Assist, battery life etc

[Suissepaddy]

Hi all, I have a couple of probably pretty basic questions on assist levels, battery life etc. Firstly, when an e-bike is rated "25 km/h", my understanding is that the motor will assist up to 25 km/h and anything above that is the rider, correct? In that case, cycling above 25 preserves battery life? I ask because I went on a 72 km ride at the weekend, mostly paved surfaces, some gravel, and the middle 25 km was pretty flat (yes, we have flat bits in Switzerland). I was ticking along at 26+ or so and my range indicator was creeping up, to the extent it was telling me I could reach over 100 km on a single charge. When I finished my ride, I still had 20% left on the battery, which I thought was pretty good for a 500 Wh battery and a bloke on the, ahem, larger side. I normally ride on Eco, with the odd Tour+ on some short, sharp climbs, and often turn off assistance on shorter flats or gentle downhills.
Secondly, how does the assistance kick in exactly? Does it respond to the effort detected, or cadence, or is it simply on or off? I get the impression the harder I push, the more assistance I'm detecting, but I might just be imagining that.
Lastly, I find it a little odd that Bosch have different charger connectors, even for the same battery. For example, both my Moustache and my wife's Haibike have a 500Wh power tube, but the battery connector is completely different and not at all interchangeable. Is that by design, or is it because mine is brand new and my wife's is 3 years old?
Thanks all and sorry for the newbie questions.

 

[Paulquattro]

Hi Welcome to the site
Above limit you are obviously rider input only hence no battery use
The motor responds to pedal pressure and cadence via sensors in the motor
You have different battery connectors because of the age difference in bikes Bosch has changed the plugs recently

 

[Suissepaddy]

Great, thanks for prompt clarifications.