Orbea Gain - first ride

[BertYardbrush]

Beginner question - is the lwoc light on the charger (which I haven't used yet)

I don't have a smartphone which I presume is needed to connect to the Dealer APP.

The Iwoc button is the one on the top tube that turns the motor on, controls the power setting and indicates approximately how much power is left.
Dealers have their own version of the app which can be used for fault diagnosis etc. They will be able to connect to your bike directly.
A smartphone is not necessary, you're not missing out on much, the app is 'in development' and needs a lot of work before anyone can have proper confidence in it.

[Cugel]

Interesting.. the thing that i find a bit confusing is and I speak from an extensive background in high ticket business, within the UK imv Orbea seem backed up by the consensus of contributors & owners hereabouts who have expounded their views on E assistance their market aim is for those who were cyclists and are no longer as fit or as young to enable continued 2 wheeled leisure.. perhaps I am totally wrong but why therefore tie all the mods that can be achieved through exclusive use of a 'smart' phone, I don't have one, indeed as a user of cell technology since the mid 80's I was glad to be rid..I still use a small cellphone, but have no truck with apps and someone who I don't Know being able to track my location, after a lifetime of looking under my vehicles each time I used them..Admittedly Orbea have a very smooth motor action, emphasised to me last week when my chum on his 2nd Gain, had his up at the dealer for that add on battery, the guys, who as far as I was concerned knew the app but couldn't really sort other than say its all good running fine look here flashing the screen at me.. old guys and smart phones are worse than old guys and a readable dashboard... like Giants...will..

Indeed - I fit the profile of the "older person wanting to keep cycling" - and not a "Strava bunny" obsessed by performance, or the the minutiae of the stats from the app and the brain on the bike.

To me a couple of improvements to the Gain would be to make the very neat top-tube indicator/switch two "discs" - one with up/down buttons to toggle the power selection rather than scrolling through them in one direction; and the other as a separate simple battery indicator (same visual as the current (sorry!!) way that the button changes colour)

For all that it's a great machine - it's horses for courses with my use, riding both unpowered machines and the Gain

Rob

To achieve your wants you might consider an e-bike with a Fazua Evation motor and the associated controllers. Although reviewers tut about the simplicity and lack of swish in the bar-mounted controller, it's functionally very good. One may control the motor output and see the battery level very clearly. What more is needed?

It does allow some sort of software connection via a smartphone, with a simple "rider" as well as a complicate "dealer-only" option. Unless one is obsessed with riding data or wanting to change the power profiles for the various levels of assistance (which only the dealer software is allowed to do) it's really not needed.

Mind, I can never understand some lad's (and lass's) obsession with datafication of their rides. Personally I prefer no artificial construct between me and the riding pleasures. No bike computer, which is basically a slave-driving galley drummer. I suppose a case can be made for software to set up an e-bike motor to behave exactly as one wishes in terms of degree of assistance in various riding conditions for various rider types...... But the ladywife has no interest in such things, being too busy enjoying the ability to go up hills faster than me and buzz along at a reasonable speed when not climbing.

It's still a bike, not just an exercise machine.

Marketing men will try and sell us spurious accessories as this is the modern mode. We should always ask ourselves, "Do I want this for my reasons or for their reasons which I have been programmed to host".

CUgel

[NickWi]

.....but have no truck with apps and someone who I don't Know being able to track my location.....

Only if you chose to use it. The app only knows your location when it's switched on and paired to the bike, i.e. through the phones GPS system. If you don't have a smart phone or you don't use the app, then there's no problem; and even if you do have a smart phone and use the app then you can deny permission for the app to use your phones GPS location. Similarly you can deny your phone permission to use you GPS position completely (though a lot of apps throw a woobly and issue dire warnings of doom & gloon if you do this).

[peterb]

The app is much more stable now than it was when I first started to use it over a year ago. It rarely drops out now and I find displays of % charge left, estimated range remaining, distance covered, current speed, average speed very useful - many of the functions replicate those on the basic Sigma bike computer I use on other bikes. I use a dedicated Motorola phone on the bike - that's all I use it for (and emergency calls). I'm almost 72 BTW.

[Grandad]

I use a dedicated Motorola phone on the bike

Does this have to be linked to the internet to download the app?
If so, once it's downloaded can the internet connection be cut (or whatever the technical expression is)

[peterb]

I use a dedicated Motorola phone on the bike

Does this have to be linked to the internet to download the app?
If so, once it's downloaded can the internet connection be cut (or whatever the technical expression is)

I assume it is, others are probably better informed re the technicalities, the app is downloaded and updated via Google Playstore - and I upload the ride details to the Orbea Dashboard. I switch it off if not in use on the bike. I use another smartphone for everyday, though we have next to no signal (on any network), so prefer to use a landline at home.