Raleigh

[Nickk]

my first bike was stolen. A month ,a Salisbury powacycle,my insurer has offered a Raleigh pioneer,as a replacement ,my commute is 4 miles ea way & quite hilly,with 1 climb of 230' that takes me 7 minutes with assistance,what are the opinions of this bike.
Thanks.

 

[D C]

my first bike was stolen. A month ,a Salisbury powacycle,my insurer has offered a Raleigh pioneer,as a replacement ,my commute is 4 miles ea way & quite hilly,with 1 climb of 230' that takes me 7 minutes with assistance,what are the opinions of this bike.
Thanks.

This should help
https://www.raleigh.co.uk/pioneer-electric-low-step-grey-19899

 

[flecc]

It should do the job at least as well as the Salisbury, which was one of the lower powered pedelecs of its time, and a very old design now.

There's good chance it will be noticeably better, things have moved on a lot in the over ten years since the Salisbury first appeared.
.

 

[Nickk]

Thanks,I notice the motor is only 250w ,is there much benefit in increasing wattage?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The rating of the motor (250w in this case) has little bearing on the actual power that it gives. The power depends on the current that the controller allows and the battery voltage. Most OEM e-bikes run on 36v, but the controllers range from 12 amps to 25 amps. The shops never seem to know what controllers are in their bikes or how they work, so you won't get that vital info.

If you get/have a typical Chinesee-bike, it's relatively easy to increase the current a bit up to the limit that the battery can provide.

 

[KirstinS]

Thanks,I notice the motor is only 250w ,is there much benefit in increasing wattage?

Short question that has a really really long answer !

So in super condensed version, generally the situation is

1. 250w is legal limit on UK. But it is fairly meaningless due to manner of testing. Many 250 peak at 8 or 900. The variance between so called 250w motors is really quite huge

2. Volts x amps = watts . So an increase in either amps or volts results in increased watts

3. Increasing amps equates to increased torque. Increased volts equates to increased speed

4. Volts can be increased by using a higher voltage battery. Or by placing a booster battery in series. E.g. Adding in a 7.4v pack to your 36v pack to get 44. 4v

5. To increase amps you need to do either a controller shunt mod (search forum for details)

All the above comes with lots of health warnings. Your battery and BMS needs to be capable of actually giving more amps or you may damage it

There are components inside your controller that will blow if you put too many volts through them (FETS) A 36V controller can generally cope with 44. 4v

The motor windings can only cope with so many watts before it turns into a bar fire. As before some 250w can take a whole lot more and some less so

So potential gains are speed, torque or both

Potential danger are damaged battery, controller or motor

Also your bike will no longer be legal in uk roads if goes above the legal cut off . I don't judge but I must point it out


The above is general info. I don't know the details of your specific bike

 

[Danidl]

Short question that has a really really long answer !

So in super condensed version, generally the situation is

1. 250w is legal limit on UK. But it is fairly meaningless due to manner of testing. Many 250 peak at 8 or 900. The variance between so called 250w motors is really quite huge

2. Volts x amps = watts . So an increase in either amps or volts results in increased watts

3. Increasing amps equates to increased torque. Increased volts equates to increased speed

4. Volts can be increased by using a higher voltage battery. Or by placing a booster battery in series. E.g. Adding in a 7.4v pack to your 36v pack to get 44. 4v

5. To increase amps you need to do either a controller shunt mod (search forum for details)

All the above comes with lots of health warnings. Your battery and BMS needs to be capable of actually giving more amps or you may damage it

There are components inside your controller that will blow if you put too many volts through them (FETS) A 36V controller can generally cope with 44. 4v

The motor windings can only cope with so many watts before it turns into a bar fire. As before some 250w can take a whole lot more and some less so

So potential gains are speed, torque or both

Potential danger are damaged battery, controller or motor

Also your bike will no longer be legal in uk roads if goes above the legal cut off . I don't judge but I must point it out


The above is general info. I don't know the details of your specific bike

.. quite well put .. I particularly liked the bit about bar heater. The only clarification I would make is that volts and amps from the battery generates watts sure, but these can appear as either mechanical power watts (good ) or heat watts (bad ), or both depending on the rotation speed of the motor.

 

[KirstinS]

.. quite well put .. I particularly liked the bit about bar heater. The only clarification I would make is that volts and amps from the battery generates watts sure, but these can appear as either mechanical power watts (good ) or heat watts (bad ), or both depending on the rotation speed of the motor.

I think it was d8veh who explained it to me that way a few years back .

 

[Nickk]

Thanks all.
This is a well designed & built bike,light years from the Salisbury & my insurer( NFU) treated my claim very well.
The bike pulls at least one gear higher on inclines,partly due to lower overall gearing & down to better performance.