Help with upgraded Rad Rover

[czimm]

Hi All, I am new here so sorry if this is in the wrong place.

I have a 2019 Rad Rover with an Area 13 35a controller and display, along with their 52v 20ah battery. The last time I rode it was on a very steep sustained climb, with a lot of heavy extra gear and I had an issue with the motor cutting out, and I got the display error "motor position sensor fault". I turned off the display, unplugged and replugged the motor connection. and then it would work fine for a minute and then cut out again. I am guessing it either has to do with the motor overheating or just simply too much weight and asking too much of the motor.

My question is... I want to upgrade the bike to be able to ride long steep climbs while also heavily loaded with gear. will upgrading the hub motor to a 1000w help with this, or should I upgrade to mid drive motor? I read some posts about venting the motor case to help with cooling, and I would be into that but I mostly ride on dirty dusty fire roads with water crossings so I don't think venting the case would work in my scenario. any help would be appreciated.

 

[czimm]

any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Chazmo]

Sounds like a cool RadRover, @czimm . Wish I could help, but I think you’ve read what I’ve read.

I have a spare Bafang G062 (H550 series) 1000W motor (peak 2000W) which I don’t think I’ll ever need. I don’t know if it’d work with your bike, but if you have any interest let me know. It’s meant for my Juiced RipCurrent S. I’ve been very impressed with the Bafang motor. Honestly, though, I haven’t used it on any sustained climbs.

Good luck.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

My question is... I want to upgrade the bike to be able to ride long steep climbs while also heavily loaded with gear.

That's generally a job for a mid-drive motor geared low enough to keep your cadence above 70 rpm or so all the way up. This keeps motor efficiency high, thus reducing the waste heat the motor has to shed over the climb.

In all likelihood, your hub motor overheated because it lost too much efficiency as your wheel speed (and hence its shaft speed) bogged down over the course of the climb. Reduced efficiency means that more of the applied electrical power goes to motor heating and less to forward propulsion, leaving more and more of the climbing work to your legs as wheel speed continues to drop.

If the hub motor can't shed the extra heat fast enough during this vicious cycle, thermal shutdown ensues. And you risk motor damage as well.

If your target climbs are long enough and steep enough, upping the motor power rating will only delay the inevitable. You could gamble that it will be enough to get you over the top before the motor overheats. And doing this repeatedly might still shorten the life of the motor.

Or you could stop gambling with an appropriately geared mid-drive. Then the downside becomes higher drivetrain maintenance costs.

 

[Chazmo]

@Jeremy McCreary is giving you good advice, but I don’t know how easy it’d be to convert a RadRover fatty over to a mid-drive. Maybe there’s a Bafang solution that’d work. I saw the following BBS02 (modified) that might fit… https://california-ebike.com/products/california-ebike-modified-fat-bike-bbs02-motor-100mm-120mm

I think if it were me trying to upgrade the RadRover, I’d try upgrading the hub motor first. The wear on the motor will probably become fatal if you cannot get up enough speed and if you have to grind along at less than 5MPH-ish. I might even consider adding a front hub motor to assist with the climbs, but that might be just as difficult as retrofitting a mid-drive, @czimm . Not sure. Hopefully some of the more experienced DIYers will chime in.

Anyway, good luck.