Eco sucks!

[Plummet]

I've decided eco sucks. It basically offsets the weight of ebike and that's it. You end up going pretty much at mtb speeds.

If I want to ride at mtb speeds going up I'll ride my mountain bike instead. Thar is 11 kg lighter, more playful and a blast to ride.

So.... the only time I'll use eco is if the battery is running flat or I happen to be riding with mountain bikers and I have My ebike. Typically I ride my mtb with other mtbers and e with e.

With that said I'm all over smashing e Laps at faster speeds. That's mucho fun.

 

[Cb750stu]

Brilliant

 

[Stihldog]

I prefer not to call it “Eco Mode”. I call it “little bit of peddle assist on flat terrain mode”. But I don’t use it much.

 

[mtb-steve]

I use eco most of the time, tour is too much most of the time and I like long trail rides.
On flat easy going I also switch the assist off, that makes a huge difference to range, which leaves more for tour up steep climbs

 

[chrismechmaster]

I use eco most of the time, tour is too much most of the time and I like long trail rides.
On flat easy going I also switch the assist off, that makes a huge difference to range, which leaves more for tour up steep climbs

Switch it off isn’t that like riding a bike through treacle

 

[mtb-steve]

Switch it off isn’t that like riding a bike through treacle

No, my Bosch is fine. The motor is still switched on, just assist is off.

 

[Plummet]

No, my Bosch is fine. The motor is still switched on, just assist is off.

Switch it off isn’t that like riding a bike through treacle

My Bosch motor has resistance when assist is switched off. Plus i'm running a full fat 25kg bike with heavy tires. It definitely feels like pedaling through treacle when switch off and going up hill. It is horrendous by comparison to my mountain bike.

 

[chrismechmaster]

My Bosch motor has resistance when assist is switched off. Plus i'm running a full fat 25kg bike with heavy tires. It definitely feels like pedaling through treacle when switch off and going up hill. It is horrendous by comparison to my mountain bike.

my levo is like that

 

[irie]

I've decided eco sucks. It basically offsets the weight of ebike and that's it. You end up going pretty much at mtb speeds.

If I want to ride at mtb speeds going up I'll ride my mountain bike instead. Thar is 11 kg lighter, more playful and a blast to ride.

So.... the only time I'll use eco is if the battery is running flat or I happen to be riding with mountain bikers and I have My ebike. Typically I ride my mtb with other mtbers and e with e.

With that said I'm all over smashing e Laps at faster speeds. That's mucho fun.

If you don't like Eco mode don't use it. Rocket science. Not.

While we're here, are there any other things you don't like that we (ie others) should not do? Don't be shy, help us.

 

[TommyC]

Turbo. Everywhere

 

[Plummet]

If you don't like Eco mode don't use it. Rocket science. Not.

While we're here, are there any other things you don't like that we (ie others) should not do? Don't be shy, help us.

To be fair, I didn't say you shouldn't use eco. For me it sucks.

 

[irie]

To be fair, I didn't say you shouldn't use eco. For me it sucks.

To be fair, you didnt say "for me", you instead said "I've decided eco sucks".

hth

 

[Stihldog]

Sorry…couldn’t resist.

 

[Nomad1]

There is a point where one has to say why bother having a E if your in eco most of the time on most bikes.

 

[mtb-steve]

There is a point where one has to say why bother having a E if your in eco most of the time on most bikes.

Because it's good to be able to turn up the power when you're tired, or feeling a bit shit that day.

 

[mtb-steve]

My Bosch motor has resistance when assist is switched off. Plus i'm running a full fat 25kg bike with heavy tires. It definitely feels like pedaling through treacle when switch off and going up hill. It is horrendous by comparison to my mountain bike.

I use assist up hills, but I don't have a normal bike to compare it to either

 

[Nomad1]

Because it's good to be able to turn up the power when you're tired, or feeling a bit shit that day.

not really if your in ECO most of the time the non e will do you better

 

[2WHLFUN]

My mantra is Eco up and boost down.

 

[Ark]

Switch it off isn’t that like riding a bike through treacle

you realise just how much assist eco is giving

 

[irie]

View attachment 131192
Sorry…couldn’t resist.

Neither could I resist.

 

[JP-NZ]

No, my Bosch is fine. The motor is still switched on, just assist is off.

If your riding on the flat XC trails or on the road you can easily ride up to 32kmh with assist off. 24.5kg Bosch bike here as well.

 

[Sherman]

If your riding on the flat XC trails or on the road you can easily ride up to 32kmh with assist off. 24.5kg Bosch bike here as well.

Riding emtb 32km/h on a flat surface requires almost 250W of power, which is not "easy" for an average e-mountainbiker.

