Greetings from Ireland!

[FortunatelyTheMilk]

Hi folks,

After 20-odd years without a bike, I picked up a RadRunner from the EU store about a month ago, and I've been using it to explore the byroads of County Galway ever since. The weather has been typically Irish, but it hasn't stopped me from going out! I opted for the storage console and passenger accessories (though I wish I'd held out for the Espresso package. Mmmm, brown...)



I've upgraded to a 35A motor controller and a KT-LCD3 screen, which allows me to do a couple of things, one to make the bike legal in Ireland, the other to make it faster. First off was to only allow the throttle to work while pedalling (anything that can run under its own power without pedalling is classified as a Mechanically Propelled Vehicle, so I would have to register, tax and insure it as a moped) and the other was to derestrict it, as there's no 250W limit here. I'm still fine tuning the settings on the display, but it's an interesting learning experience!

I also picked up a decent lock and cable, and waterproof clothing After all, there's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong gear. I also bought a set of fatbike mudguards/fender from Urban Drivestyle in Berlin, but after trying and failing to fit them with zipties and the included hardware, I've realised I'll have to drop the rear wheel to get the sedon one on. Luckily the seat pad and battery box do a pretty good job of keep the muck off me.

I've ordered a sprung saddle from a local MTB store, and I'm on the lookout for a decent plug and play headlight upgrade and a pair of canvas panniers. And some handlebar grips to go with the seat. And a horn.

Beginning to think this might be addictive...

[Kevin]

Very nice!  And what an awesome place to ride.  Enjoy the ride, brother!

[TDR]

What a beautiful country!. Enjoy your bike!

[Ryan]

Welcome and thanks for sharing the awesome pictures! Would you mind sharing links to where you sourced both the screen and the controller? Several folks have asked how they can upgrade the EU Rad Power Bikes versions. Does it now top out at 750 watts or more?

[fin_rad]

Looks perfect roads and landscape Ireland would be a great country for visit in the future. Greetings from Finland!

[FortunatelyTheMilk]

Thanks everyone!

I ordered both of them from EBW after seeing them recommended on Reddit. These look similar to the Bolton kits ,but I have NO idea if they are the same. Though I did find it interesting that both incorporated brake lights around the same time...

I've seen power peak at 1400W at the display, and it sustains 600W, so I'm _guessing_ it's the same as the US 750W?

https://electrobikeworld.com/products/35a-controller-rad

https://electrobikeworld.com/products/kt-lcd3-with-usb-rad

I was worried that I would lose the tail light control (I had read that the 35A didn't support it without splicing cables) but this revision of the controller does support it.

It's a good size, larger than the OEM controller:


After pulling the wiring harness out, it was easy to see what went where, no two plugs are the same, and they're all designed to only connect one way.
The hardest part was fishing the display cable out of the frame (despiste reading numerous warnings to be Very Careful when removing it).
You can see I've wrapped tape around the connection in case I need to get the cable out again.
 

I clipped off the tie holding the motor cable in place.


The skid plate makes a handy mounting plate, I did have to cut a notch out of the tab at the front so everything lined up.


I gathered the cables back up, running the display and front brake cables along the downtube, and folding and squeezing the rest of the cables under the gap between the Vee of the rear arms and the battery case.


Display bolts on easily enough, it's nice and clear, and green!



When setting the display & controller, I used these values. I use 24" as the tyre diameter, (the total diameter including the tyre)and metric settings.
I used the following P & C settings. Mr. Bolton's excellent guide is a great explainer of what each does: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0F6x8V0NZQ&;

Listing them here for my reference, use at your own risk, E&OE, values may fall as well as rise, if you continue to experience symptoms after 14 days, seek professional advice.

https://880b28d3d003e6b1c176-ee9159906b823979ce618332e73bec87.ssl.cf4.rackcdn.com/other/en_KT-LCD3.pdf

P1 - 100 (this is standard for a Bafang motor with 20 magnets, and a controller with 5 PAS levels, 20*5=100)
P2 - 5 (pulse settings for calibrating speedo, this took trial and error)
P3 - 1 (full power assistance from throttle, regardless of PAS level. 0 gives a relative ramp up in assistance, depends on PAS level selected) .
P4 - 1 (pedals must be moving before throttle twist gives power. Setting to 0 allows throttle regardless of pedal or PAS level)
P5 - 15 (battery bar calibration. Set to 00: bars indicate instantaneous voltage (these flutter a lot depending on power draw) or use a higher value for smarter metering. (12 for 24V batteries, 15 for 36 & 48V batteries. This controller is not suitable for 52V packs afaik)

