I’m looking at the lists online of assembly tools for ebikes, and some mention torque wrenches. I’ve got a torque wrench, but it’s meant for a car, and I can’t imagine using it on a bike-- and I’ve never seen a small one for sale anywhere.
I’ve got a chain tool, and other common bike tools, and the usual things like a set of allen wrenches, and a set of socket wrenches (standard & metric).
Coolio running_coach. Looks like you did it right.
I’ve bought from Modern Bike for years. You won’t find questionable brands like on Amazon.
Just make sure you know the fastener sizes, bits and torque settings you need.
@enipla Thanks, all the roads between home and my coaching job are single lane freeway speeds with minimal shoulders. Gotta make sure I’m seen
The other responses notwithstanding, you will want to give the basket the Spanish Archer in favor of panniers, because you do not want it to make it uncomfortable to steer or mess with the centre of gravity.
UPDATE:
Just letting people know I’ve been riding my ebike back and forth to work at least 2 days a week, which saves a lot in Uber fees. I’d ride it more often if the weather would cooperate.
After failing to be ready last Tuesday, my car was supposed to be ready on Friday, but they texted me on Thursday asking to borrow my charging cable because they had let the car run down to 0.
Let me count the number of things wrong with that. It’s 9. Never mind what they are-- that’s a very long post, and gets awfully snippy. I made them come pick the cable up and give me a receipt.
Short version is that they can’t finish the car until it slow-charges, which could take 36 hours. Then, they have to clean it up and test drive it, so we’re up to next Tuesday, because they don’t work weekends.
Anyway, the bike is so great. There has been some rain, and some 95F days, when I took Ubers to work, but still used the bike for errands and anything nearby.
The round-trip ride to work is 35 miles, but work lets me recharge the battery-- I would probably make it there and back on one charge, with judicious use of the power, but I’d rather be able to use it as I like, and not worry, and work really doesn’t care.
I’m close to putting 350 miles on the bike.
The path I ride is VERY nice, save for about 1.5 mi under construction, but the rest is great, and I enjoy it. Also, lost 5 lbs, which was not my intent, but 160 to 155 is nice-- have to wear a belt with all my shorts (the weight came from a good place), so I stole one from my son.
Thanks for all the advice and general support-- things still are not all sunny yet-- last night I managed to crack an old filling in a tooth (probably 45 years old), so have an emergency dental visit tomorrow. My brother is lending me his Care Credit card to pay for it, if insurance doesn’t cover it all. 
My disposition is pretty good, though. Knowing people would help when I was desperate was great.
Usually some grease is recommended.
There are purpose made greases for assembly.
Especially heavily loaded clamping connections (like a seatpost) should be greased.
I have not read the entire thread, so I apologize if this has already been answered.
I encountered confusion trying to discuss e-bikes with my BIL who recently test-rode one. He said it had a “throttle”, but was “pedal assist.” He said that it would not give any power if you were not pedaling, but if you were pedaling, you could manipulate the throttle to adjust how much assist it gave you.
Was my BIL misusing the term “throttle”?
Are there generally used terms to distinguish between the e-bikes that will propel themselves, as opposed to the ones that only assist pedaling?
Am I correct in assuming that the ones that can propel themselves can also be set to assist pedaling?
Do both types of e-bikes come in different “classes” (I commonly hear of 3 classes, reflecting the speed at which pedal assist stops)?
WRT your paragraph about e-bikes not needing to follow motorcycle rules, I am pretty sure that in IL that may not be the case - at least for the more powerful e-bikes.
And I’m pretty certain that our local bike paths claim to preclude the Class 3 e-bikes - which IIRC can go up to 28 MPH.
Different bikes may be different. All I can speak to is mine, but it also was the same as the other models I test rode. They are all based on similar (or identical) components, so it is not surprising they behave the same.
On mine, I can have assist set to: off, low, medium, high (but it uses names like “sport”). Off is just like a non-electric bike. In any mode other than “off” the throttle becomes active to control the motor, and the motor provides some boost based on pedal input. I push the throttle lever with my thumb, and the motor pushes the bike, whether I’m pedaling or not. Without using the throttle lever, the computer uses the mode setting and sensors to decide how much power the motor should contribute based on how hard I press the pedals.
So yes, because pedaling and the throttle can be combined, it is a way to control how much assist is provided.
Most often I hear it as just “with a throttle” and “without a throttle”. Many of the traditional bicycle brands only sell e-bikes without throttles, for some sort of purity reason. I believe recently one of them released their first bike with a throttle.
