To update or not to update (my remote)?

Evolve Germany has updated my remote and I will receive it today. I will post any findings on the updated remote with regards to the connections, speed of changing gear, etc. I did not have any issues at all using the v1 software on my Bamboo GT so if anything comes up it will give some valuable info.

 

You just need to watch out if you are in Fast or GT mode for when the battery is low as it kicks to ECO without warning. This feature should be removed from the update. Interested to know how you get on?

 

Will monitor this to also see how it exactly kicks in and if I can still cope with going up hills where needed.

 

Update - Andy is correct. Yesterday I wad able to verify that after a few seconds of operation in Fast or GT mode when the battery is under 20% & the V2 remote will do the "auto-downshift". I hate that

 

My only conclusion for this feature is to save battery? but why would you need this? I can make that decision for myself depending on what type of ride or journey I am doing at that time. I haven't come across anyone who likes this feature? Evolve are you listening???

 

This is for battery safety as the battery may get damaged and worst case have a thermal runaway

 

It never had it before and I have 5 other e-boards and none of them do this. As long as the battery is not left flat, I don't see an issue?

 

How do you know this?

Gen2 did not do this and my battery is still strong on that.

Are you saying that when the Gen2 used to cut out we now have an Eco mode giving some power instead of zero? This would be good but is different to how I think most people understand it.

 

I disagree. Thermal runaway happens from excessive heat typically when charging. And batteries have internal shutdowns to protect themselves from being over discharged. This is just the case of poor design, mostly due to the fact they don't know how to meter the battery's level properly and instead taking the raw voltage as the way to determine how much capacity is left in the pack. All the DIY builders are like, really.... they did what!?!? They're using raw voltage to monitor the voltage and this is a $2k consumer board!?!?

Look at all the boards out there both in the DIY and Consumer market. Who else does this crap? Its dumb, and would be great if Evolve could explain from an engineering stand-point why they did all this. My first 2010 Zero electric motorcycle did this, it was dumb to say the least. It reduced the potential range of the bike, was a poor user experience, and never accurate unless it was 100% full, and left people unexpectedly and unfortunately stranded. They got it right in 2013 and is very accurate now since their using the correct methodology. .

 

Remote updated to v2 and is working smooth. No disconnects and the up/down option is nice. Only downside is when battery level drops below the threshold you will switch to ECO. This should be an option and not a forced mode.

 

I have the first version of the remote and recently bought a second remote.

Most have mentioned most of this but I can summarise a few noticeable differences:

• The braking is more gradual on the newer remote. I actually preferred the older braking on the first remote, although to some i guess this is better. Not a huge difference.
• On start up, the new remote goes automatically to ECO. The old remote keeps memory of the original speed setting you wanted. Prefer the older remote for this as I usually ride in GT most of the time and don't shift speeds.
• The older remotes have a slanted trigger (not sure if it is due to use) - prefer the newer remote which is completely straight but not a big deal.
• The new remotes use the right button to shift speed up and the left button to shift down speed. The old remote just uses the right button to shift speeds so you will have to press right to cycle through all the speeds (except reverse). To reverse on the old remote, you just pressed the left button. If you want to do slide tricks where you want to reverse on demand, the old remote is better. If you are more prone to accidentally pressing the left button whilst moving and engaging reverse by accident, the new remote is better. Some people have complained about the latter, so i think that's why they've made that change. I prefer the reverse on demand feature but understand the change.
• The new remote is a split second more responsive on shifting speeds and pairing. Connectivity may be better but my old remote has been working perfectly fine since the beginning. So not a noticeable difference.
• The new remote has a speed limiter after your battery reaches 20%. This is a huge bummer as I may be on 50% battery and occasionally tackling a hill on GT, it will strain the battery below 20% and reduce to ECO, which has made me kick up the hilll instead. I understand how it may protect the longevity of the battery with this, but man, does this make it annoying. They may have changed this so it does not automatically downshift whilst travelling and pressing the trigger but the moment you ease it, it will downshift. So far, I haven't found a way to reverse the firmware to disable this feature (but i could be wrong?)

Overall, if you have a working older remote, i would keep it and not update the firmware. Hoping the next version has an option to disable the low battery speed limiter.

I was hoping they could send a software update to you online instead of sending it in, but i understand the need to protect proprietary software for the remote. However, i don't think it would affect their sales with a move like that. The brand is pretty strong, service is pretty good from these guys, the design and performance is top notch and they are first movers in this market.

 

there is a little trick to avoid the 'Eco Drop' , if you stay on the throttle, it won't shift until you release the trigger and go back on it.

 

Yeah I noticed that recently going up a hill.

 

While it is good to know, sometimes hills have corners so you have to try and get round the corner without lifting... So much for a safety feature!

 

Yes whilst it does this, I don't think it should either for the same reasons.

 

Same with mine - the remote changes display too "eco" - however the GT / Fast tongue remains unless I release the trigger.

 

Torque......

 

I am probably alone on this but I like the eco drop bease it let's me know when it's time to head home lol. When I am riding I don't spend a lot of time looking at the remote I pop in my ear buds and am cruising in gt till I fall to eco. (Hopefully range improves with warmer temperatures)
I do however wish the brakes worked in a downshifting mode as it has 3 stages and would be much easier to anticipate braking force. 1 up flick stage 1, 2 stage 2...