New ebike owner

[BaueruTc]

Hi all, Just bought my first e-bike yesterday and will be on these forums looking for advice etc.

Still in my youth but had a Hernia operation in my groin a few years ago and ever since then I get alot of pain when out on the bike on the hills or in strong winds. Missed the cycling so like the sound of an ebike so decided to buy one.

Nice 12 mile cycle yesterday and no pain afterwards so things are looking good.

I bought the new 2019 Giant Fathom and was very impressed with it yesterday. Picked it up from the store with 88% battery according to the app. 12 mile cycle and came home with 70% battery. Was mostly in mode 2 going upto 4 on the odd steep hill.

The 15.5 mph speed restriction is a bit low so I purchased a Badass V4 last night and looking forward to testing it out. Should be here on Saturday. Planning using the bike on a 12 mile each way trip to work so a slightly higher speed of around 20mph will be good for me and the battery should be fine range wise.

So far very impressed and looking forward to getting back out!

 

[Credible Hulk]

Welcome, and congratulations on your new ebike! Ebikes are a lot of fun to ride and great if you've got health issues (I have bad knees). 15.5 mph is pretty low, is that the max speed allowed in your jurisdiction? In my area it's 20 mph.

I'm guessing you're already familiar with the laws in your area, including where ebikes are allowed and not allowed. I live on the border of 4 different municipalities and each has different rules about where and how ebikes can be used. For example in my city I can use some kinds of bike lanes but not others. Cops can be jerks, so be careful if you disable your speed limiter.

 

[bob armani]

Hi all, Just bought my first e-bike yesterday and will be on these forums looking for advice etc.

Still in my youth but had a Hernia operation in my groin a few years ago and ever since then I get alot of pain when out on the bike on the hills or in strong winds. Missed the cycling so like the sound of an ebike so decided to buy one.

Nice 12 mile cycle yesterday and no pain afterwards so things are looking good.

I bought the new 2019 Giant Fathom and was very impressed with it yesterday. Picked it up from the store with 88% battery according to the app. 12 mile cycle and came home with 70% battery. Was mostly in mode 2 going upto 4 on the odd steep hill.

The 15.5 mph speed restriction is a bit low so I purchased a Badass V4 last night and looking forward to testing it out. Should be here on Saturday. Planning using the bike on a 12 mile each way trip to work so a slightly higher speed of around 20mph will be good for me and the battery should be fine range wise.

So far very impressed and looking forward to getting back out!

BaueruTc,

I am in the US. BadAss box V4 would have to shipped from the Czech Republic for my Haibike. Can you please report back regarding your experience with the speed delimiter? I like the idea that you can take it on/off the bike without having to install it inside the motor casing. 15.5 mph is bit too slow for any E-bike IMO. Good Luck with your new purchase.

 

[BaueruTc]

BaueruTc,

I am in the US. BadAss box V4 would have to shipped from the Czech Republic for my Haibike. Can you please report back regarding your experience with the speed delimiter? I like the idea that you can take it on/off the bike without having to install it inside the motor casing. 15.5 mph is bit too slow for any E-bike IMO. Good Luck with your new purchase.

Not a problem I will let you know how I get on with it. Should be with me later today. I live in Scotland and bought it off Amazon.co.uk and it has been shipped over from Germany. 15.5mph is slow for me also as my usual route on my old bike averaged 17-18mph and with the new bike it cuts off at 15.5mph then it's a struggle as the Giant Fathom is very heavy without assistance. It feels like the brakes are on slightly when it is disengaged. All I want is to be able to keep it in mode 2 - eco plus like I have it on now most of the time and just have that added assistance above 15.5mph. I know the battery will drain faster but it should still be more than capable for what I intend to use it with. I have been out on two of my regular routes now and have logged battery usage and speed so I will be able to compare battery usage and speeds once the Badass V4 is fitted. I also like the fact it can be unclipped quickly so if I ever decide to take her into the woods on any rugged tracks I don't have to worry about losing it as I doubt I would be going over 15.5mph in those situations.

