Quote from: Hesedguy on January 03, 2022, 04:02:55 PM
Thanks for the update. I almost bought the 1500W motor kit, but I questioned whether that would really do what I was hoping for. My plan as it stands it to try the upgrade by itself, and if that isn't enough I've got my eye on a wheel with geared hub from either Ebikeling.com or Ebikekit.com.

Well for me I wanted much faster of the line performance, a bit of increased speed, say to maybe 30 mph and more power / torque on the hills.

All I achieved was a little better response from the the motor when peddling or using the throttle and just 1 to two mph increase.  I had to limit the controller not to burn out the direct drive motor and not to exceed the wall where more watts only achieved less range.

If you plan on replacing the direct drive motor with another of your choice, then the controller and display upgrade would be good.  Of your expecting to be wowed by the replacement using the existing direct drive motor you will be discounted. 

That said, you have if you can indeed ID a replacement motor alone that would with the 2018 series I'd be interested since I don't need 1500 watts.  I'd appreciate a true 750 or 1000 watt geared hub motor with more torque for the hills. 

I'm also looking to replace my front fork with a suspension fork.


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It's been a while....

I think I've said it in a few messages but maybe not here. 

I have better off the line response, not amazing skid the tires, but a little better pickup. 

My high end hits a brick wall as the 2018 Direct Drive motors are actually 500 watt that peek at 750.  Feel cheated by Radpower Bikes. 

Yes you can get the motor to pull more watts / current but that does NOT translate into speed.  I have seen up to 850 to 900 + being pulled by my motor but all I get is a louder motor that pull more power from my battery wearing it down faster and no extra speed or torque.

I once overheated a battery and it shutdown.  Had to swap the battery to let it cool down as it came back with no issues.  So I'm assuming the BMS safety system shut the battery down to save it.

I adjusted my settings to throttle the controller to provide no more than about 800 watts peek. 

NOW Bolton Ebikes offers a 1500 watt wheel and motor upgrade that requires yet another display and controller as part of the kit.  I asked and they said no they would not sell me just the motor and that I had to buy the whole kit.

So of you ask me NOW / TODAY would I buy the kit I purchased I would say NO. 

Save up and buy the 1500 watt wheel motor controller and display kit.

You will NOT get wow speed or power form the worthless direct drive motor.

Rich


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Quote from: Fisher65 on February 13, 2021, 11:33:14 AM
My 2018 European Radwagon does this thing where you´re coasting down a hill and you´ll feel a slight drag in the motor that comes and goes. It only happens if your speed is approaching or exceeding the maximum set speed of the controller. To be clear, this is without touching the brakes and activating the regenerative braking; it seems to be braking mildly all by itself, but the regen display shows nothing. It´s puzzling, and also annoying at those times you want to make the most of a long descent at speed and the bike won´t let you.

It has a Direct Drive motor... thus the magnets in the motor make it act like an exercise bike when in 0 pedal assist or just coasting and not pedaling.

It is also why with just a little break lever movement it turns into a regenerative braking system.  Only the direct drive motors offer the regenerative braking feature. 

So in short, it's normal...


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My wife and I have a 2018 Radwagon with the SR Suntour SP12 NCX Seatpost that are available on Rad's site

https://radpowerbikes.pxf.io/R5Bnma

They work great and help take "some" of the bumps out of the ride.


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Check out Bolton EBikes.  They have a color display and controller.  Also, they may have a new wheel / motor soon coming out.  Owner Kyle and his team are great at responding to emails.  They also have a great YouTube Channel.   I have already upgraded both my wife's RadWagon and mine to the new color display and co troller.  Somewhere on here I have a thread about the upgrade I still need to update.

If I keep my RadWagon, I'll be going back to Bolton for the break upgrades and the new rear wheel and motor...

https://boltonebikes.com/collections/brakes/products/juintech-m1-hydraulic-calipers-easy-install-on-most-ebikes

https://boltonebikes.com/collections/motor-controllers-and-displays/products/2019-radpower-upgrade-kit-with-tail-light

I'm planning on replacing the front fork as well... but have not found one yet.

Bolton has not yet released the motor upgrade yet but may soon. Meanwhile I'm investigating options.


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I have not read the specs yet on the new RadWagon.  I have a 2018 Rad Wagon with a Direct Drive motor and although it is marketed as a 750 watt bike, it is more like a 500 watt bike that can peek to 750 but no extra power between 500-750.  I found the manufacture specifications on the motor and it's a 500 watt motor.

Also, being a direct drive it lacks the torque needed for hills and I'm 215 pounds.  Yes it gets me up the hill but I have to help it along...

