Design and Simulation of Control Systems for
Electric-Assist Bikes
Jin-Shyan Lee and Jun-Wei Jiang
Department of Electrical Engineering
National Taipei University of Technology (Taipei Tech.)
Taipei, Taiwan
jslee@mail.ntut.edu.tw
Abstract— Control design plays a key role in electric-assist
bikes. This paper has established dynamic models of electrically
assisted biking systems, and then, designed proportion-assisted
power controllers (PAPC) in accordance with Taiwan government
rules. In the PAPC controllers, current bike speed and pedal
torque are used as inputs to determine the assisted torque
generated from a motor. On the other hand, a fuzzy logic
controller (FLC) has been also designed, using the current bike
speed and pedal frequency as inputs to determine the assisted
torque. In order to compare these two controllers, simulations of
riding bikes on a flat ground and different slopes have been
performed. Simulation results show that the FLC outperforms
PAPC in a more stable bike speed.
Keywords— Electric-assist bikes, fuzzy logic controllers (FLC),
proportion-assisted power controllers (PAPC).
I. INTRODUCTION
In recent years, the increased sensibility for environmental
problems and the growth of carbon dioxide has brought
greenhouse effects. People have been focused on energy issues
and promoted the use of less-polluting vehicles, such as electric
vehicles, electric scooter, and electric bikes. In general, there are
two kinds of electric bikes. One is pure electric bikes in which
pedaling force and motor power could be driven independently.
Even in the absence of rider pedaling force, the motor could
provide the power. The other is electric-assist bikes, which are
human–electric hybrid bicycles, supporting the rider with
electric power only when the rider is pedaling.
Generally, commercial electric-assist bikes employ a
constant proportion-assisted power controllers (PAPC) to
generate the auxiliary torque [1]-[4]. The assisted torque
generated by the motor is proportional to the pedaling torque
generated by the rider. The user can switch auxiliary modes
according to personal preferences. However, this approach is
lack of exibility and does not fully utilize the assistive
capability. In [5], Lu evaluated three control schemes, including
auxiliary power ratio control, torque compensation control, and
desired speed control, to compare their riding performance. Also,
Chen [6] proposed applications of fuzzy inference systems to
generate appropriate auxiliary torque. In [7], Chen proposed
pedaling torque estimation to implement the compensation
system of electrically assisted-power without using torque
sensors. Huang [8] designed speed and torque controllers for
electric-assist bikes for riding on slopes. Also, Lin [9] proposed
This paper was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST)
of Taiwan under grant MOST-104-2918-I-027-003 and 104-2221-E-027-065,
and in part by the Taipei Tech. EE Alumni Association.
978-1-4673-8644-9/16/$31.00 2016
c IEEE
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Yuan-Heng Sun
Information & Communications Research Labs
Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)
Hsinchu, Taiwan
gilbertsun@itri.org.tw
a slope estimation scheme to detect road gradient, and then
adjusted the auxiliary motor power using the relationship among
road conditions, motor current, and output torque.
Moreover, [10]-[11] investigated applications of learning
algorithms to electric-assist bike. In [10], an automatic shifting
system was designed based on the learning of users’ riding
habits. The system could meet requirements of different users
on different shift timing and strategy. In [11], a fuzzy-based
learning method was proposed to adjust riding parameters
according to different riding behaviors of different riders. In this
paper, both a PAPC controller and a fuzzy logic controller (FLC)
are designed for electric-assist bikes. In the controller design,
current bike speed, pedal torque, and pedal frequency are used
as inputs to determine the assisted torque. Simulation results
show that the FLC has better performance in a lower but more
stable bike speed.
The rest of this paper is organized as follows. Section II
briefly introduces modeling of bike systems. Next, the
developed PAPC and FLC controllers are illustrated in Section
III. Then, Section IV shows the simulation results. Finally,
Section V concludes this paper.
II. MODELING OF BIKE SYSTEMS
A. Biking Resistance
Fig. 1 shows riding a bike uphill at a certain velocity. In
general, there are three resisting forces when riding a bike,
including the air drag ( ‫ܨ‬ୟ୧୰ ), gradient drag ( ‫ܨ‬୥୰ୟୢ୧ୣ୬୲ ), and
friction (‫ܨ‬୤୰୧ୡ ) forces, as shown as follows [5].
‫ܨ‬ୟ୧୰ ൌ ͳȀʹሺ‫ܥ‬ௗ ‫ܣ‬௖ ߩሻ‫ ݒ‬ଶ (1)
‫ܨ‬୥୰ୟୢ୧ୣ୬୲ ൌ ‫ߠ ‹• ݃ܯ‬ (2)
‫ܨ‬୤୰୧ୡ ൌ ߤ‫ߠ •‘… ݃ܯ‬ (3)
In (1), ‫ܥ‬ௗ , ‫ܣ‬௖ , ߩ , and ‫ ݒ‬are the drag coefcient of
atmosphere, frontal area, atmospheric density, and bike velocity,
respectively. In (2), ‫ ܯ‬is the total weight of rider and bike, ߠ is
the slope angle of hill, and ݃ is the standard gravity. In (3), ߤ is
the rolling coefcient of bike tires.
The torque of bike resistance ܶୠ is a function of total drag
forces and wheel radius ‫ ୵ݎ‬, which is formulated as (4).
ܶୠ ൌ ‫ ୵ݎ‬ሺ‫ܨ‬ୟ୧୰ ൅ ‫ܨ‬୥୰ୟୢ୧ୣ୬୲ ൅ ‫ܨ‬୤୰୧ୡ ሻ (4)
1736
 Fig. 2. Mathematical model of electric-assist biking system.

