Throttle or no throttle. That is the question

[fooferdoggie]

throttle lovers gonna hate.

 

[Taylor57]

throttle lovers gonna hate.

lol

 

[zipur]

I wonder if Throttles were offered on the current Non-Throttle bikes. Whereby you had a choice, what would the market say.

 

[m@Robertson]

Cracked some ribs, among other minor injuries, on this endo over the bars. Motored home. (also bent the front fork a bit). Without that throttle I'd be done for.

Also the comments about how you don't need to use a throttle to start from a stop comes from recreational riders who don't understand the ramifications of using an ebike as a true automobile replacement. In particular what it takes to start a bike with a 560 lb total system weight. Its not just weight - which is significant - the big deal is balance at start. Over and over again from one red light to the next. The pic below was this specific 560 lb run from Costco. My speed home peaked (!) to around 8 mph so hot rodding was irrelevant to the need. I pedaled once I got going, as I always do.

Poor planning on my part for not realizing how heavy a 36-pack of soda actually was. The 560 was the most I've ever carried, weightwise, but I've often been in the 400-500 lb range.

Throttles are a tool. Not everyone knows how to use tools, or even understands them sometimes, and thats OK. We can't all be experts on everything (although this being the internet ... )

 

[EMGX]

You throttle haters are legends in your own minds. If you are such strong and able riders go back to riding only non-assist bikes and join analog bike forums to trash e-bikes because you don't need one. I don't have a throttle on any of my ebikes although that is an option for a few of them. How is that relevant to someone who wants or feels they need a throttle on their bike? It isn't.

 

[Art Deco]

IDK, but I think Bafang does that. You can buy a throttle or not. No big deal.

 

[EMGX]

IDK, but I think Bafang does that. You can buy a throttle or not. No big deal.

I have two bikes with aftermarket Tongsheng TSDZ2 mid drives and two aftermarket hub motor bikes (one front, one rear), all of them have option of throttles. And one BH gravel bike with a Yamaha PW-SE mid drive that doesn't have a throttle option - unfortunately BH had the walk assist disabled for that bike. I would have liked and used the walk assist, or a throttle, last fall riding the "Old West Scenic Bikeway" in eastern Oregon on a very steep, long, section. Walking beside the bike loaded for touring would have been much better than having to push it up the hill.
And not to be an iconoclast but the two hub drive bikes with only cadence sensing are fun and able bikes which can handle everything I have wanted from them, YMMV. Everyone should ride what suits them without denigrating other people's choices and preferences.

 

[Dallant]

Cracked some ribs, among other minor injuries, on this endo over the bars. Motored home. (also bent the front fork a bit). Without that throttle I'd be done for.

Also the comments about how you don't need to use a throttle to start from a stop comes from recreational riders who don't understand the ramifications of using an ebike as a true automobile replacement. In particular what it takes to start a bike with a 560 lb total system weight. Its not just weight - which is significant - the big deal is balance at start. Over and over again from one red light to the next. The pic below was this specific 560 lb run from Costco. My speed home peaked (!) to around 8 mph so hot rodding was irrelevant to the need. I pedaled once I got going, as I always do.

View attachment 90089

Poor planning on my part for not realizing how heavy a 36-pack of soda actually was. The 560 was the most I've ever carried, weightwise, but I've often been in the 400-500 lb range.

Throttles are a tool. Not everyone knows how to use tools, or even understands them sometimes, and thats OK. We can't all be experts on everything (although this being the internet ... )

Throttles certainly have their place. Someday I may welcome one but not yet.

 

[penserv]

My bike does have a throttle, which I've only used occasionally until the past week. On my route out to the golf course, there is construction on one of the roads, so they put in a traffic light and it's single lane with no shoulders or sidewalks. Apart from the main highway with semi's about 3 feet away, this is the only road I can take and it's definitely safer than the highway. So when the light is red, I end up being stuck right in the middle of the cars. When the light turns green, I've found that if I hit the throttle and pedal, I can go almost 50 km/hr uphill and through the construction zone, I'll actually be going faster than the cars. Without a throttle, my bike would just sit in the garage till the construction was finished because it would just be too dangerous to ride through there on pedal power alone. It even gets more exciting coming home on the downhill stretch. With throttle and pedaling, I've hit the mid 60's when I'm first in line. Problem is I have to brake hard at the end in order to negotiate the sharp corner, so I try to stay in the 40-50 km/hr range. The throttle makes my life so much easier in this particular instance, but when you're out of the construction zone and you back off the throttle, the bike feels like a tub of cement with two flat tires because of the weight and drag. It's really tempting to use the throttle on all the uphill portions of my ride, but I try to have enough discipline to only use it where I need it in the construction zone.

 

[6zfshdb]

My throttle is an infrequently used tool but I'm very glad it's there when I need it. The only down side is, a throttle makes it a class 2 bike, which in some areas, makes it illegal to ride.

 

[Gordon71]

My throttle is an infrequently used tool but I'm very glad it's there when I need it. The only down side is, a throttle makes it a class 2 bike, which in some areas, makes it illegal to ride.

That's true on the trails where I ride but when I asked if it was OK to ride the trails as long as I unplugged it first they said that was fine.

