Class three bike with speed restriction feature?

[mrdaddydiamond]

Looking for a good lightweight class-3 e-bike that has the ability restrict the speed to class-2 speeds when my kids use it, but unlock its full class-3 speed when I use it. Any suggestions?

 

[sc00ter]

Most known brand ebikes will ship as a Class 2, and you can un-lock it for Class 3. A few things to note though. If you can lock and un-lock it, so can your kids. The internet has a how-to for everything. I'm sure some ebikes can be locked via a set code but I have no idea who sells such a ebike. As much as speed is fun I've found a regular Class 2 to be plenty for most general riding. I rarely take both of my Class 3 ebikes over 20mph. What is your intended use for this ebike?

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

My 70 lb 500W Surface 604 torque-sensing hub-drive commuter with throttle came with a 20-mph pedal assist cut-off, but my dealer gave me a 4-digit code to use the display to set it anyway I want up to 35 mph. The 20-mph throttle cut-off's not adjustable.

I also get the need for speed from time to time. Fooled around with 30+ cut-offs for a while but eventually settled on 28 mph. Plenty fast enough for this utility/beach bike.

Pretty academic, though. Between the high air and rolling resistances involved, it's pretty hard to pedal this bike past 22 mph or so on the flat in still air — even with highest assist. In practice, the only time the 28-mph cut-off comes into play is on steeper descents.

 

[AvalancheRun]

I would make it easy and get a class 1 Bosch powered bike. Class 1 is generally way faster than most people can ride bikes to begin with.

Guaranteed to be a great natural feeling bike. You'll forget about the throttle in about 3 seconds.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Guaranteed to be a great natural feeling bike. You'll forget about the throttle in about 3 seconds.

Depends on what you use the throttle for.

On my 70 lb, 500W, 65 Nm torque-sensing hub-drive commuter, it was mainly to keep my old knees out of the high-torque, low-cadence situations they so despise, pedaling all the while.

Once back up to a knee-tolerated cadence (60-70 rpm), off the throttle and back to assist alone. Quite effective at knee preservation. Gear changes aren't always a good substitute.

My Class 3 240W 35 Nm Vado SL mid-drive has no throttle. At half the commuter's weight, it's much easier to accelerate than the commuter, but my knees come home sore a lot more often.

Words cannot express how much I love my SL — and how much more powerful it feels than the specs would suggest. But plenty of times my knees have wished for that throttle for sudden bursts of speed or torque — especially in traffic.

 

[Mango1234]

Ride1Up lets you customize many settings that are fixed on other bikes. My 500 bike is the discontinued economy version of the 700. You can change the number of PAS levels and each levels strength. The throttle is
programmable up to 28mph. There is a global speed limit setting I've never tried. It has a changeable password also. The newer models may have these settings also.

 

[Mango1234]

p.s. The password turns the bike on. Once its on, all the menus are available.

 

[Elyot919]

Looking for a good lightweight class-3 e-bike that has the ability restrict the speed to class-2 speeds when my kids use it, but unlock its full class-3 speed when I use it. Any suggestions?

Both are solid class-3 e-bikes with settings you can tweak to limit the speed when needed.