I put the speed limit BACK on my 19 levo

[Ross1137]

Hi guys, 4 weeks ago I removed the speed limit from my bike I was only travelling about on average 10 km above the original cut off speed but noticed a significant drain on the battery so I came to my senses and put it back to factory, has anybody had the same experience as me?

 

[R120]

Yes, if you de limit the bike you will effect the range as its continousllly providing assistance - how much is does so obviously depends on how fast you are riding, and how much assistance the bike is providing

 

[Ross1137]

More fun but nowhere near the range... I'm 104kg, done 62kms with 8% battery left, while derestricted I couldn't get near that.

 

[Gary]

More fun but nowhere near the range... I'm 104kg, done 62kms with 8% battery left, while derestricted I couldn't get near that.

You actually could have if you simply used the motor more wisely.
Just because it no longer cuts out at 25kph doesn't mean you have to ride above it.

 

[Ross1137]

If the speed was there I would use it!

 

[Ross1137]

I bought a another speed sensor and put it on the outside of the frame in line with the pedal, then put magnets on the back of the pedal, the factory cable I left inside the frame because it was too difficult to rethread for services etc at the shop

 

[Frankieboy]

If the speed was there I would use it!

You could try a bigger front chain ring. I’ve recently increased from 16t to 19t and it made a huge difference. now using more of the cassette and 25 - 30 mph on the flat (tarmac).

 

[Ross1137]

Still chews through the battery though.

 

[Frankieboy]

I guess it depends what you want to achieve. Personally I’m happy to sacrifice a few miles for a little more fun, and plan routes within my known battery capacity; typically 25-30 miles.

As with life in general, there’s no right or wrong, do whatever works for you.

 

[Ross1137]

Great reply.

 

[flash]

On my de-restricted hardtail I have fat urban tyres (2.5 Hookworms). With those I'm still very close to normal range with lower rolling resistance on tarmac. Plus you can use a lower power setting with easy rolling tyres. I wish Oz had a 32kmh limit like New Zealand does. That would be perfect for my road riding and commuting.

On my full sus I don't think I've ever wanted to have assistance over 25kmh. That's plenty quick for me to ride into a tree. I know....

Gordon

 

[Ross1137]

I just rode nearly 72kms with 15% battery left using economy mode the whole time... Assistance 25% peak power 100% and acceleration 60%, only 127 metres elevation though, without including tools,co2 water etc I'm 103 kg, so I'm pretty happy with that range.

 

[flash]

Thanks. Would you mind sharing how you de-restricted yours?

Badass Box for the e8000.

Gordon

 

[levity]

I just rode nearly 72kms...

with only +/-26m elevation change!

Where on planet Earth is it that flat?

 

[Ross1137]

Central NSW Australia....

 

[Thomas]

I just rode nearly 72kms with 15% battery left using economy mode the whole time... Assistance 25% peak power 100% and acceleration 60%, only 127 metres elevation though, without including tools,co2 water etc I'm 103 kg, so I'm pretty happy with that range.

This is your first mistake. Why did you set Peak power to 100% in Eco mode. You probably putt a lot of power with your legs and when you hit around 150W with your legs, when you set 25% assistance the motor will kick in harder. If you put 300-380W, you will get almost 80-100%, if you have peak power set to 100%. That is why you don't get enough range, even if you set assistance to 25% that is limited only when you pedal below-around 150W. Acceleration is also better to have set to 0.

 

[Ross1137]

Because I'm not 100% sure what I am doing thats why!! Hence this thread. Does it make it easier or harder to pedal?

 

[Thomas]

First Read this:
Understanding Support vs Peak Power in Mission Control App v2.0 - EMTB Forums
and than use this settings to be on a safe side for your weight and fitness:
ECO 25/25
TRAIL 30/50
TURBO 100/100
Everything else to 0.

Trail mode with this settings, will save some battery life, when pedaling under 150W.
But when going gets tuff, you will get 50% which is plenty for the tough segments, where you will easily exide your own 300W, so that you will get full advantage of 50% Peak power.
Turbo is just for those days.

 

[Ross1137]

Thanks for your reply I will have a go at those settings although I'm pretty happy to do 72 kilometres and still have 15% battery left that's 44 miles

 

[Peaky Rider]

This is your first mistake. Why did you set Peak power to 100% in Eco mode. You probably putt a lot of power with your legs and when you hit around 150W with your legs, when you set 25% assistance the motor will kick in harder. If you put 300-380W, you will get almost 80-100%, if you have peak power set to 100%. That is why you don't get enough range, even if you set assistance to 25% that is limited only when you pedal below-around 150W. Acceleration is also better to have set to 0.

Wow! After reading your post I'm glad you can't mess with the Shimano Steps motor very much.
But then I remember the days when you jumped on your Raleigh Sturmey Archer 3 speed and just rode.

 

[Ross1137]

Hw

It is also your weight.
I recently did 130km and 1.200m group ride with 8 roadies, power set to 15%/15%. Nothing left at the end, both in the battery and my legs.
You don't have really big drafting behind much lower road bikes. On long flats segments, leading the group when it was my turn. So I must say, didn't help that much on the range riding in the group, because I already did simullar distance on my own.
You probably are riding at much bigger assistance levels, that will drain the battery much faster. But speed restriction really doesn't matter that much. Doing 40km/h on the flat is draining less power than doing 7-11% climb, when the bike have to drag up our fat bottom.
Of course fast road or slow off road tires are also big factor to consider.

