Zen Photon Pro contact points mods?

[jim1274]

I like this phrase: "...give yourself permissio to ride at any assist level you like..."

I find myself using PAS 1. It's a great workout.

I found PAS 1 to give enough boost that was a little easier than pedaling my non-electrics. Level 2 made it feel like I could ride for hours, and I’m old and just recently back to bike riding. On a recent maybe 1.5 hour ride, the battery level was barely dented, charging back up in literally a few minutes. I can’t wait to try a real marathon, the large battery capacity a big plus if you run out of mojo 20 miles from home.

Then Sunday, this happened: I rode to the donut shop 1/2 mile away. Used the throttle only on the way back just to see what it was like. It was set at PAS 4. 18.5mph with a slight incline and pulling my big butt all the way home.

I wonder how far one could go at that 18.5MPH pace on throttle only?

Yeah, that made me smile.

So much power.

Yeah, that throttle will definitely put a smile on your face when you need it.

 

[jim1274]

Yeah, my calves and shins looked like war zones for a month after switching to pedals with those !@#$^^&*! pins. And lower leg wounds take a while to heal at 75. Thankfully, the legs eventually learned to stay out of harm's way on their own.

I came across something interesting to reduce sharpness/shredding on those grub screw thread pins:

Small Composite Pedal Friendly Pin Kit

The Friendly Pin is an aluminum nut that covers a regular threaded pedal pin. The Friendly Pins come installed on the Small Composite Pedal but can be installed on the Composite Pedal as well. CONTAINS 40 - Threaded M3x10mm Socket Head Pins 40 - Friendly Nuts COMPATIBILITY Composite Pedals...

www.oneupcomponents.com

No clue if these would work on pedals beyond the pedals OneUp makes them for:

OneUp Components Composite Pedal - High-quality MTB Flat Pedal at a Good Price

Durable. Grippy. Light. Amazing value. Our Composite Pedals set the standard for all mountain bike flat pedals. Their large platform, replaceable pins and slightly convex shape make a natural and secure fit under the arch of your foot. Available in 6 colours.

www.oneupcomponents.com

 

[jim1274]

Next on the controversial/personal scale—pedals:

Anyone else find the OEM pedals too grippy? I’m struggling to understand why Zen would equip the Photon with an ultra grippy pedal for this style of bike/riding? The pedals have extra long 6mm screw pins—wouldn’t more typical 4mm pins be plenty and more suitable? I found them so grippy, got my foot caught on the pedal when stopping and dismounting, fortunately only getting a bunch of gashes on my legs and not ending up on the ground. I see these pedals, when purchased separately, come packaged with alternate 4mm pins, but Zen chose to stay with the 6mm.

Base Pedal

Temporarily, I switched the OEM Photon e*thirteen pedals with the OEM ones on my Ride1up 700, a Wellgo pedal with 4mm molded pins, shorter and a lot less sharp/grippy than the Photon 6mm screws.

Anyone using a different pedal on their Photon?

I trolled around on the forum looking for posts/info/feedback on those OneUp composite pedals, the comments generally positive. I have a large shoe size (13), one of the reasons the OneUp caught my eye given the larger than average platform size. Well, I found a post with comparison of the OneUp size to others—post #30 here:

EMTB pedals

How much are you going to spend on pedals Dave? Composite or CNC machine alloy. Are you a hard core riderl Maybe you don’t need to change the pedals Amazon is a seductive mistress.

forums.electricbikereview.com

So I trolled over to the Pedaling Innovations website to scope out their giant pedal for big feet:

XL Catalyst Pedal - Pedaling Innovations

Free Shipping in the US *ATTN: Riders with Size 13 foot and larger* Get the pedals that will instantly improve your power, stability and comfort. If you wear a size 12 or smaller shoe then the larger pedal won’t work for you. In fact, the consistent feedback from smaller footed riders (including...

pedalinginnovations.com

I could not find the installed grub screw pin size, but did see this:

“18 pins per side strategically placed to maximize the new, optimized foot position possible with this design

– Shipped with longer (8mm) replacement grub screws to swap out for extra traction“

Whoa! EIGHTEEN grub screws per side! Even if the installed grub screws are only 4mm, 18 pins is some serious shredding capability. I didn’t even know any pedal used 8mm grub screws. That makes the 11 6mm grub screws on pedals that ate my legs look like child’s play by comparison.

 

[DrewInSK]

Only thing I've swapped in was a Brooks C19 carved. it did not fit well with the stock seatpost/config in general. Still pondering a regular C17. Cambium is serious comfort on long rides usually.

I did swap in Raceface Chesters https://www.raceface.com/products/chester-pedal?variant=31913986457682 (had em on hand for another ebike rebuild that isn't moving). The stock pedals started spewing out a bit of grease at 400km, and I'm not fussed about consumables like that.
The Chesters are great, smaller surface area, but great grip(I also use Ion Seek MTB shoes with soft soles, have for a while, they give great grip, like clips on this style of pedal without clips). Raceface offers another version without the spikes too, though I have not tried em.

Over time I'll probably start messing around a bit more. Usually after the first 1200 km I start to really know what works and doesn't.

 

[jim1274]

Only thing I've swapped in was a Brooks C19 carved. it did not fit well with the stock seatpost/config in general. Still pondering a regular C17. Cambium is serious comfort on long rides usually.

Well, Brooks has a lot of fans, one I’ll likely try at some point. The next one in the testing queue is being brought tomorrow by my bike shop guy:

PR 3.0 | ISM Seat

PR 3.0 – $159.88 The PR 3.0 is an update of the very popular Typhoon saddle. At 145mm wide, it is our widest PR model – great for upright style bikes, or those seeking maximum support. With 60-series foam and gel padding, you won’t find a softer seat in the ISM line. While the PR 3.0 Read more »

ismseat.com

I did swap in Raceface Chesters https://www.raceface.com/products/chester-pedal?variant=31913986457682 (had em on hand for another ebike rebuild that isn't moving). The stock pedals started spewing out a bit of grease at 400km, and I'm not fussed about consumables like that.
The Chesters are great, smaller surface area, but great grip(I also use Ion Seek MTB shoes with soft soles, have for a while, they give great grip, like clips on this style of pedal without clips). Raceface offers another version without the spikes too, though I have not tried em.

I actually just got a different set of Raceface pedals delivered today, selected to try for the less aggressive pin style:

Ride Pedal | MTB Pedal | Raceface

Designed with future shredders and novice riders in mind, the Ride pedal sports a durable nylon composite body with 18 molded traction studs to provide solid footing while being kinder and gentler on your shins should you slip up.

www.raceface.ca

Over time I'll probably start messing around a bit more. Usually after the first 1200 km I start to really know what works and doesn't.

The only other thing I’m messing with right off the bat is changing grips to Ergons if the bike shop guy gets the gripshift version in by tomorrow:

Produkte · Ergon Bike

Ergonomic products for cyclists.

www.ergonbike.com