If I had to do it over again I would get the RadRover fat tire.  More comfortable ride and more torque and power in the motor.  The Regen of direct drive motors is not worth the loss of torque.  If I keep my RadWagon, I'm changing the motor...

So I would say, get the RadRover with fenders and a rack...  but ask Rad Power what they think....


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Interesting. It reads as if your wattage goes way down at 3 bars to 12 but then jumps back up at 1 bar into the 80's...

My experience has been as the battery reaches a certain level, I no longer get the power assist I was with a fresh batter as the voltage level is actually dropping... 

So I would say it's normal to see the amount of power or watts drop as your batteries level or voltage starts to drop.  For some time the power will seem flat with a fresh full battery, but eventually it will start till curve or drop off until you notice that with even 1-2 bars your working harder than before especially at 3-5 peddle assist.

I'd have to think that the 12 to 84 change your seeing is probably due to the terrain your riding.  I see my watt levels change quite a bit as I ride and I'm either gaining speed from a stop or heading on a slight uphill or down hill or into the wind or it's at by back...

In general, as your battery level drops, your voltage is dropping and the affects of the above can be seen even more in the wattage numbers....


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Sooo has anyone upgraded their 2018 RadWagon's front fork to a suspension one?

I believe I have read it's a 1 1/8 x 255mm straight no thread fork. The tires are 26" x 2.3" but I cannot find the axel specs....

Don't need a lot of travel, just smooth out ride a bit more than my suspension seat is doing now. 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions...


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Quote from: Dennis Watkins on May 26, 2020, 06:46:27 PM


I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE "L" SETTINGS DO SO I LEFT THEM AS THEY WERE FROM BOLTON BIKES.  If anyone knows, please share.



Here is the full manual including the L settings. Might help you also dig deeper into settings.

http://www.szktdz.com/upload/file/20180814/20180814091428_61636.pdf

Just checked again...I didn't find the "L" settings.  The manual stops after the "C".  Did I miss something?


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Also, if you look back at the previous post I have a link to the motor in the 2018:

http://www.syimotor.com/productDe_5.html

and I have information on the factory controller and OHMS law etc..

https://www.radowners.com/index.php/topic,138.msg400.html#msg400

The problem with the factory motor seems to be that according to the new controller, we can allow it to pull as much power as it wants.  I do not believe there are any current limiters in the motor and that is why we can burn it out.  That is wht asfter it has exceed its efficiency point of no return it will such down the battery as the controller allows it to draw more current that it can't efficiently convert into usable energy and will eventually damage the motor.  That is why I see the controller allowing the motor to draw up to 1000 watts, but I do not see any power / speed benefits really above say 700 watts... I'll have to pay attention... but I do hear the motor trying hard to use all that current.

So I have tried C5=05 and next I will try 04.

But I agree with your assessment that there must be some other setting that is not right and limiting or max speed.  Possibly my weight as I'm about 210 lbs and I do not ever remember, even with stock controller, being able to use max throttle on a flat road and reaching 25 MPH.  I think now I can reach between 21 to 23 MPH.

Quote from: Dennis Watkins on May 27, 2020, 07:54:46 AM
Ok. C5 Deff impacts the max power the DD motor will put out. Oddly, going up in C5 values does not increase the max wattage. However, C5 00,01,02 will in the 1400’s watts whereas C5 10 does not. (At least for me). Give it a try and let me know your results. Obviously it doesn’t stay at this power nor would you want it to however it does seem to make it more zippy. Wife called me in so I guess that is all for now.

According to the manual I have, C5 settings are... SEE ATTACHED as I cannot seem to figure out how to insert an image.  was much easier on iPhone, now on computer...

C5 settings are for controlling the maximum operating current.

C5 Setting
===================
00 --> 02  UNDEFINED
03 = Max Current Value / 2.00
04 = Max Current Value / 1.50
05 = Max Current Value / 1.33
06 = Max Current Value / 1.25
07 = Max Current Value / 1.20
08 = Max Current Value / 1.15
09 = Max Current Value / 1.10
10 = Max Current Value

Thus lowering the value should limit the max current to motor with 03 being the lowest valid value.