C. Pedaling Torques
When a rider is pedaling, the top and low dead points are
assumed to be 180 and 0 degree, respectively. Also, the crank
direction is counterclockwise. Thus, the input signal must be
decreased from 180 degrees to 0 degree, as shown in Fig. 3.
Based on pedaling torque-force relationship (9), where ܶୡ is
Fig. 1. Forces acting on a bike during upward motion.
crank torque, ‫ܮ‬ୡ is crank length, ‫ ܨ‬is pedaling force, and ߠୡ is
crank angle, respectively, the crank torque is shown in Fig. 4.
TABLE I
SYSTEM PARAMETERS
ܶୡ ൌ ‫ܮ‬ୡ ൈ ‫ ܨ‬ൈ •‹ሺߠୡ ൅ ሺͳͺι ൈ •‹ ߠୡ ሻሻ (9)
Physical Meaning Variable
Moment inertia of crank
Moment inertia of rear wheel 200
Moment inertia of motor

crank angle (degree)

Crank damping coefficient 150
Rear wheel damping coefficient
Motor damping coefficient 100
Crank torque
Rear wheel torque 50
Motor torque
Crank’s angular acceleration 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Crank’s angular velocity time (s)
Motor’s angular acceleration Fig. 3. Crank angle for rider continuously pedaling.
Motor’s angular velocity
Rear wheel’s angular acceleration
Rear wheel’s angular velocity 30
25
crank torque (N-m)

20
B. Mathematical Models
15
Under the assumption of that the rear wheel does not slide
on the ground, (5)-(7) are for crank torque balance, motor torque 10
balance, and rear wheel torque balance, respectively. Parameters
5
appeared in the equations are denoted in Table I. A completed
torque-velocity relationship (8) is then derived based on (5)-(7). 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Fig 2 shows the relationship between the rear wheel angular and time (s)
input signalܷሺ•ሻ, where ܷሺ•ሻ ൌ ܶ୫ ൅ ܰୡ ܶୡ െ ܶୠ .
Fig. 4. Crank torque producing by rider continuously pedaling.

‫ܬ‬ୡ ߱ሶୡ ൅ ‫ܤ‬ୡ ߱ୡ ൌ ܶୡ െ ܶ୵ (5)

III. DESIGN OF CONTROLLERS
‫ܬ‬୫ ߱ሶ ୫ ൅ ‫ܤ‬୫ ߱୫ ൌ ܶ୫ (6)
In this section, two control system architectures, including
PAPC and FLC, are described as follows.
‫߱ ୵ܬ‬ሶ ୵ ൅ ‫ ୵߱ ୵ܤ‬ൌ ܶ୵ െ ܶୠ (7)
A. Proportion-Assisted Power Controllers (PAPC)
൫ܰ௖ ଶ ‫ܬ‬ୡ ൅ ‫ܬ‬୫ ൅ ‫ ୵ܬ‬൯߱ሶ ୵ ൅ ൫ܰୡ ଶ ‫ܤ‬ୡ ൅ ‫ܤ‬୫ ൅ ‫ ୵ܤ‬൯߱୵ In PAPC control, the motor assisted power is generated
(8) based on the assist ratio and the rider’s pedaling torque. Since
ൌ ܰୡ ܶୡ ൅ ܶ୫ െ ܶୠ the power-assisted ratio changes according to the velocity, bike
speed is fed back to the controller, as shown in Fig. 5.

