Riding technique

[Anthonyexmouth]

Just started riding a rear hub ebike. I find myself staying in top gear and just adjusting the assist setting. Is there a better way? Just drained my battery 17ah and covered just short of 30 miles. I'm what polite people call big boned. Is this a fair kinda milage?

 

[kangooroo]

I'm the opposite, both in build and approach.

I tend to stay in the top power mode (on my bike which produces a varying amount of power) but work the gears from 1 to 7. Although on maximum power, sometimes the motor won't kick in at all or produce just a small amount of power if I'm on just a slight incline. Mostly I cycle in hilly area.

I have a 15.6Ah battery which gives me about 60 miles in a hilly area.

(I'm a light build, weigh 52kg and a carry a load of about 6kg or 15kg when bike-camping.)

 

[Anthonyexmouth]

I'm the opposite, both in build and approach.

I tend to stay in the top power mode (on my bike which produces a varying amount of power) but work the gears from 1 to 7. Although on maximum power, sometimes the motor won't kick in at all or produce just a small amount of power if I'm on just a slight incline. Mostly I cycle in hilly area.

I have a 15.6Ah battery which gives me about 60 miles in a hilly area.

(I'm a light build, weigh 52kg and a carry a load of about 6kg or 15kg when bike-camping.)

I'm twice your weight so half the distance seems right.
Mines quite a heavy downhill bike so maybe not the best for the job. Top gear gets me to 17-18 mph at that speed on the flat the motor has cut out. Tempted to say to hell with warranty and find out how to derestrict it.

 

[Nealh]

With my Q128c I tend to use 7th the most as I can spin nicely for 18-19 mph and 8th once I get a nice rythm going on a straight with up to 21mph under perfect conditions. 9th barely used as I can't get a decent cadence/rpm going and actually makes be slower so this is used for descents mainly where I can go over 21 mph. All this with 48t chain ring, the compromise is about selecting the gearing for your strength's/ability.
Hovering between 12s12lbs and 13st4lbs my 3 yr old tiring 14.5 ah batteries get me about 25/30 road miles.

 

[Anthonyexmouth]

Must count teeth on front. I guess I should just get used to using the new power and gears together. I think my problem is forgetting to change down when I stop and just pulling away again in top.
Is your q128 derestricted?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You should use the gears to get comfortable pedalling at whatever speed the motor wants to take the bike. If you turn the motor power down, you'll go slower and further. The harder you pedal, the further you go.

I was the same weight as you at Xmas (105kg). I stopped eating pies, and now my weight is down to 82kg. that's down from 16.5 stone to 12.9 stone. it's a lot easier to pedal a bike now. My electric bike is too fast for me now, so I don't use it so much. Instead, I use a road bike for fun and my electric bike for shopping, visiting and things like that. you could do the same. it's surprisingly easy. You just have to decide to do it.

 

[Anthonyexmouth]

I put on 6 stone last year after a back injury. Going from very active in building trade to laying down all day really done me in. Now I'm feeling a little better I think it's this weight stopping me from doing most things. Can't fit in my drysuit for diving . Lol.
So do you think my pedal assist is topping out at current rather than speed?
What kinda process is involved in derestricting?

As for pedaling, on the flat I get to 16mph , motor cuts and I get about 1-1.5 mph past that. Just feel getting to 20mph would be just right. Maybe that will come when I'm lighter.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

What bike is it then?

 

[Anthonyexmouth]

What bike is it then?

350w BPM rear wheel kit from woosh with downtube battery, controller in battery mount and king meter j-lcd

 

[Nealh]

Must count teeth on front. I guess I should just get used to using the new power and gears together. I think my problem is forgetting to change down when I stop and just pulling away again in top.
Is your q128 derestricted?

My cst is derestricted.
I use pas 3 sometimes 2, level 4 & 5 are for hills where the extra torque is very noticeable.

 

[Nealh]

350w BPM rear wheel kit from woosh with downtube battery, controller in battery mount and king meter j-lcd

I have the front wheel kit and KM J-Lcd will do just over 19mph on pas 3.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

350w BPM rear wheel kit from woosh with downtube battery, controller in battery mount and king meter j-lcd

OK, it can go a bit faster, but range will decrease a bit too.

 

[Nealh]

I have the front wheel kit and KM J-Lcd will do just over 19mph on pas 3.

The difference here then is my 20a Luishi controller is torque control and sited remotely and Anthoney's HL controller integrated (17a ?) is speed control the speed difference is in the programming or a gearing difference.

 

[gray198]

You should use the gears to get comfortable pedalling at whatever speed the motor wants to take the bike. If you turn the motor power down, you'll go slower and further. The harder you pedal, the further you go.

I was the same weight as you at Xmas (105kg). I stopped eating pies, and now my weight is down to 82kg. that's down from 16.5 stone to 12.9 stone. it's a lot easier to pedal a bike now. My electric bike is too fast for me now, so I don't use it so much. Instead, I use a road bike for fun and my electric bike for shopping, visiting and things like that. you could do the same. it's surprisingly easy. You just have to decide to do it.

You need to write a diet book. You'll make a fortune

 

[Deleted member 4366]

There's nothing clever about diets. Everybody knows what you have to do, but somehow they can't bring themselves to do it. It's similar to giving up smoking: It's dead easy. You just have to stop lighting the fags and sticking them in your mouth.

 

[Anthonyexmouth]

It's not easy in a world that gave us Pringles and pasties.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

These might help:

 

[VictoryV]

You need to write a diet book. You'll make a fortune

"A starter for 10" brought me down from 92Kg to 72 Kg in 1 year

 

[topographer]

Not having bad food in the house helps somewhat, but many households have what's know as an enabler (the one who does the shopping).

 

[Deleted member 4366]

"A starter for 10" brought me down from 92Kg to 72 Kg in 1 year

It looks like you missed a major factor in your calculations. They're correct for how many calories it takes to pedal at 100w, but the human body has a very low efficiency in converting food into energy. I think it's around 20% to 25%. That would mean that you need to eat about 400 Calories per hour to maintain 100W.

For long cycle rides, they reckon you need 60g of carbohydrates per hour, which is about 240C/h, but I guess that's for these club cyclists that don't have a gram of fat on them to burn. I usually do my three hour rides without anything, though I have my Weetabix before setting off. That must be 600 Calories, plus I have god knows how many calories stored in the next 15kg I need to shed. every kg I shed makes it 1% easier to pedal up hills. I can really feel the difference week by week.

The rest of what you wrote is sound. That's basically what I did. I just cut out cakes, biscuits, sweets, cheese, bread, potatoes and Pizzas. Now I eat meat, fish fruit, vegetables, cereals and rice, but when I go out for a meal (not very often), I allow myself anything on the menu as a treat.