Cycleway town
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Milton Keynes, England
Posts: 1,402
Bikes: 2.6kw GT LTS e-tandem, 250w Voodoo, 250w solar recumbent trike, 3-speed shopper, Merlin ol/skl mtb, 80cc Ellswick
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 569 Post(s)
I don't bother with brake switches. I converted to hydraulic on my old e-bike last spring when i ditched the step-through frame. That bike was 250w.
My latest bike puts out over 1,900w and reaches almost 50mph, but still on the same Deore hydraulic brakes with no switches. The switches are pointless because the motor gets the same signal when you stop pedalling.
I use it everyday on pedestrianised routes, never had a problem. The only thing i didn't like about it was initially adapting to having to stop pedalling to brake (hadn't realised i like to 'follow' the pedals as i slow a manual bike), and if i'm taking a tight corner and need a pedal up, i do the turn backwards because a back turn doesn't activate the PAS system.
In just a couple of miles it became second nature to stop pedalling, and even back-turn to the most comfortable position, whenever i touched the levers. And i now can't see that having brake sensors would make any difference whatsoever.