Eco sucks!

Plummet

Flash Git
Mar 16, 2023
1,152
1,635
New Zealand
I've decided eco sucks. It basically offsets the weight of ebike and that's it. You end up going pretty much at mtb speeds.

If I want to ride at mtb speeds going up I'll ride my mountain bike instead. Thar is 11 kg lighter, more playful and a blast to ride.

So.... the only time I'll use eco is if the battery is running flat or I happen to be riding with mountain bikers and I have My ebike. Typically I ride my mtb with other mtbers and e with e.

With that said I'm all over smashing e Laps at faster speeds. That's mucho fun.
 

Plummet

Flash Git
Mar 16, 2023
1,152
1,635
New Zealand
No, my Bosch is fine. The motor is still switched on, just assist is off.
Switch it off isn’t that like riding a bike through treacle

My Bosch motor has resistance when assist is switched off. Plus i'm running a full fat 25kg bike with heavy tires. It definitely feels like pedaling through treacle when switch off and going up hill. It is horrendous by comparison to my mountain bike.
 

chrismechmaster

Well-known member
Dec 7, 2020
816
420
Newbury
My Bosch motor has resistance when assist is switched off. Plus i'm running a full fat 25kg bike with heavy tires. It definitely feels like pedaling through treacle when switch off and going up hill. It is horrendous by comparison to my mountain bike.
my levo is like that
 

irie

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Subscriber
May 2, 2022
2,751
2,825
Chichester, W.Sussex, UK
I've decided eco sucks. It basically offsets the weight of ebike and that's it. You end up going pretty much at mtb speeds.

If I want to ride at mtb speeds going up I'll ride my mountain bike instead. Thar is 11 kg lighter, more playful and a blast to ride.

So.... the only time I'll use eco is if the battery is running flat or I happen to be riding with mountain bikers and I have My ebike. Typically I ride my mtb with other mtbers and e with e.

With that said I'm all over smashing e Laps at faster speeds. That's mucho fun.
If you don't like Eco mode don't use it. Rocket science. Not. 😆

While we're here, are there any other things you don't like that we (ie others) should not do? Don't be shy, help us. 🙂
 

Plummet

Flash Git
Mar 16, 2023
1,152
1,635
New Zealand
If you don't like Eco mode don't use it. Rocket science. Not. 😆

While we're here, are there any other things you don't like that we (ie others) should not do? Don't be shy, help us. 🙂
To be fair, I didn't say you shouldn't use eco. For me it sucks.
 

Stihldog

Handheld Power Tool
Subscriber
Jun 10, 2020
3,671
5,230
Coquitlam, BC
IMG_7269.gif

Sorry…couldn’t resist.
 

mtb-steve

Member
Nov 4, 2021
113
99
Cumbria
My Bosch motor has resistance when assist is switched off. Plus i'm running a full fat 25kg bike with heavy tires. It definitely feels like pedaling through treacle when switch off and going up hill. It is horrendous by comparison to my mountain bike.
I use assist up hills, but I don't have a normal bike to compare it to either 🙂
 

lovespicyfood

New Member
Nov 24, 2023
45
12
California
Long time mtn biker that recently got an e-bike. I don’t use Eco much at all, but am contemplating tweaking the profile to give Eco just a bit more power (EP801). E-biking is a better workout than I imagined, surprised my average heart rate is just 4-6 beats per minute lower than my non e-bike rides.

Goal to use Eco mode is to throw some more anerobic burst into the mix sometimes…

What has surprised me most is the bike is significantly better on the downhill. I thought the added weight would really hamper downhill handling but ime it is much better 90%+ of the time…the bike is more planted and stable. I guess transitioning the bike from side to side is more difficult and takes more effort but that’s not real noticeable to me. Getting some PRs on downhill segments and I am still a bit reserved, only just 50 miles into e-bike ownership.
 

skinnyboy

Member
May 25, 2023
77
43
Canada
Long time mtn biker that recently got an e-bike. I don’t use Eco much at all, but am contemplating tweaking the profile to give Eco just a bit more power (EP801). E-biking is a better workout than I imagined, surprised my average heart rate is just 4-6 beats per minute lower than my non e-bike rides.

Goal to use Eco mode is to throw some more anerobic burst into the mix sometimes…

What has surprised me most is the bike is significantly better on the downhill. I thought the added weight would really hamper downhill handling but ime it is much better 90%+ of the time…the bike is more planted and stable. I guess transitioning the bike from side to side is more difficult and takes more effort but that’s not real noticeable to me. Getting some PRs on downhill segments and I am still a bit reserved, only just 50 miles into e-bike ownership.
And it only gets better with more saddle time.(y)
 

Amber Valley Guy

Active member
Oct 15, 2023
173
154
Alfreton
My ep8 was bloody awful in Eco, and felt like it wasn't working at all if moving down to Eco from Trail or Boost. A few minutes with the Shimano app, nudge the slider to the right a bit and......a totally different bike, a pleasure to ride and no noticeable loss in range. Now if someone could fix the useless walk mode....that stops working when tugging it out of mud, rocks, etc, UPHILL just when you need it the most .....Grrrrrrrr
 

p3eps

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Subscriber
Dec 14, 2019
1,983
2,405
Scotland
There is a point where one has to say why bother having a E if your in eco most of the time on most bikes.
Depends on your bike / motor I guess.
I ride my Levo SL in Eco 95% of the time. In fact, it’s a dialled down version of Eco I use.
My Levo SL weighs 17kg, and the motor has pretty much no resistance when off… so running it on my custom Eco setting is giving me about 15-20% of a boost on top of my own legs.
That’s all I want most of the time.

On a day where I’m knackered and want to do the same run over and over, I can whack it up to 100% and climb faster… then back to Eco for the descents. Get a few laps in without wearing myself out.

Not everyone wants an eMTB to fly uphill. I appreciate a LOT do… but there’s also a lot that don’t… which is why lighter lower powered ‘SL’ bikes are becoming more popular.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: Dax

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,628
5,104
Weymouth
I always find these sort of conversations a little strange. Why on earth would pay the premium for an emtb over a mtb and then ride with assist off or in ECO? I accept some riders are interested in muscle burn and heart rate etc but they are surely riding mostly hard pack relatively easy terrain since a full suspension 24kg bike with heavy duty tyres on anything other than easy ground/tarmac is a PITA with low motor assist. It also puts a lot of unnecessary strain on the drivetrain.. ECO on Bosch gen 2 is just about ok on flat tarmac...on the Smart System it can be turned up to make it more useable but trail+ is better if the terrain is changeable. I have emtb turned up to 2 on my Smart System bike and now virtually never change mode (the majority of my riding is in forests...either descending or climbing back up.
 

Damin

Member
May 17, 2023
29
34
USA
I ride 5% assistance with a heart rate monitor and Smart Control on my Levo. Why? High Intensity Interval Training. 13 months of this and I'm down 160 lbs. I can ride for 3-4 hours at a time like this and have a ridiculous amount of fun without blowing out my heart and muscles. Plus, trail and turbo don't provide the finesse required for some technical, sketchy terrain where your life is in danger if you make a mistake. Not everyone is into full send full time. When I switch over from my Levo to my Ripmo, I can toss it around like a rag doll because I've got the core and leg strength built up from riding the "tank" at 57lbs. The Ripmo at 37 lbs feels like a feather and hops down the trail like a cocaine fueled jack rabbit.
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