Controller upgrade help for REI Gen E1.2

[r0hands]

Long time, first time.

I recently bought this bike from REI on mega sale hoping to use it to commute to my work, which is up a massive hill. I have another BBS02 conversion I used, but shit keeps falling apart on that bike, and I am now car free, so I wanted a backup bike, in case I don't have time or the parts to fix issues that may arise on my primary bike.

I took this new bike for a test ride up my big hill, and it barely got me there. Of course, this is a class 1 bike, and the controller is limiting the power, but I didn't realize how bad that would be.

When I opened the user manual for this bike, I realized this has the RM G060.750.D Bafang rear hub motor with a DP C11.CAN display. This motor should be (as per the Grin simulator) plenty strong to get me up my hill using most of their controller options. So I figured, I just need a better controller (or I need to re-program the one I have). Here is where I am stuck : firstly, I can't get the damn controller out of the bike frame. The wiring is internally routed through the frame, but there is this strange metal plate on the side of the controller, which makes it really hard to get the damn thing out (image attached).

I can however access the cables to the connector. So, I may be able to re-program it? I see the connector model is CR x20s.250.fc 3.0 and the software version is CRS104c4812h103085.0 . In one section of the manual, I see the current limit on the controller is 12A, but I am not sure if this is applicable to what the controller is actually doing on my ride.

So-- what would the wise folks of ES recommend I do? If I could somehow force that controller out of its box and replace it with something better, I think that would solve all my issues, but not sure if that is possible.

Thanks!

 

[amberwolf]

The metal plate looks like a heat-distribution bar meant to bolt the controller to the frame so the frame heatsinks it (otherwise it's heat is "trapped" in the space with it due to airgaps, and the controller becomes thermally limited in power output...if it doesn't have actual thermal limiting it just gets hot, often overheated, and ages faster than it should (or actually fails)). It probably just unscrews from the controller so you can get the controller itself out; there is probably at least one bolt or screw somewhere on the frame (back of the seattube?) that secures the bar to it.


When upgrading the controller, consider the battery's capabilities--it was probably designed only for the power level of the existing controller, so it will be harder on it to use higher power, and it might not handle it very well (or at all), often limited by the BMS but the BMS might be limited this way to protect cells not capable of more.

If you have a wattmeter you can put in series with the battery to controller connection, you can get a good idea of what it is really doing on your rides.

 

[r0hands]

The metal plate looks like a heat-distribution bar meant to bolt the controller to the frame so the frame heatsinks it (otherwise it's heat is "trapped" in the space with it due to airgaps, and the controller becomes thermally limited in power output...if it doesn't have actual thermal limiting it just gets hot, often overheated, and ages faster than it should (or actually fails)). It probably just unscrews from the controller so you can get the controller itself out; there is probably at least one bolt or screw somewhere on the frame (back of the seattube?) that secures the bar to it.


When upgrading the controller, consider the battery's capabilities--it was probably designed only for the power level of the existing controller, so it will be harder on it to use higher power, and it might not handle it very well (or at all), often limited by the BMS but the BMS might be limited this way to protect cells not capable of more.

If you have a wattmeter you can put in series with the battery to controller connection, you can get a good idea of what it is really doing on your rides.

Many thanks! It definitely makes sense that this metal bar could be a thermal connection between the frame and the controller. Its also screwed onto the case of the controller, but its almost like they put some bolts in, and then used an angle grinder to remove the head, just so I cant open it easily. I want to avoid any solutions which need angle grinders just yet .

I also do have a wattmeter, but these internally routed cables mean I cant get to the space between the battery and the connector easily. I actually think the display can show me the wattage also, so maybe thats another thing I can do. I didnt think of the BMS settings and the max current sourcing capacity of my battery. I think thats the concern youre raising. Will dig around a bit more tomorrow to see if I know what power its maxing out at.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond!

 

[Battlepoint]

My cabling on the REI e1.1 allows the controller only comes fully out of the frame by about an inch. You have to angle the controller just right to get it to come out of the hole as the controller is wider than the hole. Do you know if the controller on the e1.1 is the same on the e1.2? I looked at my manual and my motor is rated for up to 48v. It made me second guess my y purchase of a replacement 36v battery when maybe I could have installed a 48v. My battery stopped working after my mileage (since purchase) hit 125 miles. My local REI looked at the battery exterior and said that they would not warranty it. They don't have the ability to diagnose the battery issue. There are only about 3-4 business on the entire west coast that diagnose batteries. REI wanted $500 for a new 36v battery. I replaced it with a 36V/19.2 from UPPbattery.com which supposedly has LG batteries and was a bit under $300. It has an on/off switch and a USB port. I had to replace the battery base that mounts to the frame. I also had to put new ends on the battery base since REI and UPPbattery don't use the same plugs. UPPbattery has a lot of end choices to chose from but not the REI bafang plug style. I looked at a lot of 36v batteries and I probably should have gone with the model that had the same base style. But I wanted a bit more Amp hours. So far my only worry is that the battery base plate only allow 2 attachment screws. I can't use the lower screw as the new battery base won't line up. The only solution would be to pull the tire and fender and drill and tap a new screw hole. I am going to keep an eye on the base plate and see how it works with just the upper two screw holes. After it was all installed i began to wonder if I could have mounted a 48v battery instead. Ahh buyers remorse.