# E-MTB beginner strategy to learn power management Vs gear selection.



## dugt (May 26, 2012)

A neighbor told me that I should use the power levels instead of the gears when I start riding my first E-MTB. For example, Start in a middle gear and leave it there. If I need more speed or power, increase the power instead of changing gears. Is this method recommended for first time e bikers who haven't done much biking? I've been riding road bikes and mt bikes for about 60 years so it seems to me it would be easy to adjust to E-MTB power and gears as long as I don't kick it into Boost before getting accustomed to the lower power levels. I was thinking I would just ride in Eco mode until I feel comfortable before trying the second power mode, etc. I'm going from a XC mt bike to a Trek Fuel EXe *50Nm 300W, 40 pound*, mt bike.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

Your neighbour is wrong. You are right.


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## chadbrochills (Aug 9, 2018)

Don't listen to your neighbor. lol


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## Fleas (Jan 19, 2006)

I tried an ebike once. It takes about 15 seconds to get used to the different power levels. It's not a substitute for the gears.

-F


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## cookieMonster (Feb 23, 2004)

From the rides I've done on my dad's Trek Rail 7, I use the gears just the same as I would on a normal bike. Eco is a perfectly adequate power setting to get up any hill, provided you shift down as needed. The higher power modes just let you go faster, while draining the battery faster as a consequence. Your friend's logic is questionable at best.


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

Fleas said:


> I tried an ebike once. It takes about 15 seconds to get used to the different power levels. It's not a substitute for the gears.
> 
> -F


This ^^^. The way an ebike motor controller senses pedal pressure really requires one to shift in order to optimize power output.
=sParty


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## jabrabu (Aug 2, 2010)

Build a really tall fence between you and that neighbor.


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## dugt (May 26, 2012)

Thanks for the replies. I'm not surprised everyone agrees with me but I'm glad I asked. A different friend said the same thing so I was doubting my sanity. Now I doubt their sanity.


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## Tickle (Dec 11, 2013)

I would say the opposite, try middle power mode and see how you like it, shift as necessary. One thing I've noticed while in middle or high power mode is if I'm in too low of a gear I can feel the motor driving the crankset, then I just shift up to next gear


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## JKA (Jul 26, 2006)

I listened to my neighbor once. It didn't turn out well. The fire department wasn't real happy. Ride it like you would normally ride your bike with the best gear selection and use the power assist level that you need or want at any particular time. Just like a regular bike, but more fun!


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## NC_Foothills_Rider (11 mo ago)

I almost learned the 'hard way' in Moab about e-bikes, techical climbs, and gear selection up hills. The Orbea Wild I was riding could pull just about any gear up this one climb (steep, loose rocks, sharp turn halfway up).

Going up that in too high of a gear felt fast and fun at the bottom. As I was sort of coasting around that sharp turn I happened to push the pedal for a tiny bit of thrust (like you would on a regular bike) but it almost shot out from under me because it was in a 8th gear or something. Scared the crap out of me because failure to make the corner meant going over a scary edge with a rental bike.

I went up again in a lower gear and this wasn't an issue at all.

Be careful sometimes the power can sneak up on you when you're first getting used to e-bikes.


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## norcalbike (Dec 17, 2004)

Just stay in an easy gear all the time. As far as I can tell, power output is based almost completely on RPM.


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## rod9301 (Oct 30, 2004)

norcalbike said:


> Just stay in an easy gear all the time. As far as I can tell, power output is based almost completely on RPM.


On rpm, but there's one mode, emtb on Bosch that senses the torque you're putting on pedals and increases the output.

Sent from my moto g 5G using Tapatalk


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## minimusprime (May 26, 2009)

You and your neighbor need to ride mountain bikes until what gear you are in becomes intuitive. Seriously. I'm an ebike owner, and not a new riders on ebikes hater... but if you can't discern the proper gear, you haven't spent enough time on a bike to have 500-700w of power at your disposal. You will do yourself a lot of good riding a bicycle until you understand the mechanical advantage and cadence break points as well as mechanical empathy for the machinery.


