Why Doesn't Electric Assist Make Your Velomobile Faster?

[@simondara1971]

E assist just helps a lot of people to cycle. Pëople who normally would stay at home or take a car. Nowadays in Belgium, the streets are swarmed with pensioners on e bikes. Before, those people just sat at home doing nothing. It's evolution. People need to get off their 'lazy' idea and move forward. My WAW also has e assist for commuting to work. It's great. Period. Well done, Saukki.

[@quatrevelo]

Always some great quality content on your videos Saukki. My QV is equipped with a 750w Bafang, limited to 500w to avoid overheating (500w is allowed in the Swiss regulation). I increased the speed from 25km/h to 35km/h (illegal...) which is a good compromise to keep a decent average speed in the Swiss Topography. I mostly use a small level of assist (80-200w) and only use the max for very steep segments. With a 750wH battery the range is around 150km. I fully agree with @Pdedal Car Guy, e-assist doesn't make you lazy, it makes you want to get out and cruise even more ! Thanks again for you videos and keep pedaling !

[@marcooye7655]

Good video .i ride a 750 Watt baffang in my velo and i have 18000 km in just 2 years off riding It's not for lazy People's you just ride Longer and more miles and you are not so tired when you have to work a hole day

[@cook5381]

Thanks Saukki, good stuff. I have a 250 watt Bafang on my Nazca Explorer recumbent bike and it has transformed using it in the hilly area where I live: Most useful is the hand throttle. Recumbent bikes can be a bit shaky when you start off, especially on a slope, so a short blip on the throttle really helps. And you can use the throttle when you want a break if you have muscle problems. We have 350w Bafang motors on our trikes too, a HP Velotechnik and an ICE Sprint. We are both pretty old and have health problems but love taking our trikes out, our motors are essential and transform what would have been something impossible for us to do into a great pleasure. I have converted a Pendle towbar bike rack and a Thule rack to take the two trikes on the back of our old Hymer camper so we can lift them up without folding. Our holidays tend to be centred around our trikes these days! Thanks for your video.

[@pedalcarguy]

Great video, Saukki! If you ask me, electric assist only makes you want to ride more, be it a bicycle, velomobile or powered cycle - my pedal car falls in the last category nowadays. I live in Paimio in Southwestern Finland and we have very tall hills here.

[@Guenther-Eichinger]

As I took my GT now a few times to get to work the only thing I can say is: HAAAPPPPPYYYY ME!! I got it equiped with a BBS01 and this is the best for my commute. On my 21km way to work I have to climb 130m of elevation in total and on a fast roadbike this is hard. With the Milan I wouldn't want to ride it without electric assist but with the road legal BBS01 it''s a dream come true. I get up the hills at a reasonable speed and on flats the GT is flying. Averaging a speed of close to 37km/h is just amazing and the fact that I got my GT just a few weeks even impresses me more. So thanks for the video with the electric assist, for me it's perfect.

[@Paul_C]

Well, I bought an e-bicycle and chucked the car. Basically now ride it every day, when it nice and warm the assist function is zero. When it rains and with high wind I use it. Depending on the price of the bicycle I now can buy a bicycle every two years and it would be cheaper than the car. Even with the train included for the long trips.

[@ShutterGuts]

And the best thing, it helps to stay dry😂

[@peterwilliamson4296]

I rode a Quest and a Rotovelo in New Zealand. Velomobiles are a lot faster than road bikes on the flat so while a small motor wont engage at those speeds it would engage on hill climbs. Thus I think it would be worth having because climbing hills opens up new rides allowing greater enjoyment of your velomobile.

[@hoekie3652]

Again great content! My answer would be: it depends on how someone uses an electric assist. That's my main issue with electric assist: the stigma; as if someone would just use a throttle, always. As if no normal average person can pedal faster then 25 km/h and/or more then 10 km without a motor. We velonauts, bent riders, know better of course. By the way: in true meaning of the word: A bike with pedal e-assist, without throttle = pedelec. A bike with electric motor, with throttle = electric bike = ebike And yes, I agree with you, when used - in a proper way - it does not get you lazy.

