New 2020 RX Owner - Comments and Questions

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Hi Everyone - I took delivery of my new RX yesterday. Assembly took about 45min or so, taking my time, it's very easy (that said I'm a fix it type guy). The outside of the box was in good condition, however unfortunately the headlight got smashed somewhere during packing or shipping. I did a quick test ride in the dark last night in 27 degree weather and what a blast going up a hill without killing myself. I was able to switch the display from KM/h to MPH and I limited the speed to 30MPH. The one nice advantage of this is the display no longer shows 1000w/1500w, but rather 750w, so it's LEGAL! LOL ;-)

I did have a question about the gears though to those more experienced. When I got the bike, the gear was in 9. I only tried PAS 0 and 1 so far and when I got back, it said to always start in low gears like 1,2,3 to save wear on the drive train. I'm sure I didn't cause any issues in the 5 min of light use I did last night, but going forward, is this a big deal if only using PAS 1 for example? When I did switch to lower gears like 1, I'd so it was TOO easy to pedal.

I'll get a better feel for it this afternoon and report back, but just curious if someone could provide more detail on the gears and drive train and what is the real issue here.

Thanks!

 

[AHicks]

You say you're a "fix it type guy" so I think you'll be (REALLY) interested in knowing that the motor's built in controller is completely programmable. Down side is there's a lot to it!

That PAS 1 issue, where it takes no effort to pedal (called ghost pedaling by many), was one of my early issues as well. That and I didn't care for how aggressive the throttle was when just getting the bike moving from a stop. Sooooo, I decided to learn enough about the programming to FIX it! It took a bit of reading, but I found taming the bike down to what I now consider a pretty tame ride that I just love pretty easy. You don't need to change/modify the whole thing. You can change just those 2 things if you like....

The first thing you're going to find when looking into it, is that the standard Bafang controller state of tune is pretty easy to improve on.

Check this out- https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/bafang-ultra-and-bbsxx-tuning.38842/

 

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You say you're a "fix it type guy" so I think you'll be (REALLY) interested in knowing that the motor's built in controller is completely programmable. Down side is there's a lot to it!

That PAS 1 issue, where it takes no effort to pedal (called ghost pedaling by many), was one of my early issues as well. That and I didn't care for how aggressive the throttle was when just getting the bike moving from a stop. Sooooo, I decided to learn enough about the programming to FIX it! It took a bit of reading, but I found taming the bike down to what I now consider a pretty tame ride that I just love pretty easy. You don't need to change/modify the whole thing. You can change just those 2 things if you like....

The first thing you're going to find when looking into it, is that the standard Bafang controller state of tune is pretty easy to improve on.

Check this out- https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/bafang-ultra-and-bbsxx-tuning.38842/

Thanks AHicks. Yes, I've fixed every major appliance and then some in our home; refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, washer, dryer, furnace, etc....so I'm not nervous about fixing things... I actually have already read a lot of this and watched some video's on programming the Ultra motor. I'm just going to leave it alone for the time being, but I already see the throttle issue like you described after riding the bike for about an hour today...so yeah, that could use some improvement.

My initial feedback after being able to ride the bike today in the sunshine is as follows:

1. Even though it's a heavy bike, I'm surprised how easy it is to ride the bike without the power turned on or when in PAS 0. It's totally do-able. I may do that more often and just keep the PAS 1-5 for when I've ventured too far and need some help getting back home.

2. The bike is quite the upgrade from my 25 year old Trek mountain bike with no suspension at all. I took it on paved roads, grass, gravel and some dirt trails with moderate bumps, etc. and it was quite fun and easy to ride.

3. I really like the display, it's very readable in direct sunlight.

4. The battery I found hard to remove, but I finally got it out....I'm guessing it will get easier over time, especially now that I know how it comes out of the frame.

5. I'm glad I went with the RX and not the fat tires, I find the tires on the RX plenty large enough and quite the upgrade from my Trek's 26x1.75" tires.

