Anybody have experience with the "Automatic" setting on the RideControl ONE?
- Thread starter Sonoran49
- Start date
I have a Trance E+ Pro and battery life has been very good. So far, I have just run it in Auto mode and then shifting gears is not about work effort, but more a matter of how fast I want to go combined with cadence that I want to spin at. Overall effort required from me remains constant and power assist adjusts accordingly. Quite a bit different from regular bike where tall gear and low cadence can require a lot of effort. Battery life seems to be good and I wouldn't make a buy decision based on the auto setting. You can certainly choose not to use it and use lowest assist level for best battery life. I will say the auto mode provides a bit more assist than I really need, so on the phone app, I plan to dial back the assist level by ~10% for each of the 5 levels and see how that works out. This will improve battery life.
Thank you Cbcler. When I get the bike I will obviously try all kinds of ride settings. My main goal is to use it in Flagstaf AZ in the summer. At age 71 the altitude (7K feet), hills and wind are affecting me m much more than in years past. I am really looking for the Trance to level out those extremes. In Phoenix I ride a road bike over 3000 miles a year. But Flagstaff conditions are getting to me. I want to ride as long as I can and I think the Trance will allow me to do that. I am hoping the Auto setting will give me more miles on the bike.
Ride Safe.
Ride Safe.
Kiwi_Giant
Member
I have a 2020 Fathom E+ 3 29 (32 km/hr) and often ride a particular trail here in Wellington, NZ. Initially I rode in at level 2 on the way out and level 3 on the way back due more uphill work. The complete trip is approximately 50 km and a combination of gravel trails, hills and some tarmac. The last two rides I have set Auto and found battery usage to be very much the same.
Regarding various settings, you can easily feel how much the motor is kicking in during your ride. You can optimize battery life by doing more work on your own, but of course, enjoy the benefits of the motor. I recently flew up a gravel road to the top of a mountain and I could tell that the motor was kicking in a lot of effort to match my demand. I probably could have saved some battery by taking it a bit slower. Overall, I've not run out of battery, but I'm not out on all day rides. (2020 Trance E + 3 Pro)
Kiwi_Giant
Member
I would agree with the comment that Auto mode provides more assist than I really need, because of this I assumed that I would sacrifice some battery life. I was surprised that this didn't appear to be the case. As the round trip was only 50 km and battery life was not ever going to be an issue it was more a technical exercise to see how Auto mode played out. I'm not someone who is going to constantly change power assist levels, I'd much rather set what I feel is an appropriate level and use the gears.
Kiwi_Giant
Member
I believe that any model with the PedalPlus 6-sensor technology will have auto mode, it was first introduced in late 2018 so it will be across many models.
Oscar56
Active Member
Ok. According to the manual that includes my 2020 Phantom E+. I was not aware of this mode and had to check my manual to confirm.
I will have to give this a test tomorrow.
Last edited:
PatriciaK
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Pacific Northwest and Piedmont Triad
When I feel auto mode kicking in more than I'd like on my La Free E+2, I lay off the peddling a bit for a few seconds, and the assist level decreases pretty quickly.
One of the things I've had to learn is, even though I can mostly ride like a regular bike, there are still peculiarities to ebiking that I need to adjust to.
One of the things I've had to learn is, even though I can mostly ride like a regular bike, there are still peculiarities to ebiking that I need to adjust to.
Steveinconcord
New Member
For me, AUTO mode doesn't feel like a regular bike. It feels like the motor is surging all the time. I did one really fast 25-mile ride in AUTO mode and it sucked battery. After that I stick to the manual modes, mostly ECO and BASIC, and I sometimes come out of the saddle on a hill rather than dialing up more power. I also scaled back all the power ranges to their minimum settings.
Oscar56
Active Member
I finally had a chance to test the Auto setting today on my 2020 Fathom. I like it. It ran smoothly although on one short hill I was applying moe torque than I normally would have. This will require more testing.
Tomorrow I will start testing on some of my regular routes to compare its performance and battery consumption.
Tomorrow I will start testing on some of my regular routes to compare its performance and battery consumption.
Oscar56
Active Member
Yesterday I completed my first test riding in Auto on the same route I rode last week in “manual”. This was a 30 km ride, primarily on paved road and a short portion on gravel. The only difference between the two rides is that some of the gravel road was ice covered on my second ride.
the Auto ride is very smooth and a bit simpler since you only have the rear derailleur to think about.
the downside is I found that steeper and longer hills are more effort in Auto. I did not feel like I was getting the pedal assist 4 or 5 that is such a huge benefit of ebikes. In addition, auto used significantly more battery than in manual.
Although this is a minimal test i will be going back to the manual mode
the Auto ride is very smooth and a bit simpler since you only have the rear derailleur to think about.
the downside is I found that steeper and longer hills are more effort in Auto. I did not feel like I was getting the pedal assist 4 or 5 that is such a huge benefit of ebikes. In addition, auto used significantly more battery than in manual.
Although this is a minimal test i will be going back to the manual mode
Using the phone app you can change the % boost for each level of auto mode. I also suggest making sure you are using the same gears and cadence when making comparisons. I tend to ride much faster up hills in auto mode because the motor keeps kicking in more boost to match my effort.
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