[@OifelOifel]

If you live in an area with a lot of steep hills, like I do, you will love the assist of the pedelec. In my opinion it balances out the main drawback of a velomobile. Climbing. This is the main reason why I am currently selling my DF XL. I do not have the money to instal a 2k+ € pedelec in the velomobil and I am not fit enough to ride all those hills. Call me lazy but riding the VM should be enjoyable.

[@kindpanda1075]

Great video!

[@brechtthebest]

My WAW came with 500W kit and assistance up to 50km/h from the dealer here in Ghent. And street legal. The pedelec, speed pedelec and L7e regulation only are from a certain seating height. At least for the was, it is lower than the limit. Someone was caught driving 85km/h in a velomobile in Brugge and eventually he was only convicted for having a gas pedal in the system. So as long as it is just an assistance, you can put in 1kW and go 90. Although, 50 is already fast enough for me, braking distance is crazy at higher speed.

[@AaronHendu]

I just built my first electric assist bike, just waiting for the battery to arrive any day now! I used to cycle a lot, but have since had an injury and am disabled...i live on an escarpment so steep hills in every direction. I am hoping the 250w motor is enough to help me with those hills lol. If not, I will try a 350W. I am only 120lbs though so I think 250w + my pedalling will be more than enough. I have a small 50w solar panel and charger I also want to mount to my rear pannier so that I rarely have to plug it in and get some increased range.

[@karlInSanDiego]

Great video Saukki! Glad you found a good use for your e-assist. The Bafang kits throw a fault when speed sensor goes out and stop assisting.

[@philherb3843]

I didn't ride my bikes anymore after gaining weight, moving to an area with hills and a long commute. Since I have pedelecs (25 km/h) and one Speed-Pedelec (45 km/h), I ride thousends of kilomters per year. I am now thinking of a velomobile (quatrovelo) with pedelec motor for the rainy days, so I don't need my car anymore (we have 2 family cars). Often people say that pedelecs are no real bikes - and drive to work by car every day...

[@NanoDex]

the 15mph limit in EU is a real kick in the knees for ebikes there, I hope it changes eventually

[@TheVelomobileChannel]

Yeah, that speed is maybe ok for upright bikes, but for velomobiles definietly too slow.

[@leohorishny9561]

@@TheVelomobileChannel , same thing for recumbent riders, 15mph on the flat is too slow.

[@jcvjcvjcvjcv]

Is there any enforcement in Finland? We have the 25 kmh moped category... latest official data is that 96% runs faster. And since then enforcement has decreased even more.

[@56Seeker]

Don't forget that a lot of europe uses dedicated cycle tracks, and to be honest 25KMH isn't unreasonable on these circumstances. I notice on my (illegal, 45 km h) E bike that people pull out in front of me from side roads because they think they see a bike and have 10 secs, and it's me and they only have 5 secs. And, by definition, there's a lot of kids and grannies wobbling along in safety on the cycle tracks, and it's unkind and unfair to whizz by them on a narrow cycle track with a 255 kmh speed differential. On a long ride on the open road 25 is too slow, I grant you, but on a cycle path/track it's OK.

[@velokernow3696]

Nice one, welcome to e-bikes!

[@brandweerquest]

Very good video. Lots of usefull information. Thanks!

[@paul-hill]

I use a Bafang as the one you use has a small plastic cog that is known to strip under heavy load.

[@Pink-Velo]

I rode with my Quest 8000 km in 2 years and with my Qv thats electric 4600km in 6 months.

[@klausbrinck2137]

6:50 What part of this speed is because of your legs´ power, and what part is because of the motor´s power? That would be very interesting for me, since me too living in the EU... Thanks for all your videos!!!

[@MrMichaelfalk]

My TSDZ2 motor has the option to change max speed with assist and how sensitive the torgue sensor is. All in the original firmware.

