Walking your bike

[Barbara]

I just ordered an Interceptor yesterday even though I had one concern, and I am wondering if it is something that might just be due to how the demo was adjusted or tuned.

On another bike I tested, I could give the throttle just a tiny amount of force, enough to help me slowly walk the bike from point A to point B. (Some bikes even have a "walk" mode or speed that does this automatically.) On the Interceptor, I wasn't able to do that. The tiniest bit of throttle I could get, no matter how gently I tried to turn it, was faster than I wanted to walk. I should have asked the dealer about it but I am just so exhausted from bike research and frustrated about finding a bike that fit me that I knew it was the best bike for me, even if that feature wasn't available. But I would love to have it.

So - are you able to walk along your bike with just enough throttle engaged to ease the pain of lugging a 50+ pound bike alongside?

Thanks -- Barbara

 

[tallpaul]

Just a thought..... Until you get it sorted out you might try softly applying the brakes to keep it from going too fast. On the Bosch system there is a walk feature but it seems to be unimplemented in the USA, at least on some eBikes. Shame really!

 

[SuperGoop]

My Voltbike Yukon 750 has a 6 km/h walk mode which I initially thought was too fast. However, I now realize that the only time I really use this mode is when I have to push my bike up a very steep (un-rideable) hill.

Therefore, in a real-use situation, 6 km/h bogs down to around 4 km/h because of the steep hill, which is perfect.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

This would be one feature I wish Pedego would add.

 

[Barbara]

Just a thought..... Until you get it sorted out you might try softly applying the brakes to keep it from going too fast.

Do you mean use the throttle and the brake simultaneously while walking, to control the speed? Yeah, I guess that would work, with some coordination.

The other bike I tested didn't have a special slow mode, it just had a much less sensitive (or more sensitive?) throttle controller.

Anyway, it sounds like what I experienced is just "as designed" and I will have to learn to live with it. Oh well, you can't have everything....

 

[Mr. Coffee]

If you activate the brakes the motor automagically shuts off. That is intentional and a good thing.

 

[Barbara]

Oh, right. Yes I know that's a good thing. Just pushing and releasing the throttle will have to suffice, I guess, and I'll just stumble alongside.

 

[justforfun]

After reading your post, I walked my Interceptor a short distance with throttle. Doable, but easy does it.

 

[Barbara]

Did you have to kind of scamper alongside? That was my issue. I couldn't get it to go as slowly as I wanted.

 

[justforfun]

No, I didn't scamper but I didn't go very far. Just wanted to see if it was possible.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

My wife's City Commuter has a Walk mode, I expect yours would as well. I think you hold the Down selector button down for about five seconds and it kicks in.

 

[Barbara]

My wife's City Commuter has a Walk mode, I expect yours would as well. I think you hold the Down selector button down for about five seconds and it kicks in.

Wow, now that is really interesting. Various manuals I have seen don't mention that, or say holding Down for several seconds does something else. How did you discover that? What year is your wife's bike? I can't wait to try that!

 

[ebikemom]

The interceptor also has a walk mode. It is accessible via the control panel.

1. Power on the bike.
2. Press and hold the "set" key till back-lit. Release the "set" key.
3. Press the "set" key five times to reach set 6.
4. Use "plus" or "minus" key to toggle "on" and "off." When in the "off" position, the throttle, when engaged, will go at walking speed.
5. To save, press and hold the "set" key.

I got this information here:

I haven't tried it yet. If anyone tries it, please report how it worked!

 

[christob]

No Interceptor here, but my bike has a Walk mode that I recall wasn't mentioned in the short user manual, either... it is press-and-hold the "Down" button for about 4 seconds (and continue holding to keep Walk mode engaged.)

 

[ebikemom]

More on the walking a Pedago with the throttle. Today I was going up a super super steep hill, on PAS 5, and in first gear, and I accidentally bumped it up into PAS 6, so the bike stopped. I got off. It was too steep for me to get back on. So, I'm facing this wall with a really heavy bike. I decided to just nudge the throttle on a smidge, and it worked great to walk the bike up the steep hill.

I was with my 13 year old, and she said she uses a tiny touch of throttle to walk her bike, too, but said she has to be careful not to push the throttle too far.

So, the throttle does work to walk the bike, with no further adjustments. It just requires a very slight turn in order to do that. If you want to try it, I'd suggest starting by being on a hill, which would be the only time one would need to walk the bike with the throttle, anyway.