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Messages - handlebar

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31
My 2020 Radrunner, advertised as a 750 watt bike, consumed that much electricity, but when I tested it on a hill, it put only 500 watts of power on the wheel. I don't think the bike was marked 750 watts. It may have been identical to a "500 watt" Radrunner sold in Canada.

I wonder if an American RadRover6+ or RadCity5+ controller is really the same as what you already have.

32
Service & Repair / Re: Battery life
« on: January 08, 2024, 09:12:51 AM »
Cycling will help NiCd and NiMh, but I haven't heard of it with Lithium ion.

An ebike battery that sits for months will get out of balance as some cells have faster self-discharge than others. I just balanced one that had sat three months. Before letting it continue to sit, I should run it down to maybe 49 volts. Thanks for the reminder.

33
RadRover / Re: Rad Rover 6+ upgrade advice needed
« on: January 08, 2024, 09:03:25 AM »
When I first installed a 35 amp controller, my Radrunner could pop a wheelie when I got underway at home. It didn't happen at stop signs because on the road, I'd be in my normal posture, leaning forward a bit to put most of my weight over the pedals. At home, I might have some weight on a foot on the ground and the rest on the seat, high and aft of the pedals. Getting underway at home, I learned not to sit on the seat.

Later, I learned that C5 has selections for slow throttle starts. It's hard for me to tell a difference. I guess that's because I use only a little throttle to get underway.

My Aventon Abound has a lever throttle. From a stop, it does nothing for a moment, then increases power slowly. If there's a way to change the settings, Aventon doesn't let customers know. I think starting with a lever throttle is more dangerous than starting with a rolling throttle because it's too easy to push the lever all the way.

34
Rad Modifications / Re: Bafang 48v 1000w Rear Hub Motor (L1019) Upgrade
« on: January 04, 2024, 06:12:27 AM »
I think they'll tell you if you need this controller and what connectors  you need.

35
Rad Modifications / Re: 35A controller + display upgrade for RadRunner 3+
« on: January 03, 2024, 01:21:02 PM »
Looks like my controller on my Rad Runner Plus has gone out.  If I upgrade to the 35A version, do I have to also replace the display or with the stock display still work?

I bought a better controller for my Radrunner from Area13. It came with the display.

I bought one for my Radmission from Electro Bike World. The display was sold separately. I ordered it because I could see my Radmission display wouldn't work with the new controller.

36
Rad Modifications / Re: Bafang 48v 1000w Rear Hub Motor (L1019) Upgrade
« on: January 03, 2024, 01:10:58 PM »
That's beyond me.
https://electrobikeworld.com

I bought a controller for a Radmission from them. They're good about answering email. Under Rad upgrades, they have a 52 volt battery, so they could probably tell you if your controller would work.


The display manual says it's compatible with 24, 36, and 48 volts, but it doesn't say it won't work with 52. For all I know, the controller will work fine, and it's another problem.

When you turn the throttle to spin the wheel, does the indicated voltage drop sharply?

37
Rad Modifications / Re: Bafang 48v 1000w Rear Hub Motor (L1019) Upgrade
« on: January 03, 2024, 04:41:15 AM »
The battery was working fine with the previous 750w motor I had upgraded to. Does that make a difference?

I had a battery that got badly unbalanced from sitting 6 months. In case something dangerous was wrong, I used the timer to balance it in segments of an hour or two, when I would be near.

I think your display and maybe your controller are incompatible with a 52-volt battery. Has it worked for somebody else?

38
Rad Modifications / Re: Bafang 48v 1000w Rear Hub Motor (L1019) Upgrade
« on: January 02, 2024, 08:33:52 PM »
Thank you for quick response. I checked my C12 setting and it is set to 4, which I think is correct. I've attached some pictures with my settings and the model number of my battery. Going to look into what needs to be done to balance a battery next. The battery is not OEM and is about 3 years old.

Radpower used to say you balance by leaving the charger on 12 hours three times, riding even a short distance in between. I don't like it because if left charging 12 hours, a faulty battery could go into thermal runaway and start a nasty chemical fire.

I like to use a wattmeter reading in tenths, maybe $10, and a timer, maybe $10. Without connecting the charger to the battery, I plug the timer into wall, the wattmeter into the timer, and the charger into the wattmeter. My Radpower chargers will read about 0.9 watt. If it gets down to that while charging, it means the battery has finished balancing and shut itself off from charging.

My Radpower chargers use about 109 watts and taper off at the end. If a battery is unbalanced, tapering until the battery shuts off can take many hours. A charging battery should not be left. Somebody should be present to unplug the charger if the battery starts to get hot. The timer is to make sure it doesn't continue to charge long if I forget about it and leave. .

