Changing the speed cut off point

[Wizard9956]

Hi all , is it possible to change when the peddle assist cuts out , when my bike gets to about 12 mph the assist seems to be doing very little , the throttle also cuts out at about 14 mph .
Thanks Wizard

 

[flecc]

Only a large increase in voltage, to 48 volts for example, and maybe a new controller will change that speed appreciably.

As your batteries are nearly at an end judging by your other posts, new batteries would probably give you assist to the full 15 mph. The bikes are designed this way to drive to the legal assisted limit. The law requires that the power phases down towards that limit, so that's why you notice the power dropping off as speed increases.

They are essentially electric assist bikes, rather than electric motorbikes, mainly intended to help with the adverse parts of cycling, hills, headwinds etc.
.

 

[Capn_Phil68]

Hi Wizard,

Did just on 18m today.

Very strong headwinds (29mph according to forecast). I agree that the 15/14mph cut off is a pain, but kinda accepted that as a fact and now just use the gears and cruise along at an average of 12mph.

Did notice today that after around just 10 miles that the motor kept cutting out and the led monitor signalled empty. I found that moving down gears helped and the pedal assist kicked in again. Reckon that is that the amps needed to assist were less than those used when using a higher gear.

At 13 miles had a very brief charge of 20mins on the battery which had a bit, but not much of an affect on flattened batteries, but can say that low volts/amps (Flecc et al, if I up the amps eg double do I get double the range at the same voltage (36)?) really highlight
the on/off nature of a pedelec such as mine. Found that there was no assist in high gears, but by changing down and slowing down the assist came back on a regular basis.

Capn_phil68

ps would never have attempted an 18 mile ride on a normal bike after just a week or so of ownership and less than 30 odd miles in the saddle after such a long break

 

[Wizard9956]

Hi Flecc , thanks for the info , i did buy my electric bike mainly to help with a pretty steep hill that's on my way to work , i was thinking that if the cut off speed was increased then it may help when the bike is going slower so it can get up the hill . The first day i took it to work i was impressed with how it got up the hill , but after riding it to work today i found i had to put in a huge effort to make it to the top , i find it hard to explain what i mean with the batterys , they do charge ok according to the green light on the charger , but the power they put out seems to be going ( fading ) .

atb
Wizard

 

[Wizard9956]

Hi Phil good to hear your bike is going well , i've found that peddle assist works ok in 3rd and 4th gears , not in 5th and 6th , i think i'll have to go down the new battery route to get my bike performing like it did when i first had it ( or maybe it was'nt working that well even then ).
I'm not sure if i've got this right but would having higher amp hour batterys give the bike more hill climbing power ?

atb

Wizard

 

[flecc]

The charger will still show the same on poor batteries, and the signs are that yours are not in good shape. Chargers go through the motions regardless.
.

 

[Capn_Phil68]

Hi Wizard,

I was really fazed by my bike as in the higher gears it kept cutting out and no peddle assist or throttle!

Fitted a basic speedo from ebay and as soon as 14.8-15.3mph was reached peddle assist went and it seemed like the rear brake was being applied. Might be worth checking out?

 

[Wizard9956]

Ah i see , i thought that the green light on the charger ment they were fully charged and had the maximum power in them , just goes to show i'm still learning , Thanks mate .

atb

Wizard

 

[Wizard9956]

Fitted a basic speedo from ebay and as soon as 14.8-15.3mph was reached peddle assist went and it seemed like the rear brake was being applied. Might be worth checking out?

I'll check this tomorrow on my way to work and report back , i pretty sure my peddle assist dies at about 12 mph , as Flecc says does sound like the batterys are due for a change .

atb

Wizard

 

[Capn_Phil68]

ps it also seems that there needs to be a certain amount of pedal rpm before pedal assist kicks in.I am riding mine as a normal geared bike eg low at lights and stops and then work thru the gears to top and then try to keep it at around 12-14 mph and that seems to satisfy the 15mph limit. Being a car driver for years it seems the speed Iamdoing is VERY slow, but with the gains at junctions and short cuts my commute is around 5 mins longer,but lots more fun (forgotten how much fun a bike is!).

 

[Wizard9956]

forgotten how much fun a bike is!
Snap , i've got a big smile on my face everytime i ride , and i thought i'd hate cycling again after all these years , i packed in when i was a teenager and am now mid 40s , wish i'd got back to it earlier . My journey time going home is now 15 minutes less , before i was just sat in traffic .
I wonder if it's possible to get insurance ( the same as motorcycle / car insurance ) incase i do some damage to someones car etc .

atb

Wizard

Ps one of my mates in work was taking the micky today as he drove past me out of work , laughed me socks off when i over took him 5 mins later