[@TheVelomobileChannel]

I guess different display units have different set of settings 🤔

[@jcvjcvjcvjcv]

I now ride 9km on an upright instead of same route 10km with the velomobile. Time is the same since no hassle with shoes and locks. Half the morning rides I can just stick behind some ebiker doing 25-27 km/h anyway. Coworkers are telling me to get an ebike, but I usually average 24+ km/h.. so I wouldn't gain that much. And since the winter now only lasts 2 weeks here...

[@tilongatao]

Cool test -

[@Lazywatchsmith]

I was lazy long before e-bicycles.

[@TheVelomobileChannel]

😂

[@NikoxD93]

I would be really interested to see what potential this motor would have in a velomobile if you would remove the pesky speed limit! Can you try changing your wheel size to put the limit at 100km/h and do a high speed test? What range do you have riding at 60 km/h with the assist? Such questions need answers, I think :D edit: ok would be fixed with the open source firmware but you're waiting for warranty reasons, that answers it :)

[@emmabird9745]

Here in the UK you can't go far without finding a hill, usually quite steep. With extra weight of a velomobile, our hills make electric assist almost essential. I don't have a velomobile and I stopped riding my recumbent because I could not hill start with it. Plan B, I have designed a leaning three wheeler (some time ago actually), now all I need to do is to build it. Then I will think about electric assist.

[@jcvjcvjcvjcv]

Your recumbent was not a trike?

[@emmabird9745]

@@jcvjcvjcvjcv Hi. No the recumbent I have is 2 wheel, 20inch front 700c rear. My leaning 3 wheeler (yet to be built) with lean brake should solve this I hope (keeping my balance) and allow super low gearing and super low speed when necessary.

[@TerkanTyr]

The European rules are holding back development of more efficient electric transport. The European rules must be reconsidered.

[@schwobalogger6401]

Ich hab einen Lightest 25kmh/250w Pedelec Motor an Schlumpf Highspeeddrive 42/105 an QV+, das ist perfekt am Berg und an Kreuzungen! I has a Lightest 25kmh/250W Pedelec on Highspeeddrive to climb Mountains and start at cross

[@awvankats7550]

And just think, using the motor in the autumn and winter means that the heat generated in the motor means that your velomobile will be warmer inside...?

[@reiner3549]

Hallo, welche Reifenbreite fährst du ?

[@AJBonnema]

I did not understand why the pedelec 45 km/h is not possible: why? What requirements would be lacking on a quatro?

[@TheVelomobileChannel]

This is how I understand the situation: In order to be able to register it as a moped, it first have to be type approved. And I believe that has to be done by the manufacturer, and they don’t want to do it.

[@mattihyvonen2568]

Kohdassa 3:33 helkkarin vaarallinen tilanne, jos kaivuri olisi pyöräyttänyt puominsa

[@mattihyvonen2568]

Itse olisin varmaan ohittaessa avannu kuomua, ja odottanut kuljettajan kanssa katsekontaktia, ennen ohitusta.

[@mattihyvonen2568]

Mut tää on sitte vaan jossittelua, en ole ollu nopeakulkuisen sukkulan kuljettajana, sukkulan kuljetusvaivoineen.

[@jcag5238]

Hi Saukki, Why not use a smaller (= lighter) battery for daily commute ? Did you think about the pendix system (no gears = no noise). CQD

[@TheVelomobileChannel]

I expect to need larger battery in winter to be able to ride my commute to both directions with one charge. Also with larger battery you don't neccesarily have to use the whole capacity of the battery, instead you can try to keep the state of charge between 20 and 80 %, so the battery cells don't wear out as quickly and the battery pack will last longer. I haven't heard about the Pendix system before. But I just now looked at it and I don't like it. You can only have 172,5 mm cranks with it. That's ridicoulusly long for a recumbent.

[@Brian-bp5pe]

Hi Saukki, now that you have an electric motor in your Quattrovelo, do you find any use for your mountain drive?

[@TheVelomobileChannel]

No, it’s just collecting dust on my workbench 😄

[@jcvjcvjcvjcv]

Are you selling it?

[@TheVelomobileChannel]

@@jcvjcvjcvjcv hmm.. I might actually sell it.