Quote from: Dennis Watkins on May 26, 2020, 06:38:05 PM
Hmm... it's interesting your P2 is 5 for proper speed and I found mine to be 1 to be correct. I think C5 diff needs adjusted. I seem to be running into some kind of limiter other than P1 and it might be associated with P5. With stock, I was able to go above 25 mph once I increase the min speed to 40. However, with P1 set to max, my speeds limits to 21-22 and this is at less than 400 watts. I thought it was my battery and when fully charged I am getting the same results. I'll check out your other settings and test again tomorrow. With this now being the warm season, it will give us more chances to play with the settings. Also, did you have any luck getting the stock controller off? I actually still haven't taken mine off. I installed the new controller below the stock on and secured with zip ties. Looks odd but works just fine. Also installing it here doesn't require the extender. At some point, I want to take off the old one and use brackets like I believe you are using. Or it might have been someone else. Just need to figure out where to get them. I'll figure it out out of season. Right now, I just want to enjoy the ride.

Wait, are you saying that you were able to go faster by reducing the max speed setting?  That is indeed strange.  As far as speed accuracy.  I use app "Ride with GPS" and the MPH matches pretty close as well as total ride miles compared to controllers trip mileage.

Scroll back and you'll see my pics.  I removed the stock controller and used brackets to raise up the installation point so it's on top of tubes.  I was lucky to find the brackets at work.  I'll see if I can find the drawing for them.  Nothing too special but I believe one hole had a pressed nut installed in it.

The reported watts on PAS 4 seem reasonable but when I go to PAS 5 on a hill it reports up to 1000watts and that's not good for motor or battery.  So I do indeed need to limit total power a bit more.

Thanks for link to Manual.  I'll take a look...

I definitely want to upgrade the motor next.  Need more torque and hill climbing power.

Got to run for now. 


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Quote from: Ryan on May 25, 2020, 07:44:43 PM
Hey Rich, sounds like like you need a RadWagon 4 with the Bafang geared hub motor

Thanks for continuing to share, very interesting info.

Actually what I want is the rumored RadWagon motor / wheel upgrade from Bolton.  I think he was talking about a 1000 or 1500 watt motor.   And when Bolton stayed the power we know it's the true power of his motors.  I have a controller, now I just need a motor. 

But I have to admit, those next gen RadWagons look really nice. 


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Quote from: Dennis Watkins on May 23, 2020, 07:01:06 PM
I just installed my kit a few days ago. Curious if you figured out what settings you liked. Do you feel like you have dialed it in yet? Still trying to get my P2 correct for proper speed. 4/5/6 do not work. Still need to test out the others. Glad I found your post. Looking forward to your reply.

I apologize to all for taking so long to update this post as I do not ride as often as I'd like.

Took the RadWagon out one time and proceeded to cause one of my batteries to shut down as I was pulling alot of power up a hill and I think I caused the heat to go to high in the battery or possibly I drew it down below the cutoff voltage.  Once I was able to pull over, I swapped the battery and was back up and running.  I checked the other once home and the fuses were fine, the voltage was fine, for a used battery, and it charged fine...

The cause was that the controller in PAS-5 was still trying to allow the motor to pull 900-1000 watts and the RadWagon motor does nothing with this other than drain your battery.

Thus I decided I needed to adjyst the C5 setting to possibly 05 or 04.  05 will allow (Max Current / 1.33) and 04 will allow (Max Current / 1.5).

Again, rememebr, these direct drive motors do NOT have a lot of torque and they are reall 500 watt motors or a little less.  Allowing them to draw more power... you reach a wall that only drains you battery and can damage your motor.

So here is what I have now as settings:

LIM: 72 km/h --- LOL  I wish... just want to see what is possible with the &^$%^#*&^ of a motor on these bikes
DIM: 26"
UNT: 3
P1: 46
P2: 5
P3: 1
P4: 0
P5: 15
C1: 3
C2: 0
C3: 1
C4: 0
C5: 06
C6: 3
C7: 1
C8: 0
C9: 0
C10: N
C11: 0
C12: 4
C13: 1
C14: 1

L1: 0
L2: 0
L3: 1
L4: 5

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE "L" SETTINGS DO SO I LEFT THEM AS THEY WERE FROM BOLTON BIKES.  If anyone knows, please share.

Again, last ride out in PAS-5 the RadWagon was still trying to pull up to 1000 watts so I will be adjusting C5: to probably 04 to see what it does. 

I also need to study the remaining setting and see what else might help, but for now, I do not want to prematurely drain my batteries and/or damage my motor.

Hope this helps...

Rich

Can you find any markings on the motor that tell you who makes it and the model?  If they put the same motor on as the US model, then you are right, all you need is a new controller and display.  You can't reprogram the Rad controllers.   If you need a new motor, well then that's a bit more expensive. 

I believe Bolton Ebikes May have a solution.  Here they just did the Controller and Display upgrade.

https://youtu.be/a3HIuGTaFGM

You could probably email them about your question as well.


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