OTOH, with a battery this big, a generator powered by the pedals, and regen braking this thing has to be heavy. I'd expect it to weigh at least 80 lbs. More likely 100. The fact that their "specs" say nothing about weight suggests they're embarrassed about the weight.
It seems obviously true to typical racing or distance scenarios. And i notice the wind even at lower speeds on e-bikes in SF.
But between their quad scenario and what I imagine as the urban car replacement scenario it doesn't seem as obvious.
100kg rider at 15 kph = .24W-h kinetic energy. At this speed there is probably roughly 11N of air and rolling resistance, so the steady state power is about 3W-h per km. If you go 1km between stops, or more, the amount you can expect to gain by regeneration is extremely small. It could perhaps extend your range by 5%, generously.
I'm not sure which pressure sensor you mean, like in the brake lever? E-bikes with hydraulic brakes already have sensors for power cutoff (and in this case for brake lights).
I don't see how this would be any different. Or, it's certainly not "moronic"
If I'm understanding the math, maybe that scales the regenerative range extension % by your tolerance for pedaling?
Regen on the front wheel would be most effective - but then you've got two motors or a less-than-ideal front motor that adds unsprung weight and has similar traction issues during acceleration as the front unloads.
It's a shame - I think a lot of people want ebikes to work, but they're not as convenient as a pedal bike (especially not in small apartments) and usually they're too heavy to really use in blended pedaling/e-assist mode.
Why existing bikes don't use it? Because you need software or a more complicated controller, and the amount of regenerated energy is indeed not that large.
If it's w.r.t. effect of low max power on low cumulative generation, I agree it does seem like a little silly to arbitrage your power generation this way. But maybe the tradeoff is worth it in some circumstances in their view?
Or maybe it's just a low cost addition as other commenters say.
That combines with the heavy weight of an ebike, another 50lb+ of cargo in the saddlebags, plus my exceptionally fat ass means I burn through a pair of front brake pads about once a month if I'm running errands most days.
So the steepest roads in the world have small sections where the grade exceeds 30%; none maintain it or "average" 30%.
When I'm in my car the dash reads on the hills here between 12° all the way up to 16° on the switchback into the valley. The new market is up a 14° hill.
So closer to ~24% grade average maybe? It's damn steep is the point regardless.