I will keep you updated!

 

[BaueruTc]

The Badass V4 has just arrived Build quality looks good and impressed with how small it is. Also supplied with two AAA batteries. Hopefully get out on her later!

Will let you all know how I get on with it.

 

[BaueruTc]

Ok so the first results are in! Finally this is what I expected of my new eBike. First up fitting of the Badass V4, Its as simple as it seems, clipped onto the bike in under a minute and it is very secure and I highly doubt it would come off easily. There is also a small hole in the clip which is for feeding a small cable tie through and then round the bike frame. I removed the original magnet and fitted the supplied one and positioned exactly as shown in the manual. I have seen guides online which say you need to rotate it 90 degrees after fitting but it did not tell me to do this in the manual so I left it as instructed.

Next up was a ride to test. I have a road route I used to go on and I have also done this route on the new Fathom before derestricing. It is 8.88 miles. When I last did this route last week I went out on a fully charged battery and when I finished the app said I was down to 86% so that was 14% battey used for my nearly 9 mile route. This was mostly in mode 2 eco+ with the odd flick upto mode three and four on the odd steep hill.

Today after fitting the badass V4 my battery level was at 85% before i went out. When I got home the app said I was at 63% battery so it had used 22% battery whereas before when restricted it had used 14% so basically unrestricted I only used an extra 8% battery on the same route which I think is absolutely fantastic considering the assistance is now always on.

I found myself today only using mode 2 for pretty much the whole ride as you always have that assist now so you don't hit the wall which was 15.5mph, you can just pedal past it with ease. I did have a play about and used mode four and five and all i can say is they are now hilariously fast and I cant see me ever needing them unless I am tackiling some very steep hills.

With my calculations i should be able to get around 36 miles out of my battery mostly in eco+ and that should give me around a 10% buffer. I plan on using the bike now and again on my work commute which is a round trip of 22 miles so I can't see me having any issues at all with battery range.

For anyone who is frustrated with the 15.5mile restriction then this mod or the cheaper relocation of the sensor and magnet on crank is a must. I went for the badass V4 as I like the clean look.

I cant wait to get back out on the bike now as the feeling I get now is fantastic and I dont have to plod along hitting 15.5mph and having the feeling of someone putting my brakes on.

Below are a few pics of my route before and after. A couple miles of my route involve a shared walkway with pedestrians with dogs so a lot of the time I am practically stopped which brings the average speed down but you can still see the difference that it makes.

Any questions then feel free to ask me!

 

[bob armani]

The Badass V4 has just arrived Build quality looks good and impressed with how small it is. Also supplied with two AAA batteries. Hopefully get out on her later!

Will let you all know how I get on with it.

Thanks a lot for your prompt response. Look forward to seeing your documentation with your new delimiter!

 

[bob armani]

Ok so the first results are in! Finally this is what I expected of my new eBike. First up fitting of the Badass V4, Its as simple as it seems, clipped onto the bike in under a minute and it is very secure and I highly doubt it would come off easily. There is also a small hole in the clip which is for feeding a small cable tie through and then round the bike frame. I removed the original magnet and fitted the supplied one and positioned exactly as shown in the manual. I have seen guides online which say you need to rotate it 90 degrees after fitting but it did not tell me to do this in the manual so I left it as instructed.

Next up was a ride to test. I have a road route I used to go on and I have also done this route on the new Fathom before derestricing. It is 8.88 miles. When I last did this route last week I went out on a fully charged battery and when I finished the app said I was down to 86% so that was 14% battey used for my nearly 9 mile route. This was mostly in mode 2 eco+ with the odd flick upto mode three and four on the odd steep hill.

Today after fitting the badass V4 my battery level was at 85% before i went out. When I got home the app said I was at 63% battery so it had used 22% battery whereas before when restricted it had used 14% so basically unrestricted I only used an extra 8% battery on the same route which I think is absolutely fantastic considering the assistance is now always on.

