assist levels

[dphilips]

To all you experts, this may be a stupid question. But when I bought my first ebike (500-series from Ride1Up, which unfortunately never got reviewed here), I was under the assumption that each assist level (it has 9) would give me different levels of assist up to the top speed. Instead, in assist 1, it goes up to 5 miles or some such, and in 9 it takes off like a rocket with the slightest touch of the pedal. What I would really like is a bike that give me small assist (and more uphill), but consistently from 0 all the way to something like 25mph. Does that exist?

 

[6zfshdb]

I'm by no means an expert and I don't own a Ride1Up but from the specs, it appears it is a class 3 bike with just a cadence (pedal rpm) sensor. Many ebikes have both cadence and torque sensors. The cadence sensor measures how fast you are spinning the pedals while the torque sensor measures the force you are exerting on the pedals. These sensors, in conjunction with the PAS level setting, tell the motor controller how much current to send to the motor. The variable pedal assist you are looking for is difficult to achieve with just a cadence sensor alone.

In my limited experience with cadence sensor only ebikes is, acceptable performance can be achieved by varying the gear, cadence and PAS settings to suit riding conditions. I know It took quite a bit of practice and experimentation for me to get the hang of it.

Perhaps another Ride1Up owner can offer better suggestions.

BTW: welcome to the forum and good luck with your bike!