Can I make my Rad City 5+ go faster?

[JillGat]

A lot of the roads I ride on have a speed limit for cars of 25mph.  It would really be nice if my bike would go 25 instead of 20mph. I think it would be safer, too.  It almost seems like my bike controls the speed,  Say I was using the throttle and going 20mph, and then started pedaling hard in a high gear; shouldn't I be able to exceed 20?  Barely.  Anyway, it might be harder with a RadCity 5+, but if anyone knows how to tinker with this, I'd appreciate it!

[Dude]

Enter programming mode; 
Hold the DOWN pedal assist button on the left and the LIGHT button at the same time on the left LCD display. Hold for approximately 5 seconds.

Once in programming mode...
Then hold all 3 buttons: Hold the pedal assist UP and DOWN button and the LIGHT button at the same time (hold for about 10 seconds). 

On my Radcity 5 plus this opened a new menu allowing me to specify max power level for the motor and the ability to increase the speed limiter.  I raised mine to 38 or 40 km/hr. 

[DrSmile]

The Radcity 5+ is not very aerodynamic with it's upright rider position, and it is also a very heavy ebike. I agree that that combination essentially makes pedaling efforts at 20mph and over pretty ineffective. With the hack 25mph is a very useful and reasonable top speed, but it does mean that it essentially is an electric scooter at those speeds. I use my RadCity 5+ for commuting and shopping with panniers exclusively and use it only at level 5 or throttle control in that capacity for that reason. The only time I really pedal with effort is on really steep inclines where the motor struggles at slower speeds and the pedal effort adds significantly to the bike's speed. I will say that the motor has very respectable torque that allows me to ride up double digit inclines where other electric bikes would struggle. I do however worry about how much that stresses the battery and if this will change as the battery degrades over time.

[david.platt@mac.com]

I changed my motor assist level maximum to 25 mph or 40 kph from 20 mph or 32kph.

I too felt like I was always hitting a wall at the very approachable 20 mph cut off.

The 25 mph cut off is much more natural feeling and I?m never aware of the bike slowing me down. It isn?t often I go 25, but sometimes I crest past 20.

I still ride with respect on bike paths @20 mph and if I?m threading through people I?m slowed down and always in PAS I. 

This mod does not force one to speed and it does not change the power output, which is for me is 500 watts in Canada.

[Ishy]

Is there a way to do this on a radexpand 5 without the upgraded LCD display?