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## dugt (May 26, 2012)

minimusprime said:


> You and your neighbor need to ride mountain bikes until what gear you are in becomes intuitive. Seriously. I'm an ebike owner, and not a new riders on ebikes hater... but if you can't discern the proper gear, you haven't spent enough time on a bike to have 500-700w of power at your disposal. You will do yourself a lot of good riding a bicycle until you understand the mechanical advantage and cadence break points as well as mechanical empathy for the machinery.


I think you only read the first two sentences of the OP. Here is the rest of it. "I've been riding road bikes and mt bikes for about 60 years so it seems to me it would be easy to adjust to E-MTB power and gears as long as I don't kick it into Boost before getting accustomed to the lower power levels. I was thinking I would just ride in Eco mode until I feel comfortable before trying the second power mode, etc. I'm going from a XC mt bike to a Trek Fuel EXe *50Nm 300W, 40 pound *mt bike."


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## JKA (Jul 26, 2006)

Agreed. An experienced rider like you will adapt to an ebike very quickly. Some of that depends on the type of ebike. I have an Orbea Rise which is a moderate power ebike and it was super easy for me to adapt. My son has an Orbea Wild which is a full power ebike and with the extra power, it took a little longer for me to adapt to it. The power even in the lowest setting on his bike hits harder and has a little more run on when you stop pedaling. I had to be careful in corners to not move the pedal forward and get an unexpected boost of power. My bike was a very natural feel right off the bat. If you're getting a full power ebike, just make sure you start off riding in the lowest assist mode and use the gearing just like normal and you will quickly adapt to it.


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## dugt (May 26, 2012)

JKA said:


> Agreed. An experienced rider like you will adapt to an ebike very quickly. Some of that depends on the type of ebike. I have an Orbea Rise which is a moderate power ebike and it was super easy for me to adapt. My son has an Orbea Wild which is a full power ebike and with the extra power, it took a little longer for me to adapt to it. The power even in the lowest setting on his bike hits harder and has a little more run on when you stop pedaling. I had to be careful in corners to not move the pedal forward and get an unexpected boost of power. My bike was a very natural feel right off the bat. If you're getting a full power ebike, just make sure you start off riding in the lowest assist mode and use the gearing just like normal and you will quickly adapt to it.


Thanks. The bike I'm getting is a little less powerful than an Orbea Rise, 60Nm Vs 50Nm.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

cookieMonster said:


> From the rides I've done on my dad's Trek Rail 7, I use the gears just the same as I would on a normal bike. Eco is a perfectly adequate power setting to get up any hill, provided you shift down as needed. The higher power modes just let you go faster, while draining the battery faster as a consequence. Your friend's logic is questionable at best.


This exactly


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

Mojave G said:


> This exactly


Agreed.


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## MountainHead (Apr 4, 2012)

Strategies to economize your power consumption have the wonderful side effect of greatly decreasing the wear and tear on your drivetrain. The worst thing for your cassette, chain, and chainring is low speed, high torque riding. Like when you add power during climbing and stay in the same higher gear, versus downshifting to an appropriately low gear and spinning a normal cadence (the way we all ride without a motor). It's astonishing how fast you can wear out a drivetrain with high torque riding. So save that riding style for rent bikes only


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## mike_kelly (Jul 18, 2016)

The motor on an emtb is no different than your motor. You shift to match the rpm to the steepness of the incline. You have an optimized cadence and you shift to keep it matched to your body. The motor has an optimized rpm too and you need to shift to keep the motor matched to the terrain. IF you don't you do not get maximum power transfer and the battery will drain faster.


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## JKA (Jul 26, 2006)

That Trek EXE should be a very easy transition for you to ebikes. I rode one last weekend and the power delivery is very smooth and natural feeling. The motor is almost completely silent. It seemed to handle great as well. The one I rode wasn't even a high end model, in fact, it was the low end version and it seemed very nice.


