Pace 500 Hill Climb abilities

[Turbo55]

Hello,
I'm looking at purchasing a Pace 500, I live at mid base of foothills, hence ebike. I was informed that a hub motor ebike might have over heating problems, in particular with grades in double digits. Most of my paved hill climbs are at 4-7 %, I would be going up hill a mile or two at a time, but could give the motor a break by pedaling and riding perpendicular to the hill for half a mile or so. Does anyone have similar riding conditions? Any over heating problems?

It was recommended to me to get a mid drive, but I really want a throttle and so far pace is the one.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Rondak46]

You’re going to want to pedal assist on the hills. I have done some motoring around, throttle only, on some flat rides but it’s just not good for the battery.

 

[Turbo55]

Hi Rondak 46,

Thanks for the input. I was planning on pedalling, I'm thinking throttle would just be for fun now and then. I get throttle only uses a lot of battery, does it heat up the motor/controller also?

I test drove a Sinch to get a feel for Aventon, it was fun, would recommend if someone is looking for a folding ebike, too heavy for me.

I will have to get use to the torque of an Aventon.

 

[Rondak46]

I noticed that when I was being lazy with the pedals, or just throttling outright, the battery gauge would go down an then recover after giving it a rest. I am initially taking this to mean that the battery is getting hot and putting out less voltage. This is my guess as I am learning. I haven’t really thought about the heat of the controller and motor or the effects. In these scenarios, however, I am most concerned with the battery overheating.

 

[robrob]

I did a very steep gravel road climb on my Pace 500 with average grade at 9% for 4 miles and 1600 feet in climb into the Cherokee National Forest with no overheating. I weigh 240 lbs so the motor is pretty stout.

 

[Turbo55]

Robrob,

That's really helpful information. Thank you!!

I'm 64.5 inches, shrunk .5 over the years, 130 lbs, I'm a woman. I'm thinking I should go with the small, but the bike shop says I'm in between sizes and a medium would work, have not ridden a Pace 500 yet. I sat on a medium, it was already sold, the handle bars felt high, but of course it wasn't set up for me. Supposedly the bike shop has a medium in stock, going to try it out if they do. I want to add a suspension seat post, I'm concerned if I go with the medium I want have enough clearance room. The Aventon website does have what appears to be different info on their website about pace 500 sizing, but when I go to the women's step through they have detailed size info, small 4'-11" to 5'-8", med. 5'-8" to 6'-1". Any size advice?

 

[Rondak46]

If you’re on the edge, height-wise, use your inseam to tip the scales.

 

[67Tony]

There is also another thread, on this sub-forum, that discusses size decisions.

 

[PatriciaK]

The handle bars on my bike (a different bike, not Aventon) seemed really high to me, also - I'm still getting used to them. I'm pretty sure it's because I'm now riding in a more upright position than before, so, naturally the bars are going to be higher. I was concerned about this when first riding, and even went back to my LBS to try a small frame. Sure enough, when he adjusted the small frame, the handlebars were still "high". It's an adjustment .

 

[WattsUpDude]

The Pace 500 was my first ebike. I put more than 500 miles on it before I sold it. For the price-point, it's really well built and it covers a lot of distance in a speedy manner. But ultimately I sold it because it was a bit of a letdown on longer, sustained hills. I'm relatively light-weight at sub-140 pounds but I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and I have a lot of climbing to deal with. I also grew to dislike the cadence sensor based PAS. In SF, there's always a pack of cyclists and the cadence sensor would always lead to "launching" forward at speed, even in the lowest assist level. I always had a hand on the brake lever to cutoff power when taking off from a stop.

 

[Turbo55]

Thanks everyone, really helpful. Im in the burbs so I think I'll be in good shape.