Throttles and the EEC

[andrewelectricbike1]

Ian



this is the point i was making but i thought i had seen a bike advertised that had a gear leaver type control which stayed where you put it,this would not be within the current law surely,or if you made an adjustment that stopped the throttle returning automatically.

mike

My power on demand requires user intervention. It returns to the off position when I take my thumb away.. some Giant bikes in the US have cruise control.

 

[ITSPETEINIT]

Throttle - default to off

My power on demand requires user intervention. It returns to the off position when I take my thumb away.. some Giant bikes in the US have cruise control.

Yes. The throttle must require user intervention to be legal and return to 'off' when the 'hand' is removed.
I found this to be somewhat annoying on my Torq because I cannot 'exercise' my left hand to restore blood circulation, which has been interrupted by the hard grip AND the constant need for that hand to be in contact with the throttle. So I put a 'bind' in the movement by slackening the allen-key fixing, pressing the throttle on hard so that the end of the handlebar interferes with the inside of the rubber grip and re-tightening the allen screw.
It works very well: but I can see how it might cause problems if circumstances combine in situations where stopping in haste is required and the left hand is pre-occupied somewhere else.
The braking motor switches would prevent a total disaster but not on the latest Sprint where the brake switches have been removed (left off).
I thought these brake switches were also a requirement of e-bike law.
Peter

 

[flecc]

I thought these brake switches were also a requirement of e-bike law.
Peter

I know they've never been on the Euro pedelec versions, but I'm not sure about the UK. Can't see the point of such a regulation though, motor cycles with hundreds of times the power have never had them.
.

 

[ITSPETEINIT]

Motors switched to 'off' on braking.

I know they've never been on the Euro pedelec versions, but I'm not sure about the UK. Can't see the point of such a regulation though, motor cycles with hundreds of times the power have never had them.
.

Hello Flecc:
I've just found the 'reference' to my comment that brake switches were a legal requirement.
From the Wisper add (on this page to your right):

To conform with EEC regulations this bike automatically cuts off the power under braking and the throttle only feature can be turned off when on the public highway.

Peter

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Off Road Setting?

Hi Jed,

Yep!!

Best regards David

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Power cut on brakeing

Originally Posted by flecc
I know they've never been on the Euro pedelec versions, but I'm not sure about the UK. Can't see the point of such a regulation though, motor cycles with hundreds of times the power have never had them.
.

That does make sense Flecc, I believe the reason behind the regulation on ebikes is, as you don't need to have ridden a bike before let alone passed a test to ride an ebike, the extra safety feature is important, especially for 14 year olds.

I imagine another reason is when you lock the back wheel of a motorbike the engine will immediately stall where an electric motor would carry on trying to drive the bike regardless of whether the back wheel was locked or not.

Best regards David

 

[Haku]

The Urban Mover bikes have a throttle failsafe, if you stop the back wheel from turning and then use the throttle, after a few seconds the power will be cut off.

 

[MaryinScotland]

In reality there is no reason to prohibit the provision of a throttle on a pedelec as long as it does not override the crank sensor, it simply gives the rider the ability to reduce the amount of assist available to less than the rated motor power.
Ian.

Sorry, I'm coming in a bit late on this. What Ian describes, a throttle to let you reduce power input when pedalling, is useful in its own right, and is something I really wish I had on my Urban Mover 55. I don't always need full power, and if I could reduce the input, I'd get more exercise and the battery charge would last longer. But when UM is controlled by pedal sensor, it's giving you full blast, whether you want it or not.

Yes, it does also have a throttle, which over-rides the pedal sensor. That gives me the pull-away boost, which as noted elsewhere, is useful. But the throttle will only drive the bike up to 10 mph, so it's only giving me partial power and isn't practical for when I'm going along. The old Heinzmann-powered bike I used to have was completely throttle-controlled. I liked being able to put in as much effort as I felt like (usually to about 12 mph) then "top-up" with the motor, for hills and headwinds. With the UM, I can't contribute unless I get the speed up to >15mph, something I don't always want to do on congested city roads.

If pedelec-only ever becomes firm law in Britain, I could live with that, but I'd still like to control the power input, even when I'm turning the pedals. A useful modification to the law would be to allow throttle-only power up to 5 mph, to cover the pull-away situation.

Mary

 

[flecc]

A useful modification to the law would be to allow throttle-only power up to 5 mph, to cover the pull-away situation.

Mary

Strongly agree with that Mary, since it also allows power when walking alongside a bike up a very steep hill which it couldn't climb otherwise. That's a major failing of pedelec, if you and the bike can't get up one of the steepest hills, you then have the doubly exhausting job of pushing that heavy electric bike uphill.

There's many other circumstances when power can be used like that with advantage, such as walking the bike along a pedestrian only pavement or path which happens to be an uphill slope.
.

 

[Haku]

maryinoxford, I had a go on two different Urban Mover bikes when I first visited their main unit, the first was like yours in that it gives full power when it senses the bike is moving and you're pedalling, the 2nd had the optional torque sensor on the pedal chainring and it made pedalling at slower speeds much easier.
I bought the latest version of the UM36 with the lithium battery and the torque sensor.

As using the throttle overrides the torque sensor (I don't know if it does with the full-on power of the non-torque sensor setups) it means when I'm low on battery power I can use the throttle to give a little bit of help up the hills, meaning I have to pedal harder but it doesn't drain the battery as much.
I agree though, a power limiter would be a nice option so you can make the battery last longer by having to pedal a bit harder on the hills.