Help...Deciding on which dongle to buy..

[fnord]

I'm curious about the Badass box, too. Will it turn a Bosch CX into an S-pedelec? I don't care about the speedo being wrong.

 

[Johnny]

I'm curious about the Badass box, too. Will it turn a Bosch CX into an S-pedelec? I don't care about the speedo being wrong.

It halves the speed input so you will still get motor assist up to 2 times your limit(20->40).

 

[Holbay]

Ohai!, I thought the thread was dead. So just to update I didn't actually buy the Badass Box, I live in Italy and surfing the WEB I found a company that claims the usual stuff, easy to install, shows the correct speed, works with all models and so on. As the actual place was quite close to where I live I went to have a look. Friendly people that convinced me to buy their product - only done 100 kms atm but works smoothly with no errors and you can turn on and off on the fly. Using the walk button. Satisfied thus far, Ill leave a link to the web site.

https://www.eplus.bike/en/

 

[Alaskan]

I received the Badass Box for my Cube Touring Exc with Bosch CX drive.

I had already replaced my 15 tooth chain sprocket with a 17 tooth and also replaced my 11 speed 11-42 tooth casette with a 11-46 tooth. The two tooth boost on the sprocket boosted my top gear to where I can pedal up to 29 mph with a cadence below 100. The four tooth boost on the largest ring in the new cassette gave me a super low gear.

• The box installed in less than a minute. The only tool needed was a small crescent wrench to tighten the thumbscrew on the magnet.
• It uninstalls just as quickly.
• SPEED! WOW! I could do 25 all day long on flat ground...if my battery would last that long.
• Going much above 25 required a torque at the cranks that I could achieve but not sustain for very long.
• Having an inaccurate speedometer is disconcerting at best...I don't like it.
• My speed exceeds what is shown on the display by 10 mph up to 22 mph and creeps up to a 12 mph understatement in the high 20s.
• I could almost watch my 500 watt battery percentage go down.
• I haven't done a full rundown on the battery but my best guess is that there is a 30% reduction in battery range going 25 mph.
• The effective top speed with a 20 mph version is actually 19 mph. The extra 6 mph comes at a steep cost in terms of range.
• I ride the bike for fun, to get around in an eco-responsible manner and to get good daily cardio.
• With starts and stops, this box might give me another 3 mph on average.
• I am not sure I will actually use this much as the decreased range, speedo inaccuracy and reduced cardio time are prices I probably won't be willing to pay very often.
• The advantage of this one is that it can be carried along in a bag and installed in a flash when needed.

 

[Over50]

I received the Badass Box for my Cube Touring Exc with Bosch CX drive.

I had already replaced my 15 tooth chain sprocket with a 17 tooth and also replaced my 11 speed 11-42 tooth casette with a 11-46 tooth. The two tooth boost on the sprocket boosted my top gear to where I can pedal up to 29 mph with a cadence below 100. The four tooth boost on the largest ring in the new cassette gave me a super low gear.

• The box installed in less than a minute. The only tool needed was a small crescent wrench to tighten the thumbscrew on the magnet.
• It uninstalls just as quickly.
• SPEED! WOW! I could do 25 all day long on flat ground...if my battery would last that long.
• Going much above 25 required a torque at the cranks that I could achieve but not sustain for very long.
• Having an inaccurate speedometer is disconcerting at best...I don't like it.
• My speed exceeds what is shown on the display by 10 mph up to 22 mph and creeps up to a 12 mph understatement in the high 20s.
• I could almost watch my 500 watt battery percentage go down.
• I haven't done a full rundown on the battery but my best guess is that there is a 30% reduction in battery range going 25 mph.
• The effective top speed with a 20 mph version is actually 19 mph. The extra 6 mph comes at a steep cost in terms of range.
• I ride the bike for fun, to get around in an eco-responsible manner and to get good daily cardio.
• With starts and stops, this box might give me another 3 mph on average.
• I am not sure I will actually use this much as the decreased range, speedo inaccuracy and reduced cardio time are prices I probably won't be willing to pay very often.
• The advantage of this one is that it can be carried along in a bag and installed in a flash when needed.

