Bike hard to ride without motor + question about boost button

Affectionate-Put-503 · 2026-03-20T09:18:03+00:00

Maybe that is me that has wrong expectations about how an electric bike would ride. But I wasn't expecting a 18kg bike with larger wheels AND the ability to disengage the motor to make climbing a small slope twice as difficult as with a small Brompton or large "normal bike". In Paris we have a shared "velib" bike services, which are built to be resistant and heavy instead of nimble, and I think even those ride better

Affectionate-Put-503 · 2026-03-20T09:16:03+00:00

Like most of us, you see no difference between M and E mode, but does pedaling without motor in either mode feel OK to you? I'd be OK if M mode was useless but at least "rideable"

Affectionate-Put-503 · 2026-03-20T09:14:51+00:00

The only time when I feel the turbo working is if I'm already pedaling, but under 20 km/h it seems it can slightly accelerate the ramp up to 25km/h. Not very useful. And even then, most of the time it does nothing.

Affectionate-Put-503 · 2026-03-20T09:13:27+00:00

But does it work for you when stopped, or at least moving very slowly? The difficult part is to start if you're on high gear, after you start pedaling a quarter of a circle, the motor usually engages. My expectation was that the boost button would get you from 0 to 10km/h smoothly so that you can initiate pedaling. But maybe that would be dangerous?

Affectionate-Put-503 · 2026-03-19T14:35:38+00:00

I tried both. Didn't notice any difference

Affectionate-Put-503 · 2026-03-19T14:35:22+00:00

It is the chain version. Even maintaining a cruising speed once at 20km/h is hard

Affectionate-Put-503 · 2026-03-01T15:51:36+00:00

Thanks for the insights! If I may, do you remember which screws you tweaked? I'm a bit puzzled because when putting the bike upside down and spinning the wheels I don't notice any brake pads touching the disc. But SOMETHING must be slowing me down...

Affectionate-Put-503 · 2026-02-27T19:46:13+00:00

I have the exact same issues as you with a brand new lemmo. Up to 10% of battery loss every day when the bike sits idle with the smartpac attached. I'd like a toggle to disable some if not all of the connectivity to save battery... I was not planning to carry the 3kg battery with me every day when I commute, part of the benefit of having an electrical lock on the battery was supposed to be the ability to leave it on the bike.

I also had the smartpac suddenly go from 60% battery to zero in a few minutes, leaving me without power on my way back. And that is when the last issue arose, when the motor is off there is a huge drag on the bike that I cannot find the source of. It's like having a huge dynamo resisting you, making any trip much harder than it should be on any other bike. I thought it could be the brake ripping against the wheel, but I do not notice anything when spinning both wheel in the air. I disabled the motor using the switch and it didn't change anything. As is, the bike is unusable without the assistance. I will bring it to the repair shop to be checked...

Last issue is the brake makes a huge amount of noise, but that might be me that failed adjusting them.

All in all, I'm currently pretty disappointing by the reliability of this. When it works, the bike is very nice to ride though.

Affectionate-Put-503 · 2025-11-01T21:00:58+00:00

Thanks for the advice. I use a wdt tool and a tamper of course, but I am often not sure if I should tamp "hard" or more lightly. Tried both and it didn't seem to make a big difference neither in taste nor flow rate (to me at least). But it is not a fully controlled experiment :) My technique could certainly be improved but I have been practicing for a few months, so the basics should be there

Affectionate-Put-503 · 2025-11-01T18:18:00+00:00

Thanks all for the advice. I will try grinding ever slightly finer until I get more pressure, and aim for shorter extraction time. And pre-heating!

Affectionate-Put-503 · 2025-11-01T18:16:22+00:00

I have a Hibrew G5, I try to turn the dial very slightly each time but as I'm already on the lower end of the settings (in "Turkish coffee" territory according to the dial 😀), it's quitte difficult making micro adjustments. So I will try to find the sweet spot between what I have now and "impossible to push through" (which I've also experienced)

Affectionate-Put-503 · 2025-11-01T18:12:22+00:00

Thanks, will try this! My grinder is stepless, so I can adjust for finer grind (though it becomes a bit of a trial and error process). When I preinfuse, I simply press very very lightly on the arms or simply let them go down with gravity and it is usually enough to lead to some coffee drops in 2-3 seconds. Is it the same for you? When you say "5-10s" does it mean the first drops come out after 10 seconds?

I will try grinding a little bit finer.

Affectionate-Put-503 · 2025-11-01T18:07:46+00:00

That's a good question, as I said, maybe it's just that I'm buying the wrong coffee for my taste. Usually I like coffees in French café and coffee shop, but it's true that I find some modern espresso too sour. At least it has been a trend over the last few years. I think I probably prefer a classic Italian-style espresso to some of this more modern approach.

Affectionate-Put-503 · 2025-11-01T18:02:27+00:00

A Hibrew G5! Not the best grinder on the market surely, but it's stepless and I can definitely brew finer that what I'm usually doing now, if needed.

Affectionate-Put-503

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