bluetick
New Member
- Region
- USA
I live in the Seattle area. I bought an ebike because I love to ride but health issues + hills make a regular bike impractical. I bought a Radrover because I was able to try it, it was available, and I really liked it. But it's very hilly here and I weigh 210 pounds, so I found up hill riding to be underwhelming. The bike could do it. But only with a lot of help from me and at a fairly slow pace. But one of the great things about the Radrover is the support for upgrades. So, after putting a mere 300 miles on the stock bike, I got started.
My first upgrade was the one everyone talks about. I swapped out the controller for the 35 amp KT controller and head unit. This makes a huge difference to hill climbing ability. I highly recommend this upgrade.
While researching the upgrade I read and watched a lot about how the motor in the Radrover isn't a true 750 watt motor. From what I can tell, this is true. It appears to be the Bafang G060.500 which is rated at 500 watts. Of course, you can run more watts through it which is what Rad is doing and what the 35 amp controller is doing as well. In both cases, you get more torque. But I couldn't leave it alone. I needed to know if the Bafang G060.750 would make any difference. It weighs about a pound more. That's all I really knew for sure.
So, I did the upgrade and this is what I found. My top speed on level ground, throttle only was about 22 mph with the stock controller and motor. With the upgraded controller it was 25. With the upgraded controller and motor it is now 31.
Up the same hill, the stock setup could go about 10 mph with my help. The upgraded controller could go about 18 with my help. The fully upgraded bike could goes about 25 with help.
Also, I've noticed that the bike is faster while pulling the same watts from the battery. I have no idea why.
The controller upgrade had no impact on range as long as I keep my power consumption the same as with the stock controller. That is, I could easily bike 30 miles with one big hill climb at the end with 3 quarters of the batter left at the end. But for most of that ride I was going 15 mph in PAS 1 or 2. I haven't gone on a long ride with the new motor yet.
The motor will happily pull 1600 watts now. The new controller plus stock motor would only pull about 1300 with the same settings. I'm now limiting the motor to 1200 watts because that is plenty.
I also upgraded the brakes to mechanically actuated hydraulic calipers. They work and don't need a lot of adjustment.
One last thing. I just put Origin8 road tires on the bike as the stock Kendas are stupidly loud. The bike is stealthier and grippier now. Not sure about faster.
Of course, on the greenways the limit is 15 mph and I stick to that. I wouldn't want to give ebikes a bad name. On the road though, it's great to keep up with traffic in town.
My first upgrade was the one everyone talks about. I swapped out the controller for the 35 amp KT controller and head unit. This makes a huge difference to hill climbing ability. I highly recommend this upgrade.
While researching the upgrade I read and watched a lot about how the motor in the Radrover isn't a true 750 watt motor. From what I can tell, this is true. It appears to be the Bafang G060.500 which is rated at 500 watts. Of course, you can run more watts through it which is what Rad is doing and what the 35 amp controller is doing as well. In both cases, you get more torque. But I couldn't leave it alone. I needed to know if the Bafang G060.750 would make any difference. It weighs about a pound more. That's all I really knew for sure.
So, I did the upgrade and this is what I found. My top speed on level ground, throttle only was about 22 mph with the stock controller and motor. With the upgraded controller it was 25. With the upgraded controller and motor it is now 31.
Up the same hill, the stock setup could go about 10 mph with my help. The upgraded controller could go about 18 with my help. The fully upgraded bike could goes about 25 with help.
Also, I've noticed that the bike is faster while pulling the same watts from the battery. I have no idea why.
The controller upgrade had no impact on range as long as I keep my power consumption the same as with the stock controller. That is, I could easily bike 30 miles with one big hill climb at the end with 3 quarters of the batter left at the end. But for most of that ride I was going 15 mph in PAS 1 or 2. I haven't gone on a long ride with the new motor yet.
The motor will happily pull 1600 watts now. The new controller plus stock motor would only pull about 1300 with the same settings. I'm now limiting the motor to 1200 watts because that is plenty.
I also upgraded the brakes to mechanically actuated hydraulic calipers. They work and don't need a lot of adjustment.
One last thing. I just put Origin8 road tires on the bike as the stock Kendas are stupidly loud. The bike is stealthier and grippier now. Not sure about faster.
Of course, on the greenways the limit is 15 mph and I stick to that. I wouldn't want to give ebikes a bad name. On the road though, it's great to keep up with traffic in town.