Hello Thomas, so if I set the assistance to say 20/20 and sit on 30kmh I'll use less battery then say 30/30 at 25kmh?

 

[Ross1137]

Wow Thomas thanks for that reply... I'm going to try 20/20 and see how I go! Thanks mate.

 

[Maastricht]

It all depends of your Wattage input.
At 20/20, you will probably need 150W+ of your own power, to ride around 30km/h.
At 30/30, you will only need around 100-120W., but you will still drain more battery with.
It would be better to set it to 20/30. That would drain much lees power, because when you pedal around 100-120W you will still be at 20%. Only if you exceed 100-120W, than the peek power will kick in and you will get an extra 10%, to hit that 30% peak power.
I know, this all get confusing quite fast, even for me....
If you can sustain around 30 km/h with 20/20, this is plenty enough for the MTB.
I now ride mostly with 15/15. With this settings, I'm still a little faster on every course that I timed my self with Garmin Virtual Partner, compared to the times set on my road bike.
So, if you can manage 70km ride on a flat, with average speed around 27-30 km/h, this is nothing to be sneezed at. Most of average road bike users are riding at that mark
You don't need more, 20/20 is probably the sweet spot. If you would like more speed, than you will have to get fitter or up the power, no other solution.
For example this is a 50km test ride on the flat and 260m accent, setting to 50/50. I only averaged 89W of my one power and reach average speed of 31.6km/h. On this day it was really windy, but still, as you can see, this is way to much assistance for me. With no wind I would probably average 34km/h, with this effort and settings to 50/50.
View attachment 12028

This is more representative, long-hard run, with lots of elevation, settings at 15/15. I usually put an average of 150W on the road bike too.
View attachment 12029
For road use, the big factor to consider is also the wind.

View attachment 12027

Nice post Thomas!

Did you reach 114km with the 15/15 setting and the 500W battery? Do you remember the battery % which was remaining at the end?

 

[Ross1137]

Your a hood Thomas.

 

[Maastricht]

Yes, the 500W battery was empty, red light on tha last 5km. But there was a lot of wind that day and I also use my Trail mode 20/35 in couple of sections, just to counter the strong head winds. So I'm still not 100% what can I achieve with 15/15 in better none windy conditions.
Maybe I could get even 130 km, if there would be sub 1.000m ascent. Bike is now at 20kg and Speed king tires are incredibly fast rolling. But roughly 100km+ and 1.000m+ vertical ascent is no problem.
O and I use more and more aero position on the bike, hands close to the stem and sometimes I even put my forearms down on the bars like some prose do on the road bikes. It is little dangers, but the bike really feels stable and plated on the road, so I don't see any problems on flat fast roads.
You gain 3-4km/h in a second in that position. Only this position is quite uncomfortable if you are not used to such aggressive position, whis is more comparable to TT bike and totally inappropriate for MTB... , but is fast.

Thanks and impressive result! I think when I compare it to my situation the results will be slightly different as I hardly ride on tarmac, use the standard Butcher tires and weigh about 100kg. I think you also are much more trained then I am but nice to know that if I am far away from your results I know I have to train some more but at least the bike has the potential.

 

[skyfree]

Hi guys, 4 weeks ago I removed the speed limit from my bike I was only travelling about on average 10 km above the original cut off speed but noticed a significant drain on the battery so I came to my senses and put it back to factory, has anybody had the same experience as me?

Since you are in Australia, that means a limit of 25km/h and you say you were going to 35km/h. I'm surprised it had that large of an effect because 35km/h is actually pretty close to the US limit of 32km/h, and our bikes seem to do just fine on range. I haven't heard of any direct comparisons between Euro spec and US spec bikes in that regard though.

I've ridden plenty of speed pedelecs (bosch, brose, yamaha) limited to 45km/h and in my experience you need a lot of power to get much over 35km/h on the flat. The wind resistance gets fierce and that definitely cuts into range. You tend to have to use higher assist levels if you want to cruise along at those speeds for long, but up to 35 seemed pretty easy. These bikes often have larger batteries over 500wh to compensate.

 

[jd_3d]

Since you are in Australia, that means a limit of 25km/h and you say you were going to 35km/h. I'm surprised it had that large of an effect because 35km/h is actually pretty close to the US limit of 32km/h, and our bikes seem to do just fine on range. I haven't heard of any direct comparisons between Euro spec and US spec bikes in that regard though.

Yeah, 35km/h shouldn't be too demanding on the bike, but I think it comes down to 3 factors (in decreasing order of importance): assist level, body weight, and tires. I ride my '19 Levo with the LSS I designed so the speed cutoff is around 45km/h, but when I ride on the road I'm usually cruising at 36-38km/h in eco or trail and haven't seen any change in range. But I'm only 60kg and rarely use turbo mode which is probably why my range on my 500wh battery is huge.

 

[Ross1137]

I know I should be in the Blevo thread for this but we are talking range so someone will know but can someone explain how to use smart control in detail? I don't understand Paolo's instructions....im all over the mission controls version but think BLEvo has more comprehensive settings... Please explain like I'm a 5 year old child.!