I am a new to the ebike world. I recently bought a 20 inch rear hub MP2 with external controller and 48V 10 AH LiPO battery from Gary to install on my old folding bike. The installation went smoothly except the following minor problems:
(1) The rear fork of my bike is just a tad too narrow for the MP2, I had to force it open a little to fit the hub motor wheel. Same for the slightly narrow dropout, I had to (gently) hammer the axle in.
(2) The rear of my bike is not wide enough to accomodate the MP2 and the original 6 speed cassette. I could not find any 3 speed cassette therefore settled with a single speed cog. This is really just for cosmetic reason because I don't pedal.
(3) The rim of the smaller hub motors (20 inch and smaller) is a solid piece of cast aluminum instead of spokes. The track on the rim that allows the V brake to work is too narrow, therefore the brake pads rub against part of the perforated decorative pattern on the wheel, causing vibration. However, since this is a 20 inch bike with slow top speed, I notice regenerative braking is more than adequate to stop the bike without using the V brakes.
(4) Most of the wires on the external controller are labeled nicely - except the one that runs the LED battery indicator.
(5) The controller box (sold separately and not come with the external controller) does not come with any nuts and screws. I cannot find any suitable screw to close the lid, therefore out comes the duct tape.
So far so good. There is plenty of grunt, pickup is instantaneous but not harsh (I weigh 200 lb). Usual cruising speed around 15-16 km/h, top speed on flat (not downhill) about 22 km/h (I don't go for speed). I am still testing for range - so far three short trips totaling 21 km, and the LED indicator has not even drop one level. I read from this forum that the LED indicator is not accurate, because the voltage from LiPO battery does not drop until late in the discharge, and once it drops it goes really quickly until cutoff. I don't want to dish out the cash for the Cycle Analyst just to measure the battery level (I am using my cellphone with the GPS cycling app to measure speed, distance traveled, trip / backtrack etc.) I hope my bike can do at least 30 km on electrical alone.
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Now for the question ....
So far my only peeve is that the level of regenerative braking is too high on this small 20 inch wheel. It is really jerky and abrupt when braking at a slow speed.
I did a lot of reading in this forum, and watched Gary's Youtube video on programming the controller. Before I rush off to buy the USB cable PI-200E:
(1) Is there a written "how to" guide?
(2) After pressing "Connect" button, should I press "Get config" button to load the configuration of my controller first, before making any changes?
(3) I believe the only parameter I need to change is "Brake (Regen Brake)", then press "Store/Save"?
(4) I know I probably have to test myself to see what level of regenerative braking is best for me. However, does anyone own a 20 incher and has made changes to the regen braking level to give me some tips?
Thank you.
