Ebike pedalling style

Weird one this! I’ve noticed my partner, on her Trek Rail, pedals a few revolutions, then freewheels, maybe even back-pedals once, then goes back to pedaling. It’s a consistent method, pedal pedal bzzz pedal pedal pedal bzzzz… I’ve asked her why! Seems she likes to be in a higher gear, get the bike moving using her own power, combined with the Bosch, then stop pedalling to keep a consistent speed.

Odd to me, cos I pedal constantly, using the gears and/or power setting to keep a consistent speed. That way you can use as much or as little effort as you want.

Think there’s any downside, or even harm to the motor or freehub from the stop start style, or should I leave her to it!?

I know a couple of folk who pedal like that on a non-powered bicycle too.

It’s also apparent that many ebikers have a very, very low cadence – like they’ve no idea what gears are for. I reckon there’s a market for a fully automatic e-bike gearbox.

I know a couple of folk who pedal like that on a non-powered bicycle too

Yeah, she said she’s used to pedaling like it from normal cycling and finds it hard to change. If it was anyone else I might be mildly annoyed by it! :lol:

I do that very occasionally if I’m trying to get over a long rocky section or whatever. If I set mine to boost, there’s a small amount of overrun so rather than trying to keep pedalling over really rough stuff (when going slowly) you can just give the cranks a bit of a stab and get a shove forwards from the motor.

Wey occasional though. Normally I sit at around 90rpm

I ride my ebike pretty much how I ride my normal bike – same gear, (similar) cadence. Obviously there will be some differences due to the assist, but generally it’s as close as I can be. But then in eco, I only have 12% assist anyway – still easier than a normal bike

bens
I do that very occasionally if I’m trying to get over a long rocky section or whatever

Yeah, same. Freewheel without even knowing it over techy stuff, stood up. This behaviour is on the flat though. Probably not bad for the bike, but it’s a bit odd :)

I reckon there’s a market for a fully automatic e-bike gearbox.

Shimano have been making autoshift motors/gears for about a year now.

True. I was really thinking more along the lines of a gearbox – possibly CV style. I guess it would need to be linked to some sort of speed sensor, possibly in/on the rear wheel. It would likely feel very unnatural to experienced cyclists though.

As an Ebike rider thats the way I do it too. Pedal till i get to about 16mph, then freewheel till it drops a bit(about when the motor cuts off. Then again till reach max assistance speed, then freewheel again till it drops, then back on and of and on and off and so on and so forth.

I use turbo exclusively.

If you watch the local scrotes, they ride like that but stand up as well.

It means the people you ride with might have caught scroteness. :)

Hmmm. I’m relatively new to this e-bike malarkey. But my impression is that my e-bike works better with a relatively fast cadence.

I use turbo exclusively.

Crazy talk!

might have caught scroteness

Hey! That’s my lady you is talking about! :D

Still, sounds like it’s only me that is weirded out by this pedal pedal bzzzzz pedal pedal bzzzz pedal pedal pedal bzzzzz

Thinking about it, it kinda sounds like how I ride if my other half joins me on her bike.

I do it because she’s slow. Pedal, pedal, coast. Pedal, pedal coast. If I pedal constantly, I’d end up either pulling away or spinning an easy gear at a million rpm

Maybe she’s just being polite and doesn’t want to drop you?? Lol

If you believe what we read in the bike press that’s the wrong way to pedal an ebike. Apparently you should keep a cadence of around 75-85 rpm to maximise battery life and motor efficiency. I have an ebike and have tried this and it does seem to work.

Is this when she’s riding with you on a normal bike?

I find I do it on mine if I’m riding with someone slower / on a normal bike as it’s easy to go just a bit quicker than I mean to and for some reason rather than just pedalling slightly slower I freewheel for a while. I might do it on a normal bike too but it’s something I’ve only been aware of on the eeb.

Also from personal experience, let her ride it how she wants and don’t offer advice unless she asks… ;-)

It’s also apparent that many ebikers have a very, very low cadence – like they’ve no idea what gears are for.

Treating the motor modes like a front chainring – completely destroys drivetrains, putting massive torque through small cogs on the cassette climbing.   I think it’s very easy to do that with the Bosch motor – it will give a load of assistance from stop at low cadence so you can pull away in almost any gear (especially I think in EMTB mode where it just ups the assistance without a cap as I understand it)

I found myself doing that a bit with Lime bikes on the flat – as soon as you’re pedalling they give full assistance, you can pretty quickly get up to cut out speed, it feels like theres a lot of overrun on some of them (not all – but one I had felt like it had loads) and they’ve got no torque input sensor – I think just crank rotation, so you can spin with near zero effort and they keep powering.  Thinking about it – I now want to go and see what happens if you pedal backwards….if it’s just a crank rotation sensor I can’t see that it would be able to tell which way you were pedalling….

Apparently you should keep a cadence of around 75-85 rpm to maximise battery life and motor efficiency. I have an ebike and have tried this and it does seem to work.

Thats what i thought! I’m sure I read it somewhere.. and the motor can adapt to the power you give it (that’s probably some AI shite I made up in my head though :)

I do it because she’s slow. Pedal, pedal, coast. Pedal, pedal coast. If I pedal constantly, I’d end up either pulling away or spinning an easy gear at a million rpm

Maybe she’s just being polite and doesn’t want to drop you?

No, it’s the opposite way round! That was the chat we had.. I can go at a consistent pace with constant rpm, without spinning an easy gear. I don’t see the need to freewheel on the ebike to keep a pace on the flat.

I find I do it on mine if I’m riding with someone slower

I do it if I’m drafting someone. So the annoying clicking winds them up and makes them peddle a bit faster in the hope I’ll start peddling. Not talking ebikes, obv