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 In order to meet Taiwan government rules, the PAPC assist ͳͲͲ
ratio versus velocity are designed as shown in Fig. 6. While the ‫ܣ‬ൌܸൈ (10)
ͳͺ͹Ǥͷ
velocity is lower than 3 km/h, the assisted power is provided as
half of the rider’s power so as to avoid abruptly moving ahead. ͳͲͲ
‫ ܤ‬ൌ ܸ୮ୣୢୟ୪ ൈ (11)
Then, the assist ratio is linearly increased as the velocity is from ʹͲͲ
3 km/h to 8 km/h. The ratio will be linearly decreased when the ͳͲͲ
velocity is over 15 km/h to avoid over speeding. ‫ ܥ‬ൌ ܶ௠ ൈ (12)
͵͸

A1 A2 A3 A4

Degree of membership
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Fig. 5. The PAPC control architecture. Input variable "velocity"
(a)

Degree of membership
B1 B2 B3 B4
1
0.8
0.8
assist ratio

0.6 0.6
0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2
0
0 0 20 40 60 80 100
0 5 10 15 20 25 Input variable "pedal velocity"
velocity (km/h)
Fig. 6. Assist power ratio of the PAPC controller. (b)
Degree of membership

B. Fuzzy Logic Controllers (FLC) 1

C1 C2 C3 C4 C5
Based on [6], a FLC controller has been developed, as shown
0.8
in Fig. 7. The controller has to acquire the bike speed and pedal
speed in order to generate an appropriate motor torque on 0.6
different road conditions. 0.4
0.2
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Output variable "motor torque"
(c)
Fig. 8. Normalized membership functions of (a) bike velocity, (b) pedal
frequency, and (c) assisted motor torque.

2) Fuzzy inference: The design of fuzzy rules based on the

Fig. 7. The FLC control architecture.
relationship between bike velocity and pedal frequency. The
criteria for the fuzzy rule design are as follows. As
1) Fuzzification: As shown in Fig. 8 (a)-(c), two input fuzzy normalized pedal frequency is less than the normalized bike
variables are bike velocity ܸ and pedal frequency ܸ୮ୣୢୟ୪ , velocity, the motor torque would be decreased. On the other
hand, as normalized pedal frequency is more than the
and one output fuzzy variable is assisted motor torque ܶ௠ .
normalized bike velocity, the motor torque must be increased.
These three fuzzy variables are regulated and normalized
Hence, 16 fuzzy rules are developed as shown in Table II.
based on (10)-(12). Moreover, triangular membership
functions are employed.

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 TABLE II A. Riding on Flat Ground
FUZZY RULES
As shown in Fig. 10 (a), in the steady state, the bike velocity
of FLC has smaller oscillation amplitudes as compared with the
A1 A2 A3 A4 PAPC. Therefore, the FLC would make riders feel more stable
and comfortable. Moreover, as shown in Fig. 10 (b), the
B1 C3 C2 C2 C1 generated output motor torque from the FLC is much smaller
than that from the PAPC. Thus, using the FLC leads to a lower
B2 C4 C3 C2 C1 but more stable bike speed.
B3 C4 C4 C3 C2
B4 C5 C4 C3 C2
20

3) Defuzzification: Suppose the statement of fuzzy rule

velocity (km/h)
15
ܴ௟ ሺ݈ ൌ ͳǡ ‫ ڮ‬ǡ ݉ሻ is
FLC
 ‫ݔ‬ଵ ݅‫ܣݏ‬ଵ௟ ǡ ƒ† ǥ ǡ ƒ†‫ݔ‬௡ ݅‫ܣݏ‬௟௡ 10 PAPC
(13)
‫ܤݏ݅ݕ‬௟
5
where,
‫ ݔ‬ൌ ሼ‫ݔ‬ଵ ǡ ‫ݔ‬ଶ ǡ ‫ ڮ‬ǡ ‫ݔ‬୬ ሽ் ‫ܷ ؿ‬ǣinput fuzzy vector. 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
time (s)
‫ܣ‬ଵ௟ : The membership function of fuzzy variable ‫ݔ‬௡ .
(a)
‫ ݕ‬: Output fuzzy variable.
20
‫ܤ‬௟ : The membership function of fuzzy variable ‫ݕ‬. FLC
In this paper, we use minimum inference engine (14) to motor torque (N-m) PAPC
15
obtain the output ‫ݑ‬୆ᇲ ሺ‫ݕ‬ሻ. As shown in (15), output ‫ כ ݕ‬is
obtained using the algorithm of center of gravity.
10
‫ݑ‬୆ᇲ ሺ‫ݕ‬ሻ ൌ
(14)
ƒš ൤•—’ ‹ ൬‫ݑ‬୅ᇲ ሺ‫ݔ‬ሻǡ ‫ݑ‬஺೗ ሺ‫ݔ‬ଵ ሻǡ ‫ ڮ‬ǡ ‫ݑ‬஺೗౤ ሺ‫ݔ‬୬ ሻǡ ‫ݑ‬୆೗ ሺ‫ݕ‬ሻ൰൨ 5
௟ୀଵ ௫‫א‬௎ భ

0
‫ ݕ ׬‬ൈ ‫ݑ‬୆ᇲ ሺ‫ݕ‬ሻ݀‫ݕ‬ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
‫ כݕ‬ൌ (15) time (s)
‫ݑ ׬‬୆ᇲ ሺ‫ݕ‬ሻ݀‫ݕ‬
(b)

