My trike has a mid drive Shimano torque based pedal assist, 250W and 36v. It has three assist levels, a 44T front chain ring and a 11-36 ten speed cassette. To my perception, it feels like a regular bike. I use the lowest level of assistance MOST of the time, and I feel like it basically compensates for the extra weight of the trike, battery and motor at that low level assist. I regularly use all ten of the cogs on the cassette, and also use my cadence readout to stay at my optimum pedaling pace of 65-70. Changing the power level because I'm going up a hill is not something I do. I gear down to lower gears on the cassette, try to maintain my cadence and light pedal pressure, just like I used to do on my regular bike.

I seem to get the best range by pedaling with a light pedal pressure, low assist, and whichever gear is appropriate. To increase my speed, I pedal faster until I can shift comfortably in the next higher gear, then repeat until it takes too much effort to go faster. I average 12-14 mph, depending on how much I want to work at it, the wind, etc. At the end of a 48 mile ride, I feel like I used to feel after riding my regular bike for the same distance: pretty tired.

If I turn the assist OFF, I can still pedal, but it feels like I'm pedaling a fully loaded touring rig, maybe 50-60 pounds, which is a lot when you're used to a 25 pound DF bike. I ran my battery out of power one day and pedaled the last four miles with no assist. I think I averaged 9-10 mph on that section.

I have no experience on a cadence based system, but I think I have the best, most natural feeling pedaling experience with the torque based assist.