Electric Bikes - Bionx Owners - Touring Strategies

Greetings from the Great American Desert (Salt Lake City):

I took delivery on my PL350 about a month ago, and I am happy to report that everything is working as advertised. (My "maiden voyage" was into a 15MPG wind, and it was refreshing to not be at the mercy of moving air for a change).

This setup is eventually intended for long daytrips - and possibly multi-day trips ... so that I can complete 50+ miles per day without feeling completely exhausted.

Assuming a goal of 50 miles in a day, and assuming that the wind is not a factor on that day, what would be the best approach to getting the most out of the Bionx unit. Here are some weight numbers: rider is about 210 pounds, bicycle without Bionx is about 27 pounds, credit card touring load is about 15 pounds.

a) Leave the assist at "0" so there are no standing start issues - and regularly throttle for a mile after pedaling for every 4 miles. (Bionx routinely takes up 20% of the distance).

b) Pretend that it's a "normal bicycle" until an incline requires use of the throttle. (Use of the throttle, in this case, would be variable day to day).

c) Set the assist for a certain amount, and let the computer take up some of the effort during the entire journey.

I selected this unit specifically because of the throttle option - but holding it open for a long period of time doesn't seem practical, and I have no idea how much the Bionx designers intended that a rider should use it.

Thoughts on the above would be deeply appreciated.

good news is, you are suppose to use the throttle on demand, as you are, that's the whole purpose of it.

personally from your choices i'm using option c) set Assist level 1, as Assist level ZERO is pretty much off, and you are carrying nearly 11 lbs of dead weight (battery + motor hub)

is not really bad, if you only plan to use the throttle whenever you feel like it, and do everything else on your own.

I'm rather a speed maniac, so the minimum level of assist helps me get through the wind, and hills without losing momentum. :)

for the very same reason why i ditched my car for the bike, as in rush hour a car is pretty much useless, and i hate bumper to bumper rides.

so a bike is the best, as it can zip through places even a Gas Motorcycle is not allowed to go through ;)

and yes my 1 way trip is also 25mile each way, so a round trip is 50mi a day.

before that, i was doing my commute without BionX, but since i moved... it turn into a rather agonizing ride doing 50mi every day.

now with BionX is like back to normal, you still pedal, you still sweat, just not extremely exhausted when you get home.

EDIT:

Dahon Matrix + Jammer GT aero bar + BionX PL350 (17 lb) + Topeak A rack & DXP bag (2.66lb) + fenders + 165lb of BioMass.
cargo contents vary day by day (clothing / food / supplies / drinks)

Bike total mass weight is approx 55 lb + me + cargo (average 5 lb), so grand total hauling of approx 225 lb

Throttle sucks up a lot of juice. I would just change to assist 3 or 4 instead of throttling during that 1 mile stretch. It's good to pedal lightly than to not pedal at all.

good news is, you are suppose to use the throttle on demand, as you are, that's the whole purpose of it.

personally from your choices i'm using option c) set Assist level 1, as Assist level ZERO is pretty much off, and you are carrying nearly 11 lbs of dead weight (battery + motor hub)

is not really bad, if you only plan to use the throttle whenever you feel like it, and do everything else on your own.

I'm rather a speed maniac, so the minimum level of assist helps me get through the wind, and hills without losing momentum. :)

for the very same reason why i ditched my car for the bike, as in rush hour a car is pretty much useless, and i hate bumper to bumper rides.

so a bike is the best, as it can zip through places even a Gas Motorcycle is not allowed to go through ;)

and yes my 1 way trip is also 25mile each way, so a round trip is 50mi a day.

before that, i was doing my commute without BionX, but since i moved... it turn into a rather agonizing ride doing 50mi every day.

now with BionX is like back to normal, you still pedal, you still sweat, just not extremely exhausted when you get home.

EDIT:

Dahon Matrix + Jammer GT aero bar + BionX PL350 (17 lb) + Topeak A rack & DXP bag (2.66lb) + fenders + 165lb of BioMass.
cargo contents vary day by day (clothing / food / supplies / drinks)

Bike total mass weight is approx 55 lb + me + cargo (average 5 lb), so grand total hauling of approx 225 lb

It seems like we have got some similarity. I have a 2007 Dahon Cadenza with a BMC gear/chain driven unit and Dewalt A123 LifePO4 power tools batteries and the Topeak seatpost rack + the DXP bag. Total weight of my ebike is around 50lbs, and with my 170lbs body mass the total weight is about 220 lbs. :)

How does the BMC + batteries work?
does it do assist, or just plain boost?
does it have re-gen power?

How does the BMC + batteries work?
does it do assist, or just plain boost?
does it have re-gen power?

See the tread below:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=540475