pedal assist giving full power

[dbdbdb]

pedal assist - I would expect this to apply power in proportion to how hard you pedal but this is not the case on my Cyclamatic power plus or my partners Powersmart or I suspect almost all others. Power is just on while pedalling and off when not. The result is the range is 15 miles with no pedalling and 15 miles with pedalling, i.e. no extening the range by pedalling.

Is there any way to allow pedalling to extend the range, apart from switching off the pedal switch and using variable throttle plus pedalling?

 

[deadmonkey]

It's not like that on the Panasonic systems, as detailed here:-

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/1955-panasonic-system-power-delivery-explanation.html

 

[flecc]

A system has to have a torque sensor detecting pedal pressure to be able to do this.

Integrated chain drive units like the Panasonic, Yamaha, Daum, Bosch and Sunstar have these, and they work well.

Torque sensors when on hub-motor bikes are often rather poor in the way they work, but there are exceptions. For example the latest Giant Freedom and Express models have a very good torque sensor integrated into the rear wheel drop-out frame area, and the use of this type is spreading now.

As ever, the best advice is to try before buying.
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[NRG]

The vast majority (if not all) of pedal sensors on Chinese bikes are speed sensors only. You pedal the motor spins there is no way to control 'power'. However there are some hub powered bikes on the market that use a 'torque' sensor to measure the amount of pedal pressure and therefore effort the rider is inputting, the new Raleigh Velo due this year uses one.

The Panasonic system uses a patented troque sensor in the crank with switchable assist modes . For your Cyclamatic I'm surprised that pedalling does not extend range as you are contributing to the overall effort of moving the bike. If there is a throttle fitted sometime these can over-ride the pedal sensor and provide finer speed control but in a lot of case it wont and the only way to get more range is to use a switch to disable the pedal sensor...

 

[Tex]

A system has to have a torque sensor detecting pedal pressure to be able to do this.

Integrated chain drive units like the Panasonic, Yamaha, Daum, Bosch and Sunstar have these, and they work well.

Torque sensors when on hub-motor bikes are often rather poor in the way they work, but there are exceptions. For example the latest Giant Freedom and Express models have a very good torque sensor integrated into the rear wheel drop-out frame area, and the use of this type is spreading now.

As ever, the best advice is to try before buying.
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Flecc. The torque sensor in the Bionx hubs are the basis of the various adjustable setting. the system seems very sensitive and accurate. And programable for it's sensitivity. Don't know about the other systems.

 

[HarryB]

I can second that...the Bionx has one of the best sensor of any electric bike I have tried. Completely seamless and on a par with the Panasonics.

 

[flecc]

Indeed, I agree Tex and Harry, that's why I said "often" poor on hub motors, for the few exceptions like the Giant ones I mentioned and the BionX can be very good. It's the Chinese bikes that tend to have the duds when they do fit them, sometimes listed as an option which to me indicates they know they aren't too good.
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[Deleted member 4366]

pedal assist - I would expect this to apply power in proportion to how hard you pedal but this is not the case on my Cyclamatic power plus or my partners Powersmart or I suspect almost all others. Power is just on while pedalling and off when not. The result is the range is 15 miles with no pedalling and 15 miles with pedalling, i.e. no extening the range by pedalling.

Is there any way to allow pedalling to extend the range, apart from switching off the pedal switch and using variable throttle plus pedalling?

You don't need to worry about this because you only get full power at the very start. The answer to your question is yes. You just have to pedal the bike faster. The faster the bike goes, the less power it uses (with the pedal sensor) until you get past 14mph, when it doesn't use any power at all and you get infinite range. When the bike slows down from 14mph, the motor gradually uses more power like it's attempting to maintain your speed, so that when you come to a hill and you slow down, it gives you power to help you up the hill. This way of powering a bike doesn't at first seem right, but when you think about it, it's much more logical than the other way round and gives a longer range.
If you need to go slowly and carefully - say through a shopping precinct - use the throttle, which should over-ride the pedal sensor, so you don't need to disable it. It's nearly impossible to use this method to increase range. You'll find that you end up using more power than the pedal sensor because it isn't easy to keep the throttle at a constant low setting.