Blevo remote control

[Nubnub]

Anyone tried this remote control for the Blevo app? If so, are you happy with it?

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It looks like it will make using the Blevo app easier to use to swap screens and use thumb buttons to be able to change the map zoom. Pretty sure I would use the map more if it were easier to zoom in and out so this function alone makes me consider getting the remote.

It also appears that it allows changing the assist level on the fly via the remote buttons. I assume it is changing the support level. So if I set eco to 30 support / 100 peak power, I am hoping the assist changes will allow cranking up the assist all the way up to 100/100. Not sure how useful this will be day to day as the 3 assist levels already accessible thru the SL remote offer a wide enough range. But I do envision it will be useful to fine tune what those 3 settings should be.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Not sure how that remote could defeat the screen lock of the smartphone.

 

[Nubnub]

Not sure how that remote could defeat the screen lock of the smartphone.

By coincidence I received the remote today. I don't think it could get pass the lock screen - maybe if Blevo is running background with the screen locked it still works. It's no matter to me as when I use Blevo the display is always on and I'm using it as a secondary bike computer that has access to the ebike specific info.

Altho the remote arrives bare bones with no instructions, the Blevo app is all it needs to pair and set up. I imagine if someone also wanted to use it for other apps/smartphone control they would need to dig up some more info. It fits between the right hand grip (small ergon gp3) and the brake/shifters. My phone is stem mounted.

Anyway the screen switch and map zoom in/out work as I had hoped. The thumb buttons are easy to use. As I use the Vado to ride further afield in more unfamiliar places, being able to access and zoom the map easily is worth it to me even given the rather high cost of this remote.

The assist function works well to boost the support settings by either 5 or 20 % using a short or long press. What was disappointing for me is that Blevo seems to restrict Eco settings to 0-50% support and turbo/sport to 50-100% support. So I was hoping to set eco/sport/turbo to xx/33, xx/66, xx/100 to limit max power draw to about 100, 200 and 300 W. In practice it may not matter as a 5% boost is perceptible on the flats and the 20% gives a noticeable bump. I'll probably go with 0-50%/100 for Eco everyday time riding, 50-100%/66 for sport/longer hills and 50-100/100 for turbo for the bailout when needed.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Interesting experience, thank you for sharing!

 

[Nubnub]

Interesting experience, thank you for sharing!

Have you tried Blevo's smart power option? While browsing another forum looking for more info on the remote, I came across discussion of the Blevo Smart Power settings and decided to try it out. It does let you set Eco to an initial setting say 10%. You then set a threshold of rider power where the assist level will start to increase. Peak power is recommended to be 100%. I tried out the default settings and it works fairly well. Essentially it gives me the range of 1-98% support with peak power of 100. It rides extremely well at expense of battery drain. On accelerations, changes in headwinds or inclines, it will automatically increase assist as rider power increases. On steady inclines (even just an overpass) or sustained rider output > the set threshold, it will get to the point where assist reaches the 240 W max motor assist, then on the downhill it will reduce to the initial setpoints. There are quite a few options for the rider power threshold, boost amount and rate of boost acceleration/deceleration.

Overall I l like it even with the initial default settings and will probably set Eco to smart power 1-98 support/100 peak power. Then I'll use the sport as my battery saver xx/33 peak power mode and manually use the remote to modify the support levels.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The features of BLEvo you have found sound just fabulous! You are the most power-savvy Specialized e-bike rider I met here nubnub!

The Smart Power option as you described is so great I regret I didn't know about it earlier this year when I had plenty of time for riding (now, I'm mostly stuck in my office, and the weather is not great, leaving only some weekends for riding). Smart Power gives so interesting options I would love to give it a lot of testing on both Vado and Vado SL.

I only wonder if Smart Power would prove its value for my specific case. I'm on blood pressure medications, and my leg power output is rather low and constant (it is hard for me to really increase my heart rate). My leg power and HR only increase if I really try. I won't find answers if I don't try the feature though!

Thank you for sharing!

 

[Nubnub]

I only wonder if Smart Power would prove its value for my specific case. I'm on blood pressure medications, and my leg power output is rather low and constant (it is hard for me to really increase my heart rate). My leg power and HR only increase if I really try. I won't find answers if I don't try the feature though!

I think it is flexible enough. The threshold power can be set in the range from 50 W to 400 W. Then the range boundaries where assist increase/decrease takes effect can be set from +/- 10 to +/- 40 W. So at a minimum, you could set 50 W threshold with 10 W boundary range. In this case you could get more boost with only 60 W rider power. Then the assistance would decrease when rider power falls below 40 W. And the rate of assistance increase/decrease can also be individually adjusted. For the first couple of rides it even suggests what your threshold power should be set. I still need to play around with all these settings to find what works best for me.
I don't use the Smart HR feature as the smart power only options seem to give me enough variables to tinker with.

