EggRider for Bafang Ultra?

[smorgasbord]

We have two Bafang Ultra equipped bikes. I'm starting to play around with programming via a computer, but the setup, unplug and go for a ride, come back, plug, change, unplug, go for a ride, etc. loop is slow. I'm also thinking I would like the ability to have an On-Road and Off-Road set of settings.

Anyone here have experiences with it? With my aging eyes, I'm thinking I'd mostly use it with a smartphone mount. That way I get navigation on the phone as well.

One more question - with two bikes I assume I can setup one bike, then move it to the other bike to make the settings. Any issues there? That would mean I'd be using the stock DPC-18 display on at least one bike, but will that hide any functionality? For instance, switching between Eco/Sport (I'd relabel as On-Road/Off-Road) is harder to do on the stock display, but that will still work, right?

I'm in the USA - should I purchase it from EggRider directly in England, from em3ev, california-ebike, or somewhere else? Em3ev seems to have the lowest price.

Sorry for all the questions - if you have experience with the EggRider on a Bafang Ultra (or other torque-sensing motor), I'd like to hear from you.

 

[vincent]

I don’t have a lot of info other than it made programming my bike much easier
I used it with my iPad and iphone

have no idea about using it with two different bikes but I am guessing it would be fine

it does not match up with the eco/sport display, has 9 levels but it is the same as the computer software

At this point I don’t think anyone knows exactly how the eco sport works vs the 9 levels

hopefully someone else will answer about multiple bikes

I bought mine from California ebike and would say go for it, to me it was totally worth it
Like you said much quicker to change settings and then try them out

I don’t use it as a display just a programmer

 

[smorgasbord]

Got my EggRider. It's a little bit more convenient than the laptop with cable option so far, but at least at one point it didn't seem to read/write properly, keeping old settings. The laptop version is very clear with confirmation dialogs and quick updates.

It is unfortunate that while this device lets you make settings, it doesn't help you understand what those settings actually do. No-one seems to know.

I'm thinking of running it as my main controller, replacing the DPC-18C / 860C with the EggRider and then mounting my phone as the display. I've been thinking of mounting my phone anyway to use for Navigation/mapping/ride recording, so this would reduce cockpit clutter.

 

[byunbee]

Is it possible to have both the eggrider and the standard Bafang color display connected?

 

[CCroft]

I've never heard of anyone of connecting both at the same time but I'd like to if it were possible. I like the analytics the Eggrider provides, but as a usable display/controller it is not very good in my opinion (check out this video where another user offers some first impressions). Visibility on it in many light conditions is poor (pretty much unusable in bright daylight), and ergonomics are not great either (in my opinion) compared to my Luna 500c display. Specifically, the buttons on the Eggrider to switch PAS levels are--at least for my fingers--more finicky to press in the right spot to actually change the PAS...I find myself pressing them a lot more often to switch PAS than the solid/tactile buttons on the 500c.

The programming via phone is obviously a big selling point for Eggrider, and seemed like more of an important feature when I first started ebiking when I was experimenting with (= changing) those settings a lot. Now that I've dialed in some pretty good settings, I'm not changing those settings often enough that using the cabled method/computer wouldn't be just fine for that now and then. But certainly if you're a rider looking to change those settings frequently for whatever reason, that feature of the Eggrider is a big deal.

But if there was a way to have both connected at once I'd like to at least try that: the 500c display as my actual display/controller, and the Eggrider (maybe not even mounted on the handlebar but out of the way somewhere else) for post-ride analytics and occasional reprogramming.

But I'm guessing having two running simultaneously would create some kind of conflict/issue for the Bafang controller...? Before I bought my Eggrider I had a "Batt-Man" gauge installed for giving me some analytics. But that device isn't installed using any of the Bafang cables like the Eggrider/500c are; you wire it in between your battery and the Bafang motor/controller so no real potential "conflict" there.

 

[byunbee]

I was thinking of two displays would work similar to a dual monitor setup for a PC. They are reading the same data but just on two different displays. I'm sure it's possible and someone can figure it out.

 

[smorgasbord]

I now have a phone mount (see https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/show-your-cockpit.32842/#post-267585 for pictures and description), and am quite content with this setup. My phone does multiple-duty: display for bike, ride recording for sharing later, navigation to help me out on unknown routes, and sharing of my location (Glympse) so family know where I'm at. I always have my phone with me anyway, so mounting it even saves a bit of precious room on my FS rack-less bike.