Interesting. When you install/uninstall, do you have to adjust the magnet each time? Or is that a one time adjustment that doesn't affect the CX performance/accuracy when the box is not installed? I'd be interested in getting a few more mph on my Haibike for my commute...

 

[Over50]

Interesting. When you install/uninstall, do you have to adjust the magnet each time? Or is that a one time adjustment that doesn't affect the CX performance/accuracy when the box is not installed? I'd be interested in getting a few more mph on my Haibike for my commute...

Nevermind. Just looked at their website and I think it answered my questions.

 

[Alaskan]

Interesting. When you install/uninstall, do you have to adjust the magnet each time? Or is that a one time adjustment that doesn't affect the CX performance/accuracy when the box is not installed? I'd be interested in getting a few more mph on my Haibike for my commute...

The box comes with a thumbscrew to replace the philips set screw that secures the magnet on the spoke. It does need to be moved toward the hub about 3/8" and also turned 90 degrees so it does not contact the sensor. I cannot get the thumbscrew tight enough on the round spoke without using a small crescent wrench to tighten it. I am not sure that it can be left in the badass position and still function when the box has been removed. I'll check on that and get back.

 

[bob armani]

I received the Badass Box for my Cube Touring Exc with Bosch CX drive.

I had already replaced my 15 tooth chain sprocket with a 17 tooth and also replaced my 11 speed 11-42 tooth casette with a 11-46 tooth. The two tooth boost on the sprocket boosted my top gear to where I can pedal up to 29 mph with a cadence below 100. The four tooth boost on the largest ring in the new cassette gave me a super low gear.

• The box installed in less than a minute. The only tool needed was a small crescent wrench to tighten the thumbscrew on the magnet.
• It uninstalls just as quickly.
• SPEED! WOW! I could do 25 all day long on flat ground...if my battery would last that long.
• Going much above 25 required a torque at the cranks that I could achieve but not sustain for very long.
• Having an inaccurate speedometer is disconcerting at best...I don't like it.
• My speed exceeds what is shown on the display by 10 mph up to 22 mph and creeps up to a 12 mph understatement in the high 20s.
• I could almost watch my 500 watt battery percentage go down.
• I haven't done a full rundown on the battery but my best guess is that there is a 30% reduction in battery range going 25 mph.
• The effective top speed with a 20 mph version is actually 19 mph. The extra 6 mph comes at a steep cost in terms of range.
• I ride the bike for fun, to get around in an eco-responsible manner and to get good daily cardio.
• With starts and stops, this box might give me another 3 mph on average.
• I am not sure I will actually use this much as the decreased range, speedo inaccuracy and reduced cardio time are prices I probably won't be willing to pay very often.
• The advantage of this one is that it can be carried along in a bag and installed in a flash when needed.

I really like the Badass box design and simplicity. The website indicates that they will not ship to the USA. Are you in the US, and if so, how were you able to purchase? Thanks in advance!

 

[Over50]

I really like the Badass box design and simplicity. The website indicates that they will not ship to the USA. Are you in the US, and if so, how were you able to purchase? Thanks in advance!

Thanks for catching this. I was thinking of ordering this tonight and I didn't notice the shipping restriction.

 

[Over50]

The box comes with a thumbscrew to replace the philips set screw that secures the magnet on the spoke. It does need to be moved toward the hub about 3/8" and also turned 90 degrees so it does not contact the sensor. I cannot get the thumbscrew tight enough on the round spoke without using a small crescent wrench to tighten it. I am not sure that it can be left in the badass position and still function when the box has been removed. I'll check on that and get back.

I did think of another (probably dumb) question. I think it is clear from looking at their website and thinking through the mechanics but I just want to make sure: the odometer reading/trip distance is still accurate correct? I get the inaccuracy of the speedometer and it doesn't bother me because I'll use my Lezyne GPS watch with its handlebar mount for correct speed. But I would prefer to keep the bike's odometer accurate ...

 

[Johnny]

I did think of another (probably dumb) question. I think it is clear from looking at their website and thinking through the mechanics but I just want to make sure: the odometer reading/trip distance is still accurate correct? I get the inaccuracy of the speedometer and it doesn't bother me because I'll use my Lezyne GPS watch with its handlebar mount for correct speed. But I would prefer to keep the bike's odometer accurate ...

