Brompton Battery Use

[Lumilt]

Hi. New owner of a Brompton Electric M6L here. Reading the owners manual with regards to operating the battery, the manual states: Do not attempt to operate the battery user interface while riding. Does anyone know if this is a safety warning or is there an operational reason not to do this?
Thanks,
Lulu

 

[Tenkaykev]

Hi. New owner of a Brompton Electric M6L here. Reading the owners manual with regards to operating the battery, the manual states: Do not attempt to operate the battery user interface while riding. Does anyone know if this is a safety warning or is there an operational reason not to do this?
Thanks,
Lulu

Hi Lulu,
First of all, welcome! we're ( mostly) a friendly bunch on here and there's been lots of great information and advice that can often be found by doing a search within the forum. There's a YouTube channel from the people at "Brilliant Bikes" they have done lot's of real world testing on both the Electric and standard Bromptons and are a treasure trove of help and advice.
Here's a link that should help.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XNhm6WdOB8

 

[Kell]

I don't recall seeing many Electric Brompton owners on here... but good luck finding the answer.

 

[cheys03]

I think it’s safety. Never had a problem with the bike when doing it, though I’ll caveat that by saying I don’t own a Brompton Electric, just ridden one a handful of times around 100mi total.

 

[flying boatman]

A new electric owner here - have also seen the recommendation not to change the power setting while riding but no reasoning begins it.. by the way, with the latest firmware I believe that 30sec calibration is no longer needed

 

[Lumilt]

Hi All,
Thanks for the responses. I’m going to go with safety rather than operational. I appreciate having this forum as I just got my bike on Saturday and have taken it out twice. Other than that, I think the last time I rode a bike was 15+ years ago. I have much to learn!
Cheers

 

[Kendide]

The new app is out (iPhone only for now). That allows changing the assist level on the go as well as having a host of other features. You will need the latest firmware update but that was free. Actually even better than free in that Brompton offered a £25 voucher as compensation.

 

[ExBromptonMan]

The new app is out (iPhone only for now). That allows changing the assist level on the go as well as having a host of other features. You will need the latest firmware update but that was free. Actually even better than free in that Brompton offered a £25 voucher as compensation.

At last! This was promised when I ordered my first one... I bought one of the very first Brompton electrics and I got a full refund after it still kept cutting out even after a new motor and controller being fitted at the factory. I was assured they had sorted the problems out so after about six months bought a second one. This was a lot better but I got conflicting instructions from the dealer and Brompton themselves, about changing power when moving.... Brompton said I mustn’t do it.
I was assured it would “upset” the electronic bits if I altered power when moving. I live in a very hilly area and need to change power level regularly, so stopping to change power was a non starter. So I sold it. Now with the new App I wish I’d kept it!
Perhaps I should order another and hope the old adage “third time lucky” works!

 

[Kendide]

The app has already had an update although it seemed to work pretty well beforehand.
I'm not too sure that regular changes of the power settings are needed though. Thats what the gears are for.
I live in very hilly South Devon (Torquay) and I find that level assist 2 gets me up all of the hills I encounter whilst providing a good range. I think that the torque sensor helps; acting to feed more power in when the going gets tough. Obviously, 3 is faster up hill but it uses up the battery more. I have experimented with level 1 but I found it to be less fun so I haven't used it much other than to go easy on shared use paths. It would be of use to conserve battery, though, if I was going further afield.
On the flat, I'm able to exceed the 15.5 assist cut off which makes the assist level irrelevant. On slight downhills I can exceed 20 mph - the standard higher gearing of my six speed helps. In fact I made a point of checking the units on my app speedometer as I thought that it may have changed to kilometres. It hadn't. By the way I am 69 years old and only moderately fit these days.
I find middle gear on the hub gear to be very useful on slight inclines. I can trim it using the derailleur, and an increase in effort is rewarded by a surge from the electric motor. Again, I guess that the torque sensor is doing what a torque sensor does.

Also, the bike freewheels surprisingly well. Locally there is a lane with a long stretch of slight downhill that leads into a slight uphill before another downhill. Over the years, and on many different bikes, I have tried, but never succeeded, to get enough momentum without any pedalling to get past the slight uphill bit and onto the next downhill. I actually managed it the other day on my Brompton Electric. I don't think that weight is too much of a factor as my hybrid Dawes Mojave was a bit of a lump itself.

It's not all been plain sailing. I have had a replacement motor. Both my nearest dealer - The Bike Shed Exeter - and Brompton were excellent though.