 

[Van Haren]

With throttle I pull around one of two trailers. One for two little ones and the other hauling heavy stuff. I can still go at least 14 miles if I keep to 9.5mph. Before I bought this Nakto 48V-500W hub motor (TREK of China) I had two e-Moto's with no PAS and a REAL throttle. 24V 250W would take me 15 miles at 12mph. I must have a REAL throttle because I served in Viet Nam unlike some others who had heel spurs.
Sgt. Richard

 

[EMGX]

I just put a throttle on my wife's geared front hub conversion bike. She has severe orthopedic issues but still likes to ride. If she has to start on an incline or is in too high of a gear she can't get started without a push. She loves the throttle now to just get her started although I did see her riding throttle only for a bit after a 18 mile ride on a hilly route. A great addition to her bike to enable her to continue to get out and ride.

I don't concern myself with the Class 1 vs 2 multi use path legality, absolutely no one around here would even care.

 

[Hasaf]

I will point out a situation my daughter was in several years ago. She was on an ebike in Salt Lake City and was hit by a car that was coming out of a parking lot. Of course, the driver immediately left the scene.

For those of you not from the US, please understand that the single largest cause of bankruptcies is unplanned medical expenses. I say this to point out the reason she just went home instead of calling for medical assistance.

She was in too much pain to pedal back to her apartment. However she had a throttle on that bike and, with it, was able to get home. As it happened, a UPS driver was making a delivery nearby and carried the bike up to her apartment for her. She was then able to soak in a hot bath for a while, clean abrasions and the like.

She holds that, without the throttle, she would not have been able to get home.

My current eBike does not have a throttle, my previous one did. Just for the "what if" factor, I will probably add a throttle at some point.

 

[john peck]

I am new to E bikes and EBR. Have been reading a lot of posts on the site and doing a lot of research on so many E bikes.
When it comes to throttle or no throttle and why some manufacturers decided not to put a throttle on is puzzling to me.
There was a time when I would never think of in a E bike. It's like cheating but I had both my knees replaced recently and
this puts me back in the game again. Personally I would prefer throttle in case my knees give out for whatever reason.
But the new Fuell is a class 3 28 mpg with no throttle and a Enviolo Aurora Limited class 2 20 mpg has a throttle why.
It seems to me you took yourself out of sales. If you did put a throttle on the owner who doesn't want to use it
wouldn't bother them. Somebody needs to enlighten me a little on the subject

A throttle is damn handy when you need to cross a busy intersection or need to bump up your cadence
going into a hill. Once I build momentum, I can sustain it with a lower gear & higher cadence that needs
little or no juice.

 

[Jason Knight]

A throttle is damn handy when you need to cross a busy intersection or need to bump up your cadence
going into a hill. Once I build momentum, I can sustain it with a lower gear & higher cadence that needs
little or no juice.

Exactly this. I've found on a number of hills as I go farther out from my "normal" non electric riding area that you can tap the throttle -- at least if you have a hub motor -- whilst shifting so that you can better "dead pedal", putting a lot less stress on things when you suddenly need to do a downshift you didn't plan on. I just yesterday barreled up a very rocky 30 grade weaving through a group of a half dozen plus mountain bikers, several of whom gave up and got off to push, and the throttle let me safely switch gears mid climb after one of them braked and went sideways in front of me, forcing a sharp turn and braking I really hadn't planned on.

I'm also still getting used to the idea of not being able to shift at a standstill, since I spent the past 15 years or so riding internal gear hubs. I always had a distrust for derailleurs going back to the late '70s. I'm VERY impressed with changes to the tech I was ignorant of, and having the throttle assist can be handy if you panic stop or forget to downshift before stopping. Rather than struggling to start off in the highest gear, or having to get off, lift the rear end to get it back to the lowest gear, you just give the throttle a love-tap to get you off the line.

With the throttle on my Aventon limited to 20mph and PAS topping out at 30 (was 35 before I swapped to a bigger chainring) the only time I use the throttle is either from a stop, or if something goes pear-shaped on an incline in terms of the cadence sensor not giving enough oomph.

It's nice to have as an option, and in my limited experience I'd think not having it would be a lot less safe.

 

[hoggdoc]

The Euro bike makers have no throttles because they are illegal in Europe. Their lobbyists helped implement the USA Class 1, and CLass 3 systems which are pedal assist only. Class 2 is of course both pedal and throttle. Current importers of chinese bikes have been re-defining class 3 as throttle to 20 mph, PAS to 28 mph, which is not really true to the definition, but what do I care. All my bikes have throttles,

I think most people would like to have a throttle and use it as desired.

Also the EU and UK limit the motor power to ridiculous 250 watts. In my book you might as well not even put a motor on at that level.

 

[hoggdoc]

IDK, but I think Bafang does that. You can buy a throttle or not. No big deal.

Thats just their way of making a few more bucks.

 

[JRA]

Also the EU and UK limit the motor power to ridiculous 250 watts. In my book you might as well not even put a motor on at that level.

But in actuality none of their bikes a limited to 250 watts and most are at least 500w or even more. The vagueness of the wording of that law has been discussed on here many times.....but I do agree that if a system was only capable of 250w it wouldn't be worth the weight and complexity to have aboard.

I wouldn't own an eBike without a throttle for the total of perhaps one mile in every thousand that I find it useful for.

Just today while out hunting Chanterelles my much younger buddy on his Giant stopped on an incline and struggled to get going again as he was in too high a gear while I blipped the throttle and started pedaling easily after he got it figured out. Plus a couple of spots that I needed to use it as a walk assist was handy.

 

[Van Haren]

The finest "PAS" is a fully functional throttle. On my Nakto the throttle went through the "PAS" controller and increased speed in those steps. A slight touch was instant full 8mph and a wheelie.