Babymaker II intermediate speed limits - is this happening to you?

[Seriously_Tho]

I've got a 2-yr old Babymaker II here with an unusual issue and I can't seem to get anything helpful from FLX.

It seems there are 2 speed limits - the max of 25-28 (as set in Adv Settings) and a second limit imposed on each level of PAS that mirrors the assist level. For example, PAS 1 (of 5) is 30% assist but any assistance stops at 8 MPH. Going to level 2 PAS (50%) gets you to 14 MPH but tops out there. Assist levels feel consistent with the percentages applied to them, so I think that part's OK.

In order to reach the full speed of say 28 MPH you must use PAS 5 (100%), but the assist is so powerful you really can't vary your speed without dragging the brakes (or coasting). The goal is cruising in the mid-upper teens at low assist (1-2). Not currently possible.

FLX Support can't seem to tell me if anything's wrong or if this is SOP. So is anyone else experiencing this? Have you found any workarounds? I've been thru the adv settings exhaustively, no relief there.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I've got a 2-yr old Babymaker II here with an unusual issue and I can't seem to get anything helpful from FLX.

It seems there are 2 speed limits - the max of 25-28 (as set in Adv Settings) and a second limit imposed on each level of PAS that mirrors the assist level. For example, PAS 1 (of 5) is 30% assist but any assistance stops at 8 MPH. Going to level 2 PAS (50%) gets you to 14 MPH but tops out there. Assist levels feel consistent with the percentages applied to them, so I think that part's OK.

In order to reach the full speed of say 28 MPH you must use PAS 5 (100%), but the assist is so powerful you really can't vary your speed without dragging the brakes (or coasting). The goal is cruising in the mid-upper teens at low assist (1-2). Not currently possible.

FLX Support can't seem to tell me if anything's wrong or if this is SOP. So is anyone else experiencing this? Have you found any workarounds? I've been thru the adv settings exhaustively, no relief there.

Sorry, can't help, but I gotta ask: What makes this bike a baby-maker, and did you figure that into the total cost of ownership when you bought it?
;^}

 

[Seriously_Tho]

An ill-conceived name that seemed like a good idea at the time to someone in the marketing dept. Most think it's pretty cringe-y from what I can tell.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

An ill-conceived name

I see what you did there!

 

[OrTrek]

I assume SOP. Sounds like a speed based cadence sensor as opposed to a current based sensor. Big difference.

It's been like that for the entire 2-years - correct?

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Do your specs or manual explicitly say what kind of assist you have?

Not sure anyone besides Ride1up uses current-based cadence-sensing — whatever that really is. So if yours has cadence-sensing, it's probably the usual all-or-nothing type. In which case, SOP is the answer.

 

[OrTrek]

I have the older Ride1Up V2 Roadsters that use the current based sensor (and a sine-wave controller vs square wave that many cadence ebikes use). The new V3's are torque sensored. I believe Jeremy is correct in that only Ride1Up on their cadence based ebikes use a current based sensor.

The current based sensor does not have a cutoff when it reaches a certain speed in a given pas level. If I want to ride at 15 mph or whatever in level 1 it lets me. The speed based ones cut off power at certain speeds in each level. My neighbor has a Rize Fixie that does that.

 

[Seriously_Tho]

I assume SOP. Sounds like a speed based cadence sensor as opposed to a current based sensor. Big difference.

It's been like that for the entire 2-years - correct?

Correct. My wife's rig, all of maybe 40 miles on the sucker, this is the reason why she doesn't like it.

 

[Seriously_Tho]

Thank you all for the input. Yes, it's a cadence sensor as best I can tell. No torque sensing on board. If this is SOP I'm freakin' baffled, who would design a bike to operate like that?

After a few frustrating emails with FLX I got a reply today that's a bit more informed & inquisitive, thinking it may have a faulty controller. I'll be checking a few things on that later per their instructions.

Ironically I just got one of the Ride1Up Roadster V3's for myself, definitely torque-sensing and definitely a fun ride. I put it on a little diet over the weekend - carbon rims, 14g spokes, tubeless, few other tweaks - and surprisingly it didn't drop much tonnage, meaning those guys did a pretty impressive job of keeping the weight in check from the factory.