Newbie pedelec questions

[Michael Rose]

Hi all,

New to the electric bike world, had one for less than a week and have a few questions, mainly about weight, drag and noise.

I have the greenedge CS2 from ebikes direct and so far its a very capable bike for commuting up and down the many hills of sheffield, really happy with it. i've done a 10 mile today and only used up 2 bars of my 5 bar battery so not bad considering the hills and the amount of assist you need.

So here's my questions.

1 - the bike is 19kg before I get on it and I'm average build and weight, it has 6 gears but when the motor stops assisting the drop in speed is very quick and when power assist is off and in first gear its a real struggle to get the bike moving and keep it moving under my own leg power. Does that seem natural to anyone?

2 - I'm not sure what kind of noises the motor should be producing so not sure what is perfectly normal and what is not. Any newbie advice with regards to this would be helpful and greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[soundwave]

with only 6 gears getting 19kg and thats light for a ebike will be hard work with you on it as well.

not sure what options you have cassette wise but my bike with no power is like pushing a tank down the road.

so dont run out of battery.

 

[Emo Rider]

Hi all,

New to the electric bike world, had one for less than a week and have a few questions, mainly about weight, drag and noise.

I have the greenedge CS2 from ebikes direct and so far its a very capable bike for commuting up and down the many hills of sheffield, really happy with it. i've done a 10 mile today and only used up 2 bars of my 5 bar battery so not bad considering the hills and the amount of assist you need.

So here's my questions.

1 - the bike is 19kg before I get on it and I'm average build and weight, it has 6 gears but when the motor stops assisting the drop in speed is very quick and when power assist is off and in first gear its a real struggle to get the bike moving and keep it moving under my own leg power. Does that seem natural to anyone?

2 - I'm not sure what kind of noises the motor should be producing so not sure what is perfectly normal and what is not. Any newbie advice with regards to this would be helpful and greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

First thing l would check is my tyre pressure. Inflate to the maximum recommended pressure for the least rolling resistance. Under inflated tyres can make it feel like you are in a field of mud. A floor pump with a gauge or a petrol station hose will do the job. A hand pump and feeling if the tyre is hard usually doesn't work.

Secondly, when l reach my cut off, l always downshift one or two gears to
bring up my pedaling cadence (l have 8 gears). The motor cutting out at 15mph again brings on the field of mud effect.

Lastly, lubricate your chain at least once a month at the same time you check your tyre pressure. Hope this helps.

 

[soundwave]

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/greenedge-cs2.18954/

 

[Michael Rose]

First thing l would check is my tyre pressure. Inflate to the maximum recommended pressure for the least rolling resistance. Under inflated tyres can make it feel like you are in a field of mud. A floor pump with a gauge or a petrol station hose will do the job. A hand pump and feeling if the tyre is hard usually doesn't work.

Secondly, when l reach my cut off, l always downshift one or two gears to
bring up my pedaling cadence (l have 8 gears). The motor cutting out at 15mph again brings on the field of mud effect.

Lastly, lubricate your chain at least once a month at the same time you check your tyre pressure. Hope this helps.

Thanks Emo, sounds like natural behaviour, i checked the tyres last night just in case and all is good. Good to know the 'mud' feeling is a normal thing.

 

[grldtnr]

First thing l would check is my tyre pressure. Inflate to the maximum recommended pressure for the least rolling resistance. Under inflated tyres can make it feel like you are in a field of mud. A floor pump with a gauge or a petrol station hose will do the job. A hand pump and feeling if the tyre is hard usually doesn't work.

Secondly, when l reach my cut off, l always downshift one or two gears to
bring up my pedaling cadence (l have 8 gears). The motor cutting out at 15mph again brings on the field of mud effect.

Lastly, lubricate your chain at least once a month at the same time you check your tyre pressure. Hope this helps.

Strongly advise against using a garage forecourt high pressure pump on a cycle tyre WITHOUT EXTREME CARE! a sure way to burst both tube and tyre.

A stirrup pump at home is good enough.

 

[SteveRuss]

[QUOTE="Michael Rose, post: 297501, member: 1612
1 - the bike is 19kg before I get on it and I'm average build and weight, it has 6 gears but when the motor stops assisting the drop in speed is very quick and when power assist is off and in first gear its a real struggle to get the bike moving and keep it moving under my own leg power. Does that seem natural to anyone?

Thanks,
Mike[/QUOTE]

The ad claims that the 19kg is the 'frame weight'. I couldn't see the overall weight so maybe it's actually heavier than that.

My 23kg Kalhoff (total weight) is hard to ride without the motor assisting you. That's pretty damn heavy. The Eco mode only actually removes the feeling of the excessive weight of the bike away.

I doubt there are many true e-bikes that are easy to ride with the assist off.

 

[Emo Rider]

Strongly advise against using a garage forecourt high pressure pump on a cycle tyre WITHOUT EXTREME CARE! a sure way to burst both tube and tyre.

A stirrup pump at home is good enough.

A garage air hose without gauge or the ability to be set should indeed be avoided. If a forecourt pump is able to be set to the correct pressure, for example 65psi or 4.50bar, there should be no problem at all. I use them when I need them otherwise a floor/stirrup pump with gauge is absolutely fine.

 

[Benjahmin]

I have a self converted Carrera Crossfire3, all in (panniers, toolkit water bottlr etc.etc.) it weighs 28Kg. Without power it is an absolute pig and I can only get about 5mph out of it. Put it on level 2/5 and I fly along at 12-14mph. I run front tyre at max pressure and rear at about 45psi, for comfort.
p.s. check your brakes aren't binding, even a little bit

 

[Tomtomato]

My 23kg Kalhoff (total weight) is hard to ride without the motor assisting you. That's pretty damn heavy. The Eco mode only actually removes the feeling of the excessive weight of the bike away.

I also have a Kalkhoff bike, and it feels heavy to ride without any assistance, so I tend to use it always with minimal assistance.

For some reasons, it feels harder to ride unpowered than a Boris London bike, despite the weight likely to be similar.

I think the Eco mode compensate the additional weight, but does a bit more, as there is no way I could ride the same mileage with an equivalent lighter push bike.