The reverse of that are two wheeled devices that have throttles, but not pedals. I hear people also refer to them as e-bikes. These are sometimes called electric scooters, which can be confusing as that term is also used for mobility scooters, and sometimes called electric motorcycles, which can also be confusing because they often don’t have anything near the performance of a full size motorcycle. They are probably closest in performance to a 50cc dirt bike or 50cc scooter.
There is the law as written, and then there is how people actually behave. I was being a bit facetious in saying “you can follow bicycle rules instead of motorcycle rules,” but my observation is that is exactly how people use them. Bicyclists have always operated in a liminal space, where they behave as pedestrians or motor vehicles, based on what is convenient at the moment. E-bikes follow a similar pattern, and even the pedal-less e-scooters are close enough in shape and noise to a bicycle that I often see them riding on bike paths and bike lanes. Those are places even a small gas powered scooter would be rejected.
Yes, local laws vary. The difference between the classes can often be adjusted by software, so enforcing this can be very difficult. If someone is riding safely and within the rules of the path, there is no way to know if their top speed is set at 28 or 20 MPH.
Adding a couple of points to the post above, all of which is IMO good.
There are e-bicycles with a twist-grip throttle akin to an ICE motorcycle. Which e-bicycles also have pedals.
On those, if you pedal, the electric motor will help proportionally and you have no need to use the throttle. As mentioned above, there are gradations of assist level selectable from the control panel. If you choose not to pedal, you can just twist the throttle and the electrics will propel the bike while you sit there with feet & pedals motionless.
Doing both at once produces a slightly confusing hybrid behavior while the computer tries to follow the two masters of pedal torque and throttle setting. But both at once is definitely helpful for things like ascending a grade where full throttle isn’t enough to keep up speed, so you add your own pedaling effort to the motor’s maximum output called for by the throttle.
The various “classes” of e-bikes are defined in state statute. But with 50 states, there is no agreement which class means what. Not even whether class 1 is the weak ones with class 3 being the powerful ones, or vice versa.
There may be some effort by the (entirely China-based) industry to have a classification system of their own. But for darn sure that will clash with some US states’ definitions.
Thanks for the response.
This is the part that confuses me. I have seen folk start from a stop without pedaling, and zipping along w/o pedaling. But my BIL said the “pedal assist” model he tried would not do that. *(One reason I ask is this BIL and I at times have difficulty communicating on the same wavelength.)
So, are there some e-bikes which don not have a throttle as you and LSL describe? That are pedal assist only? If so, this illustrates my difficulty communicating w/ this BIL b/c he said it was pedal assist only but specifically used the word “throttle.”
Probably not the thread for this, but my biggest concern with e-bikes - especially when used by young kids - is that they are quick and fast enough to really get into trouble either with pedestrians or cars.
Here are MN class definitions – these are common, but as mentioned may be different in different states, and definitly different counties.
Brian
Under those definitions class 1 & 3 would seem to require the rider to pedal to obtain assist. Hence they’d have no throttle. While class 2 by definition has some form of throttle since it will go with no pedaling.
So that indirectly answers the OPs’ question even if it still leaves him, and the rest of us, baffled about whatever the hell his BIL meant.
Some e-bikes are pedal-only. Some are both pedal and throttle.
I doubt there’s a throttle-only e-bike equipped with pedals, but never say never. As noted above, there are “e-motorscooters” for lack of a better term that do have throttles but not pedals. They have two wheels but not the rest of the form factor we think of as a “bicycle”.
E-bikes have one throttle, which is controlled by the computer. The computer determines how much energy flows from the battery to the motor.
The computer decides how much force the motor should provide based on one or more of the following:
I can totally see someone thinking of the pedals as a throttle on a bike that doesn’t have another obvious throttle, like a thumb switch. You push something with your feet, and it makes the vehicle go faster than the effort applied, and this is just how cars work.
Yeah - don’t sweat it. You ever have someone who, you ask them a question and they focus on some minor possibility that never occurred to you? That is me and this guy. He is a really nice guy, but I really have given up trying to have any kind of complicated conversation with him.
Those 3 classes seem the same as I had remembered for IL. I had not noticed that 1 and 3 were limited to pedal assist only.
I have a hard time imagining someone who is familiar w/ bikes referring to the pedals as throttles. But I suppose it is a possibility.
I kinda get hung up on being precise about terms. Am I correct that all 3 classes of e-bikes are properly called “e-bikes,” but only the class 1 and 3 are “pedal assist only” e-bikes. I suppose I am the only person who finds it confusing that there are not clearer and generally used terms to distinguish between the 2.
Thanks for the responses.
Yes.
My bike has pedal assist [PA] and throttle.
