Is a low level of PAS possible on BBS02?

andersons

1 µW
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Sep 13, 2018
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Location
Irvine, CA, USA
Hello everyone, first time posting here. I've been researching ebikes for quite some time. After reading elsewhere on the Internet as well as here, especially the epic long BBS02 thread, I thought that the BBS02 would be my best bang-for-the-buck choice for me. However, I got to ride my neighbor's rig last week, and there were a couple things I didn't love:

1) On PAS 1, which seems to be the lowest level (I assume Level 0 is off), there is too much assist on flat road. I would like to feel like I'm doing most of the work on Level 1. I can't even imagine what Level 5 is doing; even on a steep hill, I never went above Level 2.

2) Trying to apply just a little throttle to get started from a stop at an intersection, I felt like the throttle shot me out of a cannon. It wasn't this bad every time, but it seemed difficult/impossible to get a smooth acceleration ramp in general. Her setup has a thumb throttle.

3) It was really hard to start from a stop without some motor assistance. The motor doesn't seem to start till I've pedaled a couple revolutions, which was hard to do on her bike, maybe her gear ratios plus her rig is very heavy. I understand that this is probably a limitation of the cadence sensor PAS. So I used the throttle to get started, which is fine except a bit faster acceleration than I'd prefer sometimes, as mentioned above.

So my question is, Is a lower level of PAS possible with different programming or a different display/settings? Hers appears to be the 961 and had PAS levels 0-5. The kit I rode came from Lunacycle, which says that it comes with custom firmware programming for more power, so is it possible I would be happier with stock, non-Luna settings?

And, is it easier to apply less acceleration with, say, the twist throttle vs the thumb throttle?

I've read some threads here with similar issues, so I get the picture that might be just how the BBS02 is. I am planning to have my husband install the kit on my steel frame Jamis Coda Sport commuter. I am looking to replace mostly short 6-10 mile car trips with ebiking for a bit of exercise, fun, and vastly reduced carbon emissions. I will be towing my kid to school, planning to use a tagalong bike for him. (The traffic at dropoff is ridiculous, and biking in should actually be faster and easier than navigating the snarl of 800 SUVs on a tiny residential street at one of the largest schools in California that has no parking lot.) I have done the commute on a regular bike, but the long hill to get home, with the typical 15 mph headwind, towing a kid and maybe some groceries, exhausts me too much to do more than 3X a week. And there are 10 trips just for school alone.

I researched this over a year ago, but didn't pull the trigger to buy back then because of a back injury. After trying out the BBS02, I'm sure I can live with it, but wondered if I'd be happier with a torque sensing kit like the TDSZ2 or even a Bosch ebike... I don't have any fixed budget, but I'm just frugal, so the ~$1200 for the Bafang is much more appealing than a $4200 Bosch rig, especially for my first foray into ebikes. I do like the throttle and higher PAS levels for times that I'm tired, hot, or don't want to get too sweaty, so I'm not sure if I want a PAS to make me work hard all the time. It just seems that ideally, the different PAS levels should let me CHOOSE how hard I want to work. With my neighbor's BBS02, the only time I can get exercise is to turn PAS off to Level 0 on the flats, and pedal hard on the hills.

Thanks for reading,
Susan
 
I'm pretty sure that Luna will adjust the system to your specifications, but you could consider a 36V BBS01. Luna might be able to provide that, but if not there are suppliers. My wife and I just use "0" level (of 5, like yours) on flat ground. Also, you should be able to "feather" the throttle if you need it intermittently while riding with no assist. Most (all) OEM bikes from major suppliers have a lower low, with five or so levels ("0" being one of them).
 
You can do just about anything using a usb programming dongle. You can buy it on ali for $18.
 
From the deep menu on the display, you can add levels of assist, up to 9. This doesn't change the gross power being added, it just makes finer divisions.

The longer I live with my BBS02, the less I forcefully pedal it. This is for two reasons: first, my maximum pedal torque plus the motor's maximum torque together are slightly in excess of the torque rating of my rear hub. Second, the motor wants to pedal way faster than I do. If I want to run the motor up in its efficient RPM range of about 80% of it's free speed, that's an uncomfortably fast RPM at the pedals. So I shift down to a lower gear ratio, increase the assist level, and turn the pedals only to keep the PAS on (while the chainring turns faster than my feet).

My cargo bike and I together weigh about 450 pounds. I usually use assist level 7 out of 9, and dial the gear ratio to cruise at about 18mph. That's slow enough that I can hear things around me over the wind noise, I don't get surprised and jarred by street surface problems, and I can stop quickly when I need to.

If I ran the motor lower down in its RPM range, it would make more torque and I could get away with a lower power setting. But I want to make things as easy as possible on my battery and clutch, so I run the motor fast.
 
If you set the throttle to Current mode instead of Speed mode, it will apply current (torque) proportional to the throttle position. I think you need the programming cable/software to make this change, but I found it way more intuitive to operate that way.

Honestly I really liked it better after disabling the PAS entirely, I pedal when I want to, motor when I want to. Being able to gently pedal through a set of bike baffles or whatever without getting unwanted "assist" adds a lot of flexibility to the system in my opinion.
 
Got to look at programming w usb. Think you will find on only 5 levels that lowest 1, is closer to L2 on 9 levels.
On L1 my system draws 25 to 50 watts- lots for level ground. Same w throttle lots of setting can be changed. Unfortunately settings can be confusing and takes some trial and error. Look at the programming thread.
 
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