RVD
1 kW
what are the general best practices rules for riding on steep hills? i am using pedal assist so i am always pedaling.
e.g., should i ride in lowest gear and use the lowest assist setting (setting 1 of 9)?
obviously riding in highest gear with the highest assist setting is bad since the motor won't keep up and will instead generate a lot of heat. but is it better to use a higher assist so that i get up the hill a little faster to give the controller more time to cool down?
i tried riding up a steep hill today. it's pretty short (only 0.21 miles) but it goes up around 100 ft and grade starts at around 7% and goes up to 25% so it's really steep. i was pedaling as hard as i can and i was riding up zig zag so that it was flatter than taking the full impact of the grade and i made it up but it didn't feel like the motor was doing much at assist 1 gear 1. my mph was in the 4-5mph range. since i was riding in a zig zag pattern it felt like on the flat parts i was getting some assist but when turning direction to head up a bit, it was all me (no assist kicking in). at the top, i put my hand to the bbs02 and it was slightly warm but barely.
i don't care about speed, i just want to make it up using less effort if possible (i was huffing and puffing).
my bike is a breezer uptown commuter bike with a shimano nexus 8 speed rear internal gear hub. i believe that my front is a 46T (it's whatever the default is on the bbs02). i realize that i can change to a smaller chainring but was wondering if it's still possible to work with the current chainring.
the route is http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/743835909/ (click show elevation chart on the bottom graph part to see the grades).
e.g., should i ride in lowest gear and use the lowest assist setting (setting 1 of 9)?
obviously riding in highest gear with the highest assist setting is bad since the motor won't keep up and will instead generate a lot of heat. but is it better to use a higher assist so that i get up the hill a little faster to give the controller more time to cool down?
i tried riding up a steep hill today. it's pretty short (only 0.21 miles) but it goes up around 100 ft and grade starts at around 7% and goes up to 25% so it's really steep. i was pedaling as hard as i can and i was riding up zig zag so that it was flatter than taking the full impact of the grade and i made it up but it didn't feel like the motor was doing much at assist 1 gear 1. my mph was in the 4-5mph range. since i was riding in a zig zag pattern it felt like on the flat parts i was getting some assist but when turning direction to head up a bit, it was all me (no assist kicking in). at the top, i put my hand to the bbs02 and it was slightly warm but barely.
i don't care about speed, i just want to make it up using less effort if possible (i was huffing and puffing).
my bike is a breezer uptown commuter bike with a shimano nexus 8 speed rear internal gear hub. i believe that my front is a 46T (it's whatever the default is on the bbs02). i realize that i can change to a smaller chainring but was wondering if it's still possible to work with the current chainring.
the route is http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/743835909/ (click show elevation chart on the bottom graph part to see the grades).