Those recovering

Obturner

Obturner

New Member
Region
USA
Greetings all. Forums like these can be more helpful than the pros sometimes. That is why I am bringing my problem to you.

My wife, 70yo, has just won (we think) a two year battle against cancer which has left her weaker than I have ever seen her. Our family used to ride together. I got her a used mid drive Bulls Lacuba Evo 2 step through. It has a 36 volt battery Brose motor and Shimano 8 speed rear hub. And torque sensor drive.

At this time she can ride on level ground ok and ride gentle grades but she’s scared when starting. She wishes there were a “button to give [her] a little push start.”

Does anyone know of a solution for this? Perhaps a thumb throttle or even something out of left field. I have spent my life maintaining machines and I have a two year electronics degree so I’m not unfamiliar with modifications.
 
Welcome and thanks for reaching out. To the best of my knowledge a boost button or thumb throttle is not available for her Brose motor. It would be interesting to feed a micro voltage to the torque sensor to see what happens.
 
Obturner said:
She wishes there were a “button to give [her] a little push start.”
Click to expand...
Not what you asked for, but have you tried increasing the assist level? The first time on an ebike (Specialized), the LBS thought he was doing me favor and set the control at full assist; I hated the feeling of the bike taking off as soon as I moved the pedal. Took it down to lowest assist and it was fine. Perhaps some experimenting will get her something acceptable.
 
May not be a solution with the bike you already have for your wife, but starting out is one place where thumb throttles really shine. A half-second blip is all I need to get up to a knee-friendly cadence in any low or medium gear. Especially handy when you don't have time to downshift or increase PAS before stopping.

Of course, quick acceleration is what you're really after in starting out. Turns out, it's also a very handy capability in many different traffic situations. Also sometimes a safer alternative when you suddenly need to move away from an erratic car or pedestrian.

If your wife ends up going the throttle route, I'd recommend a throttle that delivers predictable, instantaneous full power at all non-zero PAS levels, like mine. After 8 months, still ambivalent about mine getting disabled at PAS 0. Wish I could try it both ways.
 
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@Jeremy McCreary is as I understand a retired Physician. Life is short, lets enjoy it. Getting out and moving is very good for overall healing and heath. If this were a medical device, and in a way it is, and it was not right for the patient's needs, a good physician would say to trade it for what the Dr. orders. I am just a bike mechanic, so take my opinions with a grain of gestalt because no one can give medical advice on a forum like this.
 
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I know this doesn't help you but when test riding e-bikes, my 70 year-old wife quickly discovered the difficulty in starting out on a heavy bike. A throttle became key in our ultimate choice.

Adding a throttle to a Brose powered bike is a difficult if not impossible hack. Trading or selling her Bulls Lacuba and getting a throttled bike may be your only practical solution. I know this may be financially difficult but if riding will help with your wife's recovery and quality of life, the expense may be justified. With a doctor's help, such a purchase may actually be tax deductible.

Welcome to the forum and I hope we can help work out a solution to your problem.
 
Your replies have acknowledged that our problem is real, validated our desire, and given us encouraging alternatives. You’re good people. We’ll start with the least invasive, the ‘full boost, pedal at the top’ and proceed through the list. And the tricycle idea is not too extreme. I feared it might make her feel more ‘old and tottery’ self conscious, but the feeling of security and success might also be fun enough to make her forget all about it.

Thank you all.
Art Turner
 
PedalUma said:
@Jeremy McCreary is as I understand a retired Physician. Life is short, lets enjoy it. Getting out and moving is very good for overall healing and heath. If this were a medical device, and in a way it is, and it was not right for the patient's needs, a good physician would say to trade it for what the Dr. orders. I am just a bike mechanic, so take my opinions with a grain of gestalt because no one can give medical advice on a forum like this.
Click to expand...
I was saying to my doctor the other day that I never get my medical advice off the internet; he looked kind of startled, and said that's where he gets his.
 
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Hopefully the Doctor has more reliable sources than EBR. To the O.P. sorry for the circumstances but let her know she isn't alone.
There are others on this board who are survivors or were very weakened from medical issues.
 
Obturner said:
Your replies have acknowledged that our problem is real, validated our desire, and given us encouraging alternatives. You’re good people. We’ll start with the least invasive, the ‘full boost, pedal at the top’ and proceed through the list. And the tricycle idea is not too extreme. I feared it might make her feel more ‘old and tottery’ self conscious, but the feeling of security and success might also be fun enough to make her forget all about it.

Thank you all.
Art Turner
Click to expand...
Hope she recovers and feels better. Seems like an three wheel e-bike might be a good idea, and even a good way to ease back into biking (or plan for the future - we all need to face up to the reality of aging, at some point).

Can’t say anything about whether this is any good, but came across this https://electrek.co/2023/07/27/affo...owers-cost-of-ultra-stable-e-bikes-in-the-us/
 
In Gilroy there was a program to gift eBikes as medical devices. This is from Brian, one of my town's Counsel members.

One participant, Raul, who at the start was 350 lbs and severely unmanaged diabetic shared detailed pre/post health data with us. In six months, he rode 1,100 miles, lost 25 pounds, and saw very impressive results in the three primary diabetes indicators: blood pressure, blood glucose, and hemoglobin A1c. Here is a video about his story (warning: it is a tear jerker!) and here are how his blood pressure, blood glucose, and hemoglobin A1c changed during the six month pilot:



Blood Pressure (120/80 is healthy)
Sep 2020: 152/84
Sep 2021: 113/78



Blood Glucose (less than 140 is normal)
Feb 2021: 189
May 2021: 189
Oct 2021: 148



Hemoglobin A1c (4.5-5.6 is normal)
Feb 2021: 8.2
May 2021: 8.2
Oct 2021: 6.8



On August 24, 2023 I got a text message from my colleague on the Gilroy City Council letting me know that Raul has continued to lose weight (down 85 lbs) and still credits our program and the e-bike we gave him for saving his life.
 
If there were a pharmaceutical that could produce the results Raul experienced with his bike, how much would it cost per year?

The bike saved his life. He started out with a goal of doing three miles roundtrip to Starbucks for coffee. Then he started doing six at six every morning. Soon he had to do twelve miles every morning or he felt irritable. Now he rides over twenty miles every day with a morning and late afternoon rides. It was an idea to test as a carbon offset for a developer. The results are so much bigger. Many chronic conditions cost over $10,000 per year to treat. He is also happy.
 
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