Walk Mode on Purion for changing gear

[phutureproof]

I watched a youtube video the other day on tips for eMTBs. Once of them seemed like a very clever idea, but perhaps I misunderstood.

You know when you have cycled partway up a hill, or have come to a stop at the bottom of a hill and you find you are in the wrong (high) gear? This tip was about Walk mode. The video seemed to show the guy lifting up the back wheel and using walk mode to get the bike to slowly spin the cranks so he could switch gears while stationary.

Is this possible, or did I dream it?

I haven't used Walk mode on my Whyte e150 yet, but I just had a go in my shed. I lifted the back wheel, pressed on 'walk', but nothing happens. Does it only engage when you are actually walking? It's the Bosch gen 4 motor BTW.

 

[phutureproof]

Ah - I take it back. You push 'Walk' and then you have to press the '+' button, then the cranks spin!

 

[SwissMountainLeader]

Ah - I take it back. You push 'Walk' and then you have to press the '+' button, then the cranks spin!

it’s not just you. Last year I rented bikes for me and my niece and the store told us there’s a walk mode but not the crucial bit about pushing the plus. That’s why the display reads walk+ I guess. I figured it out after I bought my own.

I was teaching a first aid course recently and arrived on my new ebike, used walk mode and half the class thought it was like seeing fire for the first time ?

 

[wagonrd]

I watched a youtube video the other day on tips for eMTBs. Once of them seemed like a very clever idea, but perhaps I misunderstood.

You know when you have cycled partway up a hill, or have come to a stop at the bottom of a hill and you find you are in the wrong (high) gear? This tip was about Walk mode. The video seemed to show the guy lifting up the back wheel and using walk mode to get the bike to slowly spin the cranks so he could switch gears while stationary.

Is this possible, or did I dream it?

I haven't used Walk mode on my Whyte e150 yet, but I just had a go in my shed. I lifted the back wheel, pressed on 'walk', but nothing happens. Does it only engage when you are actually walking? It's the Bosch gen 4 motor BTW.

Walk mode is essential on my Specialized Levo turbo comp. It's a 50 lb bike, and when I come to a drainage ditch that I cannot cross while riding, I must engage walk mode to climb the upgrade.

 

[Zimmerframe]

One option is that you press walk mode - which engages the motor as the bike moves forwards - so you can then change gears as the chainring is turning.

The other option is to pull on the front brake. Push forwards on the bars so the back wheel lifts up, using your body to stop the bike swinging around but keeping yourself clear of the cranks. Then press walk mode and change to the gear you want without moving anywhere.

 

[phutureproof]

The other option is to pull on the front brake. Push forwards on the bars so the back wheel lifts up, using your body to stop the bike swinging around but keeping yourself clear of the cranks. Then press walk mode and change to the gear you want without moving anywhere.

Ah yes, of course. What a great tip! I was flicking one gear, then doing the walk, then flicking another gear, then doing the walk etc. This way is easier.

Such a heavy bike though. An XL size too. I'll weigh it one of these days somehow, but I imagine it is pushing 27KG at least.

 

[Mikerb]

......the other one is where you try to start off on a steep incline.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

I use walk mode to get over large tree trunks. Lift the front wheel so bike is vertical, push walk mode, bike walks up to tree trunk & climbs itself over. When you get to the other side drop front wheel down & ride away. They will climb over nearly anything with a bit of grip.
Way easier on the back than lifting

 

[Doomanic]

I often use it for that.

 

[B1rdie]

I used the walk mode and front wheel up to climb the stairs to the 2nd floor in Barcelona because the bike would not fit the elevator cabin.
Recently I discoverd that on very steep climbs its possible to lean the arm on the saddle and almost drag my feet on the ground while the bike pulls me up like a drunk fallen.

 

[Bones]

I once used it to drag me across some unrideable moorland. I had to pull the front brake on and spin the rear wheel because I was bolloxed and couldn't keep up with the bloody thing.

 

[geardoc]

Yes, they need to reduce the speed of walk mode. You don't need walk mode when you can push the bike at a normal pace.