 

[CCroft]

Hi smorgasboard! Have you had a chance to do many rides with your phone as Eggrider display while running these other apps/tasks? I've not done that many times, but the few times I did the Eggrider display didn't work real well. It didn't appear to run in the background or when I switched over to using other apps. The data/analytics summary appeared just fine at the end of my ride, but only after downloading from the Eggrider display/device itself. I'm running it on 2017 Samsung phone/Android, so not the newest phone out there but not the oldest either. I haven't played around with it much, however, so maybe there are some settings, etc. I need to tweak.

 

[smorgasbord]

Hi smorgasboard! Have you had a chance to do many rides with your phone as Eggrider display while running these other apps/tasks? I

Yeah, I've been posting some ride data in this thread: https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/battery-voltage-is-not-linear-with-watt-hours.33317/

I've mostly kept it as the front app, using a GPS recording app in the background, and haven't had a single problem in something like 60 miles. I'm not sure what you mean by "didn't appear to run in the background" - are you saying the app was killed by the OS? I've sent it to the background while riding to look at something else (yeah, not the safest thing to do but I pick my spots) and have always been able to bring it back. I'm on an iPhone X.

 

[CCroft]

Yes, that's what seemed to be happening. I'd navigate away from the Eggrider app/screen to use another app, and when I came back to it, mileage, etc. had not continued to be logged, etc. Using the phone as a display was never something I had planned to do, however, so I didn't troubleshoot much beyond that.

[snip] I'm not sure what you mean by "didn't appear to run in the background" - are you saying the app was killed by the OS? I've sent it to the background while riding to look at something else (yeah, not the safest thing to do but I pick my spots) and have always been able to bring it back. I'm on an iPhone X.

 

[tomjasz]

Em3ev

EM3ev has high shipping costs. They can be frustrating some riders and require some willingness to work with updates and possible workarounds. I've sold dozens and have had 3 that really hated them.
The Dillenger Switcheroonie: The best of both worlds! We bought a few and weren't terribly impressed. But it's only for BBSxx drives.

Is it possible to have both the eggrider and the standard Bafang color display connected?

Why bother?

I had a "Batt-Man" gauge installed for giving me some analytics.

I had two to evaluate. OK but I'd rather plug a wattmeter inline or a CA2. The battman was not cheap if I remember correctly.

 

[smorgasbord]

EM3ev has high shipping costs.

Yeah, I ended up getting it through california-ebike because it was in stock. Activation was pretty painless, but upgrading the firmware was a pain - and I'm in the computer software business. I ended up using Chrome on my MacBook with Bluetooth and that was an OK experience.

BTW, does anyone know how the immobilizer is supposed to work? I turned that option on, but even with BT turned off on my phone and/or my phone far away, I seem to be able to put the bike into any PAS level and the throttle still works.

 

[tomjasz]

Yeah, I ended up getting it through california-ebike because it was in stock. Activation was pretty painless, but upgrading the firmware was a pain - and I'm in the computer software business. I ended up using Chrome on my MacBook with Bluetooth and that was an OK experience.

BTW, does anyone know how the immobilizer is supposed to work? I turned that option on, but even with BT turned off on my phone and/or my phone far away, I seem to be able to put the bike into any PAS level and the throttle still works.

George, the developer is on Facebook. He's pretty good at answering questions. We try to vet customers who are interested but a majority like the bleeding edge and the features.

 

[smorgasbord]

I've had no luck with the Facebook group.

 

[tomjasz]

I've had no luck with the Facebook group.

Lucky is a one eyed dog with no balls. I communicate with them often. how can I help?

 

[smorgasbord]

how can I help?

In "Display Settings" I've got: Immobilizer: "Locked Level 0 (connect with app to unlock)"

Yet with the phone's Bluetooth off and phone far away (App complains it can't connect) I can start the bike up in any level, change levels, and even use the throttle.

This is either a bug or I'm misunderstanding how this feature is supposed to work.
Bafang Ultra

 

[TomD]

Maybe it's like bait car where you can shut it down as thief rides off.

 

[smorgasbord]

Lucky is a one eyed dog with no balls. I communicate with them often. how can I help?

Thanks for the post on the Facebook group, but looks like that one-eyed dog don't hunt.