Have you had your eeb derestricted?

[Paul Mac]

This is not a thread about the rights and wrongs of derestriction, it is purely to gauge whether or not it is deemed a necessity to enjoy an ebike.
I will start with my experience.
I own a Trek Rail which uses the bosch gen 4 motor. I also live in the UK which limits the top motor assisted speed as 25 kph.
From new I derestricted my bike, but after about 1000 miles run into an error code.
As a result of this I removed the derestricter, I now have well over 3000 miles on the bike with no more error codes and I can honestly say I have only missed the derestricter on a handful of occasions.
What are your thoughts?

 

[stiv674]

I've never felt the desire to derestrict mine, a higher assist would only have a detrimental effect on battery life for me.

If it was changed to 20mph here I'd like the option to reduce it to suit where I'm riding and for how far I'm riding etc...

 

[Doomanic]

When I first got an eeb I couldn't see the point of derestricting but I'm a little less shit than I was back then there are occasions where more assisted speed could be beneficial. I haven't derestricted though. However, if you genuinely need to derestrict your eeb to ride the trails I was on today, there's an EWS title with your name on it...

 

[Mteam]

I don't find the speed limit a problem when on trails ie off road, but on road it's too slow.

I don't ride on roads very often so haven't derestricted it, but if I did ride on roads more then I'd probably get it derestricted

 

[BrentD]

Not derestricted on my Trek Rail but am in New Zealand where we are allowed 32km/h (20 mph) restriction though technically (according to NZ road code) the only speed restriction on any bicycle here (motor assist or not) is the posted speed limit e.g. 50 km/h in town. I only wish for just a little more speed to make up for my poor jumping technique off road.

My Bafang BBS-02 500W conversion on my GT Avalanche is not speed restricted at all and it's great to be able to rip around town at an easy 35-38 km/h. Not strictly road legal at 500W (300W is the limit here) but I've yet to have any aggravation from the law but don't ride in a particularly reckless way on the street.

 

[Gary]

This is not a thread about the rights and wrongs of derestriction, it is purely to gauge whether or not it is deemed a necessity to enjoy an ebike.

Then your two option poll is useless. (you haven't worded the original question correctly)

We're all so different it makes no difference to anyone but you whether you deem it necessity or not and that decision is entirely irrelevant to anyone else.
The UK 15mph assistance limit is completely stupid when you're able to hold 17mph fairly easily on the flat and sprint to 30mph on a normal mountain bike though.

 

[Paul Mac]

Then your two option poll is useless. (you haven't worded the original question correctly)

We're all so different it makes no difference to anyone but you whether you deem it necessity or not and that decision is entirely irrelevant to anyone else.
The UK 15mph assistance limit is completely stupid when you're able to hold 17mph fairly easily on the flat and sprint to 30mph on a normal mountain bike though.

Nice to have you chime in Gary ?
Unfortunately there can only be two options, you've either derestricted your bike or you haven't ?

 

[Gary]

Yeah. and like I said, your poll is a massive failure if...

it is purely to gauge whether or not it is deemed a necessity to enjoy an ebike

Of course it's not a necessity.
Having a motor at all is not a necessity for 90% of the forum

 

[stiv674]

Sigh ?

I'm sure @Gary doesn't speak for 90% of the forum.

 

[Gary]

correct stiv.
I speak only for 0.01% of the forum
only 1% of the forum regularly speak at all

 

[Pigin]

But 67.4% of the general population don’t believe in statistics and the other 16% .........

 

[04fuxake]

My Giant has a 32km/h restriction which only ever crops up if I'm on the flat with a tailwind.

 

[Mikerb]

I am on the 25kmph speed limit and I can only remember maybe once or twice wishing the motor assist would cut out just a little later and neither occasion was in my usual riding spots. They both involved a relatively flat singletrack with a slight uphill rise leading to a ramp which needed just a bit more speed to make good the landing zone. So from a riding point of view it does not bother me. From the point of view of messing with the bikes electronics and staying legal I think derestriction is a bad idea. That said, if the limit was raised to 32kmph in the UK I would probably get the LBS to effect the change..........and probably rarely use the extra speed!!

 

[smtkelly]

I think the speed limit was picked because 15mph is a pace of a good marathon runner. Hard to ban something that goes as fast as a person on foot.

Just look at those Sur Rons doing 40mph in Swinley definitely going to get a response from users/landowner.

 

[Sander23]

For sure i deristricted my bosch motor the minute it came out the shop. Never had any issue apart feom eating my smaller cogs on my cassette a little faster. I dont worry about my range to much as i have a dual battery setup ( range up to 150km deristricted )

 

[Slapbassmunky]

I left my first ebb restricted for 6 months or so, then speedbox 2 and saw the light. I de-restricted my second ebb straight from the shop.

I've left my rail well alone, too many reports of gen 4's throwing their toys out of the pram. So I'll put up with it. Interestingly enough I don't miss it on proper trails or (self) uplift days. I miss it on long XC loops when sat on a cycle track for a couple of miles. I used to happily sit at 17-18 mph in eco and it made all the difference.

 

[Peaky Rider]

Wow, reading this thread and watching recent EMBN videos makes admitting you've derestricted feel a bit like admitting you voted for Brexit or The Donald.

Well, I have two bikes, both with E-8000 motors and both have been 'Vadll-ed' up to the US market speed limit but nothing more. I have noticed no drop in range and the motor must be designed to cope with this as it is sold in markets where this the norm.