 

[Jackware]

Is that even in the lowest gear?

 

[Planemo]

Is that even in the lowest gear?

I was gonna say, walk mode on the 50t doesn't get you anywhere fast!!

 

[geardoc]

Does anybody have a walk mode that moves the bike at a speed different than about 4km/hr?

 

[Mikehorti]

Ah - I take it back. You push 'Walk' and then you have to press the '+' button, then the cranks spin!

Logic would suggest that all we need to press is Walk! Why the need to then press and hold + is beyond me. Hopefully an ‘intelligent’ upgrade is around the corner…
Handy tips in this vid

 

[Planemo]

Logic would suggest that all we need to press is Walk! Why the need to then press and hold + is beyond me.

I presume it's to provide 2 deliberate user actions for 'safety' reasons. If it was setup as you say, you just know some mug would hit 'Walk', whilst messing about with the chainring and sue the manufacturer for loss of fingers.

 

[Mikehorti]

I presume it's to provide 2 deliberate user actions for 'safety' reasons. If it was setup as you say, you just know some mug would hit 'Walk', whilst messing about with the chainring and sue the manufacturer for loss of fingers.

Yeah, I can understand that from Bosch’s perspective. As annoying as the functionality is, it certainly does come in handy!

 

[GrahamPaul]

Does anybody have a walk mode that moves the bike at a speed different than about 4km/hr?

They all do!

The speed the bike moves forwards depends on the gear you are in: big sprocket at the back and you'll move at snail's pace. Small sprocket at the back and you be battling to keep up. Just change the gear while it's moving so that it's comfortable for the current circumstance.

 

[Planemo]

They all do!

The speed the bike moves forwards depends on the gear you are in: big sprocket at the back and you'll move at snail's pace. Small sprocket at the back and you be battling to keep up. Just change the gear while it's moving so that it's comfortable for the current circumstance.

I did wonder about this as I haven't tried it, but isn't their a law to specify the max speed available on Walk? I mean, you could use the smallest sprocket on the back but I wondered if it was still limited to a max speed (picked up by the speed sensor obviously) which would override whatever sprocket you were using to never allow more than the max speed?

 

[Zimmerframe]

Yes, they all seem to have a "max" speed where the walk will cut out, though this seems to vary a bit from bike to bike , motor to motor but 4,5,6kph ish. The 2.1 Brose was slightly higher until last year when they upgraded the parent firmware with a reduction which at the time made it totally useless, but then Spesh fixed their version.

 

[SwissMountainLeader]

They all do!

The speed the bike moves forwards depends on the gear you are in: big sprocket at the back and you'll move at snail's pace. Small sprocket at the back and you be battling to keep up. Just change the gear while it's moving so that it's comfortable for the current circumstance.

Mine generally runs around 4kph.

I’d suggest that’s actually a quite ambitious walking pace in awkward terrain or uphill. For example, Naismith’s rule says 5kph plus an hour for every 600m of ascent, ie 2.5 kph for those values. If you’re using the assistance then it’s probably a bit tricky so 4 or 5 kph is a bit quick.

It wasn’t apparent to me right away that the gear made a difference, it’s not well documented.

 

[geardoc]

Precisely! 4kph is too fast up a steep hill. Thank's Swiss... for the Naismith's rule reference.

Did anyone on this forum actually measure different Walk mode speeds in different gears? Which bike/motor/controller provides this variation? My Orbea Wild with Bosch CX motor and basic controller is 3.8kph in all gears except the 2 highest gears. The 2 highest gears run at 4.9kph.

When using Walk mode in steep terrain I have to pulse it to turn it on and off.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Precisely! 4kph is too fast up a steep hill. Thank's Swiss... for the Naismith's rule reference.

Did anyone on this forum actually measure different Walk mode speeds in different gears? Which bike/motor/controller provides this variation? My Orbea Wild with Bosch CX motor is about 4kph no matter what gear it's in.