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## Jimmy Curry (Jul 12, 2021)

minimusprime said:


> You and your neighbor need to ride mountain bikes until what gear you are in becomes intuitive. Seriously. I'm an ebike owner, and not a new riders on ebikes hater... but if you can't discern the proper gear, you haven't spent enough time on a bike to have 500-700w of power at your disposal. You will do yourself a lot of good riding a bicycle until you understand the mechanical advantage and cadence break points as well as mechanical empathy for the machinery.


Agreed,,, Cadence and gearing is an important factor when climbing or accelerating on an ebike. Have a little empathy for the battery, and even the chain! If your pulling a tall gear in boost mode all the time premature chain and cog wear is inevitable. Not to mention sucking the amperage out of the battery. A nice spinning cadence equals less wear and tear on the bike. I've had an ORBEA RISE for 2 years now and love it.


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## markloch (Jul 15, 2021)

I use my gears like I would on any bike, and generally choose a power level based on what level of assist I need/want at that point on the ride, which usually is one that keeps my 62 y.o. heart @ 130ish bpm. I’ll change power level depending on terrain too, there are steep loose sections where less torque from the motor works better for me, though I’ve got to work harder.


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## Crockpot2001 (Nov 2, 2004)

I purchased a Levo SL for my wife and I'm cringing every time we ride. She's doing exactly what should not be done. She's riding damned near everything in the hardest gears and letting the motor/drivetrain crunch/grind/whine instead of shifting. She is NOT taking my feedback well.


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## dugt (May 26, 2012)

Crockpot2001 said:


> I purchased a Levo SL for my wife and I'm cringing every time we ride. She's doing exactly what should not be done. She's riding damned near everything in the hardest gears and letting the motor/drivetrain crunch/grind/whine instead of shifting. She is NOT taking my feedback well.


Have you asked her to read this thread?


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## JKA (Jul 26, 2006)

Crockpot2001 said:


> I purchased a Levo SL for my wife and I'm cringing every time we ride. She's doing exactly what should not be done. She's riding damned near everything in the hardest gears and letting the motor/drivetrain crunch/grind/whine instead of shifting. She is NOT taking my feedback well.


Trade her in on a new model. 
Sorry, I should have never let that thought make to the keyboard. That kind of trade in is ALWAYS expensive.


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## Crockpot2001 (Nov 2, 2004)

JKA said:


> Trade her in on a new model.
> Sorry, I should have never let that thought make to the keyboard. That kind of trade in is ALWAYS expensive.


She rides bikes. In my mind you don't **** with that.


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## dugt (May 26, 2012)

I'm the e-mtb newbie that started this thread. Today I rode my new e-mtb, Trek Fuel EXe for the first time. It is just as easy as everyone said it would be. I used the lowest assist mode almost always and it was almost inconspicuous most of the time. A couple of times I increased the assist one level on steep sections and it is was a smooth transition to easier. With the power off this bike pedals about the same as my XC bike and that surprised me. Also, it seems to coast faster. That may be an illusion or the placebo affect but it is welcome. 

To get to the point of the thread, Taking advantage of the gears on an e-bike, instead of just adjusting the power, is very easy. Anyone who just uses the power switch instead of gears probably doesn't know how to work turn signals on a car. That is partly why I am such an angry person!


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## JStrube (Aug 25, 2011)

Crockpot2001 said:


> I purchased a Levo SL for my wife and I'm cringing every time we ride. She's doing exactly what should not be done. She's riding damned near everything in the hardest gears and letting the motor/drivetrain crunch/grind/whine instead of shifting. She is NOT taking my feedback well.


My wife got the nickname "Redmasher" because she had a red road bike, and always mashed...

Her first attempt at riding an e-bike of any kind was funny. She did not realize she needed to shift and wondered why she could not climb a certain hill. She had borrowed it from a friend to see if she wanted to swap to an e road bike. "something is wrong with the bike"... until my friend showed her it was fine, and she had to still shift.

I feel your pain.


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