So, Ex Brompton Man, I recommend going for the third time lucky. The only downside is the cost now compared to what you probably paid for yours.

 

[ExBromptonMan]

The app has already had an update although it seemed to work pretty well beforehand.
I'm not too sure that regular changes of the power settings are needed though. Thats what the gears are for.
I live in very hilly South Devon (Torquay) and I find that level assist 2 gets me up all of the hills I encounter whilst providing a good range. I think that the torque sensor helps; acting to feed more power in when the going gets tough. Obviously, 3 is faster up hill but it uses up the battery more. I have experimented with level 1 but I found it to be less fun so I haven't used it much other than to go easy on shared use paths. It would be of use to conserve battery, though, if I was going further afield.
On the flat, I'm able to exceed the 15.5 assist cut off which makes the assist level irrelevant. On slight downhills I can exceed 20 mph - the standard higher gearing of my six speed helps. In fact I made a point of checking the units on my app speedometer as I thought that it may have changed to kilometres. It hadn't. By the way I am 69 years old and only moderately fit these days.
I find middle gear on the hub gear to be very useful on slight inclines. I can trim it using the derailleur, and an increase in effort is rewarded by a surge from the electric motor. Again, I guess that the torque sensor is doing what a torque sensor does.

Also, the bike freewheels surprisingly well. Locally there is a lane with a long stretch of slight downhill that leads into a slight uphill before another downhill. Over the years, and on many different bikes, I have tried, but never succeeded, to get enough momentum without any pedalling to get past the slight uphill bit and onto the next downhill. I actually managed it the other day on my Brompton Electric. I don't think that weight is too much of a factor as my hybrid Dawes Mojave was a bit of a lump itself.

It's not all been plain sailing. I have had a replacement motor. Both my nearest dealer - The Bike Shed Exeter - and Brompton were excellent though.

So, Ex Brompton Man, I recommend going for the third time lucky. The only downside is the cost now compared to what you probably paid for yours.

Well..... I’ve bitten the bullet, contacted the bike shop, cancelled my non electric and ordered my third H6L electric.
I found with one new knee, which is first class and another replacement due, the ability to be able to change power level as well as gears is important to me.... I like to drop power to one or even zero to give the knees a good workout then up the power and lower the gear ratio to go up steep hills.
Now it’s the waiting game!
My “photo” shows my original Lime Green & my White Electric Bromptons.

 

[Kendide]

More news on the app.....
I find that just swiping anywhere on the screen from one side to the other will change the assist levels. I was trying to either tap on the assist level I wanted or hold my finger on it and move it across. Whilst riding it often didn't work and was a bit distracting.

 

[Kendide]

Well..... I’ve bitten the bullet, contacted the bike shop, cancelled my non electric and ordered my third H6L electric.
I found with one new knee, which is first class and another replacement due, the ability to be able to change power level as well as gears is important to me.... I like to drop power to one or even zero to give the knees a good workout then up the power and lower the gear ratio to go up steep hills.
Now it’s the waiting game!
My “photo” shows my original Lime Green & my White Electric Bromptons.

I follow what you are trying to achieve but I don't see the necessity. In whatever assist level you are on you can decide how hard you want to work. The torque sensor does the thinking for you.

 

[Kell]

Genuine question:

Bearing in mind, I don't have an eBrompton, if there are differing levels, does it not alter the maximum amount it's prepared to give you?

My wife has a Cannondale eBike and it has three modes of assist, I don't remember the figures off hand, but in each mode it will up the maximum level of assistance when you're struggling.

 

[Kendide]

Genuine question:

Bearing in mind, I don't have an eBrompton, if there are differing levels, does it not alter the maximum amount it's prepared to give you?

My wife has a Cannondale eBike and it has three modes of assist, I don't remember the figures off hand, but in each mode it will up the maximum level of assistance when you're struggling.

I think you are probably right. I certainly notice a lot less acceleration with 1 compared to 2.
I haven't compared the 'struggling' help. I start off my rides in level 1 with every intention of doing just that but I soon switch to 2 as it is just so much more fun and I then stay in 2 for the whole ride.
My rides are usually less than 30 miles so the battery saving advantages of level 1 is not needed.
Over 15.5 mph they are all the same of course.

 

[Kendide]

More news on the app.....
I find that just swiping anywhere on the screen from one side to the other will change the assist levels. I was trying to either tap on the assist level I wanted or hold my finger on it and move it across. Whilst riding it often didn't work and was a bit distracting.

Update on the swiping of the app to change assist levels.... It doesn't work very well if the phone is charging. No idea why.