Perhaps you have had an opportunity to read my previous post entitled “An EBike for My Wife” where I talk about her new Aventon Pace 500.3 Step-Through Ebike. Prior to taking this bike out for a test ride this morning, I knew nothing about TAP or TOD, but now I do, and I think you should (know a bit about it) too.
TAP stands for “Throttle After Pedal” which is a typical controller function whereby you need to ‘pedal at least a quarter rotation to activate the throttle’. This is considered a safety feature that stops someone from accidentally activating the throttle while walking their ebike, and having it run off on them. Personally, I consider TAP to be an inconvenience and find it’s much safer to be able to start out with some throttle, then start pedaling once the bike is up to an appropriate speed and in an appropriate gear.
It wasn’t immediately apparent in Aventon’s description of the Pace 500.3 if it came standard with TAP or TOD, but after digging a bit I discovered that Aventon customers wanted TOD as a standard feature on their e-bikes, over TAP. So as of March 2021 TOD became standard equipment on Aventon ebikes. I consider this a good thing, and am really glad the 500.3 has TOD, and here’s why.
TOD stands for “Throttle On-Demand” and is very handy while starting out on a slight incline where obtaining the quarter rotation may prove to be difficult or the rider has neglected to gear down before stopping (which happens a lot). Therefore, TOD removes the regulation to pedal a quarter rotation to activate the throttle, allowing you to use the throttle from a dead stop. Yeah, good move Aventon!
Still, ALWAYS think about what you’re doing and don’t accidentally tweak the throttle or you might find you have launched your shiny new e-bike into space without you onboard. Better still is to simply put your ebike into PAS 0 when you’re walking it and the throttle will be disengaged. That’s what I would do.
I hope this clears up the question about TAP and TOD. I’m definitely a TOD fan and wouldn’t think of leaving home without it…
Just a side-note about the Pace 500.3, TOD and torque sensing: TOD and torque sensing used together provides the smoothest and most predictable acceleration I have seen with any ebike. It works really well and makes this ebike a joy to ride!