No it will not be correct, the speed sensor input is halved so the odometer will also increase by half, trip distance is also halved.

 

[Johnny]

I received the Badass Box for my Cube Touring Exc with Bosch CX drive.

I had already replaced my 15 tooth chain sprocket with a 17 tooth and also replaced my 11 speed 11-42 tooth casette with a 11-46 tooth. The two tooth boost on the sprocket boosted my top gear to where I can pedal up to 29 mph with a cadence below 100. The four tooth boost on the largest ring in the new cassette gave me a super low gear.

• The box installed in less than a minute. The only tool needed was a small crescent wrench to tighten the thumbscrew on the magnet.
• It uninstalls just as quickly.
• SPEED! WOW! I could do 25 all day long on flat ground...if my battery would last that long.
• Going much above 25 required a torque at the cranks that I could achieve but not sustain for very long.
• Having an inaccurate speedometer is disconcerting at best...I don't like it.
• My speed exceeds what is shown on the display by 10 mph up to 22 mph and creeps up to a 12 mph understatement in the high 20s.
• I could almost watch my 500 watt battery percentage go down.
• I haven't done a full rundown on the battery but my best guess is that there is a 30% reduction in battery range going 25 mph.
• The effective top speed with a 20 mph version is actually 19 mph. The extra 6 mph comes at a steep cost in terms of range.
• I ride the bike for fun, to get around in an eco-responsible manner and to get good daily cardio.
• With starts and stops, this box might give me another 3 mph on average.
• I am not sure I will actually use this much as the decreased range, speedo inaccuracy and reduced cardio time are prices I probably won't be willing to pay very often.
• The advantage of this one is that it can be carried along in a bag and installed in a flash when needed.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

I think seeing reduced range with 25mph + speeds is very much expected and I am sure you would see very similar range with the speed version of this motor (which is 28mph to begin with).

As for exercise, if you stay in ECO you still get a very good exercise although keeping 25mph on flats will be harder but then again without motor assist keeping 20+mph for flats + requires a lot of effort anyways.

 

[markpnb]

I have now installed the Bikespeed RS on two Bosch performance cx bikes and it works perfectly. A 2016 Haibike and a 2018 Riese and Müller Delite with Shimano Di2. I highly recommend this product as it works when others don’t, a shop tried a speedbox and it didn’t work with the di2. You need the crank pulling tool and the Bosch chainring cover removal tool. You follow the directions to take the engine cover off and plug in the device. So anyway there’s no speed cutout at all. Speed is accurate while riding, the only weirdness reported by more than myself is you can sometimes get an over optimistic top speed recorded. The Haibike has an 18 tooth front and 10-50 SRAM X01 letting me climb up to 20% grades but pedal up to 40mph with a high cadence on the flat. The R&M Delite has a 20 tooth front and an 11-42 rear for mainly street riding/commuting. Good for 42mph at the same cadence on the flat.

 

[Velome]

I have now installed the Bikespeed RS on two Bosch performance cx bikes and it works perfectly. A 2016 Haibike and a 2018 Riese and Müller Delite with Shimano Di2. I highly recommend this product as it works when others don’t, a shop tried a speedbox and it didn’t work with the di2. You need the crank pulling tool and the Bosch chainring cover removal tool. You follow the directions to take the engine cover off and plug in the device. So anyway there’s no speed cutout at all. Speed is accurate while riding, the only weirdness reported by more than myself is you can sometimes get an over optimistic top speed recorded. The Haibike has an 18 tooth front and 10-50 SRAM X01 letting me climb up to 20% grades but pedal up to 40mph with a high cadence on the flat. The R&M Delite has a 20 tooth front and an 11-42 rear for mainly street riding/commuting. Good for 42mph at the same cadence on the flat.

How does the using the assist levels to activate or deactivate the Bikespeed RS work?

 

[markpnb]

How does the using the assist levels to activate or deactivate the Bikespeed RS work?

