My 2015 EVO Street Has Arrived!

[J.R.]

Just back from 12 mi. 91 degrees with humidity. I bonked even on the highest level of assist, and even that level felt sluggish today too, (yes, I started with a full battery).

Discovered something interesting (and potentially troubling). I decided to only use throttle to see how the bike would do on a moderate (4% grade) hill. It did awful. The bike struggled to get to 11mph and was actually down to about 7 mph and going slower when I finally started pedaling to help it along. I still had 3 bars left at the point I used the throttle, so it's not like the battery was very low. If I had to depend on throttle only to get home, it would be a very slow ride. Yes, on perfectly level roads and then downhill the bike can get up to it's maximum speed of assist using throttle. On a hill, without pedaling along actively, it struggles and it does so badly.

This is not what others with these 350watt Dapu motors on their bikes report. Everyone says these 350 watt geared hubs can climb well and these geared hubs get you up a moderate hill with no difficulty. Well, not this bike and not this rider. Not without active pedaling.

I'm a big skeptic with regard to what many call "hill". When I read xx% hill I always want to know how long. One city block-long 15% grade is a bump in the road, you likely had a real hill! My bike's 500w DD wouldn't go up a real hill in the way you've described without effort on my part. A geared hub has more torque, but still...

 

[PowerMe]

According to RideWithGPS it was a 3.8% grade at that area. Now, whether that's accurate or not I have no idea.

 

[George S.]

According to RideWithGPS it was a 3.8% grade at that area. Now, whether that's accurate or not I have no idea.

That app is pretty accurate, from my experience. The Bike Computer says a 350 W motor should get you up a 5% grade around 11 mph, by itself. And almost every motor will produce more watts for hill climbing. I ride up a one mile grade every day, 4-8%, and it's easy to go 12 mph with 500 watts on the wattmeter.

I vote for something wrong. How hot is the motor after a long grade? That's the basic way to say if the motor is working hard. Could be a weak cell brings down the battery voltage to where the controller limits amps to the motor. A weak cell or two could limit range for similar reasons.

 

[stevenast]

I think it's likely a function of power to weight ratio and electric system inefficiencies caused by ambient temperature.

 

[PowerMe]

Ambient temperature, meaning when it's over 90 degrees the motor just can't keep up?

@George S. , I have no idea how hot the motor gets after riding a hill. The amount of length of a hill varies from 1/10 to 5/10 of a mile, generally. I doubt I've ridden this ebike on a hill further in distance than 3/4 mi. My terrain is rolling hills, nothing so far over 6%. PAS performs much, much better than throttle, that much I am certain of, because I'm supplying part of the power.

 

[stevenast]

Ambient temperature, meaning when it's over 90 degrees the motor just can't keep up?

@George S. , I have no idea how hot the motor gets after riding a hill. The amount of length of a hill varies from 1/10 to 5/10 of a mile, generally. I doubt I've ridden this ebike on a hill further in distance than 3/4 mi. My terrain is rolling hills, nothing so far over 6%. PAS performs much, much better than throttle, that much I am certain of, because I'm supplying part of the power.

My mistake. I see where operating over 30°C (86°F) will shorten the lifespan of a battery, but I don't find anything to show that it reduces the performance.

 

[George S.]

@PowerMe
Maybe Lenny can say something on that other issue. My calculation says you just aren't getting any power. It's not even very close to what it should be. At this point, if the motor was getting hot (get off and touch it, basically) with that low power, something could be wrong inside the motor. Otherwise, something with the controls, electronics, or battery. Tough to guess. I wish they included volt and amp meters. Much easier to see a sudden change in something.

I'm sure you'll appreciate it when it is fixed

 

[Pastabatman]

I wish they included volt and amp meters. Much easier to see a sudden change in something.

I agree, it would be very useful in the field to provide users with some rudimentary diagnostics. I wouldn't be surprised if some diagnostic mode is already implemented, but requires some secret button sequence.

 

[PowerMe]

I know one can purchase a cycle meter thingy to get accurate readings of volts and power usage (I've read about George S. using one), but it requires some technical and wiring know-how and I don't want to have to figure that out or start pulling wires on my EVO Street. I'm a girly-girl with no desire to get under the hood, so-to-speak.

 

[George S.]

I wish they just included a basic watt computer. It would tell you the watts you are using as you move along, the voltage of the battery, and how many amp hours you have taken out of the battery since you started riding. The versions on Amazon are $14, but it's a real pain to go in and set it up. The Cycle Analyst does a lot more, but it is serious $$$.

I ride with the throttle and watch the watts. I hate to go above 200 watts, except on hills. The fast bikes, the new stuff, will need 500 watts to maintain speeds. Bigger batteries must be on the way.

Lenny said they won't give you full power with the throttle on that bike, I guess. Maybe it is just for starting out. Not sure how they want you to get up a hill at a stop sign. It always helps to pedal, but a 5% grade is nothing for an ebike.

