Hello from Cambridge New Zealand

[Coralee]

I am in my early seventies, female, and, although not particularly fit, have enjoyed riding an ebike for almost 7 years. I began with a Merida ebike, then on to a Moustache Xrd 3, then on to the Xrd 7. All of these have been fun to ride, and I have enjoyed many group rides with friends. However, I have just purchased a Sinch Force EZ belt. to include dual suspension and step-through. This bike has automatic gearing using the Enviolo system with Bosch technology.
My question is: I need to understand how to pedal at a comfortable speed for me within the automatic setting in the Enviolo system. Currently I am expending more energy when pedaling both flat and uphill than I would have using my earlier bikes. I changed the setting to sport mode while on the flat and found pedaling about right for me; however, I believe I should get this 'speed' by adjusting auto mode if set up correctly. On my last two Moustache bikes, my comfortable and most economical (battery-wise) pedaling speed was in tour mode. My options at present are Eco, Auto, Sport, and Turbo. I don't use the Eco mode at all, so feel I should be able to change it to Tour.
Does anyone have any experience with this system who understands what is involved in getting it set to suit my ability? I have looked on the Enviolo website and watched a few videos, and although they discuss the system, they do not actually discuss making the settings suit the individual.

 

[JGcycle]

Welcome to the forum. I'm sure someone here can help you out.

 

[Dewey]

Hello, I have only a manual twist controller on my Enviolo hub. Given your bike is using a new Bosch Smart System with Kiox display I assume the Enviolo Automatiq functions are controlled on the bike through the Bosch LED remote, or via the Bosch eBike Flow app.

With the separate stand alone Enviolo CLiQ Pro thumb controllers, or with the Enviolo phone app when paired with an Automatiq hub, my understanding is you can use them in two ways, to manually shift through virtual gear ratios in 5% increments in manual mode, or to change cadence in 5 or 10 rpm increments when in Automatiq mode. I assume this functionality has been duplicated in the Bosch eShift functions of the LED remote and Bosch eBike Flow app. But the gear shifting is separate from the PAS power modes which are programmed in the motor controller. With the Bosch Smart System you might like to read up on how to use the eBike Flow app to change/tune the power settings of the different PAS levels,

Step 1​

Launch the eBike Flow app and connect it to your eBike.

Step 2​

Select "Individual riding modes" on the home screen of the eBike Flow app.

Step 3​

Use the sliders to adjust dynamics, speed, torque and support factor.

 

[Coralee]

Thanks Dewey, i do use Ebike Flow, so will check out your advice

 

[BlackHand]

I believe Coralee's bike has the PL Speed motor. The Bosch site says that customizing riding parameters for PAS in the app is disabled for the PL Speed motors.

It may be possible to have a dealer flash the bike to swap in regular 'tour' mode in place of the 'auto' mode that is currently in that slot.

 

[Dewey]

Oh man that’s too bad. @Coralee because you just bought the bike, perhaps you can swap it for another model with belt drive and the new Smart System the dealer has in stock, do they carry Gazelle bikes by chance? I like the new Gazelle Avignon, Arroyo, and Ultimate C380 models, and those bikes don’t use the Speed motor afaik

 

[Coralee]

Thanks for all your replies. I will take it to the dealer on Friday and see what he has to say. I will keep you posted

 

[PedalUma]

Welcome. I am in California and have been through your town when going from the Rotorua Valley to Hamilton. You have a velodrome! I would suggest a mechanical solution with either a smaller crank ring or larger rear cog. If both are done correctly and at the same time you can reuse the belt.

 

[Coralee]

Welcome. I am in California and have been through your town when going from the Rotorua Valley to Hamilton. You have a velodrome! I would suggest a mechanical solution with either a smaller crank ring or larger rear cog. If both are done correctly and at the same time you can reuse the belt.

I purchased this bike from the bike shop at the velodrome . So thats where i am headed tomorrow to sort this out,

 

[PedalUma]

I purchased this bike from the bike shop at the velodrome . So thats where i am headed tomorrow to sort this out,

That is so cool. Ask them about lowering the gearing by 20% and keeping the same belt. They have a tool for doing the math. Ask if you can trade in the existing cogs on your bike. These have value. Someone will buy them. If you get wholesale for them, that is still something. Fact: They sold you a bike with the wrong gearing for you, whilst telling you that it was right. This is not all on you.

 

[Coralee]

That is so cool. Ask them about lowering the gearing by 20% and keeping the same belt. They have a tool for doing the math. Ask if you can trade in the existing cogs on your bike. These have value. Someone will buy them. If you get wholesale for them, that is still something. Fact: They sold you a bike with the wrong gearing for you, whilst telling you that it was right. This is not all on you.

Thanks, will see how they feel.

 

[Coralee]

Thanks again for all your suggestions and ideas. I went to see the retailer where I purchased the bike and asked my load of questions about Enviolo, regarding what adjustments were possible for this model. The good news is that there are many options for me, and Mike is happy to work through all the issues I mentioned. I will be dropping the bike off to him next week to begin the process. I will keep you posted, as I was really impressed with the different modifications that are available to me. Many of them need to be done through the dealer, though, which I don't mind, as he will be able to set it up and adjust where appropriate until it's right. He is a very experienced rider and understands the tweaks that may need to be made.

 

[Coralee]

About your Sinch Force EZ and the whole Enviolo system situation, that sounds like a bit of a puzzle! It's like trying to find the perfect coffee strength – not too strong, not too weak, just right. I haven't personally used the Enviolo system, but I've heard it's like the Swiss Army knife of bike gears, pretty nifty with all its settings!
Your idea of adjusting the 'auto' mode sounds like a good start. It's like tuning a guitar to get that perfect note. Maybe tweaking the 'sport' mode to mimic the 'tour' mode vibes could be a solution? Just a thought, I'm no tech wizard, but I do love fiddling with gadgets.

Thanks for your response. I also like to understand the 'shape' of things so I can work out what is available and how to make it work for me. I am a wee bit underwhelmed with the lack of this type of knowledge from the manufacturers and find it best to 'trial and error' until I understand it completely too

 

[Coralee]

That is so cool. Ask them about lowering the gearing by 20% and keeping the same belt. They have a tool for doing the math. Ask if you can trade in the existing cogs on your bike. These have value. Someone will buy them. If you get wholesale for them, that is still something. Fact: They sold you a bike with the wrong gearing for you, whilst telling you that it was right. This is not all on you.

Welcome. I am in California and have been through your town when going from the Rotorua Valley to Hamilton. You have a velodrome! I would suggest a mechanical solution with either a smaller crank ring or larger rear cog. If both are done correctly and at the same time you can reuse the belt.

 

[Coralee]

It is interesting that you have been to Cambridge; it is such a lovely place to live, and the local bike tracks that keep growing around us make biking an enjoyable, fairly safe, and social experience. We also have access to other trail rides within an hour or so from here. So, there are always lots of options. I just had a look at the area you come from, and interestingly, we got reasonably close to where you live when we drove from San Francisco through Napa Valley several years ago. A holiday we really enjoyed. Lovely area. Thanks again for your help