# Ebikes and "not cheating" or "riding with reg bikers" (topic: blevo and HR control of assist)



## Whiterabbitt (May 16, 2020)

So, I'm looking at Blevo (just got it) and my '20 Kenevo. What interests me most about the concept is that I can get a HR monitor (I don't have one yet) and tie assist to my HR. This sounds like a great idea to me as initial climbs on my regular bike causes enormous HR spikes in the first part of my ride (it has always been like this my entire life), and takes an hour or more for HR to settle down in a place that feels "athletic" for lack of a better word. My Kenevo has been awesome because it irons that out, even when I use "eco" mode and set the assist to "5%". I tried that setting to "keep up" with regular bikers, as even 10% I was passing fitter riders than me. But even 5% I can keep up with fitter riders that would leave me behind when I'm on a regular bike. (no matter how fit we are, there are fitter people out there!). So, it seems no matter what, the bike always has the capability of too much power. Fun most of the time, but not EVERY time!

Anyways, I don't ride for fitness, I just ride for fun. But I would like to occasionally ride my Kenevo with others when they are on their regular bikes. And Blevo with HR monitor control seems like a great way to do it. In my imagination, it'll have me SLOG 'till my HR goes up to a healthy but not crazy level, then give me just enough boost to keep HR from going runaway on me. I don't know, haven't tried it. but a stable HR from first pedal stroke sounds like a recipe for a long day of fun on the trail.

My question is, have any here tried blevo for this kind of purpose? Any advice for how well Blevo works for HR control of assist?


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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

I have never heard of such an ebike with power related to your heart beat rate. To me its just another thing that could go wrong and leave your ebike in the shed, just like any magnet ring at the bottom bracket, or ebike display on the handlbar or the many moving, integrate pieces of m.d.


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## nilswalk (Nov 26, 2014)

Whiterabbitt said:


> My question is, have any here tried blevo for this kind of purpose? Any advice for how well Blevo works for HR control of assist?


I use BLEvo in the way you suggest but with the "smart power" mode. So similar, but it attempts to keep the power output constant instead of heart rate, which is a much better measurement of how much work you are doing than your heart rate. Also means you don't need any extra hardware like an HR monitor because the bike already provides that info to BLEvo.

It does a pretty good job. I basically have 3 modes. One where it tries to keep my power output at 150 watts (which for me is a nice casual workout - it's still exercise, but I can hold a conversation with someone while doing it). The other 2 are just full power (basically I want to get to the top of some annoying fire road as fast as possible) and full eco "oh man the battery is almost dead and I have to get home" mode. Most of the time I just leave it in the smart power mode.

So: Find out how much power you can produce for whatever a casual ride is for you, set BLEvo smart power to that, and forget about it.


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## Whiterabbitt (May 16, 2020)

what happens with smart power? I get what you are saying, but when I think about it (using your example):

scenario 1: I max out at 150watts and push harder, the bike just does nothing, so my extra power input carries the full bike? so that becomes the brick wall instead of speed?

scenario 2: I get tired cause I'm going steep uphill, so I'm putting out 50 watts, or less. The bike compensates to put in 150 watts? so basically I just motor up the hill faster than I would normally?

It kinda sounds to me like smart power mode is a way to make a bike ride outdoors feel like a stationary ride indoors. Unless I'm not getting it? If I got it correct, that's cool and a neat mode, but not what I'm going for.


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## nilswalk (Nov 26, 2014)

No, you have it wrong.

Smart power and smart HR mode work in exactly the same way - they try to keep your effort constant and if your effort falls below that line the motor reduces power, if it rises above that line the motor increases power. That's it - one just uses HR as an estimate of effort and the other uses power at the cranks as an estimate of effort. Power at the cranks is a better estimate because your HR can vary quite a bit from day to day depending on external factors. But the two modes are basically doing exactly the same thing - letting you tell the software how much effort you'd like to be responsible for and having the software attempt to vary the motor output to keep you at that level of effort.


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