I know that Cadence has recently made some observations regarding his favourable experience of a KT system. In the event that there may be some interest in hearing of another comparison between these two different ways of operating an ebike, here’s my subjective view having replaced the 17 Amp Luishi controller on my solo with a 15 Amp KT version.
To set my comments in context, I’m now in my late sixties, with a dodgy arthritic ankle and only a fraction of the strength and fitness I had as a young man (hence the move to an ebike) so keep that in mind when interpreting my observations. I’m around 70Kgs and still work as hard as I can, so hopefully the motor doesn’t have too much to do.
My Woosh kits (DWG22C – Luishi controller) were bought for my tandem and subsequently for a solo bike. Given my size / weight, that torquey motor is probably a bit OTT for a solo, but I wanted to keep parts commonality in the event of any repairs being required in future.
Speed control on the tandem:
I’ve done about 5,000 miles on the tandem and the motor assist has been excellent. Starting off on a tandem can be a bit of a challenge and the instant shove from the motor is a great thing to have. We use throttle to help us start off before the pedal assist chimes in after about ¼ turn of the cranks.
The programmed levels of assist correspond very roughly to 8, 11, 14.5, 15 and 15.5 mph. We normally only use Levels 1 -3 and often ride above the set speed level so that there is no assist from the motor.
Plus points:
Speed control gives full power from rest and this is very handy when constantly baulked / slowed by pedestrians / dog walkers on shared cycle paths. Cycling in slow moving stop-start type traffic is also made simpler by the instant full power shove of the motor with just a brief turn of the pedals.
There is little ‘fiddling’ needed once a given power / speed level is set as the motor just increases power as required. Gusty headwinds are compensated for without you having to do anything. Similarly, on undulating roads the motor just supplies the required power if you slow down a bit on a gradient.
Negatives:
the speed control is quite slow to react if you are oscillating just above / below a chosen speed level. Although the sheer mass of the tandem + riders tends to mask any oscillation of speed, the Luishi controller seems to have a ‘window’ of about plus or minus 1 mph before it reacts. That doesn’t sound much but it is noticeable. The KT seems to react faster and within plus or minus 0.5 mph (or less).
I have brake cut offs fitted on the tandem and without these, slow speed work would be more awkward as the motor just chimes in at full power with an off / on feeling.
Current control on the solo:
I’ve only done around 100 miles on my solo since converting it to the KT system, but the differences are quite noticeable. With current control the motor is engaged constantly regardless of the assist level until the cut off speed of 15.5 mph is reached. This gives a more ‘natural’ cycling feeling as you tend gear down for slopes rather than have the motor just ramp up the power.
Plus points:
a more natural cycling experience.
You have the opportunity to customise or tune / refine whatever you want from the controller. For example, you can set the maximum desired current delivery and the individual power levels from 0 to 5 then provide a % of that maximum power level. I believe these levels are pre-set at 0, 13%, 20%, 33% 50% and 100%. BUT it is also possible to further select how the motor reacts varying from Weaker / Normal / Stronger. These further settings really do make a difference and it makes it possible to set up the bike pretty much exactly as you’d like it.
I use Marathon Plus tyres which are great for avoiding punctures, but tend to feel ‘dead’ and like peddling through treacle. The constant supply of power to the motor masks this feeling quite significantly.
On the LCD 3 display, being able to see the wattage drawn by the motor is great. I also like being able to see the battery voltage in real time too.
Minus points:
The motor won’t ‘automatically’ compensate for a gradient, you either pedal harder, gear down or turn up the power manually. So potentially more ‘fiddling’ with the power levels or gear changing as road conditions change. Alternatively, using a burst of throttle if a sharp incline is encountered can do the trick.
In summary, I can see advantages and disadvantages to both systems. My initial thoughts were that speed control works well on a big heavy machine like a tandem. On a solo, it’s a harder call but I’m tending to favour current control for that application. I suspect current control is one of those things which you grow to like and adapt your riding style accordingly so I'll probably stick with the KT system now.
