor bikes are imho aimed at sports and peak fitness cyclists who want to maintain pushing themselves while covering a few more miles perhaps..

I think you should try torque sensor.

 

[Salophatter]

Thanks for such speedy replies. To answer a few of the questions:
- The bike has 4 levels of assistance (ECO, TOUR, SPORT, TURBO) but I'm not noticing a great deal of difference between them.
- I try and stay in the lowest level of assitance and highest gear for as long as possible so as to feel the benefit when I really need it but it didn't work yesterday - I was climbing a steep-ish hill but not excessively so (I couldn't tell you what the incline was) and I was really struggling in TURBO mode and the lowest gear - it really was like riding a heavy, unpowered bike. My wife did it with the minimal effort mentioned.
- I'm about 5'10" and about 13 stone (maybe a little more!) and my wife is 5'6" and around 10 stone...

 

[Az.]

I was really struggling in TURBO mode

Did you swap bikes with your wife?

 

[cyclebuddy]

I think you should try torque sensor.

It's a Cube Hybrid 500 - so it's a Bosch mid-motor - so it is torque sensored. (EDIT: Oops, sorry, you're talking to LB not the OP.)

Isn't there an App for fiddling with the power bands in each level now, or is that just certain Bosch mid-motors? A number of (newer) mid-drive bikes allow the user to tailor the power applied at each setting through BT apps.

 

[Salophatter]

Did you swap bikes with your wife?

Not at that point, no but I had done earlier and hers was noticeably more responsive

 

[thelarkbox]

I think you should try torque sensor.

Perhaps, my direct experience is with cadence sensors , hope i wasn't misleading, or shooting too wide..
Also in my ignorance i missed the fact OP has a mid drive not hub.. whoops!!
However sensor/bike response should be noticeably different between levels and on hills Mrs OP may have the start but OP should be catching up and passing after few hundred meters.

Others with direct experience of the type of motor op has could say with more authority but in turbo mode and a reasonably well charged battery you should not be struggling in the lowest gear to climb a hill..

 

[Az.]

Not at that point, no but I had done earlier and hers was noticeably more responsive

Swap bikes then. If you see wife wooshing up hill on your Cube then something is wrong with you. If you see her struggling while you woosh on Pendleton , then something is wrong with your bike.

 

[Az.]

Perhaps, my direct experience is with cadence sensors , hope i wasn't misleading, or shooting too wide..

All depends how you set up your system. You can get "no effort" experience on a bike with torque sensor (if you want). I very much prefer torque sensor. I think you would like it too.

 

[Ghost1951]

I have a bafang mid motor outfit (250 watt) and my partner has a Pendleton. If we are climbing steep hills and I am in my lower PAS settings she often catches me up and passes by, but if I engage the full 500 watts that the BBS01 is capable of in its highest setting, she can't catch me and doesn't quite keep up.

 

[Salophatter]

Once again many thanks for everyone’s contributions. The more replies I read the more I think there’s a fault. My understanding of physics is pretty limited but if I’ve read this correctly I should be seeing a very positive response to extra effort with a torque sensor motor on full 500watt power setting? Is that right? I was putting in significant effort going up that hill and my wife was just cruising… think I need to get it checked out by an expert…

 

[soundwave]

i have a dongle to remove the speed limit and that was the old performance line motor so you should fly up the hills with not much effort, if it has warranty id take it back to the shop and ask to have a go on another bike with the same motor as all you can really change is the gearing.

i use the smaller sprockets on the front but mine is the same as a 52t standard one and with the newer cx motor i can hit nearly 40mph on the flat and in 10 years not one road bike can keep up[ with me let alone overtake.

i even nuke the just eat riders with 1000w hub motors

 

[Nealh]

The pedleton uses a basic simple speed controller with simple pedal assist vs the more sophosticated torque censor controlled input.
The pendleton will deliver max current up to the speed cut off so will waft anyone along with ease, the TS cube is the opposite and is dependant on the rider input effort.
That said the TS cube should provide recognisable power delivery when the pedals are pressed, so there maybe a set up issue or programming issue.
I have a tsdz2 TS kit mid drive and the power delivery is very noticeable.