RAD City LED displays

[thormanson]

Hello Rad City Users:  This topic may have been addressed before.  I tried to research as I am new to site, but it says previous discussions were too old.  So my question/concern is related to the brightness level on the LED displays on the Rad City.  There are two displays.  I live,and have lived, in very sunny climates.  My vision is fine, but I have a lot of difficulty reading the displays on bright sunny days which are the norm where I live.  I have adjusted the brightness levels to max, peeled off the celephane covers, adjusted the angle of the display to me when riding; all to no avail.  For pedal assist levels, I basically have to guess what level I am in by the feel of the resistance. I know other electric bike manufacturers have addressed this issue, and I am also aware that Rad is aware of the problem as I have spoken to one of their reps about it.  Part of their response is that the design for a lot of their bikes took place in Washington State where the no. of bright sunny days is at a premium.  I have no problem reading the displays on cloudy days.  Is anyone aware of any upgrades for this model either hybrid or offerred by RAD?  Thanks.

[Jay West]

Have you tried changing the angle of the displays... sometimes this will help.  I have a Rad City 5 Plus and can read my displays.  Maybe some displays are naturally not as bright as others.

[thormanson]

Jay:  Yes, this is the first thing I tried, and I continue to " play around with ".  No discernible effect.  Read somewhere else on this site, that the pedal assist display is particularly " dim ", and I would agree.  I live in California, and prior to this, Arizona; so lots of bright sunny days.  I love the ride, but it is frustrating to try and guess what level of pedal assist I am in.  The speedometer display is less troublesome, but still not great.

[handlebar]

I hadn't heard of an LED display from Radpower. The thing I loved about the LCD display I got from Radpower last year was it's legibility, day or night: black characters on a white background.

I now have aftermarket LED displays on my bikes. The light from the LEDs has to compete with ambient light bouncing off the screen. The poor daytime legibility has annoyed me for years. It can be worse on hazy or overcast days because the light from the sky is coming from all directions.

For a couple of years, I've stapled rings from strips of roofing felt 4" wide, to slide around the displays and provide shade. Lately, I discovered something better with my Radmission. If I lean over until my face is close enough to the display to shield it from a lot of light from the sky, I can read it better. It works on that bike because the seat is several inches farther back than stock and the handlebars are several inches higher.

[thormanson]

From my non-techie viewpoint, I have to apologize and correct myself in stating that the two digital displays on my RAD City bike are LCD's, not LED's as I understand it.  So, basically black characters on a greyish background.  It is this configuration that I continue to have difficulty reading in bright sunlight, despite trying a variety of adjustments.  I certainly admire Handlebar's ingenuity in trying to provide shade for his displays with roofing felt, something I haven't tried.  It kind of astonishes me that with the degree of engineering that goes into these machines, the RAD folk can't figure out how to improve the illumination on the displays so that we users don't have to go to such extremes.

[handlebar]

I liked the LCD display. It came with a piece of transparent plastic film protecting the transparent face. Have you removed it?

[JimInPT]

From my non-techie viewpoint, I have to apologize and correct myself in stating that the two digital displays on my RAD City bike are LCD's, not LED's as I understand it.  So, basically black characters on a greyish background.  It is this configuration that I continue to have difficulty reading in bright sunlight, despite trying a variety of adjustments.  I certainly admire Handlebar's ingenuity in trying to provide shade for his displays with roofing felt, something I haven't tried.  It kind of astonishes me that with the degree of engineering that goes into these machines, the RAD folk can't figure out how to improve the illumination on the displays so that we users don't have to go to such extremes.

From the very first YouTube reviews of the new dual-display Rad models a year or two ago, I noticed right away that the smaller PAS display on the left was considerably dimmer than the larger main display, but it was mostly shrugged off if mentioned at all in the reviews. 

Is your City model relatively new?  If so, then it seems they still haven't addressed this disparity with the display manufacturer(s). 

As an aside just out of curiosity, did you have any issues adapting to using two displays that separate the data while riding?

[thormanson]

To reply to Jim and Handlebar; Yes, I removed the thin piece of plastic that covered the PAS display.  The bike is less than a year old, and it doesen't appear RAD has addressed the issue.  I don't have any issues with looking at two displays, other than not being able to read the PAD display most of the time; ( in bright sunlight as mentioned ).  My wife is getting a new bike this weekend; ( not a RAD ), and I notice that the display numbers are larger and it has some color in the display, advertising as being brighter.  I have no direct knowledge, but I think, generally the industry recognizes this as a problem, ( at least for some ), and are addressing it. I think there is an upgrade for some RAD bikes that includes a controller, and a single display, but I don't think it works with a RAD City.

[inoxa]

contact Area 13.  they should have a display that may work.  you may not have to buy a new controller.

[thormanson]

Inoxa:  Looked up Area 13 for different display set up.  They have, but you have to buy controller, and, in any event, it only seems to work on the Rad Rover model.  Thanks anyway.

[inoxa]

They are good on other RAD models.  You just have to read the small print here and there. 

Call them or email them.  They are really good and responding. 

I am pretty sure they might have what you are looking for. 

[handlebar]

https://electrobikeworld.com
Under upgrades, they have a "25A Controller for Rad Bikes." My Radmission seems to have the same space constraints as your Radcity. This one fits and puts 700 mechanical watts on the wheel. Thats 40% more than I got with my stock Radrunner, advertised at 750 watts but producing 500.

It requires the same aftermarket LED display as the one on my Radrunner, pictured below. I preferred the Radpower LCD display. I took these photos of my Radrunner LED display turned up to full brightness in the middle of a partially cloudy day, one with shadows and the other with the sun behind a cloud. Either way, the illumination from the clouds makes the display faint.

Leaning over to put my face low over the display helps. It would be better under a clear sky. It's better when the sun is low, maybe 30 degrees above the horizon because the sky isn't so bright.

[jastewart325]

The dimness of the pedal assist display is a problem that has been known since the City 5+ came out and has apparently not been corrected. I like my bike, but this does not reflect well on Rad.