I found myself today only using mode 2 for pretty much the whole ride as you always have that assist now so you don't hit the wall which was 15.5mph, you can just pedal past it with ease. I did have a play about and used mode four and five and all i can say is they are now hilariously fast and I cant see me ever needing them unless I am tackiling some very steep hills.

With my calculations i should be able to get around 36 miles out of my battery mostly in eco+ and that should give me around a 10% buffer. I plan on using the bike now and again on my work commute which is a round trip of 22 miles so I can't see me having any issues at all with battery range.

For anyone who is frustrated with the 15.5mile restriction then this mod or the cheaper relocation of the sensor and magnet on crank is a must. I went for the badass V4 as I like the clean look.

I cant wait to get back out on the bike now as the feeling I get now is fantastic and I dont have to plod along hitting 15.5mph and having the feeling of someone putting my brakes on.

Below are a few pics of my route before and after. A couple miles of my route involve a shared walkway with pedestrians with dogs so a lot of the time I am practically stopped which brings the average speed down but you can still see the difference that it makes.

Any questions then feel free to ask me!

Great stats. Thanks for sharing. Only using an extra 8% of battery getting to higher speeds is awesome. You are right where you need to be with your commute. Your travel times to work will increase dramatically. Hitting that speed wall takes a lot of the fun out of the ride. Now you are like an eagle with his wings spread wide open during flight! LOL. I like the concept and it does look like a clean mount indeed. I have also read that Badass cuts your speed in half on your UI. Is that actually true with your recent experience? Your Giant looks like a well made machine. Looks like you have plus tires on your bike. Do you like the feel on the road with them? I am new to these and have these on my new E-bike. My LBS just started carrying Giant E-bikes in their inventory. Cheers.

 

[The duke]

Ok so the first results are in! Finally this is what I expected of my new eBike. First up fitting of the Badass V4, Its as simple as it seems, clipped onto the bike in under a minute and it is very secure and I highly doubt it would come off easily. There is also a small hole in the clip which is for feeding a small cable tie through and then round the bike frame. I removed the original magnet and fitted the supplied one and positioned exactly as shown in the manual. I have seen guides online which say you need to rotate it 90 degrees after fitting but it did not tell me to do this in the manual so I left it as instructed.

Next up was a ride to test. I have a road route I used to go on and I have also done this route on the new Fathom before derestricing. It is 8.88 miles. When I last did this route last week I went out on a fully charged battery and when I finished the app said I was down to 86% so that was 14% battey used for my nearly 9 mile route. This was mostly in mode 2 eco+ with the odd flick upto mode three and four on the odd steep hill.

Today after fitting the badass V4 my battery level was at 85% before i went out. When I got home the app said I was at 63% battery so it had used 22% battery whereas before when restricted it had used 14% so basically unrestricted I only used an extra 8% battery on the same route which I think is absolutely fantastic considering the assistance is now always on.

I found myself today only using mode 2 for pretty much the whole ride as you always have that assist now so you don't hit the wall which was 15.5mph, you can just pedal past it with ease. I did have a play about and used mode four and five and all i can say is they are now hilariously fast and I cant see me ever needing them unless I am tackiling some very steep hills.

With my calculations i should be able to get around 36 miles out of my battery mostly in eco+ and that should give me around a 10% buffer. I plan on using the bike now and again on my work commute which is a round trip of 22 miles so I can't see me having any issues at all with battery range.

For anyone who is frustrated with the 15.5mile restriction then this mod or the cheaper relocation of the sensor and magnet on crank is a must. I went for the badass V4 as I like the clean look.

I cant wait to get back out on the bike now as the feeling I get now is fantastic and I dont have to plod along hitting 15.5mph and having the feeling of someone putting my brakes on.

Below are a few pics of my route before and after. A couple miles of my route involve a shared walkway with pedestrians with dogs so a lot of the time I am practically stopped which brings the average speed down but you can still see the difference that it makes.

Any questions then feel free to ask me!

Hi Baueru. You said you used up an extra 8% battery with the Badass installed but you didn't compare the differences in your average speed.

