Throttles and more power....

[Mrke]

Hello, I've recently registered and asked the question 'which bike should I buy' in that forum however I've a couple of questions if I may:

1, Some bikes have throttles others rely solely on pedal assist; is there a reason for this and which manufacturers do include a throttle please? Also do these give 100% of available power?

2, Which bikes offer the easiest way to unlock extra power/speed later should I wish to explore this. I see there are 'shunts' available for Bosch units, but what others and at what sort of cost? I ask as it would be nice to know the bike I buy is 'upgradable' if/when the time comes rather than wishing I'd bought something else with this option..

Many thanks,

Mark

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The answer to you question is rather complicated because every bike is different.
Most bikes with throttles give maximum power from them. Throttles are not allowed in Europe, so bikes aimed at that market don't have them.

A few bikes can give more power than they're set to, and with a bit of know-how, the additional power can be released. These bikes are usually fairly expensive.

The maximum power of a bike depends on how much power the battery can give, how much power the controller can give and how much power the motor can take. The motors can often take a lot more power, the controllers a bit more, and the batteries a tiny bit more.

On most Chinese hub-motored bikes, you can solder the shunt in the controller for up to 10% to 20% extra hill-climbing power. Some of the 8.8aH bottle batteries are already struggling a bit, so not a good idea with them.

Not so many bikes have speed-limit wires on now. Instead the limit comes from the motor winding, so no way of getting additional speed without changing to a higher voltage.

Have a look at the Beastamatic thread, which shows what you can do to get more power or speed out of a basic Chinese bike. Don't forget that you need to change the gearing as well if you want to pedal at over 20 mph.
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/9857-cyclamatic-beastamatic-dead-long-live-beastamatic.html

The Bosch bikes are the only ones that have a Dongle to get more speed. If you knew what was in it. you could make one for about £2, otherwise you have to pay the ridiculous £120 or whatever it is.

Some bikes, like the Tonaro, have a magnet on the wheel, which gives the speed limit, so you can remove it, but for others, that use the King Meter LCD control panels, the software reverts to 15mph if you remove the magnet, but instead you can sometimes hack the software for more speed.

 

[amigafan2003]

If you want total control over power, speed and throttle usage build your own - choose a controller that can be programmed and can also use high voltage batteries.

 

[Mrke]

Hi d8veh - interesting read. I can see you're quite the inventor/tinkerer/engineer; quite amazing what a 'drop' of solder can do. It's a shame the images are not displaying on the thread though..
Also it's good to know that no European bikes come with a throttle, that helps a lot, thank you very much.

Hi amigafan2003 - thank you very much for the reply, I'm looking for a bike that can be bought on the C2W scheme and possibly has the capability to be modified at a later date, after warranty expiration....

 

[hech]

hullo again Mark, one of the reasons I recommended Tonaro is for the ease of modification. Alot of people buy ebikes and then decide that it would be nice to go a little faster, but in most instances a larger battery is required and another couple of hundred quid. So if you know what you are ultimately looking for(and you probably wont), get a bike you like with a kit and a 48volt battery and save yourself some money. Most of the kits are hub driven but there are now a couple of crank drives around too. Installation is straightforward and there are a number of very capable members here who will keep you right!

 

[jackhandy]

Don't forget that you need to change the gearing as well if you want to pedal at over 20 mph.

Oh No you don't....... You just need legs like Old Dave's were before it happened.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Hi d8veh - interesting read. I can see you're quite the inventor/tinkerer/engineer; quite amazing what a 'drop' of solder can do. It's a shame the images are not displaying on the thread though..

You can find the images here. Most of my folders are open, so you should be able to look at my other stuff too:
Beastamatic Photos by d8veh | Photobucket

I think this should give you everything:
d8veh's Library | Photobucket