Most of my e-bikes have been class-3 (45 km/h, 28 mph). But I've also ridden many class 1 e-bikes (32km/h, 20 mph), and bikes limited to 25 km/h.
I wasn't very satisfied with 25 km/h (15.5 mph) for commuting. I can usually ride as fast or faster than that on a muscle bike, so it didn't add a lot to the experience for me.
32 km/h was a lot better, but still less than I preferred for commuting, or for many recreational rides. That's close to my normal cruising speed on a muscle bike.
So I migrated to class 3 bikes, not necessarily because I wanted the full 45 km/h, but because I wanted something more than 32.
I finally got a bike where I'm able to manipulate the top assisted speed, anywhere from 25-60 km/h, and I can set each level of assist separately. That's allowed me to play with a bunch of different top speeds each ride, to get a sense of what I really want. Crazy fast can be fun, but it reduces range so I've been trying to find the sweet spot between adrenaline and energy efficiency.
I've found that for me, I quite like:
- a 32 km/h (20 mph) mode to be legal for use on local multi-use trails, or when nursing a low battery home
- a 38 km/h (23.6 mph) mode for riding on roads
- a 60 km/h mode (37.3 mph) mode for riding on highways and private property.
I should note that this particular bike starts cutting out at the speed you set it to, but gradually reduces assist for the next 2 km/h. So for a mode set to 38 kmh/, it starts cutting out at that and is fully cut out by the time you hit 40 km/h (24.9 mph).
I intend to explore doing long-distance touring this spring in a 25 km/h assisted mode, to get really long range on a charge.
So my question to all of you is, what top speed do you all really want? Any of you with 25 of 32 km/h bikes that long for a little more? Anyone with a 45 km/h bike that would be content with a little less? If you could set each mode of assist independently, would you and (if so) what would you set each mode to?
So my question is, if your e-bike was tuneable, what would you tune it to? Would you tune each mode of assist to the same top speed, or would you create a selection of top assisted speeds for different places you ride?