Hi There everyone, Im looking into buying a rad-mini and I want to know if I will be able to pedal past the 20mph speed limit of the motor. I had a bionx dahon formula s18 (was just stolen ;() ) that I loved because of the torque but the motor wold not let me pedal past the 20mph limit. Any one?
Motor Speed Limit on Radmini?
- Thread starter Juan_rgil
- Start date
mrgold35
Well-Known Member
I think the LCD and controller might be the same as the Radrover. You can hold and press the up/down arrows on the PAS controls and enter the set-up menu. You can use the center "Mode" button to scroll to the max speed (displayed in km/h). It should be set to 32 km/h or a touch under 20 mph for the motor cut off. You can move one km/h up at a time to 40 km/h (or a touch under 25 mph) before motor cut off.
I have mine set to 35 km/h or around 21.5-22 mph. The only drawback is the 7th gear for the Radrover pretty much is maxed out at that speed. I would need an 8th or 9th gear to pedal the Radrover comfortably +22 mph.
I increased my motor cut-off on my Radrover under the advice of tech support. My morning commute is mostly downhill on paved roads to work and I would cruise at 21-23 mph because of the incline. My motor wattage would go to "000" on the LCD; but, the PAS wouldn't engage the motor when my speed decreased even down below 14 mph. I would have to pause my pedaling for a few seconds before the motor would engage. I would have to pause peddle 15-20 times on my 25 minute commute. Setting the motor cutoff higher kept the motor engaged and the PAS working as normal (even at "000" wattage). The tech told me to set the cutoff speed to max at 40 km/h;but, everything seems to be working fine at 35 km/h. The tech also told me the system and bike can handle the higher cutoff speed and the factory 20 mph limit is just for the class II classification.
I have mine set to 35 km/h or around 21.5-22 mph. The only drawback is the 7th gear for the Radrover pretty much is maxed out at that speed. I would need an 8th or 9th gear to pedal the Radrover comfortably +22 mph.
I increased my motor cut-off on my Radrover under the advice of tech support. My morning commute is mostly downhill on paved roads to work and I would cruise at 21-23 mph because of the incline. My motor wattage would go to "000" on the LCD; but, the PAS wouldn't engage the motor when my speed decreased even down below 14 mph. I would have to pause my pedaling for a few seconds before the motor would engage. I would have to pause peddle 15-20 times on my 25 minute commute. Setting the motor cutoff higher kept the motor engaged and the PAS working as normal (even at "000" wattage). The tech told me to set the cutoff speed to max at 40 km/h;but, everything seems to be working fine at 35 km/h. The tech also told me the system and bike can handle the higher cutoff speed and the factory 20 mph limit is just for the class II classification.
Thom473
Member
Have only had my radmini a couple weeks, but in 7th gear and PA5, I can't engage the pedals at all unless I'm going up a hill. So, I don't think the controller will keep you from going faster than 20, I think the limited gear ratio will do so. BTW, 20 mph feels really fast on the radmini...Partly because you are closer to ground, partly because speed/odo is not accurately recording speed (it's set for 20 in wheels but the fat tires add about 5 inches); you are actually going about 10% faster based on GPS.
Mike Radenbaugh
Member
@Thom473 This is a great point. On my GPS with the RadMini set to a wheel size of 22 inches, I get the most accurate speed reading. The factory has started setting all the RadMini displays to 22 inches, but your bike was probably produced just before this change was put in place. Not a huge difference between the two, but I am glad you mentioned this.
Over 20 mph, you need to pedal at a faster cadence with the stock gearing in the tallest gear, but I think it is still in an acceptable range for cycling cadence. I am a masher, as are most ebikers, so there is a tendency to want tall gears on ebikes even if they are not needed.
Over 20 mph, you need to pedal at a faster cadence with the stock gearing in the tallest gear, but I think it is still in an acceptable range for cycling cadence. I am a masher, as are most ebikers, so there is a tendency to want tall gears on ebikes even if they are not needed.
Thom473
Member
This brings and interesting question to mind...Does the controller control RPM maximum using selected wheel diameter? If so, then fooling it by setting wheel diameter to 18 should allow you to actually get 25 mph out of the bike even though the display will tell you only 20. Truth to tell, I haven't actually seen 20 on the display yet. I know the factory is selling the bikes as 20 mph or less in order to keep you from having to get licensed (both bike and rider).
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