Hi, I'm quite new to the electric bike scene, although have always had two wheels - both cycles and motorcycles over the years. I've also done plenty of electrical and electronic work too.
I bought a used, but only done 41 miles since new, Carrera Subway E of 2021 vintage a few weeks ago. I know it's a very basic and quite frankly rubbish model, and I was tempted to do a self-build instead but got rather confused with all the different variations of motor, battery, controller, etc etc kits which may or may not fit whatever basic bike I chose to build on.
So I bought this bike knowing it wasn't going to be exactly what I wanted but expecting to do some modifications to it.
The first gripe was one I was well aware of before buying it - the 25 km/h assistance limit. I had read many posts about how easy it is to overcome this limit on most e-bikes, but it seems the Carrera bikes with the Suntour motor and controller are one of the few that cannot be easily derestricted.
The second gripe is one that I only discovered this weekend when the weather became very warm. I got it out of the shed this afternoon expecting to ride it into town to get some groceries without getting sweaty, only to find there was no assistance! After speaking to a friend who has a similar model - the Crossfire E which he bought brand new from Halfrauds recently - had exactly the same problem. He had already done some reading on the subject and found mention of a temperature sensor which shuts down the assistance when a certain threshold is reached. Clearly they set the threshold too low in the software, as it was warm (probably about 30 C) but certainly not hot enough to damage the components.
So I did some research on this and other forums about how to upgrade this rubbish bike. It seems that the recommended route is to replace the controller with a KT 14 Amp sinewave controller, an LCD3 screen, a hand throttle, and appropriate wiring harness. Optionally brake sensors and a crank sensor. I'm not bothered about pedal assistance, I'm happy to use a thumb or twist throttle to regulate the amount of assistance that I get, and I'm not bothered about the brake sensors either as the brakes are more than adequate to overcome the weedy 250w motor in the event of the throttle sticking.
It would be nice to get a little more speed as well, but I'm aware this is a geared hub motor and as such probably won't do much more.
I've been trying to find kits that will meet the requirements and this is the closest that I have come. Would this work (with some soldering and sleeving obviously!) - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403737491064
If not can anyone recommend a kit or some components - ideally with wiring harness so I don't have to butcher the original kit and can put it back to stock in future if I wanted to?
I've attached some photos of the components currently fitted for reference. Any pointers in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.
I bought a used, but only done 41 miles since new, Carrera Subway E of 2021 vintage a few weeks ago. I know it's a very basic and quite frankly rubbish model, and I was tempted to do a self-build instead but got rather confused with all the different variations of motor, battery, controller, etc etc kits which may or may not fit whatever basic bike I chose to build on.
So I bought this bike knowing it wasn't going to be exactly what I wanted but expecting to do some modifications to it.
The first gripe was one I was well aware of before buying it - the 25 km/h assistance limit. I had read many posts about how easy it is to overcome this limit on most e-bikes, but it seems the Carrera bikes with the Suntour motor and controller are one of the few that cannot be easily derestricted.
The second gripe is one that I only discovered this weekend when the weather became very warm. I got it out of the shed this afternoon expecting to ride it into town to get some groceries without getting sweaty, only to find there was no assistance! After speaking to a friend who has a similar model - the Crossfire E which he bought brand new from Halfrauds recently - had exactly the same problem. He had already done some reading on the subject and found mention of a temperature sensor which shuts down the assistance when a certain threshold is reached. Clearly they set the threshold too low in the software, as it was warm (probably about 30 C) but certainly not hot enough to damage the components.
So I did some research on this and other forums about how to upgrade this rubbish bike. It seems that the recommended route is to replace the controller with a KT 14 Amp sinewave controller, an LCD3 screen, a hand throttle, and appropriate wiring harness. Optionally brake sensors and a crank sensor. I'm not bothered about pedal assistance, I'm happy to use a thumb or twist throttle to regulate the amount of assistance that I get, and I'm not bothered about the brake sensors either as the brakes are more than adequate to overcome the weedy 250w motor in the event of the throttle sticking.
It would be nice to get a little more speed as well, but I'm aware this is a geared hub motor and as such probably won't do much more.
I've been trying to find kits that will meet the requirements and this is the closest that I have come. Would this work (with some soldering and sleeving obviously!) - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403737491064
If not can anyone recommend a kit or some components - ideally with wiring harness so I don't have to butcher the original kit and can put it back to stock in future if I wanted to?
I've attached some photos of the components currently fitted for reference. Any pointers in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.