It just transforms the bikes, especially when on a road, transitioning between off road sections, with your mates, who are still on push bikes and doing their best to pedal you into the ground because they think all e-bikers are work shy beings of doubtful parentage.

Even when cruising along the road at 18 to 19 mph road bikes often pass me as though I am standing still

 

[Hamina]

It's somewhat stupid to first buy 5000 euros electric assisted bike that illogically stops assisting in the middle of forest during your most climax moment. I can almost see big EU logos in my mind when hitting the 25kmh assistance limit (yeah it's not speed limit..).

I have zero problems riding on public cycling roads with suitable and safe speed that takes into account other people.

 

[Sander23]

Wow, reading this thread and watching recent EMBN videos makes admitting you've derestricted feel a bit like admitting you voted for Brexit or The Donald.

Well, I have two bikes, both with E-8000 motors and both have been 'Vadll-ed' up to the US market speed limit but nothing more. I have noticed no drop in range and the motor must be designed to cope with this as it is sold in markets where this the norm.

It just transforms the bikes, especially when on a road transitioning between off road sections with your mates, who are still on push bikes and doing their best to pedal you into the ground because they think all e-bikers are work shy beings of doubtful parentage.

Even cruising along the road at 18 to 19 mph road bikes often pass me as though I am standing still

That video from embn is so pointless. He is driving one of the lightest ebikes on such a short distance tests. Try doing that on a bike thats 24-26 kg. Its more an anti derestrict video then a comparison video

 

[mas]

I'm in Aus where we are limited to 25km, only ride in the bush, and am thinking of derestricting. The only reason is that I have a Merida with the E8000 and when approaching some jumps as soon as I hit that 25km the motor drag kicks in badly. If the motor disengaged better, which I think the EP8 does, then I wouldn't think about it.

 

[Sidepod]

I think there is a definite need for de restricting. Often I take a run up at a feature only to find, at the point of critical velocity, the limiter cuts in and I end up grabbing the ejector seat.

Strange topic really. Many hear the phrase “de restricted” and immediately picture a hooded youth tearing around a shopping precinct at 50kph when in reality it just allows us a bit more flexibility. Perhaps a poll on where to set it? +5kph would be a good step.

 

[MrSimmo]

As soon as the warranty is up - my answer will be yes!

It's not like I'll be caining it around at 50mph on roads; its so I can actually ride the thing at the pace I rode my non-eeb's at for a sustained period of time. Plus although I really really love my eeb cutting out halfway through a high speed corner, removing the restriction would be enlightening.

 

[Paul Mac]

I'm in Aus where we are limited to 25km, only ride in the bush, and am thinking of derestricting. The only reason is that I have a Merida with the E8000 and when approaching some jumps as soon as I hit that 25km the motor drag kicks in badly. If the motor disengaged better, which I think the EP8 does, then I wouldn't think about it.

I'm thinking this has a big influence in making the decision.
With my set up at the moment, I can definitely feel the motor cut out, but can still get the bike to accelerate when needed, it seems once you get the motor disengaged the drag of the motor eases at about 18 mph.

 

[Peaky Rider]

That video from embn is so pointless. He is driving one of the lightest ebikes on such a short distance tests. Try doing that on a bike thats 24-26 kg. Its more an anti derestrict video then a comparison video

I think the problem EMBN have is they are continually having to come up with new content on a very narrow subject hence, quite a lot of it can seem a little pointless and also they have to keep their sponsors happy, which they are currently seemingly doing with the EP8.

I view it as the e-bikers version of Top Gear but usually enjoy it all the same.

 

[Norange]

The UK 15mph assistance limit is completely stupid when you're able to hold 17mph fairly easily on the flat and sprint to 30mph on a normal mountain bike though.

Think it's there for the safety of the majority who can't achieve that speed or control it when things get sideways. Especially on road, where most drivers are assuming you're doing about 10mph and thus often put riders at risk who are doing more than that. Also off road, I'd expect regular cyclists to have learnt how to behave responsibly around other trail users.

In short, I'm not going to judge people for derestricting, but I think it's a good thing the restrictions apply at point of sale.

 

[cozzy]

20mph would be ideal. My 2019 kenevo was set to 20mph via lightblue. My 2020 model cannot be set to a speed limit though, its either limited or not. It came with a delimiter fitted & thats stayed in place.

 

[Sidepod]

I’m not sure how other motors operate but the Flyon runs pretty much at a constant 3000rpm. De restricting it doesn’t make it Rev any quicker. Looking at the motor manufacturers website (not the bike manufacturer) it shows three versions of the same motor (software not hardware), one of them being a full race version, obviously unrestricted. Torque is quoted at 300Nm so plenty of redundancy when rated at 120 for the ebike.
I wouldn’t worry about extra stress on the motor.

 

[paquo]

i derestricted my 2019 levo and it promptly blew up.I'm not sure but it might have been a ticking time bomb anyway. It's got the 20 mph limiter so it's fine the way it is. If it was 15 i would have to derestrict it or get something more bulletproof

 

[EebStrider]

I haven’t had mine done, as I’d be worried about the warranty. But, as some countries have a higher limit, is it not possible to unofficially get the manufacturers code loaded onto the bike via a software update, rather than using third party hardware/ software?

 

[Hamina]

Does the restricting really affect technically the motor warranty? I could imagine that the bike has to withstand daily commuting in Swiss alpine roads and that should cause more stress to motor than the any current speed-sensor-cheating delimiter.

In the end cheating the speed sensor data to motor can't change the 30min average power. It's a different thing if delimiter permits more torque than OEM setup.