Help! Hi Everyone, owner of a folding carrera cross country eBike

[patbell]

I am a keen bird photographer and retired. My wife got so fed up with me saying how far I had to walk along tracks where motor vehicles are not allowed that she bought me a folding Carrera cross city eBike and I am now able to drive my car to car parks at local and distant spots to take photos and use the ebike to load kit and ride the tracks to the hides.

However invariably the distance to a hide is very far away, and the bike tends to take off very quickly, becoming difficult to handle against the many sudden holes and dips, grass and mud. It needs a smoother response in slowing or speeding up.

Would an added twist grip modification be possible. I want to stay legal and need to keep my legs going round (I need the exercise!) . I also have just seen that the DVSA are approving properly moded full throttle eBikes.

Any suggestion to help would be much appreciated....

 

[cyclebuddy]

...the bike tends to take off very quickly,...

Welcome to the forum Pat.

The way the motor applies power is a function of the controller and how it's been programmed. Many e-bikes at the lower end of the price spectrum tend to be fairly crude in that respect applying full power in each level of assist up to a speed limit that's pre-set for each level. It's usually possible to change the controller to a much better one that applies the power in a more controlled and gentle manner, some brands (KT for example) allowing the owner to select how much power is applied at each level of assist.

A throttle - if your current controller allows one to be added - applies power by rotation from 0 to full assist, and (IMHO) that's not always easy to feather gently when ridden over rougher ground at low speed. Getting approval for a throttle isn't cheap or easy, and those e-bikes that do have them are most often not approved.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

As long as the throttle only operates while you are pedalling its perfectly legal. The confusion lies with twist and go ebikes which are now no longer legal except for that special DVLA process exception.

I don't know much about the Crosscity except it has more standard ebike components rather than the Suntour HESC system of many other Carrera ebikes. It could be a situation where you need to replace the controller to enable a throttle but more technical people than me especially those with experience of the Crosscity hopefully will advise.

This is the controller and looks pretty minimal.

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[Nealh]

If the display is a simple 3 spd LED model then the controller is 99.99% a speed controller, which means one will see max current/power all the time until the max speed is reached in each level. Something like 8, 12 & 15 mph. These cheap systems are common on low entry price bikes, one needs to swap out the system and spend about £100 to install a KT lcd & current control controller, then you get to choose the power level setting for a far nicer ride experience.