Level (1) Do I need to be concerned about the possibility of overloading the motor?

[NeighborGeek]

I'm new to E-bikes, having just bought a used Level with about 1100 miles on it. A friend of mine was surprised that the display doesn't show what load the motor is pulling. He said that it's possible on e-bikes for the motor to draw more power than it's rated for, which would eventually shorten the life of the motor. Will the motor pull more than it's rated for when going up steep hills etc, or does the Level have some sort of built in protection to prevent this?

Thanks!

 

[JuicePower]

Interesting question. On my 6th e-bike and from my experience, batteries produce a little less power than advertised. Aventon says they cover batteries if they put out less than 75%. My guess is the planetary internal gears will go out before the motor.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Welcome aboard!

Lots of posts here on hub motors overheating on long, steep climbs at high power — especially when throttling up without pedaling, or when ghost-pedaling a cadence-sensing ebike at max assist. Appears to be a real issue with a significant risk of motor damage if the motor's allowed to get too hot for too long.

That said, I've ridden a 65 lb torque-sensing 500W hub-drive up many 7-12% grades under a mile long with little motor heating to the touch. Ditto for longer grades up to 6% or so. But always with a good bit of effort at the pedals. To that end, I've lowered my gearing to be able to keep an acceptable cadence at assist levels below 4/9 on most of the hills around here and don't mind slogging up at 4 mph if that's what it takes.

My display shows motor power. Seldom keep an eye on it, but when I do check, it's usually under half max on hills.

The forum search function's pretty good, so try searching on "overheat hub" or variations thereof.

 

[Tom@WashDC]

I've had two Levels (1) since Sept 20', don't worry about it.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I think Grin says 1000 feet ina hour will overheat a hub motor.