New 2018 Motor first impression, Torque and Speed sensors

[Bud Baker]

Falco 500 w.laced into a 20" wheel and installed on a Catrike Trail. First impressions. Just completed a short but hot 15 mile ride. Some rail trail but mostly pavement. Grades were from plus 2-3% to minus 2-3% and one short climb at 6% from Map My Ride. Started in level 1 and could instantly feel assist which felt remarkable. Probably added 3-4 mph to my unassisted speeds. I have taken this route many times and on some of the longer 3% grades my usual spinning speeds were 4 mph. Today they were 8 -10 mph. On a long downhill I went to zero assist and stayed in zero assist on the flats at the end of the decline. No resistance from the motor. On the steep climb I went to level 4 and powered up the hill reducing it to a modest 2% oh hum. Falco is like a road grader, makes everything flat. The motor shut off when coasting was flawless. I found I could use higher gears and maintain cadence compared to no assist. I never went higher than level 1 except for the short steep climb. Down hill grades I simply back pedaled and regeneration kicks in acting as a brake. A forward turn of the cranks and regeneration stops. I believe this is new for 2018. At one point I used this feature when approaching a stop sign. Then picked up speed quite nicely to continue. At the end of my short ride the battery was down 1 bar. Time for the ride was 1 hour. In my previous experience this same ride would be 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hour. All in all a very nice experience. Don't get me wrong, I still got a good work out. Did I say it was hot?