Is everybody happy with the ride quality?

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UPDATE:
Looks like this has been solved! See here https://analogmotion.helpdocs.io/article/ehhs9zbkn6-my-amx-feels-too-powerful

Big thanks to AM!

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I don't know what I'm doing wrong, or whether I got a lemon from AM, because no one else seems to be complaining about the ride quality.

I'm really struggling with my Capital Step. It is so unenjoyable to ride that it's been sitting unused for the past few days. I am not able to pedal at a moderate cadence, because the level of power assist is so high I find myself spinning the pedals a what feels like 2 revolutions per second just to keep up with the motor. If I pedal any slower than that then I'm just free spinning.

This is with the power set at 1 and the speed reduced to 25, even though I am in the US and could select a faster speed. If anything, the only way to get close to a decent biking feel is to set the speed at at 15 or so, but then the problem becomes that as soon as you hit that speed the power cuts off abruptly.

I would consider changing the ratio on the chain rings to get a better feeling bike, but I feel the AMX is already fairly hard to pedal without battery assistance that lower gearing would make pedaling without battery nearly impossible.

For those of you who are enjoying the feel of the assist on the AMX can you please share your p10 settings and overall power assist setting?

Well slightly flippant reply ... speed limit 100 power level 5 and 'ride like the wind'. More seriously. I think the factory settings are pretty well judged in terms of gearing so am happy with mine. But everyone is different. If you feel you are spinning out at 25km/h given the gearing of the AMX I think you must just be used to a much lower cadence than is common. So you might try just 'relaxing into' pedalling faster. If that is still not for you then you could go for a higher gear -- that's increase the front ring or reduce the rear cog. But you will have to have a different length of chain. But it may be worth maybe trying to change settings to get a balance of assistance that you like. Others on here are trying to get the full set of options for the display (there are lots of programs in there and it might be possible to tweak the settings more to your liking). So watch this space.

Thanks for the reply. I do like to mash the pedals hard but not fast. On my other e bike, a modified 10 speed, I'm always Flying like the Wind and in the lowest gear setting unless I'm going up a steep hill. So maybe it's like you said I just need to get used to it, but it feels that a level 1 there is already way more support than I need. There should be other ways to modify the pedal-assist algorithm other than changing the top speed... Hopefully those secret P modes will soon be identified!

I recognise the problem. Especially downwind there is very little resistance at level 1, so you end up pedalling very fast without effort. I do not mind doing this at level 5, but would like a little bit less help at level 1, so it is easier to gauge your speed in traffic.

I do agree with the first level being to high in assist. I like the ride quality but I feel like The amount of assist from level 1 should be reached at level 3-4 and the levels 1-3 should use less assist.
Would be nice if AM could point out wether it is possible to change that setting?

Hi All,

We selected the gear ratio is chosen to provide a comfortable cadence at around the speed you will find yourself travelling the most on the AMX; between 25kmph and 32kmph. At speeds above that, you may find your feet are spinning.

@aaronbachmann Assist levels are not customisable. As you've spotted, the AMX is a powerful ebike which gives a good boost even on assist level one whilst still giving very good range. Any less boost than this is not necessary - and less fun 🙂

@aaronbachmann I think you put it more succinctly than I did! On my other ebike, level 1 (which they call 20%) is my most often used setting for city biking, and I move up to 60% for long bike path without too much bike or pedestrian traffic.

@jack the problem with tuning the bike for 25-32kph is that in city traffic I want slower speeds and more control. The ability to pedal at a normal city cadence of 60 rpm while going 16kph is very helpful on busy streets. Additionally, the assist algorithm on my Step Capital ramps up up from full stop to very fast (I have not looked at the odometer to give you exact numbers..I was looking at the road!) in along a very sharp curve, so that I'm aready cruising along withing 50ft of starting. This is very inconvenient when making a tight turn from a full stop.

By they way I also want to clarify, that I'm not complaining about spinning out at top speeds. I'm complaining about having to pedal at an elevated cadence just to keep up with the assist from the motor. I don't know if I'm making myself clear. On my ebike and on the Rad bike I tried this summer, I get resistance from the drive train at any pedaling speed --if the PAS is set low enough. On the AMX I get minimal/no pedal resistance unless I catch up to the speed the motor want to go at.

It's likethe bike is pedaling me, instead of me pedaling it! :)

Just noticed that my P8 setting (wheel diameter) is 27.4. The tire is 28/8. I'll try changing the P8 setting to 28 and see if 1/2" in diameter was enough to cause the issues.

Hi @federicobrigatti, personally I am happy with the bike pedaling for me :-) But it’s true I rarely go the road, sharing the car traffic, as I mainly use cycle paths.
I also like the fast acceleration at start which allows to takeover many over cyclist when the light turns green. On the other hand I confirm we must be careful when making a tight turn after a full stop. For me it’s an attention to pay but not a problem.

