New Bulls Firmware...I have an announcement!

[pxpaulx]

Went out for a ride today with a friend - I loaned him my Bulls FS3 27.5 while I rode my new easy motion 27.5 plus pro. Being the owner of the bike, and having read the manual like a good owner, I know there are 3 levels of assist. I'd never click up again if I knew I were in level 3! Here it is in black and white:



Well, my friend clicked up by mistake. I'll have to buy him a beer:



Yes, that there is a 100% verified 4th bar level, complete with the corresponding power increase!

Has anyone else made this discovery? @Ravi Kempaiah did you know about this one yet?

It is definitely more powerful, as noticeable as going from level 2 to 3, I'd say probably 30-40% increase over the previous max level 3 or 20-30% more than the current level 3 which I felt was improved with the firmware already.

 

[Kelly @ CitrusCycles.ca]

Went out for a ride today with a friend - I loaned him my Bulls FS3 27.5 while I rode my new easy motion 27.5 plus pro. Being the owner of the bike, and having read the manual like a good owner, I know there are 3 levels of assist. I'd never click up again if I knew I were in level 3! Here it is in black and white:

View attachment 16643

Well, my friend clicked up by mistake. I'll have to buy him a beer:

View attachment 16644

Yes, that there is a 100% verified 4th bar level, complete with the corresponding power increase!

Has anyone else made this discovery? @Ravi Kempaiah did you know about this one yet?

It is definitely more powerful, as noticeable as going from level 2 to 3, I'd say probably 30-40% increase over the previous max level 3 or 20-30% more than the current level 3 which I felt was improved with the firmware already.

Yes, a firmware update for Bulls Brose eBikes came out a few weeks ago and has made a huge difference. Dealers can now control the amount of assistance at each level, which is great if you aren't happy with the default levels. There were a few other updates as well, but adding the 4th level was the biggest and makes a big difference. Bulls probably hasn't had a chance to update their website or documentation yet (and I better check to see if we have!)

 

[Mikey]

How much did it cost for the flash? Kinda cruddy since I just bought this bike a few weeks ago.

 

[Kelly @ CitrusCycles.ca]

How much did it cost for the flash? Kinda cruddy since I just bought this bike a few weeks ago.

We generally provide firmware updates free to our customers, but some dealers may charge a fee to help offset their costs. If you purchased it a few weeks ago, I'm surprised it didn't come with this update.

 

[Mikey]

I bought it on April 19th. I'll contact Motostrano and see what they say, thanks.

 

[pxpaulx]

I drove to lenny's a couple weeks ago to get another bike, brought my bulls along to get the update while I was visiting the store.

 

[Robie]

Thanks for the update on Bulls new firmware release.

 

[bob armani]

Went out for a ride today with a friend - I loaned him my Bulls FS3 27.5 while I rode my new easy motion 27.5 plus pro. Being the owner of the bike, and having read the manual like a good owner, I know there are 3 levels of assist. I'd never click up again if I knew I were in level 3! Here it is in black and white:

View attachment 16643

Well, my friend clicked up by mistake. I'll have to buy him a beer:

View attachment 16644

Yes, that there is a 100% verified 4th bar level, complete with the corresponding power increase!

Has anyone else made this discovery? @Ravi Kempaiah did you know about this one yet?

It is definitely more powerful, as noticeable as going from level 2 to 3, I'd say probably 30-40% increase over the previous max level 3 or 20-30% more than the current level 3 which I felt was improved with the firmware already.

Paul-Glad to see Brose' cam through with a very satisfying increase in power. I hope Goodair is watching so he can perhaps get the same results. I see the 2018 models have the 4th level of assist ready to go. This is a big game changer for new potential customers if the motor response is as good as you have indicated.
Good for you dude! Now your legs are really feeling bionic! LOL

 

[RoadWrinkle]

Brose' cam through with a very satisfying increase in power.

The FS3 29 I have had the power issues with was delivered on April 22 and it had four power assist levels and presumably the latest flash; so unless there has been a new update since late April (or Motostrano shipped it without the latest update) the power issues were not fixed for me by the firmware changes.

 

[imaputz]

This firmware update is only for Bulls Brose motors right? How about their Bosch motors?

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Went out for a ride today with a friend - I loaned him my Bulls FS3 27.5 while I rode my new easy motion 27.5 plus pro. Being the owner of the bike, and having read the manual like a good owner, I know there are 3 levels of assist. I'd never click up again if I knew I were in level 3! Here it is in black and white:

View attachment 16643

Well, my friend clicked up by mistake. I'll have to buy him a beer:

View attachment 16644

Yes, that there is a 100% verified 4th bar level, complete with the corresponding power increase!

Has anyone else made this discovery? @Ravi Kempaiah did you know about this one yet?

It is definitely more powerful, as noticeable as going from level 2 to 3, I'd say probably 30-40% increase over the previous max level 3 or 20-30% more than the current level 3 which I felt was improved with the firmware already.

