No throttle and no way home today... :(

[AHicks]

I was kinda trying to be nice and defuse another hater post, but if prefer to extend it, here's another perspective. The furthest I was ever stranded was with a hall sensor failure on a throttle single speed fat bike on a horribly hot day, on a remote rail trail. I was almost dead when I got to a little town so my wife could pick me up. All water was gone and my legs were shot. Throttles are not the fix all, you can still be stranded.

But if the throttle gets you out of the next 3 jams you find yourself in, what then?

I shared a story a while back where a (1000w geared hub) throttle equipped bike allowed me to get home after a loss of balance (climbing a short steep hill I'd climbed 100 times previous) resulting in the bike "wheelying" out from under me, leaving me flat on my back with the wind knocked right out of me. Not seriously hurt, but certainly in no mood to pedal home...

And again, just the other day, I lost my balance after stopping so hard my brakes locked up on asphalt. This to avoid being mowed down by some a-hole running a stop sign. A really stupid (embarrasing!!!) 1 mph accident. Again, nothing serious, but pavement rash on one knee and one elbow, with a lot of pain and blood adding cool effects, left me in no mood to be pedaling a second time. Home was a mile away.... I was damned glad I had a throttle....

After these 2 incidents, it'll be a cold day in hell before you catch me on a bike with no throttle. No "if" to it.

 

[vincent]

Rich why couldn’t you just unplug if it was giving you problems? Don’t you have pas

I have owned bikes with pas , pas and throttle , torque, cadence , only throttle , class 1, class 2, class3 and my personal preference is to have a bike with pas and throttle whether it is torque or cadence

Like the redundancy and the ability to get home on the other option

That being said my bikes do not break much, even my cheap bafang bikes
Part of that may be because my riding is spread out over several different bikes so not all of them have high mileage

95% of the time I am in a shop it is for modifications or to buy stuff


I also have only once -years ago before ebikes were in every shop - had a shop not want to work on an ebike

have ZERO problems getting help in my bikes ever
Whether it is electric or mechanical
I am pretty knowledgeable and can make a good guess on what is wrong and get electrical parts sent to me
And don’t expect a shop to spend 2 hours finding a part for an ebike they did not sell unless I am paying their hourly rate

All my LBS love me, I spend a lot of money in them

 

[PedalUma]

HB throttles are not needed with mid torque sensor bikes. It works like a car. Push down the pedal with pressure to go. Only even numbered classes have HB throttles, exclusively Class 2. The first two classes are limited within a rectangular box together, both limited to 20 Mph. Class three is a solo circle, unboxed w/ no handlebar throttle and goes 28, 45Kph.

 

[vincent]

What is HB?
Think most of us are aware of how mid drive torque bikes work

 

[JRA]

I have no problem with the anti throttle crowd here because they are all on my ignore list. Saved my bacon more than once and wouldn't own an eBike without one. However it does bother me a bit to see someone using one exclusively on an eBike but even then have to feel sorry for them as they are missing out on the best part of riding a bicycle.

 

[tomjasz]

However it does bother me a bit to see someone using one exclusively on an eBike

Could it be they’re unable to pedal? Isn’t it better they can actually take better care of themselves with an eBike rather then stink up the air in a cage? I did all my errands on a 350w md drive this week. 3 out of 7 days I couldn’t pedal unless I clown pedalled in level 9 assist. How dare any one of us to decide what’s right for another rider? My road rash last year turned into MRSA. I throttled through the next two weeks. Pedalling was to painful.

WARNING NOT FOR WEAK STOMACHS

 

[AHicks]

Could it be they’re unable to pedal? Isn’t it better they can actually take better care of themselves with an eBike rather then stink up the air in a cage? I did all my errands on a 350w md drive this week. 3 out of 7 days I couldn’t pedal unless I clown pedalled in level 9 assist. How dare any one of us to decide what’s right for another rider? My road rash last year turned into MRSA. I throttled through the next two weeks. Pedalling was to painful.

WARNING NOT FOR WEAK STOMACHS

Hey, I'm still nursing one that looks just like that!

 

[ChezCheese:)]

I have a question: if you have a mid-drive, if your internally geared hub broke, how would a throttle help you, since there would be no drive connection from the motor to the rear wheel, yes? So the only situation in which a throttle would help you in case of serious indisposition of the IGH, is with a hub-drive bike, possibly, depending on the problem, yes?

 

[Jpar]

I'm a day one e-biker and I wouldn't have even bought one of these bikes if it didn't have a throttle... After test driving one locally I told my friends "it's like all the fun of riding a bike without the work!..."
My wife hasn't yet turned on the electrical, but we've rode together the last two days...
I say enjoy the ride... Your money - your way...

