Bought4Fun
New Member
Hi all,
I recently purchased a Pedal Lynx 3 electric MTB from 99 Bikes. While the bike looks well built and presents nicely, the real-world performance has been extremely underwhelming, particularly off-road and on climbs.
I returned to the store to raise the issue and had multiple exchanges with the dealer and workshop. Initially, I was told this was a hardware limitation due to the bike “only having one cadence sensor” and that if I wanted better performance I would need to purchase a more expensive bike. After pushing back and explaining the problem in more detail, the final response I got today from the dealer was:
“I’m not saying that an alternative firmware doesn’t exist. It might or might not. I just know we don’t have one available to us.”
The core issue is this:
On flat ground and paved paths, the assist is acceptable and works fine for leisurely riding. However, as soon as I hit an incline, the motor assistance drops away dramatically. On moderate to steep climbs, even in the lowest gear, I’ve had to get off and push the bike multiple times. This includes situations where my 10-year-old son rides past me on his non-electric bike. Ironically, I can climb these same hills more easily on a standard MTB than on this e-bike, likely due to the extra weight combined with gearing that does not go low enough (normally not needed on an ebike due to the assist qualities).
Based on everything I’ve observed, I am firmly of the view that this is not a hardware limitation, but rather a firmware / torque-mapping issue. The bike uses an Ananda mid-drive system, and the firmware appears to be completely locked down — to the point that even dealers cannot adjust torque gain, current ramp, or assist behaviour, even within legal limits.
For comparison, I also own a cheap Ignite e-bike with a Bosch motor, which significantly outperforms the Pedal Lynx 3 in every meaningful performance metric (climbing torque, responsiveness, low-cadence assist), despite being far inferior in overall build quality.
At this point I’m trying to understand whether there is any way to retune or re-map the Ananda torque/current parameters, or otherwise make this bike usable for its intended purpose: medium to hard off-road mountain riding. I don't have the funds to chase more expensive bikes and thought this mid range bike would at least be as good , if not better than my current ignite bike which is fairly worn out.
Any advice, technical insight, or experience with Ananda firmware, tuning tools, or workarounds would be greatly appreciated.
I recently purchased a Pedal Lynx 3 electric MTB from 99 Bikes. While the bike looks well built and presents nicely, the real-world performance has been extremely underwhelming, particularly off-road and on climbs.
I returned to the store to raise the issue and had multiple exchanges with the dealer and workshop. Initially, I was told this was a hardware limitation due to the bike “only having one cadence sensor” and that if I wanted better performance I would need to purchase a more expensive bike. After pushing back and explaining the problem in more detail, the final response I got today from the dealer was:
“I’m not saying that an alternative firmware doesn’t exist. It might or might not. I just know we don’t have one available to us.”
The core issue is this:
On flat ground and paved paths, the assist is acceptable and works fine for leisurely riding. However, as soon as I hit an incline, the motor assistance drops away dramatically. On moderate to steep climbs, even in the lowest gear, I’ve had to get off and push the bike multiple times. This includes situations where my 10-year-old son rides past me on his non-electric bike. Ironically, I can climb these same hills more easily on a standard MTB than on this e-bike, likely due to the extra weight combined with gearing that does not go low enough (normally not needed on an ebike due to the assist qualities).
Based on everything I’ve observed, I am firmly of the view that this is not a hardware limitation, but rather a firmware / torque-mapping issue. The bike uses an Ananda mid-drive system, and the firmware appears to be completely locked down — to the point that even dealers cannot adjust torque gain, current ramp, or assist behaviour, even within legal limits.
For comparison, I also own a cheap Ignite e-bike with a Bosch motor, which significantly outperforms the Pedal Lynx 3 in every meaningful performance metric (climbing torque, responsiveness, low-cadence assist), despite being far inferior in overall build quality.
Bike / System details:
- Model: Pedal Lynx 3
- Motor:Ananda mid-drive
- FW ver: H1090
- HW ver: C5M2C0
- Serial: R1100
- Battery: 39.7 V nominal (39,700 mV)
- Display:
- FW ver: D70F01
- HW ver: D18C10
- Serial: 24450233
At this point I’m trying to understand whether there is any way to retune or re-map the Ananda torque/current parameters, or otherwise make this bike usable for its intended purpose: medium to hard off-road mountain riding. I don't have the funds to chase more expensive bikes and thought this mid range bike would at least be as good , if not better than my current ignite bike which is fairly worn out.
Any advice, technical insight, or experience with Ananda firmware, tuning tools, or workarounds would be greatly appreciated.
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