[@igorilyasov2057]

Saukki, the amount of torque your motor produces, does it stretch or wear out the chain? Do you need to change the chain for electric motors?

[@TheVelomobileChannel]

I don’t know how much torque the motor can generate (seller claims 80 Nm, but I can’t confirm). But I guess it’s not strong enough to stretch the chain too much. Bigger problem is when I try to change gears, but the motor doesn’t cut of quickly enough, so the gear changes under load, which is not good. To avoid that, I should completelly stop pedaling for more than half a second, so that the motor stops.

[@jcvjcvjcvjcv]

Is it possible to use that brake sensor for that? So use it like a clutch?

[@alexnorth2452]

@@jcvjcvjcvjcv depending on the motor, you can add a gear shift sensor to briefly shut the motor off for shifts, i run a bafang bbshd 1000w, and it has the option for this sensor, I personally own the sensor, just never installed it, easy for me to just turn off the assist, shift and kick assist back on and save a slight bit of weight on an already heavy bike

[@NanoDex]

It looks easy to disconnect the speed sensor. Just do that and if you get pulled over (which would be hilarious in itself) you just plug it in before they get to you. I'm very strong officer!!

[@rossbrumby1957]

Don't disconnect it, just program the wrong size wheel in so it thinks its going slower than it is. Use a seperate speedo for actual speed readings.

[@rockrl98]

Where did you buy the motor and battery from?

[@TheVelomobileChannel]

Greencycle.fi

[@sanderthegarbageman]

In The Netherlands a Pedelec is what you call a Moped.

[@hoekie3652]

I'm also from the Netherlands. Lots name them pedelec because they find two words to long. Like appen instead of whatsappen (dumb face) The moped version (yellow plates) is called speed pedelec in the Netherlands.

[@NerdTouchingGrass]

this nanny state stuff has to stop if you are over 18 you should be able to buy and slap a 1000watt motor on the bike BUT i agree with the class laws saying where you can ride them you dont want what are basically motorcycles zipping by pedestrians at 30-50mph

[@leohorishny9561]

No. It's a fallacy. In my commute area, I have several 5,6, up to 9% grades, just to get from point A to B, using my wife's e-bike, I commute and shop more bike trips with it than I might with only pedaling the same trips. When you have an e-bike too, you learn fast, using the battery alone drops your battery life quick, so you learn to ride with as low a setting on your motor as you can get away with.😉

[@namelesslessname8170]

Bruh ist 250watts what did you tink it would do anything? 😂 Mount a 3kw motor you will see it will be waaay better. 250watss is to less for a velomobile. I did not finish your video cause a soon as i saw 250watt motor is done for me. Why even spend mony on a 250watt motor if you can get 3000watt for less then 250€? Always buy the bigger one, if you don’t want the power restrict power outlet. Bike will be more efficient and not exceed the restricted power outlet you put on it and it wil have waaay more torque. Those 250 watts motors like i see it, are just marketing. I live in flanders everything is flat here we don’t even have hills and even here 250watts even on a normal its useless. Edit: i read in comment, apparently you guys don’t want get lazy and don’t mind going less then 50kmh and having less then 20nm torque. then yes 250watt will be usefull for you

[@helphelpimbeingrepressed9347]

Has anyone in the youtubiverse stuck a ludicrously overpowered motor on a velo? You know for science?

[@TheVelomobileChannel]

Not as far as I know 🤔

[@pedalcarguy]

Define ludicruously owerpowered. 5kW, 10kW? The driven wheels might break at that power. Drifting with a velo might be funny to see. Would the suspension need some beefing up? I think yes. Cornering could become interesting at speed with an 80 cm track width. Would have to spread the wheels out depending on the center of gravity.

[@7sq]

NO SHORTS ! NO SHORTS !! One more short and unsub !!!

[@rawfuturetv]

Hello Saukki! Great video! Now we have nearly the same vehicle! :) I also own a QV with a 250w motor. Works great! Especially while riding through Austria!!! :) Best wishes from Hungary! Marlon