So far all the biking has been done on river-rail trails with little grade. Now my wife has an e-bike, we tackled the hills on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Once going, piece of cake! The problem is getting going without making a noisy getaway from the drive unit. We have PIM bikes with integrated .75kW motors. I know noise is bad and I have yet to get a smooth, semi-quiet climb to 7-8 mph. From there no issues. Probably part of the issue is my inability to any longer pedal this bike up the grade without assistance. Is a noisy take-off that last 4-5 seconds an issue even? Suggestions?
New to hills. How to start up from a stop
- Thread starter slowguy
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AHicks
Well-Known Member
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- USA
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- Snow Bird - Summer S.E. Michigan, Winter Gulf Coast North Central Fl.
Using the hand/thumb throttle has been, and will be, my standard operating procedure for getting our bikes moving from a full stop. At minimum, through that first awkward couple of feet while you are getting your balance. From there, throttle is optional. Some full stops will involve starting up a fairly steep grade. On those, I try to spot them ahead of time and stop a little shy of the required stop (even if it's only 5' or so). This gives me a chance to get the bike moving a little easier. You have to remember these e-bikes are much heavier. After a while you don't even notice that weight, but it is something that takes a little getting used to.
christob
Well-Known Member
Something simple I STILL forget every once in awhile, when I'm just enjoying myself, or zipping along at a quick clip and don't sufficiently anticipate a stop-sign for a road crossing -- as you are approaching the stop (in your case, the stopping point just before the start-climbing-a-hill portion) pre-shift into a very low/easy gear while the bike is still in motion/you're still pedaling, approaching the stop... So you are not then starting the climb attempt from a dead stop stuck in a higher/harder gear (that you might have been pedaling in, a minute before.)
Even on my daily commute, I'll sometimes forget; I'll be cruising along at 16-18mph in 5th, 6th or 7th gear, Level 1 assist, enjoying the ride. Come to the busy crosswalk where I stop to activate the crossing lights -- and then find myself trying to start up fresh in 6th gear at Level 1 -- which I can do, worst case (but I have no throttle) -- but it just slows my crossing down (thus holding up the rush hour traffic more than necessary!) I've made that commute 55 times this year, and I still forget to pre-set myself into a lower gear approaching that stop, at least once a week
Even on my daily commute, I'll sometimes forget; I'll be cruising along at 16-18mph in 5th, 6th or 7th gear, Level 1 assist, enjoying the ride. Come to the busy crosswalk where I stop to activate the crossing lights -- and then find myself trying to start up fresh in 6th gear at Level 1 -- which I can do, worst case (but I have no throttle) -- but it just slows my crossing down (thus holding up the rush hour traffic more than necessary!) I've made that commute 55 times this year, and I still forget to pre-set myself into a lower gear approaching that stop, at least once a week
With motor or without, the normal method for starting up a steepish hill is go SIDEWAYS across the slope to get some momentum going and shift to a lower gear if you forgot. Then turn uphill when you've got some momentum. If it's really steep you might have to turn and roll downhill first to be able to get to the right gear and get your peddling going fast. If it's steep and long and you (or motor) are running out of gas it's often easier to weave back and forth across the slope going uphill more gradually. Like switchback roads do versus heading straight up the hill. FWIW
Nova Haibike
Well-Known Member
I just do what I would do with a regular bike...reverse direction until I have some speed, shift down as necessary, and make a u-turn to go back up.
ebikemom
Well-Known Member
There are some hills I don't try to ride up, if much over a 20% grade, especially if I don't have time to prepare by downshifting. For those, I walk the bike up the hill with a little touch of throttle. Sometimes also, a hill comes up suddenly, or with no time to downshift and if the hill is too steep (25% grade or higher, for example) then throttling up it without pedaling won't work for me. I find that my husband can do some things I can't when it comes to sudden steep hills--his bike is more maneuverable than mine and undoubtedly he is stronger and has more stamina than I do.
When in doubt, I walk the bike. Safety first!
When in doubt, I walk the bike.
Safety first!AHicks
Well-Known Member
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- USA
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- Snow Bird - Summer S.E. Michigan, Winter Gulf Coast North Central Fl.
That's easier said than done on many occasions where the reason you are stopped is a stop sign at an intersection with a lot of traffic.
6zfshdb
Well-Known Member
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- USA
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- Northeast Pennsylvania
My wife and I use the throttle to get going from a dead stop almost all the time. As Amy says, it is also handy for walking the bike. These are the only uses we have for the throttle. I'm not sure how doing this will affect your noise issue though.
Nova Haibike
Well-Known Member
This is true, but I have been riding a long time. In that situation, I would have shifted down beforehand in anticipation of stopping.
ebikemom
Well-Known Member
YES, and it does take practice for ebikers to coordinate shifting with their PAS levels (if equipped) and throttle (if equipped). For sudden steeps, I've gotten better and better at making all of those pieces work together smoothly.
Well just back from a hilly trail near the VA Tech campus. Interesting how my wife approached this issue. New PIM bike with .75w DD hub, same as mine, After reading the comments from the first of this post, I went riding anticipating down-gearing. Worked fine if I was able to anticipate. But I got caught by the presence of others on the trail at congestion points and couldn't down-gear before stopping. Result was noisy take-offs on grades. My wife, left her bike in 7/8 gear and played the PAS level, 1-3 and had no issues. Never changed gears. She never used the throttle either. Next ride we agreed to change bikes and see if the issue is only me!
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