IV. SIMULATION RESULTS Fig. 10. (a) Bike velocity, and (b) motor torque on flat ground.

In this section, simulation studies have been conducted in B. Riding on Slopes

Matlab platforms. In general riding situation, the starting crank
angle is usually at 45 degree, and the maximum crank torque is
assumed to be 14 N-m. Fig. 9 shows the simulated crank torque
as the rider input. In order to compare the performance between
the PAPC and FLC, simulations on both a flat ground and
different slopes are performed in this paper.
15
crank torque (N-m)
Considering the effects of gradient resistance in Fig. 1, in
which ߠ is the slope angle of hill, simulation on three different
slopes (3, 6, and 9 degrees, respectively) are conducted. Also,
the crank torque from rider is adjusted to 50 N-m in order to
move upward. As shown in Fig. 11 (a)-(b), obviously, when the
slope increases, bike velocities of both the PAPC and FLC are
decreased due to the reason of that the steeper the slope, the
bigger the gradient resistance.

Moreover, the isolation of steady-state velocity of FLC is

10
much smaller than that of PAPC, leading to a better riding
comfort. Also, in transient response shown in Fig. (b), the
velocity of FLC is smoother than PAPC since in PAPC the
5
generated motor power is based on the rider’s power, resulting
in larger amplitude and overshoot in the beginning stage.
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
In Fig. 11(c), both the velocity of two controllers are
time (s) negative since the integration of human power and motor power
is not able to overcome the gradient resistance of 9 degrees. In
Fig. 9. Crank torque as the rider input.

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 fact, the slope of 9 degrees is a very steep slope and riders rarely V. CONCLUSIONS
travel in such a steep slope. For electrically assisted biking systems, this paper has
developed both PAPC and FLC controllers using current bike
speed, pedal torque, and pedal frequency to determine the
25 assisted power generated by a motor. Simulation results show
20
that when riding on both flat ground and slopes, using the FLC
velocity (km/h)

leads to a lower but more stable bike speed, resulting in a better

15 riding comfort.
Future work includes applying a torque sensor to detect
10 rider’s power as an input to FLCs. Also, gradient sensors could
FLC
5 PAPC be used to detect gradient and fed back to controllers so as to
have a better results when riding on slopes.
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
time (s)
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
(a)
The authors would like to thank Mr. Chien-Tang Chiu and
25 Mr. You-Shyan Lin from National Taipei University of
Technology (Taipei Tech.) for their help with discussion and
20
velocity (km/h)

development of ideas presented in this paper.

15

10 REFERENCES
[1] TranzX website. [Online] Available: http://www.tranzxpst.com/
5 FLC [2] Inskey website. [Online] Available: http://www.inskey.com.tw/
PAPC [3] Usually website. [Online] Available: http://140.115.236.72/demo-
0 personal/WI903/web/C1200221/index.htm
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
time (s) [4] Bosch website. [Online] Available: http://www.bosch-
ebike.de/en/home/home.html
(b) [5] J. R. Lu, “Design and simulation of controller for electric assisted
bicycle,” M.S. thesis, Dept. Vehicle Eng., National Taipei Univ. of Tech.,
5 Taipei, Taiwan, 2009.
FLC [6] S. S. Chen, “Design and implementation of intelligent motor control for
PAPC the Pedelec,” M.S. thesis, Dept. Elect. Eng., National Central Univ.,
Taoyuan, Taiwan, 2010.
velocity (km/h)

0 [7] Y. C. Chen, “Sensorless force control for E-Bike using torque observer,”
M.S. thesis, Dept. Elect. Eng., National Chiao Tung Univ., Hsinchu,
Taiwan, 2013.
[8] Y. J. Huang, “Design and simulation of controllers for an electric assisted
-5 bicycle on a slope,” M.S. thesis, Dept. Vehicle Eng., National Taipei
Univ. of Tech., Taipei, Taiwan, 2011.
[9] F. C. Lin, “Various slope estimation system,” M.S. thesis, Dept. Elect.
-10 Eng., National Chiao Tung Univ., Hsinchu, Taiwan, 2012.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 [10] F. S. Kang, “Bicycle automatic shift control device with learning ability,”
time (s) M.S. thesis, Dept. Elect. Eng., National Chiao Tung Univ., Hsinchu,
(c) Taiwan, 2011.
[11] J. P. Zhang, “Application of fuzzy logic to a bicycle auto-shift system,”
Fig. 11. Riding on different slopes: (a) 3, (b) 6, and (c) 9 degrees. M.S. thesis, Dept. Elect. Eng., National Chiao Tung Univ., Hsinchu,
Taiwan, 2013.

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