andersons
1 µW
Hello everyone, first time posting here. I've been researching ebikes for quite some time. After reading elsewhere on the Internet as well as here, especially the epic long BBS02 thread, I thought that the BBS02 would be my best bang-for-the-buck choice for me. However, I got to ride my neighbor's rig last week, and there were a couple things I didn't love:
1) On PAS 1, which seems to be the lowest level (I assume Level 0 is off), there is too much assist on flat road. I would like to feel like I'm doing most of the work on Level 1. I can't even imagine what Level 5 is doing; even on a steep hill, I never went above Level 2.
2) Trying to apply just a little throttle to get started from a stop at an intersection, I felt like the throttle shot me out of a cannon. It wasn't this bad every time, but it seemed difficult/impossible to get a smooth acceleration ramp in general. Her setup has a thumb throttle.
3) It was really hard to start from a stop without some motor assistance. The motor doesn't seem to start till I've pedaled a couple revolutions, which was hard to do on her bike, maybe her gear ratios plus her rig is very heavy. I understand that this is probably a limitation of the cadence sensor PAS. So I used the throttle to get started, which is fine except a bit faster acceleration than I'd prefer sometimes, as mentioned above.
So my question is, Is a lower level of PAS possible with different programming or a different display/settings? Hers appears to be the 961 and had PAS levels 0-5. The kit I rode came from Lunacycle, which says that it comes with custom firmware programming for more power, so is it possible I would be happier with stock, non-Luna settings?
And, is it easier to apply less acceleration with, say, the twist throttle vs the thumb throttle?
I've read some threads here with similar issues, so I get the picture that might be just how the BBS02 is. I am planning to have my husband install the kit on my steel frame Jamis Coda Sport commuter. I am looking to replace mostly short 6-10 mile car trips with ebiking for a bit of exercise, fun, and vastly reduced carbon emissions. I will be towing my kid to school, planning to use a tagalong bike for him. (The traffic at dropoff is ridiculous, and biking in should actually be faster and easier than navigating the snarl of 800 SUVs on a tiny residential street at one of the largest schools in California that has no parking lot.) I have done the commute on a regular bike, but the long hill to get home, with the typical 15 mph headwind, towing a kid and maybe some groceries, exhausts me too much to do more than 3X a week. And there are 10 trips just for school alone.
I researched this over a year ago, but didn't pull the trigger to buy back then because of a back injury. After trying out the BBS02, I'm sure I can live with it, but wondered if I'd be happier with a torque sensing kit like the TDSZ2 or even a Bosch ebike... I don't have any fixed budget, but I'm just frugal, so the ~$1200 for the Bafang is much more appealing than a $4200 Bosch rig, especially for my first foray into ebikes. I do like the throttle and higher PAS levels for times that I'm tired, hot, or don't want to get too sweaty, so I'm not sure if I want a PAS to make me work hard all the time. It just seems that ideally, the different PAS levels should let me CHOOSE how hard I want to work. With my neighbor's BBS02, the only time I can get exercise is to turn PAS off to Level 0 on the flats, and pedal hard on the hills.
Thanks for reading,
Susan
1) On PAS 1, which seems to be the lowest level (I assume Level 0 is off), there is too much assist on flat road. I would like to feel like I'm doing most of the work on Level 1. I can't even imagine what Level 5 is doing; even on a steep hill, I never went above Level 2.
2) Trying to apply just a little throttle to get started from a stop at an intersection, I felt like the throttle shot me out of a cannon. It wasn't this bad every time, but it seemed difficult/impossible to get a smooth acceleration ramp in general. Her setup has a thumb throttle.
3) It was really hard to start from a stop without some motor assistance. The motor doesn't seem to start till I've pedaled a couple revolutions, which was hard to do on her bike, maybe her gear ratios plus her rig is very heavy. I understand that this is probably a limitation of the cadence sensor PAS. So I used the throttle to get started, which is fine except a bit faster acceleration than I'd prefer sometimes, as mentioned above.
So my question is, Is a lower level of PAS possible with different programming or a different display/settings? Hers appears to be the 961 and had PAS levels 0-5. The kit I rode came from Lunacycle, which says that it comes with custom firmware programming for more power, so is it possible I would be happier with stock, non-Luna settings?
And, is it easier to apply less acceleration with, say, the twist throttle vs the thumb throttle?
I've read some threads here with similar issues, so I get the picture that might be just how the BBS02 is. I am planning to have my husband install the kit on my steel frame Jamis Coda Sport commuter. I am looking to replace mostly short 6-10 mile car trips with ebiking for a bit of exercise, fun, and vastly reduced carbon emissions. I will be towing my kid to school, planning to use a tagalong bike for him. (The traffic at dropoff is ridiculous, and biking in should actually be faster and easier than navigating the snarl of 800 SUVs on a tiny residential street at one of the largest schools in California that has no parking lot.) I have done the commute on a regular bike, but the long hill to get home, with the typical 15 mph headwind, towing a kid and maybe some groceries, exhausts me too much to do more than 3X a week. And there are 10 trips just for school alone.
I researched this over a year ago, but didn't pull the trigger to buy back then because of a back injury. After trying out the BBS02, I'm sure I can live with it, but wondered if I'd be happier with a torque sensing kit like the TDSZ2 or even a Bosch ebike... I don't have any fixed budget, but I'm just frugal, so the ~$1200 for the Bafang is much more appealing than a $4200 Bosch rig, especially for my first foray into ebikes. I do like the throttle and higher PAS levels for times that I'm tired, hot, or don't want to get too sweaty, so I'm not sure if I want a PAS to make me work hard all the time. It just seems that ideally, the different PAS levels should let me CHOOSE how hard I want to work. With my neighbor's BBS02, the only time I can get exercise is to turn PAS off to Level 0 on the flats, and pedal hard on the hills.
Thanks for reading,
Susan