C1 - 3 (Pedal assist sensitivity, other values may work here)
C2 - 0 (Sine wave phase settings, you can leave this at zero for a Bafang 750W motor)
C3 - 8 (Power level on startup, 0-5 or 8 to remember what you left it as when you switched it off)
C4 - 1 (0: All the throttle, all the time 1: throttle to 6kph only without pedalling, for EU compliance. 2: Throttle up to a level you can set (MXS Speed flashes to set this) The rest of these are in the PDF linked.
C5 - 10 (Max power limit 10= 100%. 9 = 90%, 8 = 80% etc. )
C6 - 5 (backlight, 5 is max brightness)
C7 - 1 (Cruise Control, 0 is off, 1 is on)
C8 - 0 (1: Display motor temp. This only works if your motor has a temp sensor. Mine doesn't)
C9 - 0 (1: enable a PIN)
C10 - n (Reset to default settings)
C11 - 0 (protocol mode for communitcating with USB programmer)
C12 - 4 (Minimum battery cutoff: 40V. Refer to the PDF linked)
C13 -  0 (Regeneration level - not supported by my geared motor, left it at 0)
C14 - 3 (special sauce. PAS fine tuning. default is 2, 3 is mo powah, baby. Expect range to tumble)

[Alaska Hwy Runner]

Great Adventures and great pics.

I have a new Expresso Package (less handlebar grips) available for 1/2 price plus shipping if your still wishing.  Just posted in classifieds.

[FortunatelyTheMilk]

I've been trying to see what impact on range the upgrades have made. So far I've managed a 40km run on full power, and a more sedate run (PAS 2 or 3) for 50km, (to collect this sweet Brookes saddle!) and came back with a bar of battery left each time.

Please excuse the wrong hand mirror, it usually lives below the bars. I had to raise the seat to fit the box and it kept banging my knee!

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[Ryan]

I've been trying to see what impact on range the upgrades have made. So far I've managed a 40km run on full power, and a more sedate run (PAS 2 or 3) for 50km, (to collect this sweet Brookes saddle!) and came back with a bar of battery left each time.

Please excuse the wrong hand mirror, it usually lives below the bars. I had to raise the seat to fit the box and it kept banging my knee!

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Are you putting the Brooks on your ebike? I've heard so many good things about their saddles, are they really that superior? They sure do look great.

[FortunatelyTheMilk]

That's the plan, a buddy of mine is sending me a used seat post. I had one on a bike years ago and they're a lovely thing, with a little care they last for years and get better as they age.

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[FortunatelyTheMilk]

Minor update, I'm at 500km with the new controller, I've dialled the power down about 15% in the interests of range, (cruising speed is about 35kph now, so still plenty!) and I'm on my second seat post, as the freebie I got lasted about 3 km before it gave away underneath me. Seat position is still too far forward on the layback seat post I got to replace it, so I'm looking at cruiser posts, which is more complicated than I expected because its all in American, and the post diameters are different.

I also picked up a locking collar for the seat, which was the wrong size, and an Airzounds XL style airhorn,  which is hilarious, and loud enough to wake the dead!

We've had a spell of fine weather this week, so I've been roaming the byroads, and dining out in style!

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[FortunatelyTheMilk]

Here's what the airhorn sounds like https://www.instagram.com/p/CDoOuUXHqAE9cQaKamcUuJziKfLdaUUlG7EQqg0/?igshid=4mqynl0lwrxs

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[Altema]

Great info on the controller. I'm holding off on modding mine, but if I do, the controller will be first. Mine is the US spec version, and it pulls pretty firmly all the way from 0 to top speed, so I'm not really in need of more right now. The horn is hilarious!

[FortunatelyTheMilk]

First tumble today! All my own fault, I was distracted by a classic car parked over the wall I was cycling past. (A pristine 1970 Reliant Scimitar SE6 for those interested!) Missed the ramp onto the path, bounced off the curb, and landed on gravel. Handlebars took most of the impact, scratching up my new lamp, and the brake levers, but I was lucky to escape with scratches. And I'd only taken off my gloves a couple of kilometres up the road when I checked my phone!

Wear your safety gear, folks!

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[FortunatelyTheMilk]

The crash on Monday took out my tail light.  While the front worked fine, the rear doesn't light up off the switch or by pressing the brakes.

Thought I'd have to trace the loom back to see where the break was, but then I realized I could use the front lamp to test instead!

I can't find the lights listed in either the EU or NA Radpower sites, does anyone know where I could source one?

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