How would current control work on the tandem? Well, I’ll answer that one when my (larger) KT controller arrives and is fitted in due course…..
To set my comments in context, I’m now in my late sixties, with a dodgy arthritic ankle and only a fraction of the strength and fitness I had as a young man (hence the move to an ebike) so keep that in mind when interpreting my observations. I’m around 70Kgs and still work as hard as I can, so hopefully the motor doesn’t have too much to do.
My Woosh kits (DWG22C – Luishi controller) were bought for my tandem and subsequently for a solo bike. Given my size / weight, that torquey motor is probably a bit OTT for a solo, but I wanted to keep parts commonality in the event of any repairs being required in future.
Speed control on the tandem:
I’ve done about 5,000 miles on the tandem and the motor assist has been excellent. Starting off on a tandem can be a bit of a challenge and the instant shove from the motor is a great thing to have. We use throttle to help us start off before the pedal assist chimes in after about ¼ turn of the cranks.
The programmed levels of assist correspond very roughly to 8, 11, 14.5, 15 and 15.5 mph. We normally only use Levels 1 -3 and often ride above the set speed level so that there is no assist from the motor.
Plus points:
Speed control gives full power from rest and this is very handy when constantly baulked / slowed by pedestrians / dog walkers on shared cycle paths. Cycling in slow moving stop-start type traffic is also made simpler by the instant full power shove of the motor with just a brief turn of the pedals.
There is little ‘fiddling’ needed once a given power / speed level is set as the motor just increases power as required. Gusty headwinds are compensated for without you having to do anything. Similarly, on undulating roads the motor just supplies the required power if you slow down a bit on a gradient.
Negatives:
the speed control is quite slow to react if you are oscillating just above / below a chosen speed level. Although the sheer mass of the tandem + riders tends to mask any oscillation of speed, the Luishi controller seems to have a ‘window’ of about plus or minus 1 mph before it reacts. That doesn’t sound much but it is noticeable. The KT seems to react faster and within plus or minus 0.5 mph (or less).
I have brake cut offs fitted on the tandem and without these, slow speed work would be more awkward as the motor just chimes in at full power with an off / on feeling.
Current control on the solo:
I’ve only done around 100 miles on my solo since converting it to the KT system, but the differences are quite noticeable. With current control the motor is engaged constantly regardless of the assist level until the cut off speed of 15.5 mph is reached. This gives a more ‘natural’ cycling feeling as you tend gear down for slopes rather than have the motor just ramp up the power.
Plus points:
a more natural cycling experience.
You have the opportunity to customise or tune / refine whatever you want from the controller. For example, you can set the maximum desired current delivery and the individual power levels from 0 to 5 then provide a % of that maximum power level. I believe these levels are pre-set at 0, 13%, 20%, 33% 50% and 100%. BUT it is also possible to further select how the motor reacts varying from Weaker / Normal / Stronger. These further settings really do make a difference and it makes it possible to set up the bike pretty much exactly as you’d like it.
I use Marathon Plus tyres which are great for avoiding punctures, but tend to feel ‘dead’ and like peddling through treacle. The constant supply of power to the motor masks this feeling quite significantly.
On the LCD 3 display, being able to see the wattage drawn by the motor is great. I also like being able to see the battery voltage in real time too.
Minus points:
The motor won’t ‘automatically’ compensate for a gradient, you either pedal harder, gear down or turn up the power manually. So potentially more ‘fiddling’ with the power levels or gear changing as road conditions change. Alternatively, using a burst of throttle if a sharp incline is encountered can do the trick.
In summary, I can see advantages and disadvantages to both systems. My initial thoughts were that speed control works well on a big heavy machine like a tandem. On a solo, it’s a harder call but I’m tending to favour current control for that application. I suspect current control is one of those things which you grow to like and adapt your riding style accordingly so I'll probably stick with the KT system now.
How would current control work on the tandem? Well, I’ll answer that one when my (larger) KT controller arrives and is fitted in due course…..
