Does changing from class 2 to class 3 change torque?

[RLC]

I have a Lectric XP Step Thru. It comes as a class 2 ebike. I was wondering if changing the settings to a class 3 effects the torque at all.

 

[Scona]

On my rear hub drive raising the settings resulted in increased torque in assist levels. This results in
having #1and #2 levels of assistance that are not as useful as they were before the change.
Eventually, I reverted to the lower settings. It's worth a try to see how it works for you.

 

[PedalUma]

Try it. Take photos. Report back.

 

[RLC]

Try it. Take photos. Report back.

I will report back but I would think there might be someone with empirical knowledge about motors that could answer this rather than me saying what I feel etc.

 

[AHicks]

In my experience, bikes that shut down at 20mph are doing so because they have an electronic governor of sorts, set to taper off and shut down power at about 20mph.

If it were not for that electronic restriction, MANY class 2 bikes will make it up to Class 3 speed under the right conditions.

That said, there are controllers with the ability to be user adjustable. Those bikes could have the max speed set to anything up to 99mph and be changed on a whim - a user ADJUSTABLE governor if you will. They might also be able to have max amperage available to the motor adjusted to what ever amount the rider desires.

So the answer to the torque question is it depends.....
If a governor is tapering/shutting the power down at 20 mph, and you defeat that governor somehow, the torque would be the same.
If you turn the amount of amperage available to the motor down to limit speed, you would be decreasing the amount of torque available. -Al

 

[RLC]

Yeah that makes sense thanks for the reply.

 

[Art Deco]

In my experience, bikes that shut down at 20mph are doing so because they have an electronic governor of sorts, set to taper off and shut down power at about 20mph.

If it were not for that electronic restriction, MANY class 2 bikes will make it up to Class 3 speed under the right conditions.

That said, there are controllers with the ability to be user adjustable. Those bikes could have the max speed set to anything up to 99mph and be changed on a whim - a user ADJUSTABLE governor if you will. They might also be able to have max amperage available to the motor adjusted to what ever amount the rider desires.

So the answer to the torque question is it depends.....
If a governor is tapering/shutting the power down at 20 mph, and you defeat that governor somehow, the torque would be the same.
If you turn the amount of amperage available to the motor down to limit speed, you would be decreasing the amount of torque available. -Al

Is there any way to tell on a particular bike? Example: My Class 1 Como3 with the wimpy E class motor appears to have the same motor hardware as the Como 4 but only two thirds of the rated torque in Newton meters. It gets better range from the smaller battery, but doesn't climb hills as well.
I don't care about increasing top speed, but it could use more power for long steep climbs.

 

[AHicks]

Is there any way to tell on a particular bike? Example: My Class 1 Como3 with the wimpy E class motor appears to have the same motor hardware as the Como 4 but only two thirds of the rated torque in Newton meters. It gets better range from the smaller battery, but doesn't climb hills as well.
I don't care about increasing top speed, but it could use more power for long steep climbs.

If the motors are the same (or even very similar), and the batteries have similar capacity (amps wise, not Ah), it would be about figuring out how to get more amperage from the battery to the motor. It sounds as though your controller is acting as a bottleneck.

RAD products are well known for this same controller "bottleneck", as well as the Sonders bikes, both of which have made the Bolton upgrade so popular. It opens up that bottleneck with it's ability to supply up to 35 amps (as compared to the OEM ability of less than 20a) - way more than the battery can ever hope to deliver. -Al

 

[Art Deco]

If the motors are the same (or even very similar), and the batteries have similar capacity (amps wise, not Ah), it would be about figuring out how to get more amperage from the battery to the motor. It sounds as though your controller is acting as a bottleneck.

RAD products are well known for this same controller "bottleneck", as well as the Sonders bikes, both of which have made the Bolton upgrade so popular. It opens up that bottleneck with it's ability to supply up to 35 amps (as compared to the OEM ability of less than 20a) - way more than the battery can ever hope to deliver. -Al

Very cool. Makes sense and doesn't seem like it would hurt anything other than what's left of the warranty and less range when using the extra power. Something else to research...

 

[AHicks]

For research, look into KT controllers. Bolton uses these, that have been custom made for him with the correct ends to allow plug and play. They also sport some really nice displays. Holler if you get serious....

 

[Art Deco]

Thanks @AHicks. I'll do that. With much fear and trembling...