Any e-Bike technical experts on here?

facade

AFAIK, they are legal because they only work below 4MPH.

What isn't legal is a bike that can be propelled without pedalling above walking pace.

There is a loophole for really old 'bikes, but bikes built to comply with Euro regulations can only assist pedalling, and that assistance can only be to 15.5 MPH.

The 1500W twist 'n go bikes that you see on youtube (and weaving in and out of traffic at 40 MPH in a town near you) are completely illegal on the road unless they are registered as a moped and insured.

 On the Rad, above 4mph the switch functions as a max power override, so you set the assistance to midway to get a bit of exercise, and then if you run out of puff on a hill, or want to smartly accelerate, you use the switch to go to max power while it is held on, rather than poking the buttons on the controller up and down, and when you release it it goes back to the original assistance level.

The switch is really useful for starting off. As previously mentioned, an e-bike weighs about 500Kg and you need thighs like tree trunks even in first gear to get the thing to start off. It is pretty much evens whether you will just fall over before you can get any momentum or the chain will snap under the strain.

With that switch, starting off is effortless, and you can start pedalling with the bike already balanced and moving.

ThisIsWeird

facade said:

AFAIK, they are legal because they only work below 4MPH.

What isn't legal is a bike that can be propelled without pedalling above walking pace.

There is a loophole for really old 'bikes, but bikes built to comply with Euro regulations can only assist pedalling, and that assistance can only be to 15.5 MPH.

The 1500W twist 'n go bikes that you see on youtube (and weaving in and out of traffic at 40 MPH in a town near you) are completely illegal on the road unless they are registered as a moped and insured.

 On the Rad, above 4mph the switch functions as a max power override, so you set the assistance to midway to get a bit of exercise, and then if you run out of puff on a hill, or want to smartly accelerate, you use the switch to go to max power while it is held on, rather than poking the buttons on the controller up and down, and when you release it it goes back to the original assistance level.

The switch is really useful for starting off. As previously mentioned, an e-bike weighs about 500Kg and you need thighs like tree trunks even in first gear to get the thing to start off. It is pretty much evens whether you will just fall over before you can get any momentum or the chain will snap under the strain.

With that switch, starting off is effortless, and you can start pedalling with the bike already balanced and moving.

Tee-hee - a half-ton bike  

A brace of large Benelli motorbikes might weigh this, but the wee misano is as light as an ordinary bike, except for the hub - it's astonishing how that pulls it down when you lift the bike by its crossbar. Of course the battery will add a few more kgs too, but it should all still be comfortably under 20kg. (I looked at an old classic Raleigh bike a few months back, and thought it was bolted to the garage floor, such was its weight - I bet, similar.)

Thanks for that info - so that switch is likely standard, and not after-market.

Where is the crank sensor on your Rad bike, and what kind is it? Is it visible?

Cheers.

facade

ThisIsWeird said:

Where is the crank sensor on your Rad bike, and what kind is it? Is it visible?

Unfortunately the Midlands appears to be above the Arctic circle, (at least I am still above water, but there is a literal river of sewage flowing past my front gate- I am not exaggerating, there is a blocked sewer round the corner)  but I had a feel around in the perpetual gloom and there is a tin tab on a washer attached to the bottom bracket, with a square encapsulated device trailing a wire.

There is a fragile plastic disc attached to the crank with round magnets pushed in

Something like this I assume

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/395177762881

ThisIsWeird

facade said:

ThisIsWeird said:

Where is the crank sensor on your Rad bike, and what kind is it? Is it visible?

Unfortunately the Midlands appears to be above the Arctic circle, (at least I am still above water, but there is a literal river of sewage flowing past my front gate- I am not exaggerating, there is a blocked sewer round the corner)  but I had a feel around in the perpetual gloom and there is a tin tab on a washer attached to the bottom bracket, with a square encapsulated device trailing a wire.

There is a fragile plastic disc attached to the crank with round magnets pushed in

Something like this I assume

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/395177762881

Yuck, and thanks :-)

Yes, that disc was included. Looks like it needs fitting, then :-(

Happy poo.

forgotmyname

When I looked into the legislation a few years back switch only electric power with without pedalling was illegal in europe
but legal in the UK.

I has a sign on the back of mine with the E-Bike 250w 14mph max on the rear.  It did look like a scooter though. The only issue
with mine was it was borderline 40kg with the original batteries but I fitted lightweight ones and that took a lot of weight
off the bike and gave it a lot more range also.

ThisIsWeird

Surprised - my battery feels well heavy, but I just weighed it - it's only 2.6kg. The hub motor is what, around 3.5kg? So that should put the Benelli, I'm pretty sure, comfortably under 20kg fully loaded.

ThisIsWeird

A few Qs about the battery - I've charged it up, and it outputs over 40V (no load).

Noticed it has a 'Dorado' display - when does that light up? Also a funny square thing that was under tape - glue residue still there - what's that?! And the USB port - is that for powering other USB equipment? Now't comes out - does it need turning on somehow?

Thanks.

facade

forgotmyname said:

When I looked into the legislation a few years back switch only electric power with without pedalling was illegal in europe
but legal in the UK.

I has a sign on the back of mine with the E-Bike 250w 14mph max on the rear.  It did look like a scooter though. The only issue
with mine was it was borderline 40kg with the original batteries but I fitted lightweight ones and that took a lot of weight
off the bike and gave it a lot more range also.

Yes mine is a UK bike, with the compliance sticker, it only assists when the pedals rotate, except that switch will bring it to 4mph (I think, I've never measured it) as a "walk assistance" but it is used to start off.

According to the specs, mine actually weighs 31Kg (probably the aloominums frame) and you feel every one of them if you try and pick it up, or pedal it without assistance.

facade

ThisIsWeird said:

A few Qs about the battery - I've charged it up, and it outputs over 40V (no load).

Noticed it has a 'Dorado' display - when does that light up? Also a funny square thing that was under tape - glue residue still there - what's that?! And the USB port - is that for powering other USB equipment? Now't comes out - does it need turning on somehow?

Thanks.

On mine, you have to turn it on with the key, then there is a soft part of the display to press and it lights up with charge level.

Your 36V battery may be marked something like 10S3P  which means 10 cells in series, and each has 3 in parallel.

Anyway, a Lithium ion cell has a nominal voltage of around 3.6V, so 10 in series is 36V. But when fully charged the voltage can go to 4.2V, which would give 42V for a 10 cell pack.

There is likely a fuse under that rectangular cover in the bottom picture, mine has 2, one main fuse for the output, and a smaller fuse for the charge.

The USB A could be for use as a power bank, you need to plug something that conforms to USB standards in to get it to activate- I think there is a resistor between the data line and ground.

forgotmyname

When testing batteries you need to test them under load.  The offload figure can be very deceiving.

Even a light load can drop the voltage a large amount if the battery is past it's best.