Assist settings on Shimano STEPS 8000

[lightning]

l hope this is useful to someone. l searched online but couldn't find much about setting the different power levels from someone who has actually owned and ridden a bike
with this motor fitted.

l never bothered changing the different power modes on my Bosch equipped Cube Ebike, but with the Shimano STEPS 8000 (and pretty much every other brand of motor) you can tailor the different power modes to your personal preferences.

This proved more complicated than l
thought, as it depends on what terrain you are riding as to the type of assistance that you need.

l started on the standard settings the bike came with (eco high, trail low, boost high)

Boost was overkill in almost every situation, except the steepest road hills when you wanted to go as fast as possible.

eco was alright

Trail was barely any different than eco, but gave a useful bit extra on technical climbing.

Anyhow, after downloading the Shimano app and trying all combinations (you can change them out on the trail)
l ended up with eco, trail and boost all set to "medium"

ln this case eco is good for trail and road riding, it gives assistance but you have to put some effort in, which l like.

Trail is a noticeable step up, and is great for climbing off road.

Boost, in "medium" gives 200% assistance rather than 300%.
So l don't have the ultimate full power available, but l don't need it. "Boost" still gives a significant step up from trail, and is actually useable in this setting.

Of course those with a Bosch motor will have four assist modes and can leave one set
to the full power, but with only three modes on the Shimano 8000 l need them all to be useful.

 

[RickBullotta]

You can adjust many aspects of the assist characteristics with the latest Shimano eTube mobile app.

 

[lightning]

That's what l am using. You can only adjust each of the three assist settings to either high, medium or low.

I also have the Stunlocker app and that gives almost infinite possibilities for adjustment but l found that it was easy to become
obsessed with changing the settings.

So l decided to just use the preset ones on the Shimano app.

 

[B1rdie]

The preset options are the result of feedback shimano gets from some very skilled riders, mountain bycicle riders I mean, and from that point, my guess is that boost mode was not conceived to be used as the fastest way to climb fast on paved roads.
I use the boost mode on the trails only, on the most technical and steep climbs, and by technical I mean terrain where spinning the pedals is not possible and it is necessary to time each pedal stroke and take the most power out of it.
I guess if used for long times and at low cadence the boost mode will both: overheat and under lubricate the motor reducing dramatically its life span. I mean it was not made to be used to climb at 40rpm and 25 km/h because most intermidiate riders could easily keep 80 rpm and would be plenty satisfied climbing at 17-22 km/h speed.
My e8000 has 4.000 km now, and at 2.500 it begun to make noises that sound like it would fail anytime soon, but last august I resolved to pedal 1.000 km in 30 days and did it most on flatlands, riding at 30 km/h and pace 100 rpm plus, after that the motor is now working better and is less noisy on the trails, and I mostly use trail mode to climb anything where spinning 70-80 rpm is possible, using the boost mode only as explained above.

 

[lightning]

I think you are correct, but with very little information available l have had to try and work that out for myself.
Personally l've not used boost mode at all, except to try it out.
I may use it now it's set to "medium". When it is set to "high" l find that the initial take up of drive is not smooth, if you start from low speeds.

 

[lightning]

After around 1,000 miles on the Ebike l've still got "Trail"'and "Boost" on medium but ended up with "Eco"'on high.

This is because l've ended up riding faster, towards the maximum assist speed, and "Eco" doesn't provide enough assistance unless it's on "High"