It will vary on firmware, but for example on a brose 1.3 I think walk mode was 20 watts. So if you were in 1st gear that was about 0.0000000005 kph and painfully slow. If you were in a higher gear it would pulse and cut out at about 5.5 or 6 kph.

Can't remember what it was on the Shimano's and only used it once on the Bosch, where it worked satisfactorily.

 

[SwissMountainLeader]

Precisely! 4kph is too fast up a steep hill. Thank's Swiss... for the Naismith's rule reference.

Naismith’s is useful, there’s a few corrections and modifications. The Ordnance Survey are using a different calculation based on measured values I think now. Other national agencies use similar calculations in their online mapping and it seems signs will vary between a formula and measured values which can be competitive

It seems to me that MTB’ers don’t use a similar formula for route planning which is odd. We do it for most other mountain activities.

Did anyone on this forum actually measure different Walk mode speeds in different gears? Which bike/motor/controller provides this variation? My Orbea Wild with Bosch CX motor and basic controller is 3.8kph in all gears except the 2 highest gears. The 2 highest gears run at 4.9kph.

I’m going to do that next time :-9

When using Walk mode in steep terrain I have to pulse it to turn it on and off.

me too

 

[Tubby G]

I use walk mode to get over large tree trunks. Lift the front wheel so bike is vertical, push walk mode, bike walks up to tree trunk & climbs itself over. When you get to the other side drop front wheel down & ride away. They will climb over nearly anything with a bit of grip.
Way easier on the back than lifting

Is that whilst you’re sat on the saddle ?

 

[Mikerb]

walk assist works perfectly on my Levo Comp. The legal limit for assisted speed without pedalling for a pedelec ( e.g. the walk assist facility) was originally set at 6kph.....measured obviously at the rear wheel. Clearly what speed you actually cover the ground...up to the limit of 6kph... will be determined by what gear you select. How that legal limit is controlled is determined by the software of the bike but the obvious method is to deliver a specific amount of watts to the motor and to cut off that supply if the speed sensor detects a rear wheel speed of greater than 6kph. The amount of watts is likely set taking account of bike weight plus a margin etc, and therefore there will be circumstances ( flat level terrain in a high gear or rear wheel allowed to spin) where that 6kph can be exceeded.
The mistake most make when using walk assist is to use a gear likely to make the back wheel skid given ( if you are pushing) there is very little weight on the rear tyre to maintain grip. Using one hand to steer and leaning on the saddle with the other often gives more stable performance uphill.

 

[geardoc]

It seems to me that MTB’ers don’t use a similar formula for route planning which is odd. We do it for most other mountain activities.



me too

Up and down a single mountain, yes. But most mountain bike trails that I ride in Eastern USA have variations in slope, undulating like a roller coaster. It would be more difficult to use a slope based formula to estimate walk speeds. Also, speeds for mountain biking vary much more than simple walking. The elevation profiles are useful, eg:

United States on Trailforks

United States Mountain Bike, E-Bike, Hike, Trail Running, Horse, Dirtbike/Moto, Observed Trials, ATV/ORV/OHV, Snowmobile, Snowshoe, Downhill Ski, Backcountry Ski, Nordic Ski trails. 133,211 trails with 220,902 photos

www.trailforks.com

 

[SwissMountainLeader]

Up and down a single mountain, yes. But most mountain bike trails that I ride in Eastern USA have variations in slope, undulating like a roller coaster. It would be more difficult to use a slope based formula to estimate walk speeds. Also, speeds for mountain biking vary much more than simple walking. The elevation profiles are useful, eg:

United States on Trailforks

United States Mountain Bike, E-Bike, Hike, Trail Running, Horse, Dirtbike/Moto, Observed Trials, ATV/ORV/OHV, Snowmobile, Snowshoe, Downhill Ski, Backcountry Ski, Nordic Ski trails. 133,211 trails with 220,902 photos

www.trailforks.com

That does rather apply to skiing, snowshoeing, running and trekking. In my experience at least. It’s very, very much the case for skiing.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

Is that whilst you’re sat on the saddle ?

No silly, to have the best balance you need to sit on the bars