The PA is operated by a switch that has settings 0-5. On bike paths that are not hilly, and are bike-hike-run paths not adjacent to streets, I usually have it set at 1. Hilly? I put it on 2, or occasionally 3, but it also has a gear shifter, so I can downshift for hills. There is usually a 15mph limit on these roads, so other than to go up a hill that is both long and steep, there is no need for 3.
On bike paths adjacent to streets, where the speed limit is anywhere from 15 to 40mph, I toggle between 2 & 3. I can reach the top speed of 21.7mph in 2 on a straightaway, and three on most inclines. On genuine hills, I might need 4 if it’s a long hill-- or I might need 4 to start up, but can toggle down to 3 once I get going.
I pedal most of the time-- it’s not like riding a traditional geared bike, where you pedal furiously, then coast a bit, pedal furiously, then coast a bit-- on this bike I pedal pretty much the whole time, but with much less resistance; however, there must be SOME resistance. If there is none, than the PA level is too high.
The throttle, on the other hand, is called that because it operates, and is placed like many on a moped, Vespa-type scooter, or motorcycle, but it isn’t really one, since it doesn’t control the flow of gas through an intake, ie, a throttle. But it is analogous in the way it controls the vehicle.
There is a part of the handlebar on the right side (on my bike, and most ebikes with throttles) that turns toward you, and if the bike is switched on, makes an electric connection that moves the bike forward. It is some kind of rheostat, so you can vary the speed by how much you turn the throttle.
Now, the range that exists in the rheostat is controlled by the PA setting. If it’s set on two, the top speed of the throttle is “2,” whatever exactly that is, and if the PA is set on 5, the top speed is much higher, with the throttle position relative to speed changing faster the higher the PA is set, and it sets itself to rise smoothly.
In other words, PA 4 would go 1 = 4mph, 2 = 8mph, 3 = 12mph, 4 = 18mph & 5 = 21.7mph (more or less), at 1cm difference of positions on the throttle per speed. PA 2 would be 4mph at the middle position, and 8mph at the extreme inward position.
Because the bike is heavy, and has a different center of gravity than a conventional bike, on a straightaway, or incline, it’s hard to start from a dead stop. You can’t just tip one pedal up and put all your weight on it.
I throttle out of dead stops. Best PA to throttle out of for me is 2, but sometimes I come out of 3 in street traffic or an incline. 1 is too slow to gain balance, and 4 tends to create drag, plus I can’t get my supporting foot up fast enough.
It sounds like your BIL was using throttle to refer to the switch that changes the PA setting.
I don’t know another name for that other than “PA switch.”
Oh, and some bikes also have a throttle button.
As far back as 2023, more than half of the states* have adopted that class system.
*38 states now.
It can get super confusing, because the classes are not exclusive. A class 3 bike is also a class 2 bike. On a class 3 bike, the throttle is good to 20 MPH (or as @RivkahChaya says, 21.7 MPH, which is 35 KPH), so class 2. But then class 3, because with pedal assist it will provide boost up to 28 MPH (45 KPH).
So my guess is most class 3 bikes are also class 2 bikes, but not all class 2 bikes are class 3 bikes.
To muddy it even more, the throttle switch is just sensor lever. It takes about 5 minutes to remove, converting a class 2 & 3 bike into only a class 3 bike. The top speed can be set in software, turning a class 3 into a class 1 (20 MPH assisted). So the same exact bike can be class 1, 2, 3, or any combination of those with minimal adjustment.
I think this is why there are not really clean definitions.
Quoted as a reminder:
I am impressed and jealous. I’ve spent over a year finding excuses not to ride my bike 30 miles round trip to work. Some of the reasons are legitimate (it’s snowing!), but mostly it comes down to “I don’t feel like it today, maybe tomorrow…”
Since @RivkahChaya’s “excuse” for biking is that her car got wrecked, maybe you don’t want to emulate her determination too closely. 
I worked up to it, going on longer and longer rides, then I did a dry run on a Sunday, and got a car ride back home.
First time I biked there, worked a whole day, and biked back, I took a 20 minute break after work to sit, go over the route, and hydrate.
It was 86F out, and the last 5 miles or so were in direct sun, and I felt pretty wrecked when I got home.
The second time was much easier.
Now I really, really enjoy it.
Couple of times, it was nice going it, but above 90F when I got off, and I got permission to leave the bike at work and Uber home, then rode it home the next day.
Thanks for the detailed explanation. I assume that is exactly what is happening, that he is describing the pedal assist adjuster as the throttle.
(Was discussing this this morning on a 35 mile ride w/ my sister - no e-assist. ;))