Disconnect Pedal Assist??

camper1

New Member
Region
USA
I just purchased a VIVI 350 eBike.
I strongly dislike the "Pedal Assist".
How can this be disconnected?
I searched the forums here, and others online to no avail.
The problem is, the slightest touch of the pedals sends the bike soaring forward and the pedals then totally disengage. (?!!?)
No clue why anyone would want this "feature". Yes, I can shut off the battery, but that shuts off throttle.
Ideally, I want a regular bike, with the throttle immediately available to quickly get away from stray aggressive dogs or occasional assistance with hills, etc.
Totally disconnecting Pedal Assist seems the best option. Thoughts, suggestions? Thank you!
 
I'm not familiar with the VIVI but every bike I've tested had the ability to turn off the PAS without disabling the throttle. It is usually a selectable option on the display.

What you describe doesn't sound normal and something may be defective on your bike. I would check with the dealer or the bike maker about the issue. If you purchased it from Amazon, you should be able to return it if all else fails.

Welcome to the forum and I hope you find a solution to your problem.
 
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I'm not familiar with the VIVI but every bike I've tested had the ability to turn off the PAS without disabling the throttle. It is usually a selectable option on the display.

What you describe doesn't sound normal and something may be defective on your bike. I would check with the dealer or the bike maker about the issue. If you purchased it from Amazon, you should be able to return it if all else fails.

Welcome to the forum and I hope you find a solution to your problem.
Thank you...I did contact the manufacturer for information (service.viviebike@gmail) and was told "ask where you bought it" , obviously not helpful and horrible (non-existent) customer service. I appreciate your feedback that what I am experiencing is not normal. Time to return and upgrade I guess. The old adage, you get what you pay for 😒
 
I'm not familiar with the VIVI but every bike I've tested had the ability to turn off the PAS without disabling the throttle. It is usually a selectable option on the display.
My SW800 display, you had to turn the PAS to level zero every time you turned the power on.
PAS1 would take off if I was rolling the crank backwards to stand on the pedal to take off, whacking me on the other leg. PAS 1 had minimum speed of 11 mph, waaaay too dangerous on a 3" wide berm with 6" trench between berm & traffic lane.
I removed the PAS pickup from proximity of the magnet wheel and tied it up against the frame out of the way. If I unplugged it I got an error code and the motor would not move.
Only downside, my throttle hand gets tired if there is wind 25 mph in my face all the way home (3.7 hours, or 6 without power).
I paid $830 for my whole electric drive setup. Unpowered bike was $1800. $630 battery is still fine after 4.2 years, 1st $200 motor lasted 2.3 years. 1st controller lasted 4 years before erroring out. 2000 miles per year. In 2017 this frame was only available with bosch mid-drive which you had to drag the motor with your feet if you ride unpowered. I ride unpowered most of the time unless headwind is going to drag me down to 5.5 mph. I would have to drag a brick on the road if I wanted the exercise a bosch bike would give me.
 
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Only downside, my throttle hand gets tired if there is wind 25 mph in my face all the way home (3.7 hours, or 6 without power).
I used to use one of these on my motorcycle:


It worked on my ebike as well until I rigged up a proper cruise control.
 
Did you get the three speed LED control on the handlebars? Vivi never shows the LED control in their ads. For 6zfshdb's benefit, all of these LED designs power up in one of the three PAS leve;ls, with throttle enabled. To turn off PAS, you shut off the bike, and thus no throttle,.
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My first ebike conversion was this way. Later I bought a commercial ebike with the same display. Yes, you might go too fast in PAS 1. Most people just get used to it. They're not quite used to the higher speed of an ebike and the default PAS 1 speed, usually 12-14 mph, can be intimidating. The problem comes when you're riding with someone else that rides slower. Also can be an issue in low speed maneuvers. One just learns to control motor speed by using the brake or shutting off the bike.
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There is an electrical hack. You buy a handlebar switch and use it to switch off the pedal sensor located on the pedals. It has three wires, and the best wire to choose is the power wire.

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In my case, I got used to it. That first bike runs about 12 mph in assist level 1. However, on that stor bought bike, since I knew how, I just upgraded to a better controller and LCD disply,
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I've seen this complaint often on the inexpensive ebikes and used to wonder whey the manufacturers just didn't lower the speed for the first assist level. I think what happens is people get used to it, and then the first level would be too slow and useless
 
And if you never want to do pedal assist again, trace the cablefrom the sensor on the pedals to the controller, and you will see a connector you can unplug,
 
Thanks, that may work. My first attempt, I was on a slight incline so basically coasting. As I got near a curve the path flattened out and when I peddled it about threw me off the road. For what I do, I see no need for pedal assist. Me power is sufficiant, LOL.
Disengaging the pedals seems dangerous, and the thrust is absurdly strong...
 
It sounds like my DW's first bike pas went from zero to full-on as soon as she started to pedal. She liked cruising on the better trails, but most of the time she found 20 kph too fast; the throttle was useful, but it too was on/off. We sold the bike for a BH, which has 5 levels of assist and a variable throttle.
 
@harryS is correct. Normally these bikes have a (pedaling speed) cadence sensor. It can be unplugged. It is located where the pedals arms go thru the frame, at what is called the bottom bracket.
 
I think we really got lucky by buying a couple of Lectric XP 2.0st bikes. In the LCD menu one can select PAS, twist-throttle, or both.

I rode on analog bikes for all my youth and had a large paper route in Pasadena (CA) as a kid. When I first got on the Lectric last year I realized quickly that PAS was a no-go, as it was controlled by pedal movement and thus very weird at low speeds in sharp turns. The throttle, by contrast, is intuitive for anyone with any scooter or motorcycle experience.

I've never ridden a torque ebike but suspect it may be a near-ideal solution if dialed in correctly.

A huge advantage to the Lectrics (perhaps other ebikes as well) is the ability to use the throttle to set a "cruise control" speed. After that, no need to hold the throttle. Just twist to the desired speed and hit the "+" button. After a second, the speed is locked-in.

The Lectrics so far are holding up well and we ride the tar out of them up and down hills here in Oregon. And only $1K. Remarkable.

EDIT: Oops. It's the "-" button that engages the Cruise Control. The "+" button turns on the headlight.
 
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There are a wide spectrum of bikes in the way they feel. I have worked on and ridden many over the years. Each ridder is also different. For me, I like bikes with both a cadence sensor and a torque sensor. And with greater power delivery at a higher cadence on the curve. This makes them responsive to pedal pressure and smooth. Like an Alfa Romeo Spider, down shift and rev up to accelerate. Conversely, some systems are set up to give you more power the slower you pedal. We heard from one guy for a few days until he vanished. He came up with the Darwin Approved zip tie cruise control system. He zip tied his throttle at full open and depended on the cutout levers to shut power. What could go wrong?
 
I would not like the VIVI, I can tell from your description!

My Ride1Up LMTD has a torque sensor and configurable pedal assist power settings. I think I could set PAS 1 as low as 1% of total available power if I wanted it that way. There's already a PAS 0, though.
 
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