Bike: Aventon Aventure Class 2 with 750 watt sustained motor.
Rider: 250lb 53 year old male
The state of NJ classifies a Class 2 eBike as an electric bike with a throttle and pedal assist up to 20 mph with a 750 watt or less motor. NJ also considers a class 2 eBike a bicycle and not a motorized vehicle even though it does have a motor. Thus a class 2 eBike can go anywhere that a regular bike can go. That is unless a local ordinance specifically prohibits it.
eBikes have 5 levels of pedal assist and the best way to describe how it feels like it works would be to say that each assist level is like setting the minimum speed for the bike while you are peddling. I find that level 3 is about 12mph. However, the bike is also an 8-speed so you can gear up or down to find the amount of effort that is comfortable for you to pedal at and the work that you put into peddling is added on top of the assist level to go faster. If you stop peddling then the bike will slow down as the motor is only assisting while you pedal. Also because the effort you put into pedaling is in addition to the motor you still feel the road and it feels like a regular biking and not an exercise bike.
This makes hills easier because as the hill causes you slow down the bike will increase the power slightly to maintain the assist level’s speed and you can gear down to keep the effort the same. At least up to a point, because as the hill gets steeper the bike will continue to slow and you will naturally feel like you need more assistance and either increase the assist level or engage the throttle. I often find myself using the throttle on steep or prolonged hills to accelerate up them. If the hill is too steep then even with full throttle the bike will continue to slow down until you can’t keep balance and stop. I find if you stop and wait about 15 to 30 seconds and engage the throttle it will slowly propel you further up the hill as the motor has a peak output of 1000 watts for a short time which might be enough to get you that little bit you need to get to the peak of the mountain. However, it can not sustain that output for long.
Using the throttle will turn the motor on without the need to petal and get the bike up to 20mph. So if you get tired of peddling you can use the throttle and just continue to ride until you feel recovered enough to pedal again. I also find the throttle very useful in crossing busy intersections while starting out at a crosswalk as I can get across the street and out of the way of turning traffic much quicker then I could normally which feels much safer. I also find myself often using the throttle to initially get the bike moving before starting to pedal, saving myself from the initial strain to build momentum.
Northern NJ has a lot of steep hills and I can not imagine getting around anywhere at my age and weight with a regular bicycle. Yet, the pedaling you do has an effect and is still a workout just a more controlled and manageable one. If there is a downside, I would say it is that you don’t realize how tired you actually are until you stop.