Getting fit again on a Cyclotricity Stealth

103Alex1

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 29, 2012
2,228
67
I like the middle big cogg and the smallest back, even on the hills, it seems to give me more power on asssit No 5 I can really move upthe hills. Due to my weight and the lack of excersise over the years, I get tired quick and then find myself moving up the rear coggs. Would I be better at that point, instead of moving up the rear coggs to drop down a centre cogg?
Possibly. :). Not sure what you mean by assist No 5. Is this the bike you have :

http://www.cyclotricity.com/stealth-electric-cycle/ ?

Are you using the bike on PAS mode or with the throttle when you tire quick up hill, or does it happen in both modes ?

Your gear combo is Medium up front, hardest at back. That's a pretty high gear for hill climbing and I'm not surprised you tire quick. Basically, you can try being in an easier gear spinning faster for same (human) output or just accept that since the motor is only matching your effort (or delivering a constant amount of assist) so you will lose momentum fast if you burn out trying to ride hills in a high gear.

When you shift the big front rings down to smaller ones, you'll get a big drop in momentum as this is a "blunt shift", so follow that shift by making it harder on your rear gears also to compensate. This will allow you to adjust to increasing gradients better.

If you're simply tiring out pedalling up hill and the bike won't get you up there on throttle only then accept a lower speed as the natural consequence of your own fitness levels and try to sustain a constant cadnece that's within your abilities in a gear you can manage it in.

You can spin in lower gears on a derailleur to get more speed from human effort (how your motor responds depends on how the controller manages power output) - but spinning does cost energy and albeit a different type of effort to cranking the pedals it's also tiring. Keeping up speed on an 'amnesty range' bike on hills is hard work. Different thing to "hill climbing" which is rarely spoken of in the context of "at how much below 12mph" ;)

To climb a very steep hill at a consistent 12mph you need a powerful motor, big battery, high amp controller and probably still need to ride it in a medium to lower gear. Hardly the hazard of the roads it's vehicular classification might suggest that's another debate ! To sustain any kind of speed on longer steep uphills on a regular 'amnesty eBike' you could probably benefit from adopting a conventional cycling approach to your gear selection. That means slower climbs in lower gears but with a more consistent output of human effort that doesn't tire you out so fast until you get fitter.

Sprints & stalls won't help you build cycling stamina but slower building up of your capabilities over longer rides at a consistent cadence will help a lot. You can also benefit from some spinning practice for the tougher hills. Then after a few weeks of working at it you'll likely be able to sustain gearing which is closer to the one delivering the speeds you're looking for. Nowt comes for nowt as they say !
 
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