Hi to you all from the land of Oz. I turned to this site with the hopes of solving a ghosting problem. But I find that what you call ghosting does not relate to the problem my wife's fold up Velectrix has. Her bike is getting on in years. The problem is that when wheeled forward the pedals turn and if the battery is switched on the motor suddenly springs to life and the bike wants to sprint forward; sometimes very quickly. The dealer says the problem is not uncommon and is called ghosting and is due to a build up of dirt on the wheel shaft or something along those lines. The motor is on the front wheel so I suppose I need to take the rear wheel apart. I was looking for some utube videos that might be more precise to this 'ol fart in terms of repair. However, all I found was people replacing the forward part of the chain assembly making it larger, to reduce what you cause ghosting. Can anyone please tell me if there is a correct name for the problem we have and if anyone knows of any videos showing the fix. Interestingly, my neighbour discovered he had the same problem with his bike. Cheers in advance. John
Are there two types of ghosting?
- Thread starter meownbike
- Start date
Chargeride
Well-Known Member
I presume this is caused by a sticky freewheel turning the pedals?
Something I never thought of, you can't have a fixed wheel with a hub motor pedal assist, youd never stop accelerating
Something I never thought of, you can't have a fixed wheel with a hub motor pedal assist, youd never stop accelerating
I missed the humor so forgive me. Nevertheless you put me on the right track re a sticky freewheel and I did find videos on the repairs, so many thanks to you. JohnI presume this is caused by a sticky freewheel turning the pedals?
Something I never thought of, you can't have a fixed wheel with a hub motor pedal assist, youd never stop accelerating
Gionnirocket
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Y. O.
I've fixed sticky freewheels by injecting a little light weight oil along the seam of the fixed portion and the rotating portion.. It's on the back side of the freewheel.
They're usually pretty cheap if you just want to replace... Especially if the sprockets look worn.
Jeremy McCreary
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
Ghost pedaling, as I understand it, is a pedaling technique that tricks an ebike into delivering full power with minimal effort.
When your bike is going too fast for your pedaling to produce useful torque in a given gear— say, on a steep descent — some people refer to that as spinning out. (Other terms, anyone?) Very different from ghost-pedaling in the sense above. If you find yourself spinning out often in top gear in your local terrain, a gearing change may be in order.
Ghost pedaling is easiest to do on cadence-sensing ebikes that deliver full power whenever the pedals are turning, even at negligible pedal pressure, up to the max assisted speed set by assist level. In effect, this turns the crank into a crude on-off foot throttle.
My torque-sensing hub-drive allows me to max out assist level and get high motor power without much effort — at least ghost-pedaling in spirit. But when I do that in too low a gear for conditions, the motor power surges. Not severely, but too annoying for my taste.
So when I need a sudden burst of extra power — say, in traffic — usually much better to leave assist level alone and layer in some progressive on-demand thumb throttle instead. No surging, and just the boost I need for as long as I need it, pedaling all the while.
Don't see much pedaling effort from the zillions of school kids on cadence-sensing ebikes around here. Ditto for many adults. Most of the time, these riders seem to be either ghost-pedaling (in the sense above), or throttling around with no pedaling at all.
Some members look down on that kind of riding. But many of these folks are utility riders with no Tour de France aspirations. As long as they're riding responsibly, their call. Most represent a car not on the road.
When your bike is going too fast for your pedaling to produce useful torque in a given gear— say, on a steep descent — some people refer to that as spinning out. (Other terms, anyone?) Very different from ghost-pedaling in the sense above. If you find yourself spinning out often in top gear in your local terrain, a gearing change may be in order.
Ghost pedaling is easiest to do on cadence-sensing ebikes that deliver full power whenever the pedals are turning, even at negligible pedal pressure, up to the max assisted speed set by assist level. In effect, this turns the crank into a crude on-off foot throttle.
My torque-sensing hub-drive allows me to max out assist level and get high motor power without much effort — at least ghost-pedaling in spirit. But when I do that in too low a gear for conditions, the motor power surges. Not severely, but too annoying for my taste.
So when I need a sudden burst of extra power — say, in traffic — usually much better to leave assist level alone and layer in some progressive on-demand thumb throttle instead. No surging, and just the boost I need for as long as I need it, pedaling all the while.
Don't see much pedaling effort from the zillions of school kids on cadence-sensing ebikes around here. Ditto for many adults. Most of the time, these riders seem to be either ghost-pedaling (in the sense above), or throttling around with no pedaling at all.
Some members look down on that kind of riding. But many of these folks are utility riders with no Tour de France aspirations. As long as they're riding responsibly, their call. Most represent a car not on the road.
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PedalUma
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Petaluma, CA
A member of my town's City Counsel has turned me around. Just about anything to have fewer car trips in town is good. The town is four square miles and mostly flat, except for some residential on the far Westside. Just about anything a person could want or need is within 15 minutes by eBike. Counsel Person Brian helped a man who was over 350 pounds get an inexpensive eBike. After a year the man was down to 250 and off diabetic meds. He had been close to death. All vitals are vastly improved. Any movement is better than none. The man also made many new friends and neighbors instead of watching TV all day.
Thank you all for the valuable info. Managed to get the rear wheel off and did what I could with a light oil for modest improvement.
Didn't have the tool to take it fully apart so dropped the wheel off to the bike shop for a final service. Now to find a replacement battery. But first will talk to a character that rebuilds them. That makes me nervous given the fires one hears about. Is Alibaba a good place to find a battery?
Didn't have the tool to take it fully apart so dropped the wheel off to the bike shop for a final service. Now to find a replacement battery. But first will talk to a character that rebuilds them. That makes me nervous given the fires one hears about. Is Alibaba a good place to find a battery?
PedalUma
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Petaluma, CA
@meownbike,
Is it a silverfish battery? What are the dimensions, including the foot print? What does the back of the existing charger say? If the back of the charger says Output 42V, then you need a 36V battery. Look for a domestic source so you have some recourse if there is a problem. Also look for brand name cells and a smart management chip.
To remove a freewheel cluster of gears it just takes something call a chainwhip. It is a 30 cm section of chain on a lever bar. They cost $9.
Is it a silverfish battery? What are the dimensions, including the foot print? What does the back of the existing charger say? If the back of the charger says Output 42V, then you need a 36V battery. Look for a domestic source so you have some recourse if there is a problem. Also look for brand name cells and a smart management chip.
To remove a freewheel cluster of gears it just takes something call a chainwhip. It is a 30 cm section of chain on a lever bar. They cost $9.
OK guys; all is good; sort of. The battery has been rebuilt for a modest cost and I was lucky to find someone just a few km away that does that. The ghosting was caused by a broken spring in the rear hub. It is a shimano internal hub with brake drum. Shimano do not make the springs anymore and do not have any hubs. The bike is working perfectly and Madam will just have to ensure that her feet are on the pedals when starting OR that the pedal assist is on Zero. This bike doesn't have any gears incidentally. So again, thanks for all the feedback.
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