Adjusting the initial throttle speed

Because he can only use one arm to both steer and throttle for speed, we think that it goes a bit too fast when he initially throttles up. He says it is too abrupt. We think it would be better if we could limit the initial speed so that he does not zoom off too much.

I would like to experiment with changing the settings for this if it is possible, but am not exactly sure which setting to change.

I sent Rio Mobility an e-mail asking for advice and copied the documentation for the computer that shows the following can be set:

5 POWER ASSIST LEVEL

• Press UP or DOWN to adjust Assist Level to change the motor speed and power output. 1 is the lowest power, 2 is the highest power. On next power up, last level set is retained

What we tested

• 0 = no power
• 1 = lowest power (11.8 kph display speed on the computer)
• 2 = highest power (14.8 kph display speed on the computer)

11 WALKING SPEED

• Press and hold down arrow (10) to drive the Firefly 6km/hr.
• Walking speed icon flashes
• When down arrow (10) is released walking speed is off.

NOTE: Newer version will stay in walk speed until down arrow is pressed again.

What we tested

We do NOT have the newer version of the computer, and our version requires this to be held down, which is not workable when operating with one hand.

CHANGING NORMAL SETTING

• Within 5 sec after turning on power, hold down UP and DOWN for 3 sec to enter LCD setting. When entering the setting, the backlight will turn on automatically. When exiting the setting, the backlight will turn off automatically.
• Highest speed setting (when the speed of the Firefly is over the value, the motor will not exceed that speed).
  • Euro spec 25km/hr. by default. US spec 10 mph (15kph) by default.
  • Press UP or DOWN to adjust the value (factory preset)

What we tested

• It was and remains set to the lower setting of 15 kph. It was not possible to go lower than this setting.

Reply from Rio Mobility

We received an e-mail back from RioMobility. I have added in red text what the settings were before changing. I have also asked them to send us documentation about the “advanced settings”

There is no specific setting to adjust the initial power. However it is possible to trick the controller into thinking it is going faster than it is. The value of P1 can be reduced as described below:

Checking P values (make sure they are set correctly)

1. Turn the Power on and within 5 seconds press the UP and DOWN buttons at the same time.

2. Press the Power button until there are no flashing values (press Power button 3 times)

3. Press the UP and DOWN buttons at the same time again to start the advance setting.

4. You will now be able to change the advance setting. Press UP to add the values, press DOWN to reduce the values, and press Power for the next argument (there are 5 arguments, P1-P5)…

Arguments:

P1- Please make sure the value is set to 88 was set to 87

P2- Please make sure the value is set to 1 was set to 0

P3- Please make sure the value is set to 0 was set to 0, did not change

P4- Pease make sure the value is set to 0 was set to 1

P5- Please leave the set value the way it currently is. was set to 6, did not change

5. Exit the setting by holding down the Power button for a few seconds.

What we tested

There was no significant difference after changing them above. I wrote back to RioMobility, again asking for better documentation.

The value of P1 must be reduced to trick the controller into thinking it is going faster than it is. It will go slower then. The display speed will not be accurate however.

There is no documentation I am afraid. These settings are not normally accessible, the manufacturer gave this to us in an email

What we tested

We again tried to change the Advanced Settings. For some reason, we were not able to do this again. I remember having problems when I did it earlier, I but I can’t remember what I did differently until it worked.

24V, 220W Geared Brushless Hub Motor

We can not find any identifying manufacturer for the Geared Brushless Hub Motor 24V. This is what embossed on it: YR0724B 10003 (see photo’s of components)

We decided to take off the controller cover and see if we could find a make and model to search for more documentation. We could  not find any identifying manufacturer. This is what label had printed on it (see photo’s of components):

Brushless DC. Motor controller

Li-Po Battery

24V 10Ah Lithium Polymer battery (from Firefly User Manual). In the manual it says “custom hi-power lithium polymer battery”, so I am not sure what the brand or model is, but I think it is probably out of Shenzhen in China.

Li-ion Battery Charger

This is what the label says: Modiary (see photo’s of components)

Similar products

It’s clear that the components are all made in China, and that there is very little documentation available. The best I could do is find other products that are similar.

This site has an e-DR_display that the programming looks similar: shop.crystalyte-europe.com. Here are links to the documentation:

• GEBRUIKERS-manual_e-dr_DISPLAY (Nederlands / English)
• USERS-manual_e-dr_DISPLAY_Advanced (English)

This site has products that look very similar: www.leafbike.com, but no documentation.

This looks like one of the Chinese manufacturers: www.bmsbattery.com, but no documentation.