Got Any Tips?

[JustSomeGuy]

My RollRoad Emma 4.0 has been a great ride so far, but I’ve run into a few challenges and have some questions.
First, has anyone had any issues with either crank arm loosening over time? I find myself needing to tighten the left one maybe once or twice during most rides.
Second, after a lot of mostly flat riding, I’m still trying to figure out how to adjust the PAS levels from 1 to 5 when going uphill. I’m not quite sure which level I should be using or when to increase it, especially as a heavier rider. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions for tackling hills?

 

[indianajo]

First, has anyone had any issues with either crank arm loosening over time? I find myself needing to tighten the left one maybe once or twice during most rides.

On a $200 Pacific Quantum mountain bike I bought for $75, the crank arms were plastic. After 4000 miles (2 years) the holes wallowed out and no amount of tightening on the clamp bolt would make them stay put. Feel for cool metal on the crank arms, or the insulation of plastic. If the latter give up on this frame. A >$2000 bike like Trek, Giant, Specialized, Reiss & Mueller, Kona, Orbea, Cannondale, will have Aluminum crank arms with a taper fit. My $1500 Yuba bodaboda went 12000 miles with no crank problem. The pedals did wear out at 10000.

 

[JustSomeGuy]

On a $200 Pacific Quantum mountain bike I bought for $75, the crank arms were plastic. After 4000 miles (2 years) the holes wallowed out and no amount of tightening on the clamp bolt would make them stay put. Feel for cool metal on the crank arms, or the insulation of plastic. If the latter give up on this frame. A >$2000 bike like Trek, Giant, Specialized, Reiss & Mueller, Kona, Orbea, Cannondale, will have Aluminum crank arms with a taper fit. My $1500 Yuba bodaboda went 12000 miles with no crank problem. The pedals did wear out at 10000.

Thanks for flagging this! I checked and the crank arms are actually metal, not plastic.I did some research and checked with customer support, and we figured the bolt just wasn’t torqued right, so I redid it with a torque wrench and threadlocker. I’ll watch how it holds up over the next few rides. Thanks again!

 

[Gionnirocket]

Yes thread locker... That's what I was going to suggest. I actually put a little grease on the spindle so the crank comes off easy for maintenance but with blue thread lock on the bolt threads they never come loose while I'm riding.

Not familiar with your bike but as for how to use PAS.... When approaching a hill I tap PAS up a second or two before it becomes hard to pedal and then downshift gears as needed. Knowing which PAS to be in and which gear all comes with experience. You want to maintain a comfortable human input and that's a bit personal and tied to your ability and how much you want to sweat.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Second, after a lot of mostly flat riding, I’m still trying to figure out how to adjust the PAS levels from 1 to 5 when going uphill. I’m not quite sure which level I should be using or when to increase it, especially as a heavier rider. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions for tackling hills?

Too many variables involved to offer blanket advice, so your best bet is to experiment. Below are 2 approaches to play with.

Both assume that you have either torque-sensing or power-sensing assist. If you have simple all-or-nothing cadence-sensing assist, perhaps someone else can chime in.

Keeping roughly constant cadence
Find the cadence (pedal rpm) your body prefers and then use your gears and assist levels to maintain it as best you can as you climb.

This is my usual approach. Out of habit from pre-ebike days, I typically fight cadence drops first with gear downshifts and then with assist increases. But there's nothing wrong with the other way around.

A cadence readout on your display helps, but you can also count cadence with a wristwatch as you would a pulse. Once you've become familiar with your preferred cadence, you can approximate it largely by feel.

This strategy is especially useful on mid-drives, as they tend to thrive at higher cadences and don't bog down at low ground speeds as long as your cadence stays up.

Keeping up ground speed
Here you use your gears and assist levels to keep up ground speed as best you can as you climb. This applies mainly to lower-power hub-drives, as they tend to lose mechanical power output as ground speed bogs down on a hill.

Had to pay close attention to ground speed when climbing steep hills on my heavy 500W hub-drive, but it's largely a non-issue on my wife's lighter 750W hub-drive.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Level 5, full 1500 W, full throttle. It is a motorcycle.

 

[harryS]

Yep. I use a torque wrench on the square taper crank bolts. 25-30 ft-lbs is on the lighter side, but it's what I use. If you feel that the square holes are getting loose, you can cut shims from aluminum soda pop or beer cans, and fit then between the axle and cranks,