There are two options when buying the Bikespeed RS. The first is to buy the standard, the second is to buy the custom. When you buy the standard, it comes with the ability to deactivate the device by pressing "plus minus plus minus" (assist levels) in succession. If you do it right, the battery indicator flashes all of its battery sections to show you that it turned off. You then can do it again to activate it "plus minus plus minus" and again the battery indicator will flash but in reverse. When you buy the custom, you can specify when you order the unit which buttons to press in any order to activate it or deactivate it. So you could say plus plus plus minus or whatever. There are other options you can choose when buying the custom, like the default behaviour when the bike is turned off, keep what setting it had (keep it on), or reset it and turn it of each time. The choices are made on order, you cant change the unit when you get it. The main thing to consider when setting your choice of buttons to activate it or deactivate is you want the button combination to NOT resemble normal riding. for example, going from off through eco tour sport and turbo would be plus (eco) plus (tour) plus (sport) plus (turbo), so an activation combo of plus plus plus plus would be bad, because you could have just deactivated your assistance. The standard plus minus plus minus makes sense in this regard.

 

[Velome]

There are two options when buying the Bikespeed RS. The first is to buy the standard, the second is to buy the custom. When you buy the standard, it comes with the ability to deactivate the device by pressing "plus minus plus minus" (assist levels) in succession. If you do it right, the battery indicator flashes all of its battery sections to show you that it turned off. You then can do it again to activate it "plus minus plus minus" and again the battery indicator will flash but in reverse. When you buy the custom, you can specify when you order the unit which buttons to press in any order to activate it or deactivate it. So you could say plus plus plus minus or whatever. There are other options you can choose when buying the custom, like the default behaviour when the bike is turned off, keep what setting it had (keep it on), or reset it and turn it of each time. The choices are made on order, you cant change the unit when you get it. The main thing to consider when setting your choice of buttons to activate it or deactivate is you want the button combination to NOT resemble normal riding. for example, going from off through eco tour sport and turbo would be plus (eco) plus (tour) plus (sport) plus (turbo), so an activation combo of plus plus plus plus would be bad, because you could have just deactivated your assistance. The standard plus minus plus minus makes sense in this regard.

Thank you, a very thorough explanation!

 

[HammsBear]

BadAss Box can not be shipped to the USA direct from the manufacturer... but, I got mine from http://www.chefvomradweg.de/ I received it in 15 days. I suggest using PayPal. I use this on both Yamaha PW and PWX Haibikes. I also have a SpeedBox 2 and Bikespeed for Yamaha PW. My preference is the BadAss Box. I can install / remove in 20 seconds. There is nothing to turn on / off, and the ability to use the same unit on PW or PWX. It displays half speed and distance after 10 MPH, but that is not a problem to double speed reading in my head.
Bikespeed works well also. Display speed and odometer read correctly.
SpeedBox 2 must be used in kilometer mode to avoid glitches. This I find annoying.
With any of these units, don't expect to to turn your bike into a hotrod. It takes pretty hard pedaling to maintain 25 MPH.
I am having so much fun on my Haibikes! ... and the little woman can keep pace.

 

[Velome]

Yes, ebikes are such great equalizers in many circumstances!

 

[bob armani]

BadAss Box can not be shipped to the USA direct from the manufacturer... but, I got mine from http://www.chefvomradweg.de/ I received it in 15 days. I suggest using PayPal. I use this on both Yamaha PW and PWX Haibikes. I also have a SpeedBox 2 and Bikespeed for Yamaha PW. My preference is the BadAss Box. I can install / remove in 20 seconds. There is nothing to turn on / off, and the ability to use the same unit on PW or PWX. It displays half speed and distance after 10 MPH, but that is not a problem to double speed reading in my head.
Bikespeed works well also. Display speed and odometer read correctly.
SpeedBox 2 must be used in kilometer mode to avoid glitches. This I find annoying.
With any of these units, don't expect to to turn your bike into a hotrod. It takes pretty hard pedaling to maintain 25 MPH.
I am having so much fun on my Haibikes! ... and the little woman can keep pace.

HammsBear-FYI
Like your avatar! Now I cannot get the jingle from the 1970's out of my head. Brings back cool filtered memories though! LOL

 

[WalkinTarget]

So I watched two videos on the installation, and one slides the Bikespeed RS up into the skidplate, but the other one keeps it tucked into the motor enclosure. Is there a preference for its location ?