Am I missing something?

[Kiwibloke]

I watched Rob's video earlier today, Thanks Rob, and one of the things was a small clip that held the pedal so he could turn the crank and oil the chain etc, but what is wrong with turning it the other way? Is it just that you can't change gears? I tried this today with an Allen key to hold the crank and twice my bike started while I was cleaning the chain, caught me by surprise the first time, second time it came on and then a red light appeared on the display, I turned it off and it seems ok now. So is this normal?
Thanks.

 

[Mikerb]

The battery should be removed/disconnected whenever you work on the drivetrain. Your red light signified a fault, specifically that the speed sensor and torque sensor readings would have been wrong. No damage done but take note........disconnect battery power before working on the drive train.
Rob's "hack" was a way of locking the crank to the chainring so you can pedal backwards when lubeing the chain, given that the motor freewheel prevents that otherwise. Personally I see no problem lubeing the chain whilst rotating the cranks forwards except of course it means the back wheel needs to be elevated. I always lube the chain whilst the bike is on a stand so it is not an issue for me.

 

[Kiwibloke]

Thanks Mikerb, yes I too do all maintenance on the bike stand, but I will disconnect the battery from now on.