Is there a term for this?

[christob]

Curious to know if there's a common e-biking term for this:

On a pedal-assist, no-throttle, rear-hub e-bike, you are in say Level 2, and you pedal up to a given speed... you reach a long sustained flat area, and the gear you're still in is now "light enough" that you have essentially no pedal resistance in that gear, at that speed, unless you adopted an insanely high cadence.

But -- if you just casually pedal at that moment, in that same gear -- going through the motions of pedaling without meeting any strain/resistance -- the assist sensor recognizes "you're pedaling" and feeds electricity to the hub motor and keeps it putting out at Level 2, and thus you can maintain your speed (at least on the flats) with zero human effort added. (As long as you keep the pedals rotating, however slowly/effortlessly, so the assist sensor registers activity.)

I ask because I track all my rides in a spreadsheet and include notes on each ride. I often use the method above on my hot & humid morning office commute, to avoid excessive sweat upon arrival... so I've been adding a note of "heavy use of powered glide in level 2" as my lingo for that technique. Just curious if there's a "proper" name for it?

 

[Nova Haibike]

Just curious if there's a "proper" name for it?

Cheater.

 

[christob]

I wish I had video-recorded my chat with my coworker, as I wrote my original posting -- I told him "someone will reply back that the term is "Cheating". !!
And yes, I would say if there is a way to legitimately "cheat" while riding a pedal-assist, no-throttle bike, it is this method...!

 

[J.R.]

I've heard that called 'clown pedaling'. Most often described by throttle or cadence sensing ebikers, where no real human torque is applied. Many ebikes will ride on the flat that way in the highest levels of assist.

 

[christob]

ha! I much prefer my own "power glide" term for my Notes...

 

[mrgold35]

I use my ebike as a form of transportation as a car replacement. I know some folks only think of a (e)bike for exercise. It is only cheating if you are "cheating" yourself out of the aerobic benefits of cycling when you are in exercise mode. Not trying to get exercise in transportation mode. I push myself a little harder and sometimes take detours for a longer ride in the afternoon because I'm in exercise mode then.

Nobody is called a cheater for taking an elevator to the 2nd or 3rd floor instead of the stairs? I've never heard of a jogger calling bicyclist a cheater for not running or a walker calling a jogger a cheater for running or an ebiker calling a motorcycle rider a cheater. Not too sure why ebikers are the only ones called cheaters?

 

[Nova Haibike]

Power gliding works for me.

 

[J.R.]

ha! I much prefer my own "power glide" term for my Notes...

'Clown pedaling' sounds too negative, almost pejorative. Maybe have a key to your ride journal and assign numbers or letters to the type of riding you did on a given day.

I use a Garmin smart watch/activity tracker. It uploads to a personal log on Garmin Connect app which allows me to add notes for every ride. I use a personal shorthand for the kind of ride. It's really interesting to look back over a year of rides. Power-glide is as good as anything I use, it's information for me, I don't have it uploaded to Strava or social media, both turned off.

 

[Joe EE]

+1 on “Power Glide” !

 

[christob]

'Clown pedaling' sounds too negative, almost pejorative.

I agree -- Though I'd think "clown pedaling" would be a more apt fit for the kind of pedaling where you're spinning your pedals at ridiculously high cadence for your current speed (and thus, being slightly ridiculous-looking to an observer) vs. taking advantage of the way to enjoy sustained motor output while contributing "no significant pedal-effort".

 

[christob]

I use my ebike as a form of transportation as a car replacement. I know some folks only think of a (e)bike for exercise?

I'm doing a bit of both -- I'm at 27 office commutes since April 2. (I skip riding in anything worse than a sprinkle of rain... and skip riding when I must make an appointment, via car, immediately after work.) The morning ride I use more assist (and more PowerGliding® ) in order to minimize sweating. Returning home, I detour noticeably for a longer route, aiming for some workout, when sweating doesn't matter then.
Happily -- both are paying off. Tomorrow's commute will be the point at which I've saved 1 full tank of gasoline in the car, miles-wise (vs. driving those same 28 commutes.) And as of yesterday, I'm down 31 pounds! {Edit: in conjunction with changing to much more sensible eating at the same time I started biking.)

 

[rich c]

I call it riding an ebike. I left the technical world and spread sheets behind when I retired.

 

[christob]

I call it riding an ebike. I left the technical world and spread sheets behind when I retired.

Ah, retirement... hopefully that is only 16 years or so away for me...

 

[AlanDB]

I would call it "free pedaling" ... as a take-away from "free wheeling".

 

[Ebikefevercure]

Drop to PAS 1 and make your legs power the lower speed... Moon pedaling is throttle at your feet.

 

[Figs]

Isn’t that called “ghost” pedaling?

 

[Bruce Arnold]

Isn’t that called “ghost” pedaling?

Ghost pedaling is what I've heard it called also, @Figs. "Power glide" is pretty accurate too.

 

[J Miller]

I've heard it called clown pedaling, and that's what it feels like. I hate it personally. To me if you're not pedaling to actually assist (whatever the reason), that's what throttles are for, and a big part of why I feel bikes should have both a throttle and PAS.

 

[dean1]

This is the level I try to maintain on any level, albeit allowing for a bit of resistance. When I am on a long, smooth and flat stretch (such as a dedicated bike path) I put my izip protour on level 3 (out of 4) and can sustain 20-22 mph with my crank almost freewheeling in 10th gear. My COBI calls it "RELAXED." If it turns into "clown peddling " I coast until some resistance returns.

 

[gv1]

Call it Sweet if you are commuting to work on a warm day and there is a morning meeting with the boss.