Juiced Riding Techniques For Hills Question

[CC-S(tealth)Rider]

I'm high side of 60 riding a CCS. Not an athlete but I spin a steady 80-90 rpm on the road with bursts to 100 when needed. On my Sunday road ride I kind of wrung out the bike and myself for the first time. For example, I used 'S' for the first time up a long hill instead of a numbered level like I usually do. That really helped top a hill. It was like down-shifting. A light came on and I am seeing new things. Now I'm thinking to incorporate changing assist levels like changing gears to meet the environment instead of just staying in 'E' for Exercise and Extending battery life. Lots of miles of experience out there, I'm only at 800. Anyone care to share their approach to taking on hills with a hub-motored Juiced bike? Is the motor OK in low-speed (6-9 mph) high-load (650+ w) conditions? Better to keep speeds higher instead? Real-world talk preferred. Strava tracks make sense too. What's your method of getting the most out of your ride?

 

[highpockets]

Lot of hills where I live. It's just hard to negate gravity. I normally use level 2 or 3. With my bike the S mode seems no better climbing. The TAB is helpful topping out. I'm still 'huffing and puffing'(and sweating) but at least I'm going faster than on my mebike.

 

[CC-S(tealth)Rider]

Thanks for your input @highpockets. People claim we won't get enough exercise on an ebike! Your experience with settings inspires me to examine my rides more - I thought S made a notable difference, which surprised me. Before yesterday, I thought like you do. At the time I was 25 miles in going up a 5-8% grade and down to 4 bars or ~46 volts. And tired. Maybe a fresh battery would be totally different. Hmmm.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

Juiced Bikes' motors are optimized for speed rather than torque, so I find that when I'm climbing a steep hill it helps to get the speed up where the motor is most efficient. YMMV but I find the sweet spot is above 18 mph. Yes, the S mode comes in handy for this. I hardly ever use it otherwise. Occasionally to get through a stop light that I think is about to change. Changing gears to keep the the spin rate higher works also, as your original post suggests.

My wife has a Pedego City Commuter, whose motor is optimized more for torque, and she can just move right along at the same cruising speed without changing PAS level or gears. So when we're cycling on hills, I end up getting way out ahead of her and then slowing down on top of the hill for her to catch up. I know it's anecdotal evidence but it sure doesn't contradict my theory about how to get the most out of the CCS on hills.

FWIW, I've always used Eco and 1 most of the time. A few months ago I discovered that when I'm moving at around 16 mph, on level ground, I'm using less wattage on level 2 than on level 1. Someone suggested to me at the time, and subsequent experience seems to bear it out, that it's because I'm not pushing the pedals as hard so the torque sensor isn't demanding as much current. I'd be interested to know if others have this same observation. The thing is, if it's drawing less current in 2 than in 1, then 2 is the more economical choice under those conditions. Previously, I had assumed that it was always more economical to use a lower PAS level.

 

[KLee]

Juiced Bikes' motors are optimized for speed rather than torque, so I find that when I'm climbing a steep hill it helps to get the speed up where the motor is most efficient. YMMV but I find the sweet spot is above 18 mph. Yes, the S mode comes in handy for this. I hardly ever use it otherwise. Occasionally to get through a stop light that I think is about to change. Changing gears to keep the the spin rate higher works also, as your original post suggests.

My wife has a Pedego City Commuter, whose motor is optimized more for torque, and she can just move right along at the same cruising speed without changing PAS level or gears. So when we're cycling on hills, I end up getting way out ahead of her and then slowing down on top of the hill for her to catch up. I know it's anecdotal evidence but it sure doesn't contradict my theory about how to get the most out of the CCS on hills.

FWIW, I've always used Eco and 1 most of the time. A few months ago I discovered that when I'm moving at around 16 mph, on level ground, I'm using less wattage on level 2 than on level 1. Someone suggested to me at the time, and subsequent experience seems to bear it out, that it's because I'm not pushing the pedals as hard so the torque sensor isn't demanding as much current. I'd be interested to know if others have this same observation. The thing is, if it's drawing less current in 2 than in 1, then 2 is the more economical choice under those conditions. Previously, I had assumed that it was always more economical to use a lower PAS level.

I thought that level 1 would cap out max output lower than level 2 so that even though pedal pressure is less on level 2, the power output is much higher per pedal stroke in level 2. I do not notice much difference in PAS between levels 1 and 2 but there is a big difference going to level 3 especially between 15 to 25 mph.

 

[CC-S(tealth)Rider]

Juiced Bikes' motors are optimized for speed rather than torque

Thanks, @Bruce Arnold. Your point is right on. The faster this bike goes, the happier it is! Thanks for bringing the wife's bike in for comparison as my CCS is all of my experience. Electrons, bikes and riders all being unique entities, I was not able to duplicate your PAS 2 efficiency on my ride today. I really tried, with 10+ miles of road covered in the attempt. It certainly helped me to learn more about what 'my' CCS can do, so it was my gain. Plus I had 18 mph in my head not 16. Will try again on the hard-pack GAP trail at 15 mph next time. Doing this kind of riding is the only way I'll learn new things.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

Thanks, @Bruce Arnold. Your point is right on. The faster this bike goes, the happier it is! Thanks for bringing the wife's bike in for comparison as my CCS is all of my experience. Electrons, bikes and riders all being unique entities, I was not able to duplicate your PAS 2 efficiency on my ride today. I really tried, with 10+ miles of road covered in the attempt. It certainly helped me to learn more about what 'my' CCS can do, so it was my gain. Plus I had 18 mph in my head not 16. Will try again on the hard-pack GAP trail at 15 mph next time. Doing this kind of riding is the only way I'll learn new things.

Bike riding is so personalized, I suppose there would have to be variations from one rider to another. I'm interested to hear what you learn about riding your CCS, in this or any other area of experience!

 

[Jpilson]

I'm high side of 60 riding a CCS. Not an athlete but I spin a steady 80-90 rpm on the road with bursts to 100 when needed. On my Sunday road ride I kind of wrung out the bike and myself for the first time. For example, I used 'S' for the first time up a long hill instead of a numbered level like I usually do. That really helped top a hill. It was like down-shifting. A light came on and I am seeing new things. Now I'm thinking to incorporate changing assist levels like changing gears to meet the environment instead of just staying in 'E' for Exercise and Extending battery life. Lots of miles of experience out there, I'm only at 800. Anyone care to share their approach to taking on hills with a hub-motored Juiced bike? Is the motor OK in low-speed (6-9 mph) high-load (650+ w) conditions? Better to keep speeds higher instead? Real-world talk preferred. Strava tracks make sense too. What's your method of getting the most out of your ride?

I am very interested in this thread because I am trying to figure out how to get the most miles from the battery of my new CrossCurrent S-2. Speed for me is not important, but distance is. With the lowest gear I have using ECO and maximum pedaling I think I use less wattage; but it takes longer than a higher gear and a 1 or 2 assist level to climb a tough hill. I am trying to figure which actually uses less wattage. I wish Juiced would provide some technical details about battery usage and how their battery controller software responds to stress levels and load demand.

I posted some battery test data I created on a different thread. If anyone is interested in an old mans ramblings I will ytry to post the link below. Any comments or experience driven data appreciated.

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