What assist levels do you usually use on e-road bikes?

[Stefan Mikes]

It's not for sale in Europe unfortunately and probably never will with the great orange one's new tariff regime and as a US brand I'm not familiar with Ride1UP except on here

Wanna bet it is made in China and a subject to severe U.S. tariffs now?
Name bike/e-bike components manufactured in the U.S.

@Katrina92 have a look at a Specialized Creo 2 before the prices skyrocket. That's all what I'm saying

 

[Katrina92]

Wanna bet it is made in China and a subject to severe U.S. tariffs now?
Name bike/e-bike components manufactured in the U.S.

@Katrina92 have a look at a Specialized Creo 2 before the prices skyrocket. That's all what I'm saying

OMG. Looks like I gotta decide on this quick.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Wanna bet it is made in China and a subject to severe U.S. tariffs now?
Name bike/e-bike components manufactured in the U.S.

@Katrina92 have a look at a Specialized Creo 2 before the prices skyrocket. That's all what I'm saying

Pretty much all bikes are made in China or Taiwan with parts also made in places like Vietnam. These tariffs will affect everywhere eventually because of international bounce as most manufacturers will be forced to up prices to compensate for extra expenses. We are all going to take a hit. Plus Europe will be flooded with cheap Chinese bikes/products once destined for the US also putting pressure on main bike brands. I would hate to be a struggling bike brand right now future looking bleak. Expect more bankruptcies and further consolidation medium term. Looking at cars especially EVs Chinese brands seem to be able to take the tariff hit because of Chinese Govt support and a lower base price to start with. With further tariffs what happens is some governments start desperately doing likewise to support local firms. Attempting to lock out foreign companies or at least compete. U.K. talking about doing that this very morning but the knock on for consumers is it's a real mess. Bottom line prices go up and up in the chaos and of course it spirals as recession hits and mass unemployment and then nobody has money in pocket to pay for luxuries like that must have fancy new ebike!!

 

[jabberwocky]

Wanna bet it is made in China and a subject to severe U.S. tariffs now?
Name bike/e-bike components manufactured in the U.S.

There are some small, high end part manufacturers in the US, but I don't think its possible to assemble a complete bike from US components. And even those small manufacturers are likely using at least some imported materials. Just for example, China is by far the worlds leader in aluminum production. The story with steel is largely the same. So even if you're, say, Chris King or LH Thomson and manufacture everything in the US, your prices are still going up because raw material prices are going up.

 

[John Bowman]

There are some small, high end part manufacturers in the US, but I don't think its possible to assemble a complete bike from US components. And even those small manufacturers are likely using at least some imported materials. Just for example, China is by far the worlds leader in aluminum production. The story with steel is largely the same. So even if you're, say, Chris King or LH Thomson and manufacture everything in the US, your prices are still going up because raw material prices are going up.

Taiwan bicycle tubing factory. Products imported and stocked in USA.
https://www.fairing.com/blog/2019/7/19/new-bicycle-frame-depot

 

[John Bowman]

To answer OP, depends how far and fast I want to go.
If 60 miles, only use PAS 3 on climbs.
If 40 miles, PAS 2 and 3.
25 miles, PAS 4 and 5 go 28 mph.

 

[6zfshdb]

For long rides, greater than 30 miles or so, I generally don't use PAS at all. Instead, I set the cruise control to my desired speed and apply pedal pressure to assist the bike, rather than it assisting me. On average, this technique gives me a 14% increase in range by eliminating wasteful current spikes caused by the uneven pedal pressure applied while using PAS..

 

[spokewrench]

Spikes and surges...

A few months ago I did an experiment where I measured battery voltage in hundredths to estimate how much energy I used. First I found that I could climb a certain hill with no motor at 3.5 mph. I recorded voltage and climbed it again, this time rolling on just enough throttle to climb at 7 mph with the same pedal effort. I recorded the voltage.

That low speed was handy because in still air, air drag is insignificant. It's all about the energy to gain altitude. I climbed it again using motor only at 7 mph. I measured the voltage. I'd used just about twice the energy as the time before, meaning that the time before, my legs had supplied half the energy, as I'd intended. A little throttle had saved time and leg energy getting up that hill.

I climbed it again with no pedal power and full throttle, noted the terminal speed, and checked the voltage. Climbing the hill required the same number of joules as at 7 mph, but it also took a lot of joules to accelerate to the higher speed. That was easy to calculate, as was an estimate of air drag joules, which was relatively small. I added it up and found that the loss in battery energy was about 50% greater. I seem to have a 25 amp controller, and opening the throttle to 25 amps greatly reduces the efficiency of converting chemical energy into electrical energy.

I use my half twist-thottle like a cruise control. Because I can feel how far I'm turning it, I may let my speed drop on a hill, rather than demand amperage that's inefficient for the battery. My display reads 195 miles since the last charge, and I'm still 57% charged.