When first planning the Radical battery, I intended three extra cells to bring the voltage up to 39.6 volts, the maximum that 36 volt controllers will normally reliably accept. Since there was already space for a single additional cell, I enlarged the case to make room for two more side by side below. However, the eZee controller was intolerant of the peak of voltage at the end of charge, so for a while I ran with less. I've now got a simple workaround the problem by just discharging off the peak in a few minutes after charging, so am now on the full 39.6 volts nominal. Since the battery was 8 months old and will be down to about 8 Ah, I've added cells of that capacity.
The net motor power is up from about 470 to 520 watts, gross power up from 576 watts to 634 watts, 9% less than the most powerful on the market, the F series, but the T bike is 14% lighter and has very much lower rolling resistance and coefficient of drag, so can easily outperform them. Top spot again!
Those power increases may seem modest, but the steep hill climb performance has been transformed since the normal voltage drop under load has effectively been completely cancelled. The Torq Radical now easily climbs 1 in 4.5 (22.5%), in the 60" second gear at 7 mph with me standing on the pedals making a reasonable 250 watt contribution. Alternatively, at almost 6 mph very easily in the 42" low gear, sitting on the saddle and making a much more modest contribution. So the T bike joins the Q bike in being able to easily tackle any road it could meet.
Performance on easier hills is as reported before, very competent, but the feel of more power is always very evident. Acceleration is very much faster now, the bike being willing to rapidly accelerate from zero to it's maximum of over 23 mph without assistance, though unassisted is not what it's about. All in all, the character of the bike has been added to considerably, making the fun element very much more apparent while removing the pain of it's former hill climb performance.
The original derestricted range in my hilly area with a new Li-ion was 15 miles. Although the battery voltage won't increase the range normally, I've done a range check now and returned 16.2 miles. Since the battery is 8 Ah now, that's equivalent to over 20 miles on a new Li-ion, a 33% increase. Clearly much of that is due to the bike's improvements in roll resistance, cd etc., but some will be due to the extra cells. The reason is simply that the power to gearing ratio disadvantage suffered by the 40% overgeared standard Torq has been considerably alleviated, making the ratio much more efficient, moving it towards Q bike territory.
Of course the battery can go on any eZee bike, and I've tried in in the Q bike. The same controller on that has a slightly lower acceptance voltage, so there are clearly some variations. In the Q it makes little difference, since the bike is already so competent at hill climbing, towing and load carrying. All it does is make the speed during the steeper unassisted climbs about 1 to 2 mph faster, but the slightest touch of pedalling with either battery type masks that difference.
However, this approach would be of value on a standard Torq and would greatly increase the climb ability, so within the next few days I'll publish a way in which it can quite easily be achieved for owners with NiMh battery needing that facility.
I've updated the second page on site with full details of the changes.
.
The net motor power is up from about 470 to 520 watts, gross power up from 576 watts to 634 watts, 9% less than the most powerful on the market, the F series, but the T bike is 14% lighter and has very much lower rolling resistance and coefficient of drag, so can easily outperform them. Top spot again!
Those power increases may seem modest, but the steep hill climb performance has been transformed since the normal voltage drop under load has effectively been completely cancelled. The Torq Radical now easily climbs 1 in 4.5 (22.5%), in the 60" second gear at 7 mph with me standing on the pedals making a reasonable 250 watt contribution. Alternatively, at almost 6 mph very easily in the 42" low gear, sitting on the saddle and making a much more modest contribution. So the T bike joins the Q bike in being able to easily tackle any road it could meet.
Performance on easier hills is as reported before, very competent, but the feel of more power is always very evident. Acceleration is very much faster now, the bike being willing to rapidly accelerate from zero to it's maximum of over 23 mph without assistance, though unassisted is not what it's about. All in all, the character of the bike has been added to considerably, making the fun element very much more apparent while removing the pain of it's former hill climb performance.
The original derestricted range in my hilly area with a new Li-ion was 15 miles. Although the battery voltage won't increase the range normally, I've done a range check now and returned 16.2 miles. Since the battery is 8 Ah now, that's equivalent to over 20 miles on a new Li-ion, a 33% increase. Clearly much of that is due to the bike's improvements in roll resistance, cd etc., but some will be due to the extra cells. The reason is simply that the power to gearing ratio disadvantage suffered by the 40% overgeared standard Torq has been considerably alleviated, making the ratio much more efficient, moving it towards Q bike territory.
Of course the battery can go on any eZee bike, and I've tried in in the Q bike. The same controller on that has a slightly lower acceptance voltage, so there are clearly some variations. In the Q it makes little difference, since the bike is already so competent at hill climbing, towing and load carrying. All it does is make the speed during the steeper unassisted climbs about 1 to 2 mph faster, but the slightest touch of pedalling with either battery type masks that difference.
However, this approach would be of value on a standard Torq and would greatly increase the climb ability, so within the next few days I'll publish a way in which it can quite easily be achieved for owners with NiMh battery needing that facility.
I've updated the second page on site with full details of the changes.
.
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