Help! Lishui controller and LCD vs KT controller and LCD

[Dali]

Which King meter is it?

KM529 - I assume it is current controlled as my wife says it never switches off, but it could be that she isn't reaching the set speed of level 1 as she has a muscle condition. I will have to find out.

 

[Dali]

With speed controllers the effort needed is less then current control...

I see what you are saying. Speed controlled whilst engaged gives you more power than a low level set current control, but I ride most of the time above the cut off speed point for the motor so over a several mile ride it is debateable who has expended the most energy. My wife's kit is a Woosh rear 48v kit DWG22C and I think level 1 on the standard King Meter KM529 is set too high for such a powerful motor. I haven't tried it myself as the bike is too small for me but this is what she reports.

Once I realized my mistake with an earlier post (A KT looked like A KIT on my phone without glasses), I see that KT can do both so if building from scratch that is definitely the way to go. Pity a lot of complete kits don't offer KT, if only as an option.

 

[vfr400]

I see what you are saying. Speed controlled whilst engaged gives you more power than a low level set current control, but I ride most of the time above the cut off speed point for the motor so over a several mile ride it is debateable who has expended the most energy.

In the end it makes no difference. You have energy in the battery that you can convert into motive energy to help you with your ride. If two riders of equal weight on equal bikes apart from one had the controller set to speed control and the other to current control, then they completed the same ride side by side, the total energy expended would be the same. Therefore, the sum of energy from the battery and rider would be the same. If both riders expended the same amount of energy as each other then the battery consumption would also be the same.

The way you're describing your setup is that you prefer to pedal harder on the flat and get more assist up the hills, while as your wife pedals with less effort on the flat and harder up the hills. That's if you don't change the power settings

 

[Dali]

In the end it makes no difference. You have energy in the battery that you can convert into motive energy to help you with your ride...

Ultimately yes, but it is all down to ride style/preference as one of your bikes could conceivably have more energy left in the battery at the end of the ride, meaning more energy had to be expended by that rider to compensate due to one system or set-up preference.

 

[vfr400]

Ultimately yes, but it is all down to ride style/preference as one of your bikes could conceivably have more energy left in the battery at the end of the ride, meaning more energy had to be expended by that rider to compensate due to one system or set-up preference.

You can turn up the power if you want. That causes more to come from the battery and less from the rider. If both are kept on level 5, they both give the same power. It's only when you turn down the power that the difference shows.

 

[Slightlypedantic]

In case any prospective buyers reading this think they should avoid Lishui/speed controlled as everybody ends up wanting to change them for KT/current controlled anyway, they don't; at least I don't.

My wife has current controlled and mine is speed controlled. I am very happy with my Lishui as the motor assists me to a comfortable speed then switches off, meaning I get some exercise and save on battery. If it becomes a bit tougher (hill) or I weaken then it causes me to slow down and the motor kicks in again. No fiddling or loss of concentration on the road and my hands never leave the grips. Great.

My wife finds having a current controlled means that power is always applied at any speed, even when you don't want it (on a flat or slight down gradient but not enough to coast for example). She finds she has to fiddle with the gears to make it harder to get some exercise even on setting 1 or fiddle with the display (there is no setting 0 on the King Meter, which even if it did would still count as fiddling, so switching off is the only solution for her which means she loses the useful throttle access when required, or I could insert a switch breaking the +5v on the pedal sensor to mimic setting 0 - faff and and still requires constant attention during a ride).

So I personally would recommend the fit and forget Lishui over KT and I have no plans to switch out my controller and display.

It's nice to hear an alternative point of view, regardless of whether one shares it. Goes to show that everybody and their preferences/requirements are not the same.