Yes. It's very nifty addition to the system. Having more gradation in the assist levels make it easier to pick the right amount of assist.
As Kelly mentioned, if you want more torque off the line, that can also be set via the Diagnostic portal. You can play with the setting and really dial it for your purpose (commute Vs MTB'ing).
I don't have much saddle time on the Brose system with updated software but I do notice it's positive addition for sure

 

[PaulGee]

Yes. It's very nifty addition to the system. Having more gradation in the assist levels make it easier to pick the right amount of assist.
As Kelly mentioned, if you want more torque off the line, that can also be set via the Diagnostic portal. You can play with the setting and really dial it for your purpose (commute Vs MTB'ing).
I don't have much saddle time on the Brose system with updated software but I do notice it's positive addition for sure

Ravi - To the best of your knowledge does this update actually increase the available power or just redistributes the power among the four levels of assist? Just curious if the fourth level is an actual boost compared to previous performance, that is it doesn't incrementally cut back on power delivery of the lower levels.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Ravi - To the best of your knowledge does this update actually increase the available power or just redistributes the power among the four levels of assist? Just curious if the fourth level is an actual boost compared to previous performance, that is it doesn't incrementally cut back on power delivery of the lower levels.

@PaulGee ,
Unless the motor armature is changed, it's not possible to boost the power output of a motor for a set voltage. There are some tricks though.
What this update does is, up the operating efficiency of the Brose motor by roughly 3-4%. Also, the way motor responds has been changed via the firmware and as a result, it feels a tad zippy. It's minor though.
So, in short, the maximum power output remains constant but the 4th level does unlock some reserved power from the system.

 

[Mark Galloway]

I bought my bull from Motostrano 6 months ago, the update the software for free. I am getting better range it seems the power in the highest setting fills the same. I have about 400 miles on the bike now and the motor is making a lot of noise now. Is any one else having this problem

 

[PaulGee]

I bought my bull from Motostrano 6 months ago, the update the software for free. I am getting better range it


seems the power in the highest setting fills the same. I have about 400 miles on the bike now and the motor is making a lot of noise now. Is any one else having this
problem

Mark - did you find out yet what the problem is with the motor? I doubt it had anything to do with the update ...but what do I know. I have read in earlier models that some have had motor noise issues ...worth checking out while still under warranty. Good luck.

 

[Mark Galloway]

No the upgrade had nothing to do with it. The noise started before I updated the software.

 

[JamesT]

Hi! I purchased a 2017 BULLS ESTREAM EVO 45 FS 27 28MPH in April from Crazy Lennys. Has a new firmware been made available for this bike?
Mine feels a bit under powered in the torgue department.
Is there anyone here in NYC or a local bike store that might be able to perform the task?

 

[PaulGee]

@PaulGee ,
Unless the motor armature is changed, it's not possible to boost the power output of a motor for a set voltage. There are some tricks though.
What this update does is, up the operating efficiency of the Brose motor by roughly 3-4%. Also, the way motor responds has been changed via the firmware and as a result, it feels a tad zippy. It's minor though.
So, in short, the maximum power output remains constant but the 4th level does unlock some reserved power from the system.

Ravi - Thanks for the above explanation. I have another related question that I hope you may be able to shed some light on. Bulls in the US specs their Brose s-pedelecs at 350W (28 mph bikes) while the same bikes with the same motor are rated at 250W in their european specs. I supppose that this is more of a marketing ploy and that the motors are identical (i.e., have the same armature - power/torque) and only the firmware is different to increase the cut off point and/or alter the power assist profile. Do you know if this is true? If so, will the recent update result in the same operating efficiency gain for the s-pedelec models compared to the 20 mph models?

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Ravi - Thanks for the above explanation. I have another related question that I hope you may be able to shed some light on. Bulls in the US specs their Brose s-pedelecs at 350W (28 mph bikes) while the same bikes with the same motor are rated at 250W in their european specs. I supppose that this is more of a marketing ploy and that the motors are identical (i.e., have the same armature - power/torque) and only the firmware is different to increase the cut off point and/or alter the power assist profile. Do you know if this is true? If so, will the recent update result in the same operating efficiency gain for the s-pedelec models compared to the 20 mph models?

Hi Paul,

I apologize, I was not clear in my earlier response.

First, the difference b/w 250W Brose and 350W Brose is, the former is limited to 20mph.

Second, the controller current on the 350W/28mph Brose system is higher than the 250W. I was told 15A in 20mph and 20A in the 28mph (I discussed this with BULLS tech but I don't have a written source to share with you).
If everything is the same, it won't make sense how the same motor achieves higher speed at the same voltage/current values.

As for the firmware update: For a given set of voltage/current, the power output of motor is set by its copper mass/armature. But, this software update is basically updating the brain (controller of the bike).
The controller is built into the motor and with this update, it does change how the controller operates for different input voltage (dictated by pedal torque).

 

[Mikey]

Been wondering this myself. They prob kept the same motor and changed the controller to handle more power. I'm just guessing.