@federicobrigatti

can you please share your p10 settings and overall power assist setting?

I have set mine to max 22km/h because I also felt like I had to pedal like crazy at a setting of 25km/h.

I must say though, the more I ride, the more I get used to a higher pedal rate. Now I even sometimes go up to 30km/h without assistance (so P10 setting still at 22km/h).

@jack

On the other hand, I confirm we must be careful when making a tight turn after a full stop.

I agree, for anything more than 45° from a standstill, one has to be super cautious in order not to fly over the handlebar.

I know what you mean. Here in Germany we often have to share cycle paths with pedestrians. When it is crowded, you have to ride slowly and carefully especially with children around.
On Level 1 speed with „fake pedaling“ is around 16km/h! Way too fast for those situations. I constantly have to interrupt the motor by slightly pulling the brakes. This makes it kick in - switch off - kick in - switch off. Not a fan of that, makes the ride a little unstable.

Totally agree with that, too, also applies to Switzerland.

@federicobrigatti
I know what you mean. Here in Germany we often have to share cyclepaths with pedestrians. When it is crowded, you have to ride slowly and carefully especially with children around.
On Level 1 speed with „fake padelling“ is around 16km/h! Way too fast for those situations. I constantly have to interrupt the motor by slightly pulling the brakes. This makes it kick in - switch off - kick in - switch off. Not a fan of that, makes the ride a little unstable.

@martinhahner Thanks for the insight.

I had hoped that changing the wheel size setting would affect the acceleration algorithm, but I think it only affects the tachometer and odometer. Oh well!

I'm hoping a secret P setting will soon be revealed to domesticate this wild mustang! For now I'll look for open bike paths to enjoy the AMX.

Hi @federicobrigatti. We designed the AMX to be a high performance urban e-bike. We tested all the major city e-bikes and found their power to be quite lacking in practise. I remember taking a particulate dutch branded e-bike up a steep hill and literally having to walk it up half way through. While it was certainly a good looking steed it was clearly designed for cities with no hills. The AMX has more power than others which is an intentional decision. I hope that you grow to love the power and security that high torque can offer, especially on less forgiving terrain and when boosting away from traffic and lycra clad cyclists. Make sure to smile at them as you blast off into the distance.

@nav - on Indigogo somebody wrote about entrepreneurship, listening and learning. I think he took it a little too far, after fixing all the problems on the bike we should not also try to fix the company.
But here you could have just written that it is sadly not possible to make adjustments on power delivery. You want to deliver a powerful bike, and it sure is in Level 5. But then why didn’t you just delete the other levels, if it was all about power?

Nor should it be about blasting off past lycra clad cyclist or scaring little ol' ladies back on the curb. For me, the benefit of an ebike is making the work commute a little less sweaty --enjoying the journey in AM's parlance-- but I certainly can see why some bikers would emphasize speed. Still many ebikes can deliver both high octane high speed, and fluid power delivery at low settings, seems to me it's just a matter of programming. My other ebike has these somewhat cheesy modes (sport, commute, leisure, etc) I don't really use them often, but they prove how the same bike can behave differently with different PAS programming.

I completely agree that at lower support levels the power is too much. In the previous AM1 model, the bicycle was providing less and less support after reaching a certain speed and I thought it would be similar here. Even at the first level the bike keeps accelerating and cutting the power when it reaches 25 km/h. If we want to go for example 15-20km/h we have to set the support to 0 while in AM1 we choose 3 and feel that the bike gently helps us to pedal but does not accelerate above this speed. I am also interested in the service manual of the counter. Maybe some of the settings will allow us to change it.

Hi all, this morning I went through a flow of pedestrians at 5-6 km/h, A bit later I followed another bike at more or less16 km/h, all this without any difficulty. I was in power assist level 2. In these situations I regulate my speed by start/stop pedaling. When you stop pedaling the power cuts off quickly. To go at 15-20 km/h, just give a one turn of pedal when you're at 15 km/h and the bike will push you at about 17 to 18. Then stop pedaling and your speed will decrease slowly....etc The same principle also works for slower speeds.

I agree the power settings allow too much assist at lower number selections and you have to pedal to fast At five to keep up , there needs to be A software up date to adjust this

I also have the same issue with my bike: lower level should be far less aggressive.
Having a powerful bike is nice but this should be much more progressive than the current all or nothing approach.

I will watch this space hoping for a solution from AM.

I also has the same issue with my bike.
It is a very nice bike, but there appear to be no difference in power assist between lowest and highest power levels. The difference in my experience is that a higher power assist gives a higher acceleration but there is no difference when pedalling. Even at level 1 the power assist can take you to 32 km/h without need of your own pedalling.
Would also like to have a more progessive power assistant