Just bought Mokwheel bikes, did I make a mistake?
Posted by AstralMinotaur@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 8 comments
They're getting delivered in a couple days, I've been doing some research while I'm waiting for them. I found a video on Youtube that seems to show that the various pedal assist levels just alter the assist top speed, instead of altering how much assistance is provided (which is what I would expect). This seems like a really, REALLY odd design choice and not at all what I would want from various pedal assist levels.
Is this really how Mokwheel pedal assist modes operate? Is this how most ebike pedal assist modes operate?
nivaOne@reddit
I don’t see the problem. I never had the feeling that it felt unnatural or uncomfortable. My controller has 5 levels (cadence sensor) The lowest does not necessarily mean you have to pedal harder, you are just indicating that you do not plan to ride at max allowed speed. Over here it’s 25km/h. On level 1 it provides less assistance above 18 km/h. On level 5 it goes all the way up to 27km/h. I’m always on 2 or 3 unless I’m in a hurry. On 2 I can easily do a 80km trip. On 5 it’s a lot lower (provided I really sticked to 27km all the time).
Lordly_Lobster@reddit
I have a cadence sensor bike and the power rolls on/rolls off smoothly when my cadence slows/speeds up. Above a certain cadence the motor shuts off. At higher assist levels the power rolls on at a lower cadence and peaks higher, I think it really depends on the firmware installed on your controller.
hike2climb@reddit
You made a mistake. Don’t open the box. Just send them straight back. Buy an Aventon.
UsernameTaken1701@reddit
Sounds like cadence sensor bikes. Basically how all ebikes started, and some still are. The kind of system that provides help scaled to how hard you pedal is called a torque sensor. Most ebike systems seem to be shifting to torque sensors or systems where you can switch between them.
AstralMinotaur@reddit (OP)
It's got a hybrid sensor (torque at low speeds, cadence at high), but yeah, the PAS modes give you five different top speeds instead of changing the amount of assistance you get. To change the amount of power delivered, you have do dig into the config menu. I'd much prefer being able to change the amount of power via PAS mode, and have to dig into the menu to change top assist speed.
UsernameTaken1701@reddit
Their system sounds weird. Most combos like that are set up so the rider explicitly chooses if they want cadence behavior or torque behavior, not a strange blend.
HG1998@reddit
That's how they work. They basically just check whether you're turning the pedals.
What you want is the bike being able to sense how much power you're putting in and that's only possible with a torque sensor.
Arkitakama@reddit
Yeah, that's pretty much how the vast majority of e-bikes work. Even my more expensive one has a cadence sensor.