 

[PowerMe]

I agree it would be great to learn what my bike is doing in terms of wattage and get detailed information. I'm not feeling the need to throw another $150 - $250 into the bike though.

 

[J.R.]

I wish they just included a basic watt computer. It would tell you the watts you are using as you move along, the voltage of the battery, and how many amp hours you have taken out of the battery since you started riding. The versions on Amazon are $14, but it's a real pain to go in and set it up. The Cycle Analyst does a lot more, but it is serious $$$.

I ride with the throttle and watch the watts. I hate to go above 200 watts, except on hills. The fast bikes, the new stuff, will need 500 watts to maintain speeds. Bigger batteries must be on the way.

Lenny said they won't give you full power with the throttle on that bike, I guess. Maybe it is just for starting out. Not sure how they want you to get up a hill at a stop sign. It always helps to pedal, but a 5% grade is nothing for an ebike.

George,

Maybe the manufacturers don't want us to know what's really going on. If we could see the power being used we could really compare systems on test rides and some models may not test so well...

 

[Mike Smith]

Imho unless you weigh 10 lbs or less you have to use pedal assist on every hill. These are not scooters, and you can't just use the throttle to avoid hills. I've ridden numerous ebikes now and can tell you that non of them are designed to simply scoot one up a hill on throttle only. Ebikes are designed to be pedaled, and at the max assistance level most hills are relatively easy to climb although it does take some rider assistance. At the end of the day you still need to pedal on hills and to achieve maximum performance of the motor. I'm a fat guy and have to struggle up some hills on level 4 but the exercise is what I'm after and I'm not complaining. When I'm coasting down hills it feels like what's the point. Anyway I know you are having fun and I didn't mean to be a downer. Have fun!

 

[PowerMe]

LOL @ "weigh 10 lbs or less."

Yeah, I discovered that very thing about the throttle. I didn't know what the throttle could do or what its limitations were, so I tested it out and found out it does have limitations. I'm all about the pedaling too, as PAS is all I use if I use electric assist.

 

[George S.]

George,

Maybe the manufacturers don't want us to know what's really going on. If we could see the power being used we could really compare systems on test rides and some models may not test so well...

If you were reviewing a car, you would use stats like acceleration. With an ebike people might want to know a lot of stats. Will it climb a hill? How steep a hill? What will it take to get up different grades? You can do a lot with a wattmeter and the most basic temperature gauge, putting your hand on the motor. If you have a pedal assist mode, you can't determine much of anything about a motor, because you can't isolate the motor. There are simple equations that say what x watts will do on y grade, if we account for the weight. Top speed? There's a troubled area. Is it the motor, or is it a 'chip'? The watt rating of a motor? There's a garbage metric.

I have a $70 Tracfone Android. It has a very precise battery monitor, down to the 1% of battery remaining. I have a $1900 (factory) ebike and it has three LED's that light up or go out when they feel like it, mostly when I climb a steep hill.

Whatever else it represents, the lack of serious instruments, like watt meters, and the nutty (to me) insistence on pedal enhancement modes, completely fuzzes over the ebike realities. It's a bike with a motor and a battery. It's not unreasonable to ask for useful information (displays) about the motor and the battery.

 

[J.R.]

I want the gauges; watts, amps and temp and I'd pay for them. I don't think "they" want us to have them. The aftermarket will come around with affordable options when the market is big enough. In the meantime I'll have to make do with my multi-meter w/temp! It's just not convenient to use everyday, just for troubleshooting

 

[PowerMe]

Today I ordered the updated console display unit for my EVO bike. Larger font for older eyes will be a welcome change.

 

[PowerMe]

I haven't purchased anything for this ebike (including the ebike itself) from a local dealer as there is no local ebike dealer. Amazon.com !

 

[bob armani]

Nice! I actually test-rode the Evo Street and the Evo Jet today.

Pics:

http://imgur.com/guYKc2e

http://imgur.com/1JhjJwm

well apparently I don't know what I'm doing with uploading images

Hello Steven-
Those are some beautiful pics of the Evo Jet! I just received delivery of the exact same bike in a Medium just last week. The bike has changed my life in so many ways. I had a question about the performance. I too am experiencing that slight push from the motor between pausing of PAS peddling. My second ride out, I also received error codes 13 (Comm Errors) on the interface for a brief moment then it would revert back to normal display. Have you had any issues like this with your Evo Jet? I did some research on this forum, and they suggest moving the interface a bit or to re-seat the battery. Thanks!

 

[bob armani]

Congratulations on the new bike.
Looking forward to updates.
Adding a handle bar mirror was probably one of the better things to help me with safety.

Mike
Colorado, USA

Hi Mike-
I just posted a question to Stevenast. Perhaps you can give a comment or suggestion as well? Thanks in advance!