6. I had test driven a Trek Verve 2+ a month ago, that was my first ebike that I tried. I did lots of research and went with this model. I find the PAS very smooth and natural.

7. I really had fun riding the bike and I think it's just what I needed to get some exercise and relaxation.

 

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As an update, I did speak to Rize, they asked for some photos and after I sent them, they said they'll be sending me out a new headlight, so that's pending. The light does actually light up, but the lens got smashed to pieces as you can tell from the picture earlier.

I did a quick 2 mile ride yesterday without any power, PAS 0 mode. I stayed on the road, but went up and down hills, just riding the bike like a normal bike using the gears and I'm really happy with how it performed. Again, it's totally rideable without the motor going at all....for me anyway. It's nice to know the motor is there though if I need it.

The next few days it's getting warmer here (50's), so I'll be giving it more of a test with some longer rides.

 

[UpAndDown]

Hi Inline, could you give us an update? Reliability, better range observation, perhaps some off-road experience. Thanks!

 

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Sorry I haven't updated, I've been too busy riding the bike! I've been riding everyday since I got it, unless it was raining out. At this point, I've put over 100 US miles on the bike and a few things to note:

1. I highly recommend (as others had mentioned) to check and tighten bolts on the bike after a few miles and then maybe every 25 to 50 miles or so. I had my handlebar bolts tightened but around the 75 mile mark I was doing some offroad downhill and felt the handlebars turn downward. No injuries as it was still fine to ride, but if I exerted a good amount of pressure I could move the handlebars (no risk of coming off though). When I got home to adjust that I also found the kickstand bolts were getting loose. So check periodically all those bolts to make sure everything is tight. I also cleaned and lubricated the chain at the 100 mile marker.

2. I did receive the replacement headlight from Rize, but haven't installed it yet. Not clear on the wiring part yet. I could easily cut/solder/heatshrink but as I'm in no rush, just waiting for some better weather to take more of the bike apart to see how the wiring is setup to do it more properly and to better understand the internals as this interests me anyway.

3. I like the larger 19.2aH battery in that I can get many rides in without having to charge the battery. So far I've only done 1 full charge and the partial charge from when I first got the bike. I've also been riding in cold weather 30's and 40's Fahrenheit.

4. I ride 85% street and 15% off road, I'm happy with performance in both areas. That said I'm not doing any extreme mountain biking and there doesn't exist any trails near me to do so. That said, I've done some dirt trails here and there and also gone up some grassy hills that I would have found impossible on a normal bike (one of which was a sledding hill) and the bike gives me super human strength...it's totally awesome.

5. The instructions that came with the bike said fill the tires to 30psi, I found 34 to 35 psi to be better personally.

6. No reliability issues.

7. I did notice that the rear fender is slightly pushed to the left. I've tried adjusting a little bit to no luck, but it was also cold out and didn't feel like freezing. I played with it enough to get an idea of what's going on and will work on it during warmer weather. Not sure if a factory screwup or shipping, but again, not the end of the world, I'll fix it.

8. The motor makes more noise than I like, but listening to other video's it seems it's normal. It's not super loud, but it's not stealth quiet either, but considering it has steel gears, I understand and it's an acceptable trade-off for durability/reliability. It's not a deal breaker, just wish it were a tad bit more quiet. Maybe at some point I'll open gear box and make sure everything is lubricated like it should be....

9. I very much enjoy riding the bike, especially when having to go up hills, it really makes for a super biking experience.

 

[UpAndDown]

Super helpful! Thank you so much!

I just finished a wiring project involving thin wires. This no-solder method is great!

 

[Bubba zanetti]

Question for the faithful... how much slime did you put in your RX tubes? I have the 27.5 tires.

 

[AHicks]

You could use 4oz and keep an eye on the pressure for a while. If it drops, add a couple more oz's. Or- just put 6 in it to start with. That should be plenty.

 

[Bubba zanetti]

Thanks. .... oz to ml ...

 

[AHicks]

Google is your friend!
convert 4 oz to ml = 118.494ml
convert 6 oz to ml = 177.441ml