Actually hitting 28mph

[sliverstorm]

I have a US model Quick-E, so it's supposed to hit 45kph/28mph. However, I can never hit that on the flat. The assist usually cuts out somewhere between 26.5-27mph according to the speedometer. I'd love to actually get what it's supposedly capable of, and it really started to sting when I measured the bike with GPS and found that 26mph on the spedo is 24-25mph real world depending on tire inflation.

Does anyone have an idea of why? Do the 20mph models hit 20mph, or do they cut out at 18mph?

I wondered if it could be a units thing, e.g. the bike can do 45kph but that doesn't work out to be 28mph. But when I put the bike in metric mode, it can't go over about 41-42kph either.

 

[sliverstorm]

A legitimate point! I weight 145lbs though. I normally ride my non-ebike about 17mph.

 

[PDoz]

Are you sure it's cutting out rather than just reducing assist as cadence increases?

I know with the syncdrive pro ( you have syncdrive sport) there is a reduction in noise and strength of assist once cadence gets above 90 ish, you still get some help up to about 120 cadence, but it's less dramatic. ( which is a smart feature imho - imagine spinning pedals at 120 and suddenly getting 4 x the resistance!)

 

[SirJonathan]

Hmmmmm.....I can hit 30mph on my Juiced CCX with moderate effort in the highest gear and Race mode. I've seen 32mph on flats with the right conditions. I'm 155 pounds.

 

[SirJonathan]

A legitimate point! I weight 145lbs though. I normally ride my non-ebike about 17mph.

I hadn't read this. It's definitely the bike and not you. In my strong road-riding days I averaged 20mph a handful of times but mostly I would hover around the 18mph moving average. Right at what you are at now. I'm nowhere near that condition now and can achieve 28mph relatively easily and I'm 10 pounds heavier than you and 50 years old. If you actually feel the assist cutting out then that's some kind of limitation on the bike in my opinion.

 

[AlanDB]

I have noticed that my Gazelle ebike motor (Bosch Performance Line) seems to cut off at about 18.5 MPH shown on the Intuvia speedometer. And yes, the actual GPS based speed is more like 17 MPH. It is as fast as I wish to ride, so that doesn't bother me, but it would be nice if it lived up to the advertised spec's and had a little better accuracy.

 

[Dionigi]

With European regulations ebikes need to turn off at 20 or 28 mph. With Bosch you can adjust your wheel diameter by +/- 5% so it seems the manufacturer looks at worse case situation (-5%) and makes that the actual speed cutoff. 20mph =19mph and 28mph=26.6mph

 

[batmick1]

Yes, the actual cutoff seems to be slightly lower than advertised. I technically have a 20mph Haibike with Bosch drive and I hit "the pudding" around 18mph. On top of that the actual speed is lower than the Intuvia display says, just like others have observed.
I installed a Peartune chip and can turn off the limiter because of this annoying cutoff. I also changed the sprocket to a 20t and on the flats I can now hold about 28-30 mph for a while and I max out the gears around 35mph. But that is going all out, in the highest support setting.
On my conventional tri-bike the PR for my regular commute (18 miles) is only 24 seconds slower than my PR on the e-bike but I remember that day vividly because I thought I was going to loose my lungs...

 

[sliverstorm]

Yeah, the thought of a limiter remover is ever so slightly tempting, really only just to get what was advertised. If it's to protect the motor from overheating or whatever then I understand, but I suspect it's all margin. Fudge the spedometer high, cut out power just a little early, next thing you know your top speed is 15% lower than advertised.

 

[GregGritton]

I don't think the Bosch system cuts off at 18 or 18.5mph (displayed), but rather gives 100% support to a certain speed, then gradually reduces support until it hits zero at 20mph. The support at ~18mph becomes low enough that you tend to get to this speed on level ground with medium effort.

Laws in some places require this type of behavior. According to Wikipedia (), the EU directive on electric vehicles exempts "Cycles with pedal assistance which are equipped with an auxiliary electric motor having a maximum continuous rated power of 0.25 kW, of which the output is progressively reduced and finally cut off as the vehicle reaches a speed of 25km/h (15.5mph) or if the cyclist stops pedaling. "

While I have never seen an assistance vs. speed chart published by Bosch, you can program it in the Nyon display and there are some screen shots floating around the web. Search for "Nyon custom riding modes" in Google. You will often see graphs where the assistance is level until 20km/hr, and then goes down to zero in a straight diagonal line, hitting zero at 25km/hr. The US versions seem to do the same thing but at a higher speed. I have never noticed a hard cut-off while riding like some people have reported with some other motors.

It would be nice if someone who actually owns a Nyon display on a US motor could report the speed curves.

 

[MarkF]

My Raleigh class 1 Currie/Transx drive cuts out at 19 mph. Seems it's not just Bosch. Anyone know of a speed dongle that works for a Currie drive? I have looked and can't find one.

 

[Ian Moone]

My Raleigh class 1 Currie/Transx drive cuts out at 19 mph. Seems it's not just Bosch. Anyone know of a speed dongle that works for a Currie drive? I have looked and can't find one.

Does your Controller have the Extra wire that Some controllers do ? It seems that Some of those which are designed with Europe in mind have a Optional wire, when connected allows a speed Increase to at least 20-25 Mph. ?

 

[sliverstorm]

Well, an interesting twist, I rode without my panier for the first time in ages and I was hitting speeds well over 28mph, so it could simply be air resistance!

 

[MarkF]

No, no wire anywhere. I don't think mine had Europe in mind.

 

[Ian Moone]

No, no wire anywhere. I don't think mine had Europe in mind.

Yeah, Some have those little wires , some don't, Usually the controllers without a LCD Display , are the ones I've found that do. ?

 

[drewberz]

if i were to guess, the assistance for mine which has the same motor cuts off at 27.6mph. i feel the assistance drop off heavily at 27.1mph.

 

[TaraBara]

My Lafree E+2 cuts out at about 18.5 mph. PAS will actually fight me if I pedal above 20mph. It's not you..... it's Giant.

 

[tomjasz]

Buy a bike with speed limitations and Shazam! Many bikes have work arounds but there goes the warranty.

 

[The duke]

Hi silver. Found a way that might get you just a tad closer to the 28mph. Unscrew the sensor on your rear tire spoke and try moving it out (towards the tire) by 2 inches. If the display errors out, then that was too much, so make it 1.5 inches and so on. For me, I was able to move it 2 inches, as it was set inside the sensor receiver (on the hub side) to begin with. My 18.9 to 19.5mph motor cutoff speed became a real world 20.5mph max. The cutoff seems to have changed to closer to 19.5mph on the speedometer as well....the motor doesn't seem to cut out as early, as often as it used to.

 

[MarkF]

Wow i'm going to try that on my Raleigh bike that peters out at 19 mph.