Rockstar owners

[Merle Nelson]

Great info Lightning. Good planning to have at least one chain ahead. I'm surprised it's already at 50% life but, what can you do. Some parts on some equipment are just consumables.

I'll watch Simple Pleasures videos. Thanks.

 

[Lightning 123]

I'm sure that the chain would last for a long time if it was being used less aggressively.

 

[Merle Nelson]

But...where's the fun in that?

 

[Lightning 123]

Exactly, a chain is only about 50 bucks, it was worth it, and eventually I'm going to ease up on the heavy duty riding.

 

[teskow]

Hey Lightening, how do you feel about the smoothness and or feel of the power delivery on your RS through the gears and in different PAS levels? Does the throttle integrate smoothly and well with the addition of it while under peddle power?
I read so much about some mid drive bikes feeling so natural as to hardly know they are electric and others having an unnatural and uneven power delivery. In other words does it feel like a refined power delivery system?

 

[Merle Nelson]

Great inquiry teskow. When I started realizing how long it was going to take to get a Rockstar from the time of ordering I looked around for what eMTB I could get now. (I was renting ebikes on a weekly basis.) At one point a bike shop near me thought they would have a Scott in large frame a couple of weeks later. He suggested I try their medium frame model just to see if I liked the bike. It was so smooth coming into power and dropping off power - just a pleasure to ride.

When they didn't get the large of that model in I dropped the idea of waiting months longer and orderd a Sondors MXS because I could get it in 10 days or so while I wait the months for a Rockstar. Well...it's cloddy/unrefined when it applies or stops its 750 watts of hub motor power. Fun in its way but...

I highly suspect my coming Rockstar will be about the same from what I read of others experience of the Bafang Ultra motor. Conversely in the intervening weeks I have read a lot here and watched some on youtube and see that Watt Wagons can put a different controller in a the Bafang Ultra and set its characteristics so that it functions smoothly.

 

[Merle Nelson]

Minute marker 1:20 and thereabouts sums it up.

This is the video that made me want the Watt Wagons installed controller at the minimum and then the Hydra full suspension bike once I learned more of what it offered.

 

[Lightning 123]

I think that it doesn't take very long to get
used to the way it operates and performs.
The way it delivers power seems to meet
The requirements of speed and torque
that are needed to ride it in most situations. It could have been a little
smoother in the transition of pedal assist and I wish the wattage was a little bit higher, that being said
It's working great for me.

 

[Merle Nelson]

Just to make sure it is clear if you ever wanted the performance, either power, smoothness, or battery energy conservation, of the WW installed controller you could pull your Bafang Ultra motor and send it to WW for a swap out of the controller. Maybe during winter or a down time for riding.

 

[reed scott]

Just to make sure it is clear if you ever wanted the performance, either power, smoothness, or battery energy conservation, of the WW installed controller you could pull your Bafang Ultra motor and send it to WW for a swap out of the controller. Maybe during winter or a down time for riding.

I did that. But I just ordered a new motor and then sent the other one in later for conversion. Made sense to me to have a replacement motor on the shelf.

 

[Merle Nelson]

I like "spares".

 

[Lightning 123]

So, I'm just wondering,what it would the cost for an Ultra 620 motor and then a conversion be? Because there's always room for improvement.

 

[reed scott]

So, I'm just wondering,what it would the cost for an Ultra 620 motor and then a conversion be? Because there's always room for improvement.

I don't remember. Sorry. And I haven't gotten the bill for the conversion of my old motor yet.

Unfortunately I'm in the middle of moving and all my bank paperwork is boxed up 'somewhere' AND I can't get into my bank website cause I had a password problem I haven't sorted yet.

 

[Merle Nelson]

Archon X1 controller-only upgrade for your Bafang Ultra

We are excited to offer Archon X1 controller-only upgrades for your own Bafang Ultra! After proving out the controller, and a lot of testing, we feel comfortable that this controller can be adopted across a vast majority of the Bafang Ultra bikes out there. Please read the entire description...

wattwagons.com

Looks to me like $600 for controller only to get your power but smooth.
$800 smooth and 750w upped to 2300w.
$1400 new motor with controller and power.

Rockstar may not do well with a lot more power. (Harder on chains, wearing out gears.)

 

[reed scott]

Archon X1 controller-only upgrade for your Bafang Ultra

We are excited to offer Archon X1 controller-only upgrades for your own Bafang Ultra! After proving out the controller, and a lot of testing, we feel comfortable that this controller can be adopted across a vast majority of the Bafang Ultra bikes out there. Please read the entire description...

wattwagons.com

Looks to me like $600 for controller only to get your power but smooth.
$800 smooth and 750w upped to 2300w.
$1400 new motor with controller and power.

Rockstar may not do well with a lot more power.

I would recommend no more than 1000 watts for a Rockstar. That's what I have for my Frey and my Hydra and it's plenty of power. Even with the 1000 watts I am very careful how I shift and I NEVER throttle from stop in a high gear.

 

[Lightning 123]

For that much I think I'd just go ahead and buy something that was already set up to handle the extra power. I think that
eventually there'll be an affordable power upgrade available for the Rockstar that makes sense in the future.

 

[Merle Nelson]

 

[BafangBoy]

Hello all here’s my 3 month old Rockstar

 

[Merle Nelson]

Nice. Great stand too. What do you like most about it?

Welcome to EBR.

 

[BafangBoy]

I have had my Rockstar for 3 months now. I want to share my experiences and I am hoping to get some information on upgrades.
Physically, I am 6'1", 220 lbs. I would say my bike riding experience level is medium to high, I come from motocross and street bikes as a previous hobby so I feel confident on two wheels, however I have little mountain bike experience. The Rockstar has been reliable and performs awesome in the mountain bike trails near my home in Orange County, CA. I am lucky to live near Whiting Ranch, The Luge, Aliso Bike trail, Oso Bike Trail, Ladera Ranch, Laguna, Crystal Cove, Oaks, I am in Mountain Bike heaven. The Rockstar dominates every hill in all these parks. Despite it's weight, it is an excellent piece of equipment to handle all aspects of these trials, it climbs, cross country, down hills, commutes, and kind of jumps. The suspension is the only must-upgrade item for me. I have the DNM rear shock and it's mixed out on the air pressure. I am on the highest pressure setting for a rider of 220 I think that is 150-160 psi. I cant get the sag to be 33%, the shock bottoms out when I hit jumps or drive over curbs. I would love to know of what shock I could upgrade to. The front is a little better, I can set the sag, and I don't bottom that out but it is strained I am running 125 psi up front. I would like to upgrade to a better coil over shock in the rear and a bigger shock in the front with double crowned forks (like a dirt bike set up). The dropper post is starting to move slower and slower so I will have to replace that soon. The wheels seem like they are heavy and could use an upgrade to something lighter. Brakes hold up fine but I am sure there is something better out there. The gears and chain are noisy and mastering the correct gear at the perfect spot of gnarly hills is something I haven't completely gotten down. I lube and clean my chain weekly as I know it's a weak point. So that covers the components, yes they are not the greatest but my bike was under $3K and I am 100% satisfied with it. In three months I have had no issues with anything and I have to say I beat this poor bike 4-5 times a week. I have about 360 miles on it. So far so good. If anyone can help with the correct front and rear shocks that fit on this bike it would help me! Good to be here I think this is the only active forum specific to this bike on the web, so here I am. Rock you like a hurricane.