Ideal display for Watt Wagons (future feature)

[coldriderwi]

Reach goal - motor disabled if removed

This one makes me a little nervous. The implementation would need to be bulletproof. I would hate to be in a situation where the bike won’t power because of a broken/malfunctioning display.

One thanksgiving I stopped for gas in the middle of nowhere on the way to see family. Car wouldn’t start because it suddenly decided it didn’t recognize the key.

 

[opimax]

a dbl edged sword! May want/need to ride without display. if you turned on the bike with with the display can you make it removable for a minimalist or special situation?

not a biggie more like thinking out loud....

 

[AdilDesai]

I would like a removable display due to city living/riding. My preference is to use my phone/app to do everything on your list. And when I park the bike, I take my phone and that in turn immobilizes the bike (theft prevention).

 

[Ebiker33]

Visible through polarized lenses would be HIGH for me.

True, although I never said it was a priority for me, I forgot my expensive subscription BOSS sunglasses I always wear riding are polarized too, so yeah count that as important to me.
But alot of people wear some type of protective eye wear on Ebikes...at 28MPH the wind force will make your eyes water without anything, since polarized is better I imagine the class of customer buying Watt Wagons is going to have that, and being able to properly see a great display will be important.

 

[Explorer-1]

Lots of different people, lots of different use cases. Maybe something configurable like an Apple Watchface?

It should be easy to switch the odometer back and forth on the main screen between total distance and trip distance.

I would vote higher for motor/battery analytics, but proper battery analytics require a customized battery and that is not a good idea. Still you can do better than most displays with a little work.

 

[rexel1]

one thing I’d like is for the display to be detachable. I often leave my juiced ccs locked up when going into shops and always concerned that someone is going to try and break off the screen display

 

[Explorer-1]

one thing I’d like is for the display to be detachable. I often leave my juiced ccs locked up when going into shops and always concerned that someone is going to try and break off the screen display

The only problem with this is that people who don't want to take it with them are open to having the display easily stollen. It's like the double edged sword of the quick release seat post and wheels. I supposed one option would be to have a way to secure it that defeats the quick release for those that don't want to always take it with them. The other challenge is just to have it secure enough to stay on if not purposely removed.

 

[Wald]

One think that is very annoying on the DCP-18: You always have to go into the menu to reset the trip counter, which requires the use of many buttons.

My wish would be the possibility to reset the trip counter for example with a combination of two buttons pressed at once. Without the need to fiddle through menus.

 

[vincent]

personally i dont like small display like the egg rider , but am fine for using that to program

and i dont have a problem picking up an older iPhone etc to run as a display if i need to
if we could have more options using this with an app i would be fine with that

being able to read in bright sunlight would be a big plus
i want everything on the regular display and more
ANT would be cool.. i have a varia on order now

i would not mind having motor temp but not a huge deal

removing and locking the bike would be great too

 

[Wald]

Are their any news regarding the programming software that should be released end august? so the programming cable for the Archon controller could be used.

 

[mebentz2]

I'd like a feature that sets the motor assist based on target distance. If I want to do 50 miles, then I want maximum motor assistance that will get me to that 50 mile mark as fast as possible, which means ending with a near empty battery.

I'd also like to see battery health tracking. We know batteries degrade over time and it'd be nice to see what percentage of original health our batteries are in.

 

[pushkar]

Are their any news regarding the programming software that should be released end august? so the programming cable for the Archon controller could be used.

Software is done - we are testing it right now. I will have it out in the next couple of weeks. Please look out for emails from me about login IDs and passwords for the software in the next couple of weeks.
Waiting for cables - hopefully next week.

 

[pushkar]

I'd like a feature that sets the motor assist based on target distance. If I want to do 50 miles, then I want maximum motor assistance that will get me to that 50 mile mark as fast as possible, which means ending with a near empty battery.

I'd also like to see battery health tracking. We know batteries degrade over time and it'd be nice to see what percentage of original health our batteries are in.

Man.. i would love to see it too. I am working on it. The issue is that even though everyone says "we use CANbus" - they really have their own non-standard implementation of it. So sucks big time.

I am exploring partnering with a couple of swiss firms that do a lot of proprietary canbus development for EVs. Hoping that we can leverage theier expertise and marry that with the controller, bafang motor (new protocol), lezyne lights, supernova lights, smart battery (new BMS) etc etc.. create a standard ecosystem.

This will take time but that is our vision with the new controller. Give you a unified ecosystem where you can bring in any CAN enabled accesory / device / battery and the system gives you ongoing analytics, health, performance etc. Might not be today... but definitely a big one for us to keep our lead / advantage.

