Need for LESS speed!

RedSkywalker

Pedelecer
Jun 16, 2008
87
0
Hi all, I have a couple of dogs that (like me) are now getting on a bit. I can no longer walk any real distance so I treated myself to an eBike which has pretty amazing performance - but that's the problem! I really want to be able to just quietly cycle along at pretty much average walking pace so that the dogs can keep up easily but the bike is just too fast! It is a 48 volt with 500 watt motor and although I have tried restricting the speed via the controller (you can set from 5 to 25 kph) but that didn't work. I can slow the bike down with the hand throttle but that results in me losing balance because it's so slow. So now I have one last idea but I don't know enough about the electric motors to know if this will cause damage - I can choose what voltage to operate the bike at from 12, 24, 36 or 48 - my thinking is if I reduce the voltage that will reduce the power and hence the speed of the bike, yes? So if I do that then just pedal slowly I might get what I want SO, what do you guys think?
 

Gringo

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 18, 2013
1,333
835
Northampton
Hi, is the bike restricted to 15mph max assist and dose it have a magnet on one of the spokes To measure the speed. if the answer is yes to both questions then putting a second magnet opposite the first will half you assisted speed (7.5mph)
 
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RedSkywalker

Pedelecer
Jun 16, 2008
87
0
No the speed is not restricted and when I tried it using first the hand throttle and then later by pedal it easily topped over 20 mph. There is no magnet on a spoke but you can change the number of magnets through the control unit and ( have found 46 seems to give pretty much the correct speed in mph).
 

vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
9,822
3,985
Basildon
If you went down to 24v, you'd get half the speed. For that, you'd need a new battery and controller.
 

RedSkywalker

Pedelecer
Jun 16, 2008
87
0
I did try to gently increase speed but it's about 5 or 6 mph and that is just too fast for the poor old girl. I keep wondering if I select 24 volts from the controller will I do any damage? I think it would be really hard to find a 24 volt battery to fit this specific bike
 

sjpt

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2018
3,642
2,652
Winchester
I did try to gently increase speed but it's about 5 or 6 mph and that is just too fast for the poor old girl. I keep wondering if I select 24 volts from the controller will I do any damage? I think it would be really hard to find a 24 volt battery to fit this specific bike
That bike looks as if it designed for speed and may be difficult to keep slow and stable. I think using a 48v battery and setting controller to 24v is not going to work well; vfr400 will give a better answer on that.

Sounds as if part of the problem is that you just aren't stable when going slow enough for the dogs, and any amount of changing settings and voltages around won't help if that's the case.
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,971
6,292
convert the dog to electric ;)
 

RoadieRoger

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 8, 2010
720
196
Can`t you ride it on the lowest Assist and use the throttle for pulling away ? My Fat Tyre has 5 Assist levels and I use the throttle from stationary only .
 

vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
9,822
3,985
Basildon
You can't just select 24v on the controller. All that does is change the low voltage cut-off point to protect the battery from over-discharge. You have to physically change the battery to a 24v one, then set the controller to match.
 

peter.c

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 24, 2018
1,611
491
thurrock essex
Have you tried a lower tyre pressure on the small fat tyres . to increase the contact area
The overall gearing could be reduced to give a lower speed by changing the front chain wheel [smaller]
 

RedSkywalker

Pedelecer
Jun 16, 2008
87
0
Peter the idea of changing the front chain wheel might just be the answer! It had never occurred to me but it makes complete sense and means I could pedal at a slow, smooth pace which would let me keep my balance but with the bike travelling at a much slower speed! I will definately look into that tomorrow. Many thanks to all who replied.
 

WheezyRider

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 20, 2020
1,632
907
Is there an LCD where you can set the wheel size larger than it actually is? Might fool it into thinking you are going faster than you are.
 

RedSkywalker

Pedelecer
Jun 16, 2008
87
0
yes there is - in fact the meter was set for 26" wheels when I got it instead of 20" so I will see how large I can set it for! Also I have found that there is a disc just inside where the pedal goes through the frame and it has 12 magnets with a reader that blinks as they pass round it.
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
19,990
8,172
60
West Sx RH
The largest wheel size will be 28", 700c or 29" theoretically all much the same.
 

WheezyRider

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 20, 2020
1,632
907
yes there is - in fact the meter was set for 26" wheels when I got it instead of 20" so I will see how large I can set it for! Also I have found that there is a disc just inside where the pedal goes through the frame and it has 12 magnets with a reader that blinks as they pass round it.
If it's already set for 26", setting it for 29" will only give about 5 to 10% reduction in speed, but I suppose every little helps :)