39
Rad Modifications / Re: Bafang 48v 1000w Rear Hub Motor (L1019) Upgrade
« on: January 02, 2024, 08:03:32 PM »
According to the LCD8H manual, it's compatible with 24, 36, and 48 V batteries. Maybe it's shutting off because it's not compatible with your battery.

40
RadExpand / Re: Will it Fit in____Trunk
« on: January 02, 2024, 05:56:11 PM »

Those photos are pretty sobering. If you'd been wearing a cowboy hat instead of a helmet and faceplate, maybe you would have seen the train.  ;)
Ehhh . . . what?


American Railroads put up STOP LOOK LISTEN signs at crossings. That way, if a bicycle gets all bent up like yours, railroad lawyers can blame the bicyclist.

Did you ever wonder why your Canadian friends say, "Ehhh?" It's because earmuffs are so popular in the Great White North! Canadian bicyclists really can't be expected to hear a train through earmuffs. Wearing plastic goggles in the face of Canada's notoriously low winter sun, looking probably won't help, either.

There is a common-sense solution. Whenever you approach a crossing, honk your Clarabell horn several times. If there is a train coming, that will warn the engineer to stop, look, and listen.  ;)

41
RadCity / Re: Random motor failure Radcity 5+
« on: January 02, 2024, 10:54:43 AM »
It sounds like condensation, to me. One morning I got my Radrunner out of the garage and rode half a mile to a store. When I started home, it wouldn't go when I tried to go from a stop sign. I walked it across the road. For the rest of the day it ran fine. It happened another day, after going half a mile to a store on my first ride. It had started the day after I rode on wet pavement.

I figured my aftermarket controller had picked up droplets thrown up by the front tire. In the garage overnight, it would condense on the power transistors, where it wasn't serious. In my first half mile, they would warm and moisture would recondense on more sensitive circuitry. A moment later, that circuitry would also be warm enough to stay dry.

I opened the case. I didn't see moisture, but a hair dryer fixed it until the next time I rode on wet pavement. RTV solved the problem.

The throttle always worked on my Radmission, but it was often slow to respond to button clicks, resulting in missed shifts. I hadn't ridden on wet pavement, but eventually I popped out the rubber plug on the controller case, inserted a vinyl tube, and for an hour fed it air that my compressor had dehumidified. It was great for more than a week, then got worse and worse. Dry air worked again. Apparently, this controller was so sensitive that humidity could make it act up. I bought an aftermarket controller and had no more trouble.

42
Rad Modifications / Re: Bafang 48v 1000w Rear Hub Motor (L1019) Upgrade
« on: January 02, 2024, 09:44:15 AM »
Maybe your voltage is falling below the controller cutoff, which C12 lets you program from 38 to 41 volts.

When I do that on mine with the battery at 40 F, the displayed voltage drops from 47.5 to 47.0. If yours drops more and the battery is charged, maybe it needs balancing.

43
Thanks, Dick.

44
Do you know where the vids are for this repair you speak of? please, link?

I've forgotten what videos I saw in the past, but I found several by going to youtube and searching for "repair bafang 750 motor cable."

45
How To Information / Re: Tips for Washing your bike?
« on: December 28, 2023, 05:45:27 PM »
My calipers wipe off the disks. Don't yours? If I saw dried mud, I'd start with a brush.

When I've felt uneven breaking ( changing friction as the disk rotates between the pads ), I've assumed I'd touched the disk with a finger, which could have a bit of oil or grease from working on the bike. I'd restore smooth braking by spraying a little contact cleaner on a paper towel and wiping the disk. Brake cleaner is a stronger solvent, but it's more likely to damage skin or bike parts.

The dirtiest part of my bike used to be the grimy chain drive. It has stayed clean since I began using Finish Line Dry Lube. Maybe that's why it never occurs to me to wash any of my bikes: a clean chain makes a whole bike look clean.

After 3,000 Finish Line miles on one chain, I was obsessed. I bought a breaker and a master link. I put three layers of wire mesh in a coffee can, laid the neatly coiled chain on the mesh, and covered it with a couple of ounces of gasoline. I covered the can to reduce evaporation and let it soak two hours with periodic agitation. That was how we did it in the old days. The solvent would turn black, and lots of grit would settle through the mesh to the bottom.

I hung the chain to dry and poured out the opaque gasoline carefully so as not to disturb what had settled through mesh. I picked up the mesh and found that nothing had settled except what looked like rust stains on the plastic. The next day, when it was dry, I picked up some of the stain on my fingertip. It wasn't gritty but soft. It looked and felt like cocoa powder. Is cocoa powder the miracle lube of the 21st Century?

This stuff keeps chains smooth, quiet, and rust-free, and it seems to repel grit. I've found it cheap to use. I use a 25-gauge needle to apply it drop by drop.

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