Electric bike quandry

[vinceprince]

Heres a question, while i was sat at a section on my electric trials bike a rider pulled up alongside me and said, do i know if his lad could ride one of the electric bikes in the youth class! interesting point i didnt have the answer but the bike has a power switch each position is equivalent to 80cc. 125cc, 250cc and 300cc so in theory it covers all classes but i still dont know the answer to the question and i wonder if the ACU has ever thought about it

[lemur]

Don't know how it is where you ride, but around here youth class is a support class and not a championship class, you can ride almost anything in a support class because it counts for almost nothing.  From my riding on electric trials bikes so far I set the power switch in the lowest power position and don't move that up until I actually find the thing to be underpowered, which so far has never happened.  

[konrad]

The 2021 EM Race has a "schoolboy" mode.  The Map switch then gives three very low-power settings.  But in 2022 onward, this feature was eliminated so EM could use that input to activate TKO.

Edited December 6 by konrad
learned something

[overdale]

If youths are riding in an ACU event they have to comply with Trials Standing Regulations TSR1 under Engine capacity /wheel size for age groups - with power at back wheel limited depending on what class they ride.  10 bhp for A & B Class, 7 for C & D and 2bhp for E class.

[vinceprince]

I think its very easy to set the bhp to any setting you desire on these bikes so that could be good news for my inquisitive dad and i would think the system can be locked out in some way the same as on an EMTB and then one bike coould be used right through the classes, i guess the only issue is how would the trial organisers know if the bike was set to the required bhp limit unless the ACU have a plan for that. He said to me that because his lad had grown up on Osets then it was a natural progression on to a bigger e bike.

[konrad]

7 hours ago, vinceprince said:

I think its very easy to set the bhp to any setting you desire on these bikes....

Yes, in theory.  But, so far, EM Connect's programmability is only relative to the maximum permitted settings.  The is no reference to any absolute power or torque numbers.  (I suspect the Dragonfly's U-Mapp will be similar.)   Edit: just saw that Dragonfly shows power in watts.

And even if there were, the meaning would be open to debate.  Is it the peak power or the continuous rating?  And what happens when the controller decides to limit output based on its internal temperature?

There's also the whole question of how having a single gear affects the situation.  I've tried to address some of that starting here: https://www.electricmotiontech.com/home/what-makes-a-good-trials-motor

But it's far from complete.  The bottom line is that driving force at the rear wheel is what really matters.

Edited November 29 by konrad
Dragonfly

[colin99999]

On 11/29/2024 at 1:12 PM, konrad said:

The 2021 EM Race has a "schoolboy" mode.  The Map switch then gives three very low-power settings.  But from 2022 onward, this feature was eliminated so EM could use that input to activate TKO.

The lower power mode is certainly available on my 2023 Race. There are two connectors for the throttle on the loom, one is for full power and swapping to the other gives approx half power. No additional switch, just swap the connector over.

[vinceprince]

Hi Colin, yes also my dragonfly has a multitude of power settings so in reality it should make these electric bikes very versatile to be used in most of the classes, which i suppose,  is why i was asked the question. I wonder what an organiser of a trial would say if a youth rider turned up and entered on one, would they need a dyno in an artic trailer to prove it complied !!!

[colin99999]

Hello Vince, in the local club I ride with we’ve got a number of youth riding various EMs successfully from 11 or 12 years old. All for fun though, no sanctioned competition.

I’m aware of one family who attempted youth competition on electric and really struggled to get the bike understood, plus complaints it was unfair as clutch control not necessarily required, cannot stall etc. To the extent they sold the electric and went back to a gas bike to cut the politics and just get riding.

Admire your DF and it’s lightweight. Would love to compare one to my EM.

[konrad]

15 hours ago, colin99999 said:

The lower power mode is certainly available on my 2023 Race. There are two connectors for the throttle on the loom, one is for full power and swapping to the other gives approx half power. No additional switch, just swap the connector over.

Thanks for reporting that, I was unaware.  I will ask a friend if it was implemented in 2022 as well.

EDIT: Friend reported his 2022 Race has no additional throttle connector in the loom. 

Edited December 6 by konrad

[vinceprince]

People are strange, so if electric is easier to ride and that also means that older riders who find it hard to use a kickstart and also suffer with arm pump, instead of welcoming modern technology they would rather ban it!!! If they are moaning at the kids then surely adults riding electric also have an unfair advantage if thats the case. Yes the DF is light and also i like the extra ground clearance under the sump guard