Roger_H wrote:Cugel wrote:kwackers wrote:Mine doesn't it's all cadence based.
On level one the max cadence is about 45 rpm, on two about 50 rpm and on 5 about 100rmp (just guessing at the numbers).
The motor starts to reduce power as you approach that cadence.
So pootling around on L1 simply means pedalling lazily, if you pedal faster then there's no input from the motor.
Still get a nice push off the start though.
Levels 3 & 4 have cadences that are similar to my normal riding so I'm just on the edge of what's comfy and I'm adding useful power to the bike whilst getting a useful amount of assist.
(There's also speed based limits, which are lower for the lower powers and higher for the higher ones).
It sounds a bit odd, and indeed it originally felt odd but after about 10 mins I'd gotten used to it. Now it's just second nature.
That's interesting. It seems, then, that there are various schemes implemented in different e-bike motor-controller software.
I had a hunt about after the last post about the Focus Parlane2 and found a user-downloadable software thing from Fazua that reports details of various kinds on the motor's behavior during a ride. It isn't clear, yet, how one obtains this data to populate such a report, though. I'll keep looking. I wonder if the LBS software interface, also available from Fazua, would allow tweaks to the power output profiles given in response to the controller setting, strain gauge measurements and wheel speed?
In passing, I also noticed a German manufacturer selling a cheater box for the Fazua, which one attaches in place of the rear wheel magnet sensor. This magic box then lies about the wheel revs, reducing the rev count reported to the motor software so that the motor will continue to work up to 20mph instead of cutting ut at 15.5mph. They want 150 euros for it, the rascals!
Personally I think the 15-5mph cut-off is fine - although something clever that could keep giving motor power up to 20mph but at a decreasing rate might be useful to club riders needing to keep up because their own wattage is compromised.
Cugel
What you've found out about different power delivery profiles is really interesting. It does indeed mean there is more to the issue than BB or rear hub motor.
Of curse some things are a given - for example a 250Wh motor is just that and my guess would be that means you've got around 200Wh of usable power which you can take how you want. Clearly some strategies will be more helpful for the battery than others, but even eeking out the power you're not going to get 400Wh from a nominal 250Wh battery!
There are various web pieces about how to hack e-bikes to take them over the EU's 25kph limit - but whilst this might give a thrill the battery won't have any more capacity! I guess there is a potential warranty issue here, but given the same bikes are sold in the US with a 30kph ceiling, there wouldn't appear engineering concerns in a few extra kph.
But thanks again - I'll try searching around the areas you've been looking at on power delivery strategies. (FWIW I couldn't decide if this type of thing was beyond the Ribble support team or they just didn't want to answer detailed questions about what they meant by "range up to"!)
When hunting for the right e-bike to suit the ladywife's requirements, we looked at several in the metal (or carbon) including the Ribble. We went to their shop front just south of Preston but found the experience very unhelpful, with uninterested staff who knew nothing of the details of the e-bike, only the advert-blurb, which is all about image with little of substance.
In the end we dismissed the Ribble partly out of inability to discover it's details but also because the configuration didn't seem right. In particular, a rear wheel motor would make it very expensive to swap wheelsets, as you'd need to have a new motor built into the back wheel. Their seatpost is also a peculiar and proprietary shape, so that couldn't be swapped for a more compliant version. And it's relatively difficult to remove the battery and motor to make it an ordinary bike.
We rejected the Orbea e-bikes for similar reasons, eventually getting a Focus Parlane2 from Wheelbase as they had a Black Friday 20%-off-everything week, including the 105 geared carbon framed version of the Parlane2.
The Parlane seemed to have a better overall design, particularly of the motor arrangement, as it and the battery can be dropped out of (and put back into) the frame in a second. It can easily be ridden as an ordinary unassisted bike of 10kg, then. The mid-section motor, battery and gearbox also make it extremely stable on the road. It flies down hills as if on the proverbial rails. It does have slightly strange wheels of a wider-than-normal axle width, supposedly to give a better chainline with the gearbox (which sticks the chainset out an extra bit).
We did read that the rear wheel motor design employed in the Orbea (and seemingly the Ribble) tend to run on a bit after the rider stops pedaling - that the presence and effects of the motor assistance is much more evident with the rear wheel motor than with the Fazua motor found in the Focus Parlane and others. Whether this is an inherent aspect of the design or just something to do with the controller software I don't know.
Cugel