RadCity Upgrades

[MD5150]

Anyone try thy upgrade kit on a 2019 RadCity ?
Worth upgrading the battery to take full advantage ?
Thanks

 

[AHicks]

Late to the party, but I think the Bolton controller upgrade leaves you with some additional upgrade room. I put something similar to what he sells on my '17 City (before he decided to kit the same parts with plug and play wire ends), and then doubled the size of the original 750w motor to a direct drive 1500w kit motor. That made quite a difference, while using the stock battery.

Still not entirely satisfied with the 1500w performance, I installed a 1000w geared hub motor by MAC. THAT put me over the top - just what I was looking for. Not only did it have all the performance I was looking for, battery milage went from an easy 25 miles with the 1500w, to an easy 35 miles with the MAC. Dramatically increased performance, way better battery life, and all on the stock OEM battery.....

 

[TechButterfly]

Late to the party, but I think the Bolton controller upgrade leaves you with some additional upgrade room. I put something similar to what he sells on my '17 City (before he decided to kit the same parts with plug and play wire ends), and then doubled the size of the original 750w motor to a direct drive 1500w kit motor. That made quite a difference, while using the stock battery.

Still not entirely satisfied with the 1500w performance, I installed a 1000w geared hub motor by MAC. THAT put me over the top - just what I was looking for. Not only did it have all the performance I was looking for, battery milage went from an easy 25 miles with the 1500w, to an easy 35 miles with the MAC. Dramatically increased performance, way better battery life, and all on the stock OEM battery.....

Which MAC motor did you use? Were you able to use all the same components - brake disc, derailleur? Did you have to do anything special to get it to fit? Very interested in getting a geared hub for my RadCity.

 

[AHicks]

Go for it! No, they're a direct bolt in other than the wiring. No changes to the chain drive system required.

I used a MAC 12t, as I could care less about speed, preferring max available grunt at speeds under 20mph instead - which is exactly what I got. The issue with that drive now is they are like hen's teeth, nearly impossible to find. They use many of the same components used to build the GMAC's, which offer a pretty special cutting edge feature - variable regen. That coupled with a very high quality motor has them in pretty high demand. You can look further into that pretty easily if you'd like. About 1100. with all the required electonics, laced into a 26" wheel ready to go.

This MAC 12t mated directly to the KT controller conversion I had already done to install the 1500 watt direct drive. I did have to match up the wiring, which might be a daunting task for many.

What might be a good plan, is a "kit" (from Amazon or Ebay) that would feature a KT controller and a REAL 750w Bafang geared hub. Something like that would be a very easy install, and likely have all the power you would want - on par with a fully modded RAD Rover.... -Al

 

[TechButterfly]

Go for it! No, they're a direct bolt in other than the wiring. No changes to the chain drive system required.

I used a MAC 12t, as I could care less about speed, preferring max available grunt at speeds under 20mph instead - which is exactly what I got. The issue with that drive now is they are like hen's teeth, nearly impossible to find. They use many of the same components used to build the GMAC's, which offer a pretty special cutting edge feature - variable regen. That coupled with a very high quality motor has them in pretty high demand. You can look further into that pretty easily if you'd like. About 1100. with all the required electonics, laced into a 26" wheel ready to go.

This MAC 12t mated directly to the KT controller conversion I had already done to install the 1500 watt direct drive. I did have to match up the wiring, which might be a daunting task for many.

What might be a good plan, is a "kit" (from Amazon or Ebay) that would feature a KT controller and a REAL 750w Bafang geared hub. Something like that would be a very easy install, and likely have all the power you would want - on par with a fully modded RAD Rover.... -Al

Thanks for the info on the MAC motor. I just got the Bolton 35a kit today and I'm really happy with the performance. I'll keep an eye out for the MAC 12t but for now I'm really enjoying my pumped up RadCity!

 

[AHicks]

That's a great move that won't let you down when/if you decide to go with a geared hub. Have fun!

 

[TechButterfly]

When you said "about 1100," was that a reference to how much the whole setup cost, including the electronics? Since I have the electronics, how much do you think it would cost just for the motor laced on a 26" wheel? Do you know if there are any other geared hub motors that would work? I'm not sure what all the variables/features I need to look for to make sure it would fit on the RadCity. Where's a good place to learn more about this subject?

 

[AHicks]

No, you don't have the electronics for that setup. They're specialized, specific to allow several functions on the GMAC setup to work properly. For an idea of what I'm talking about, the standard GMAC setup converts your throttle, whatever type you have, into a rear brake when the regular brakes are applied. It turns the throttle into a brake that works exactly opposite the way your throttle works. Fully applied, it will lock up the rear wheel. Quite a few other things going on as well, and all of it is fully adjustable.

 

[TechButterfly]

Ahh! Thanks for elaborating! Something for down the road then. Thanks again for all your help!