 

[Leon S. Kennedy]

Accurate battery voltage along with % battery should be a standard feature.

Number 4 - navigation from phone on the display - would be my preferred bonus feature.

 

[Bluzrif]

OK.. so I poured over my research and this is a good time as any to start discussion on a custom display for the Watt Wagons bikes

Here is what I have gathered so far (converted to tablular format)

Display features
1. Nicer display (colors, contrast)
2. Larger display - 3 or 4 inch
3. Some form of power output for phone charging
4. Turn by turn navigation when paired with a phone
5. Display of other analytics from the motor / controller
6. Easier way to switch between ride profiles
7. Reach goals - ability to pair with controller - disables the motor if removed from the bike.
8. Reach goals - electronic shifting display (if we are ever able to do it)
Added
9. Visible through polarized glasses

	Feature	Importance (High /Med / Low)	Available today (in our prototype)
1	Nicer Display (Colors / Contrast)	High	Yes
2	Larger Display (3+inch)	High	Yes
3	Power output for phone	High	Yes
4	Navigation when paired with phone	Med	Yes - with app
5	Motor Analytics / status	Low	No
6	Switch between ride profiles	Low	Yes
7	Reach goal - motor disabled if removed	Med	No
8	Reach goals - electronic shifting display (if we are ever able to do it)	Low	No
9	Visible through polarized lenses	Med	Not sure. Need to test
10

Technical requirements
A. Low power Bluetooth support
B. UART (current Ultra systems) and CAN (future Ultra system) compatible


I will collate your feedback and see what works.

thoughts?

Edit: Added point #9 for display features, plus current known capabilities.

Pushkar there was mention you were ill. I hope you are on the mend. Update us on the move .. And more to the point .. I think my priorities for display pretty much align with your post. Great to see the progress

 

[Bluzrif]

YES! I hate having to lower my sunglasses to view a display.

@pushkar what about the water resistance?

I think both support the overall concept of the all weather commuter .. high priorities both

 

[BillyDeeFour]

My preferences:

	Feature	Importance (High / Med / Low)
1	Nicer Display (Colors / Contrast)	High
2	Larger Dedicated Display (3+inch)	High, if displays navigation; Med, otherwise
3	Power output for phone	Med
4	Navigation when paired with phone	High, if displayed on dedicated display; Low, if using phone for display—why bother with pairing?
5	Motor Analytics / status	Low
6	Switch between ride profiles	High
7	Reach goal - motor disabled if removed	?please explain?
8	Reach goals - electronic shifting display (if we are ever able to do it)	Med
9	Visible through polarized lenses	Low

Regarding #7, do you mean motor decoupling when assistance is turned off?

I’m good with the first four features as they meet my needs. Feature 6 would be nice to have and the others would be bonus features I probably wouldn’t use.

 

[kurt_s]

Is anyone else using ANT+ sensors? I did not think I would want this but once I got gears displayed I want to see if I can use the Garmin analysis and training and what is missing is a rider power input. Not to be a nag, but more a brat; is their any thoughts on Shimano Steps and Blevo (Levo) like support on the horizon? I think they use the torque sensor from the spindle. There are some crazy expensive pedals with power meters built in with Shimano SPD clips but I don't want the expense or the clips. Sensors on the crank arms are less expensive but I cannot find ISIS three piece that will work on the Ultra supported by Stages or anyone.

@pushkar Is this along the lines of what you meant here?

5

Motor Analytics / status

Low

No

Then it gets complicated by Bluetooth Smart vs. ANT+ but I am still learning but I have ANT reading my gear position so... I like ANT+ for now.

Other than this and on topic of display, I want to cleanup my handlebar so Eggrider leveraging the phone display is how I would want to go. In fact the phone could replace the Garmin technically but that seems far off.

 

[mebentz2]

Hmmm, that would be great to see the power output of the human and a way to log it too. That would put to rest all the people that think an ebike reduces your exercise, haha

There's already a torque sensor on the crank.... That should be a simple thing to accomplish, even if it's not perfectly accurate.

 

[kurt_s]

Hmmm, that would be great to see the power output of the human and a way to log it too. That would put to rest all the people that think an ebike reduces your exercise, haha

There's already a torque sensor on the crank.... That should be a simple thing to accomplish, even if it's not perfectly accurate.

Yeah Shimano, Levo bikes and maybe others already do. I wrote a power meter big player; Stages, who pick up flex of your crank arms but I realized that is never going happen. I see people hacking road pedals to be mtb pedals but the end result is a cleated pedal which I have no interest doing on my SUV build as I have taken to calling it.