 

[irie]

Riding emtb 32km/h on a flat surface requires almost 250W of power, which is not "easy" for an average e-mountainbiker.

If your riding on the flat XC trails or on the road you can easily ride up to 32kmh with assist off. 24.5kg Bosch bike here as well.

"Up to" - so depends for how long.

 

[lovespicyfood]

Long time mtn biker that recently got an e-bike. I don’t use Eco much at all, but am contemplating tweaking the profile to give Eco just a bit more power (EP801). E-biking is a better workout than I imagined, surprised my average heart rate is just 4-6 beats per minute lower than my non e-bike rides.

Goal to use Eco mode is to throw some more anerobic burst into the mix sometimes…

What has surprised me most is the bike is significantly better on the downhill. I thought the added weight would really hamper downhill handling but ime it is much better 90%+ of the time…the bike is more planted and stable. I guess transitioning the bike from side to side is more difficult and takes more effort but that’s not real noticeable to me. Getting some PRs on downhill segments and I am still a bit reserved, only just 50 miles into e-bike ownership.

 

[skinnyboy]

Long time mtn biker that recently got an e-bike. I don’t use Eco much at all, but am contemplating tweaking the profile to give Eco just a bit more power (EP801). E-biking is a better workout than I imagined, surprised my average heart rate is just 4-6 beats per minute lower than my non e-bike rides.

Goal to use Eco mode is to throw some more anerobic burst into the mix sometimes…

What has surprised me most is the bike is significantly better on the downhill. I thought the added weight would really hamper downhill handling but ime it is much better 90%+ of the time…the bike is more planted and stable. I guess transitioning the bike from side to side is more difficult and takes more effort but that’s not real noticeable to me. Getting some PRs on downhill segments and I am still a bit reserved, only just 50 miles into e-bike ownership.

And it only gets better with more saddle time.

 

[Amber Valley Guy]

My ep8 was bloody awful in Eco, and felt like it wasn't working at all if moving down to Eco from Trail or Boost. A few minutes with the Shimano app, nudge the slider to the right a bit and......a totally different bike, a pleasure to ride and no noticeable loss in range. Now if someone could fix the useless walk mode....that stops working when tugging it out of mud, rocks, etc, UPHILL just when you need it the most .....Grrrrrrrr

 

[p3eps]

There is a point where one has to say why bother having a E if your in eco most of the time on most bikes.

Depends on your bike / motor I guess.
I ride my Levo SL in Eco 95% of the time. In fact, it’s a dialled down version of Eco I use.
My Levo SL weighs 17kg, and the motor has pretty much no resistance when off… so running it on my custom Eco setting is giving me about 15-20% of a boost on top of my own legs.
That’s all I want most of the time.

On a day where I’m knackered and want to do the same run over and over, I can whack it up to 100% and climb faster… then back to Eco for the descents. Get a few laps in without wearing myself out.

Not everyone wants an eMTB to fly uphill. I appreciate a LOT do… but there’s also a lot that don’t… which is why lighter lower powered ‘SL’ bikes are becoming more popular.

 

[cozzy]

Can you not adjust the power levels on Bosch?
On specialized you can have :-
turbo 100%
Trail 99%
Eco 98% for when you want to feel the burn

 

[Mikerb]

I always find these sort of conversations a little strange. Why on earth would pay the premium for an emtb over a mtb and then ride with assist off or in ECO? I accept some riders are interested in muscle burn and heart rate etc but they are surely riding mostly hard pack relatively easy terrain since a full suspension 24kg bike with heavy duty tyres on anything other than easy ground/tarmac is a PITA with low motor assist. It also puts a lot of unnecessary strain on the drivetrain.. ECO on Bosch gen 2 is just about ok on flat tarmac...on the Smart System it can be turned up to make it more useable but trail+ is better if the terrain is changeable. I have emtb turned up to 2 on my Smart System bike and now virtually never change mode (the majority of my riding is in forests...either descending or climbing back up.

 

[Damin]

I ride 5% assistance with a heart rate monitor and Smart Control on my Levo. Why? High Intensity Interval Training. 13 months of this and I'm down 160 lbs. I can ride for 3-4 hours at a time like this and have a ridiculous amount of fun without blowing out my heart and muscles. Plus, trail and turbo don't provide the finesse required for some technical, sketchy terrain where your life is in danger if you make a mistake. Not everyone is into full send full time. When I switch over from my Levo to my Ripmo, I can toss it around like a rag doll because I've got the core and leg strength built up from riding the "tank" at 57lbs. The Ripmo at 37 lbs feels like a feather and hops down the trail like a cocaine fueled jack rabbit.