 

[AHicks]

I have a question: if you have a mid-drive, if your internally geared hub broke, how would a throttle help you, since there would be no drive connection from the motor to the rear wheel, yes? So the only situation in which a throttle would help you in case of serious indisposition of the IGH, is with a hub-drive bike, possibly, depending on the problem, yes?

Yes, agreed, if your mid drive IGH fails (or your belt/chain), you are down. Kinda the same situation if you were to blow out a tire (no matter the drive type). That's not going to leave you many options either....

That said, I think maybe the bigger point being made here, is not when the throttle can't/won't save your butt, but when it WILL. Throttle haters love to discuss why they don't NEED one, but things get much quieter when discussing why not have one there for when you do need it? There's very little downside to having one there you rarely need/use. And things get even quieter with the thought of if you DID have a throttle, would you use it?

Class laws be damned....

 

[CodyDog]

Although I no longer have a throttle e-bike, I enjoyed my Rad Rover while I had it. I think all type of e-bikes are cool and whatever gets folks out on the road is good. In any society, there will always be opinions. There's analog riders that detest e-bikes around here (mostly roadies). I always enjoy introducing my bike to the analog riders and love to see the smile on their faces when they test ride my bike. We spend a lot of time in Colorado and it is surprising how many analog MTB riders have switched to EMTB's.

With that being said, I am amazed with all the e-bike offerings in the world today. My first e-bike was back in 2018 and it seems like the e-bike population keeps growing since then. I wish I could have 5 different bikes in the stable!

 

[PedalUma]

I will be making a house call to repair a HB throttle bike today. I am not opposed. But, HB throttles are just not needed for most riders. HB is handlebar. If it is in your foot with pedal pressure like a car, not cadence, than it is redundant on the HB. HB throttles detract from the aesthetic of a bike because they require more and thicker wires and a messier cockpit. It makes practical sense to just shift the throttle into the pedal. Yes, a case can be made for hand controls with cars too for certain cases. Push foot go.

 

[tomjasz]

I have a question: if you have a mid-drive, if your internally geared hub broke, how would a throttle help you, since there would be no drive connection from the motor to the rear wheel, yes? So the only situation in which a throttle would help you in case of serious indisposition of the IGH, is with a hub-drive bike, possibly, depending on the problem, yes?

I take care of my drive and my chains. THOUSANDS of miles with mid-drives and no disaster. I'm not the type to panic. I do have a chain and chain tool in my battery bag.

 

[tomjasz]

Hey, I'm still nursing one that looks just like that!

I hope not MRSA is NO FUN!

 

[Lightning P38]

Throttle & hub motor gets you home if chain falls off or master link clip pops loose, pedal falls out or breaks, crank falls off or breaks, crank bearing retainer falls out, PAS pickup snags a stick or grass stem, shifter sticks in granny gear. I've had the last for a month. Replaced the derailleur & shifter last week, no improvement. Ordering a cable housing today. 30 miles at 2 mph would be 15 hours. I could walk faster. No, the bike won't fit in the wife's car. No smart phone, no uber. **** *****!

Having had 2 heart attacks while bike riding, I have throttle in case I have another heart attack. I ride a short wheelbase recumbent, with a kit I put on it. I use the cadence sensor most of the time, but use the throttle to get started, and when I get on a rough trail with sand or rocks so I can put my feet down for balance. I have a 700c rear wheel with hub motor, and a 20” front wheel. The 20” wheel gets squirrelly on sand or rocks.
Like you said, there are a lot of things a hub motor and throttle can overcome!

 

[fooferdoggie]

Darn Bosch elite. Always expecting the entire market to buy into your one-way evangelical Bosch crowd. Don't be a Stefan!

no I was just pocking at the silliness of this whole argument both sides. no brand is god. I jsut get a kick out of it when people think they cant live without something new on a bike.

 

[tomjasz]

I jsut get a kick out of it when people think they cant live without something new on a bike.

Like a motor? Too funny...

 

[fooferdoggie]

Like a motor? Too funny...

lived without one for many years. I bet I did 15,000 miles without one. I hauled 200+ pounds on a trailer with my recumbent for 3 to 9 miles. a motor makes it a lot more fun for sure.

 

[AHicks]

lived without one for many years. I bet I did 15,000 miles without one. I hauled 200+ pounds on a trailer with my recumbent for 3 to 9 miles. a motor makes it a lot more fun for sure.

Maybe like a throttle might?

 

[AHicks]

I hope not MRSA is NO FUN!

No, or at least I hope not. This one seems to be doing fine, but it's only a week old. I'll be fine pretty sure. Still, having to deal with it (like changing the dressing time) just because of some a-hole's inattention, is frustrating.