Radrover.. Canada 500W Vs USA 750W Geared Motor.

[Rick badgolfer]

Just read your post about cycling in Europe. I’m doing similar one July 2020 but it’s one way and we end in Budapest. I love cycling in Europe and have done a few tours.
Sorry to others that my comments are not related to original theme.

One way makes more sense, less time traveling, more time on bike. Otherwise we had a great trip. Bikes not great, but adequate. Will be warm...we had cool and rain at times. Don't be afraid to cycle in Budapest and Vienna if part of trip....lots of great bike lanes. Tour will try to upsell you some tourist excursions. Some good some bad....all expensive. Enjoy

 

[AHicks]

Based on what exactly?
Their site shows the same basic controllers that come with other ebikes - do they do something special?

Also, any idea why there are so many 'sold out' items? They can't get parts? Or things are discontinued?

I tried to post a question but the widget failed.

Not impressed.

Regarding based on what exactly- my opinion, which may not match Felix's,

They could exist, but I'm not aware of any production bikes that come equipped with the KT brand controllers Bolton is using. You can buy them yourself on the aftermarket, but the ones Bolton is selling come with plug and play connections designed to plug directly into the OEM Rad connectors for brain dead plug and play. Pretty sure he's the only offering anything like that.

Bolton's business is a small one. I don't know it for fact, but my guess is he's a one man show. I'm pretty sure he would rather be facing a sold out status than paying rent on a warehouse stuffed with stock he's not sure is going to sell. In my opinion, this is no different from Rad themselves, who are very often running out of just about everything.....

 

[Browneye]

I was actually looking for something technical to back up the statement, "...upgraded controller, cheap and worthwhile..."
Like, what is 'upgraded', what is different, how it is it better, why do you need it?

Why is a guy like 'Bolton Bikes' offering an alternate controller for RadPower bikes? Is there something wrong or missing with them? Who is he in relation to RadPower and why is he reselling chinese controllers?

Which also brings to mind my own Bafang hub conversion, and whether there is something lacking in the controller provided.

I'm not trying to nitpick, or even pick a fight - just genuinely curious about what's behind the claims.

 

[AHicks]

Browneye, you need to keep reading. There's a LOT to this. Bolton's kit is taking care of a lot of the shortcomings many RAD owners complain about. He is not associated with RAD in any way. I would guess RAD would like to see him go away.... He started in this offering much the same for Pedegro owners, and became pretty popular there.

As far as "upgraded", stuff that come to mind here-

The KT controller is able to control and feed the motor significantly more amperage than the OEM controller. There's nothing held in reserve. You get what the battery has to offer.

There is no locked in "soft start" that dulls the stock Rad motor performance. When you tell a KT equipped bike to go, it does just that, right now. No delay waiting for power build up. This leads to a much more spirited bike. There's none of that accelerating uncontrollably at low speeds either. Your cadence will determine your speed. Not like an on or off set up you hear about on some bikes. You want to go 5mph in PAS 1? Go for it. You want to go 12mph in PAS 1, start pedaling!

As far as that goes, nothing is locked down. You're the boss.....

Many settings (parameters) are able to be set by the owner. An example might be where you want to control the max amperage you want the motor to see.

Another example might be how much voltage you want available in PAS

What level do you want the PAS to be in when the bike is powered up?

Do you want the throttle hot when the bike is powered up, or do you want to wait until the bike is moving?

This is all in addition to what size wheels you are running, the max speed you want the bike to run, American calibration or metric, and the rest of the "usual" stuff.

There's cruise control available at anything over about 7 mph, and regen w/levels that you can set. There's more I'm sure. That's just what comes to mind.

As far as going out and sourcing your own KT display and controller, then matching it's wiring to the Rad on your own, that's what I did, and I'm no rocket scientist. I did go with a "kit" that came with the controller and the display, along with the brake handles. This minimized the wiring difficulty as all that stuff came matched. All I had to do was match the battery (easy) and the motor (not too bad).

I would caution though, that not all KT 35a controllers are the same. You need to be pretty careful to get what you think you are getting. Don't assume for instance, that the controller will have regen, cruise, or be set up for lighting for instance. You have to confirm the controller you're looking at has every feature you're looking for. This is not for the faint of heart.....

And no, the RAD display is not compatible with a KT controller. I found that out the hard way early on. Didn't realize it was totally different. -Al

 

[Browneye]

Thanks guys - that makes sense.
I don't have a rad power, but my buddy has a couple of them and he may not have gotten what he thought he got with them.

Surely some of this will make more sense as I learn about what makes ebikes go.

 

[AHicks]

A lot of people are very happy with their RAD as is. I do not mean to infer they are inferior in any way. They are set up for the mainstream rider, and because you are really limited in what you can change (that soft start for instance), many become interested in their options. Bolton's is one of them. Just like a better seat......

 

[Browneye]

Wow! If you're not impressed don't buy one. Your knowledge of ebike fundamentals is obviously very limited. I'm sure enjoying mine and so are a lot of others from what I see posted on the forum. Good luck.

I wasn't impressed with the bolton bikes site - tried to ask a question and their widget failed, and he was 'sold out' on many items listed.

Don't buy one of what? A controller or a rad power bike?
As I said, I was more curious as to the claim made, and how it might apply to my conversion. Not trying to rain on your parade if that's what you thought.
And yes, brand new at it all, but I catch on fast. We all have to start somewhere, right? And this is the place to ask questions?

 

[Rick badgolfer]

Just to add a little note here...have had ebike 6 months, 800 plus miles. Intent on purchasing a fat bike style ebike. Know nothing in reality about controllers, amps, wattage, heat etc. This is the place to learn and take advantage of others experience and knowledge. We “newbies”, are super greatful. Thanks for answering our questions. I’ve learned a ton and hope to learn more Cheers, Rick

 

[AHicks]

Rick, that's how I justify the time I put into these answers. Paying it forward. Nothing more, nothing less. If I can save anyone from making my early mistakes by sharing, it's a done deal. -Al

 

[Rick badgolfer]

Thanks Al

 

[Browneye]

I tried to help the fellow out, I made a suggestion, so have others, he seems to ignore any advice. I don't have patience if someone can't be bothered to watch any of Bolton's or the hundreds of other videos explaining what a controller is and how it works. It's about as simple as it gets if someone has a serious desire to learn. There's a long thread about Bolton's kit right here in the Rad section. Anyone using the Bolton kit that I know of is happy with it, it's a great investment. The OP is more concerned about some issue with Bolton's website. lol

Quoted for posterity.
I have no patience either and I'm a complete idiot. LOL
It's the bike forum.

 

[AHicks]

When it comes to ebikes and the electronics involved to run them, anyone that's serious about knowing more is going to be (or should be planning on) spending some pretty serious time researching. There's a lot of pieces in play, all co-dependant on each other. So many variables! For those of us that are not rocket scientists, or electrical engineers, it takes a bit to get your head wrapped around it.

One piece I found particularly useful is a spreadsheet kinda thing done by Grin technologies. It's been proven fairly accurate aver and over again with the predictions it's set up for. It's not REAL simple either, but a little messing with it can get you familiar pretty quickly. Then you can start plugging in some different variables (amperage, or load for instance) to start making some sense of different things you'll see discussed.

It should open to the set of variables I use for my MAC 12t equipped Rad City w/KT controller and display. -Al

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