If you were previously traveling an average of 14mph and then installed the Badass and increased that to only 16mph, but used an additional 8% of your battery, that would be troublesome.

How did your bike handle the hills? Did you find that in spite of it being ABLE to hit higher speeds, it lacked torque to do so on the uphills? Or were you able to increase assistance level and keep a 20mph+ speed on incline?

Last question, have you noticed any additional heat with the motor? I always worry that an etune will cause me to burn our my motor, then the manufacturer will just KNOW what i did and not cover any replacement parts

 

[The duke]

Oh yeah, Baueru....where did you buy the Badass V4? Are you here in the states? Mind sharing how much it cost? Im thinking ill need to pay a big premium or travel overseas to get mine. Would be great if there were a brick and mortar dealer of these somewhere!

 

[bob armani]

Oh yeah, Baueru....where did you buy the Badass V4? Are you here in the states? Mind sharing how much it cost? Im thinking ill need to pay a big premium or travel overseas to get mine. Would be great if there were a brick and mortar dealer of these somewhere!

After my own research, the BadAss V4 and others can only be purchased overseas from a company in Australia that will ship to the USA. Delivery is also pretty reasonable from this location.

 

[BaueruTc]

Oh yeah, Baueru....where did you buy the Badass V4? Are you here in the states? Mind sharing how much it cost? Im thinking ill need to pay a big premium or travel overseas to get mine. Would be great if there were a brick and mortar dealer of these somewhere!

I live in the UK- Scotland. Bought it off Amazon and it was shipped from Germany. Cost was £149 when I purchased mine but its now selling for £135

Hi Baueru. You said you used up an extra 8% battery with the Badass installed but you didn't compare the differences in your average speed.

If you were previously traveling an average of 14mph and then installed the Badass and increased that to only 16mph, but used an additional 8% of your battery, that would be troublesome.

How did your bike handle the hills? Did you find that in spite of it being ABLE to hit higher speeds, it lacked torque to do so on the uphills? Or were you able to increase assistance level and keep a 20mph+ speed on incline?

Last question, have you noticed any additional heat with the motor? I always worry that an etune will cause me to burn our my motor, then the manufacturer will just KNOW what i did and not cover any replacement parts

Sorry it has been a while since replying to this thread.


I have been out on the bike a fair few times now and have had no issues with the Badass connected. A few weeks back I took it out to my local woodlands to put her through her paces. The woodland is pretty flat but very rough terrain. I did a loop of the woods with the badass V4 fitted along with a fully charged battery. In total my route was 25.42 miles mostly in-between mode two and three. I still had 22% battery range left when I got home. Average speed over it was 11.0mph topping out at 20mph max which is expected considering the terrain so I could have left the badass at home as its not needed till you hit 15.5mph

With regards to the before and after using an extra 8% battery. If you look at the before ride MPH figures in the first photo of my previous post you will see I only managed to hit over 15.5 mph once or twice before going back down below 15.5mph as the bike is so heavy when the motor switches off, (It feels like the brakes are partially on). Now look at the after photo with the badass v4 fitted, As you can see most of the ride was above 15.5mph so I think an extra 8% is justified as the motor was working for most of the ride at a higher speed as it was before when it would cut out above 15.5mph so it would kick me back into the motor use as its not fun pedaling above 15.5mph when the motor cuts out. Going by before and after photos looking at the speeds I think you will see why I am more than happy with the 8% difference as it transforms the bike completely and it allows you to continue cycling above 15.5 without any issues.

The bike is also fine with the hills I have been on so far. I have yet to have need mode five for hills as mode four is more than enough for me to get up a hill fine ( i have tried it though but really not needed so far)

So far the bike has been almost fault free. Bit of an issue as the battery seems a bit loose now after my 25mile trip through the woods as it the ground is mostly rough gravel.

Also a bonus my Giant Ride Control App for Android updated last night and it no longer crashes when loading map to track a ride. Hopefully its now working for everyone else too!

I honestly do not think i will have any issues with the motor as it performed flawlessly on the 25.5 mile ride where the motor was on permanently for the entire ride