 

[Nubnub]

Did a short uphill ride to check out settings with assist acceleration threshold around 100 W, acceleration set to fast and deceleration set to super eco. Climb is about 5% overall with a few >10% bits. Smart power set to eco 19-98W. Overall the assist response was very smooth and the deceleration was also very smooth. Not sure if it saves battery vs just switching between eco/sport/turbo as the gradient increases, but it is fun to play with. Assist and gradient on left axis, power/elevation on right:

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Waiting for a bit of dry weather to try Smart Power!

 

[mschwett]

this is really interesting, thank you for posting and updating. from the amazon description, this remote isn't made specifically for BLEvo. does BLEvo have some sort of generic remote interface that you can link/map to different controls? like, could one set the buttons to switch between eco/sport/turbo rather than going up and down 5%, basically replacing the "road blips" that specialized sells?

 

[Nubnub]

Here is the configuration page from the Blevo manual. The +power, ++power and boost allow setting the amount of assist pressing the button will add.. The +power is can be set in 1% increments from 1-10. ++power can be set from10-80% with 5% increments. The boost is same as ++power. So it is possible you could set the buttons to replace eco/sport/turbo support settings. But I haven't found a way to change the peak power setting thru the remote.

 

[mschwett]

Here is the configuration page from the Blevo manual. The +power, ++power and boost allow setting the amount of assist pressing the button will add.. The +power is can be set in 1% increments from 1-10. ++power can be set from10-80% with 5% increments. The boost is same as ++power. So it is possible you could set the buttons to replace eco/sport/turbo support settings. But I haven't found a way to change the peak power setting thru the remote.

interesting. lots of choices but none to cycle between the four built-in/user-defined assist modes. i suppose the various steps available could be used to simulate something similar.

odd omission considering how many other detailed controls are available!!

 

[kahn]

I obviously need to read the directions or manual or something. I installed Blevo this morning. Finally found my pairing code. It shows the bike present but it did not track my trip!!! Shows battery level, etc. But did not log my route or anything that I can tell. ZERO

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I obviously need to read the directions or manual or something. I installed Blevo this morning. Finally found my pairing code. It shows the bike present but it did not track my trip!!! Shows battery level, etc. But did not log my route or anything that I can tell. ZERO

Did you use Bike Monitor -> Start Ride?

 

[kahn]

Did you use Bike Monitor -> Start Ride?

I thought that I did!! Before I left the house. Then again about halfway through when I stopped and checked to see what Blevo was doing and nothing had been logged.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Did you see the dashboard on the ride? Did you have GPS on? Was your e-bike connected to BLEvo?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@Nubnub: I've tried Smart Power and Smart HR on my Vado SL for a non-critical ride. As I am on blood overpressure medication, I know my FTP is just 80 W, and I should not exceed HR of 115. With these values set and Reactivity selected as Low, I got a pleasant ride with just enough of assistance set automatically by BLEvo. No big savings on the battery charge but at least I didn't need to think of assistance levels until I rode into 7 m/s headwind that required the Sport Mode (with minimum 60% of assistance).

With higher values of Training Power such as 100 W, Smart Power let me down, offering silly assistance of 4 or 12%. I cannot understand how Smart Power really works. Anyway, properly set it kept me at average leg power of 79 W for the whole ride, and my HR was 117 max. OK!

 

[Nubnub]

@Nubnub: I've tried Smart Power and Smart HR on my Vado SL for a non-critical ride. As I am on blood overpressure medication, I know my FTP is just 80 W, and I should not exceed HR of 115. With these values set and Reactivity selected as Low, I got a pleasant ride with just enough of assistance set automatically by BLEvo. No big savings on the battery charge but at least I didn't need to think of assistance levels until I rode into 7 m/s headwind that required the Sport Mode (with minimum 60% of assistance).

With higher values of Training Power such as 100 W, Smart Power let me down, offering silly assistance of 4 or 12%. I cannot understand how Smart Power really works. Anyway, properly set it kept me at average leg power of 79 W for the whole ride, and my HR was 117 max. OK!

Yeah I'm not sure how smart power works either tho I still intend to use it. Currently setting so the threshold is slightly below average power. Then set the +/- tolerance so that I can easily exceed it to boost assistance. This works pretty well in general for uphills and the headwinds (7m/s approx 15 mph) for me. I know the Blevo display lags what is actually going on sometimes. But on an overpass I ride regularly, assistance will boost to 50% or more, my rider power will be 300 W or more but the motor power never maxes out - usually around 200 W instead of 300 W. The overpass is long enough that Blevo should be able to see 300 W * 50% * 1.8 (or 2 depending on what you believe) > 240W max motor power.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

an overpass I ride regularly

I was quite surprised to be able to climb the neighbouring overpass in Smart Power Eco. Normally, I need Turbo to feel comfortable there! Your remarks have been the most helpful!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@Nubnub: Please read this post:

Specialized Turbo Vado/Como/Tero/Tero X User Club

Just got the "LO BATT" message on my display so time to replace the battery. My bike is less than two years old -- how long do these typically last? I can buy a pack of 10 CR1220s from Amazon for $5 (free shipping), which is probably less than it would be to buy a pack of one or two at a local...

electricbikereview.com

Note: My sweet spot was workout leg power of 82 W (sharp), HR of 115, and Reactivity Low.