I’m going to give you my thoughts on this. It’s just my opinion, but you really needn't adjust your riding “style” to accommodate your bike. I mean, it should really be the other way around, Catalyzt. Besides making adjustments to the bike to maximize your riding comfort (seat height, bar height/reach, various angles, etc.) an e-bike should just make things easier and provide more flexibility for you to go further and maybe even tackle new terrain that was daunting before, especially hills.
Of course, learning to use the bike’s power controller and figuring out your ride limits are part of the fun/challenge/frustration that goes along with this.
I’m a little concerned with what you’re saying that this bike’s PAS settings aren’t great for you and/or aren’t easily switched among. That, to me, will spoil the experience. A (short) press of a button, just like a gear shift, is all it should require to get you where you want to be in any situation.
Forgive the soapboxing, but unless you’re racing or something competitive, the whole point (for me, anyway) is to be on the bike, get a lot of exercise, feel comfortable doing so, and enjoy whatever scenery and varied terrain I can!
Best wishes. Hope you sort it all out.
Oh, and as Stefan said, don’t use your shock pump on your tires. For that matter don’t use a tire pump on the shock either.
The controller may turn out to be a bigger issue than the power delivery levels. I do think the handlebar mini remote is something I have to get-- the simplest one is fine, it doesn't need to have a readout, I just need to be able to find a Bosch dealer who has it in stock, order it next credit card cycle (or the one after that-- I pay both of them off in full every month) and figure out how to install it. Just because I am used to levers way down the down tube doesn't mean that's a good idea to have to long-press on the top tube to decrease PAS long term! And just because it hasn't been distracting or dangerous so far doesn't mean it might not be in some unusual situation once I get out into traffic and terrain that I don't know as well.
As for riding style, it will take months to see how I adapt to the bike and the PAS settings, but here's where I am so far:
Let's assume that there are three configurations: Stock, Configuration A, and Configuration B.
I'm avoiding Stock, just because I think it's less efficient than Configuration A. Configuration A just substitutes Tour+ for Tour. Configuration B is Configuration A, but eliminating Eco, having Tour be the lowest power level, and substituting Sprint for Sport, (between Tour+ and Turbo.)
Configuration A is probably best so far; Configuration B is fun, but probably too inefficient.
If I break it down, there are two narrow missing power bands that I have to avoid in the Configuration A: One is between the 'top' of Eco and the 'bottom' of Tour, and the second is between the top of Tour and the bottom of Sport.
For the first missing power band, I think it's just a matter of learning, for example, when I'm coasting through a stop sign at very slow speed (legal here) right before a hill, to shift down even further, pedal at much higher cadence in eco, and shift to Tour sooner, if that's what the bike wants me to do, it's probably what I should be doing anyway.
For the second missing power band, I'm less sure whether the bike is 'right' or whether I am. This has to do with shifting from Tour+ to Sprint. It seems like when I am going fast enough, and my cadence is high enough, and I'm pedaling pretty hard, there's no problem. But what if conditions do not permit that, or if I slow down a bit because of a lapse in concentration, or fatigue, etc.? If I could downshift more smoothly, or differently, that might resolve the problem-- get to a higher cadence and power delivery, and Tour+ will provide more power, and I can make the jump to Sprint smoothly-- but I don't know if I can do that reliably and consistently. This bike has more power than the Moto, and I have to be more careful shifting-- a bad shift is louder, it's a bit harder to drop pressure on the pedals for a split second and move to a bigger sprocket.
Could it be that the derailleur cable still isn't tight enough? Possibly. It could just be my technique. That's why I feel like I need to experiment a little.
But if it turns out there's no good fix for this, that's where tuning might help, if REI can do it.
(In Configuration B, the second issue is eliminated, but I have to sacrifice Eco mode, and Tour+ is less efficient than Eco in some situations. Put another way, in Tour+, I don't work hard enough in Eco, the motor does too much work, and uses too much battery.)
In terms of doing what the bike wants me to do, though, it's hard to argue with how it makes me feel. Pain in my hands no longer wake me up in the middle of the night, I'm sleeping better, and in a better mood. I caught two important errors in mastering for our band's album, negotiated really well with the engineer, and I seem to be really on top of work for my practice, though my workload is lighter. I only need to meditate once in the late afternoon instead of twice.
It's only been a week, but you can see why I'm cautiously optimistic about taking the bike's advice, at least some of it.
