Who uses Slip Charge mode on their controller? I love it!

[zombiess]

I don't know why I haven't ever experimented with this feature before after all this time, but finally decided to a few days ago. I love the way the bike rides with it engaged. I usually have my regen set at level 1 and with slip charge engaged it provided a nice smooth drag slowing me down that increases as I let off the throttle. All the way off the throttle = almost full regen. Pressing my regen button gives an even stronger regen brake than the slip charge mode. I think I've really been missing out by not using this. It's also appears to be proportional to speed, higher speed = more force, lower speed = less.

Try it out if you haven't yet, as long as you aren't close to maxing out your controller amp wise as it will produce some extra heat due to regen. I used it during hard core stress testing my controllers and all was fine at the 100A level on an 18 FET IRFB4115 and not noticeable on a 24 FET IRFB4115 controller.

 

[Stevil_Knevil]

Slip Charge on these Infineon-based controllers definitely feels similar to rolling OFF the throttle on a M/C.

Unfortunately - petrol does not flow back into the tank on my Africa Twin under braking

Nice to have a switch that defeats regen when you want to take your hands off the 'bars and saddle-steer..

 

[izeman]

i don't like it. especially if regen is STRONG. if you signal a right turn, you have to release the throttle, and the bike brakes. holding the handle bar with one hand only while braking is a challenge.

 

[drebikes]

i don't like it. especially if regen is STRONG. if you signal a right turn, you have to release the throttle, and the bike brakes. holding the handle bar with one hand only while braking is a challenge.

I'm resurecting this thread to add my 2 cents. I'm testing slip charge mode since last week with mixed feelings (all on moderate-regen setting):

The positive: it's nice to modulate regen torque vs using the ebike brakes (on/off with the inherent pull once activated)
The negative: it's scary sometimes because :

***when I signal a right turn it buckles because regen kicks in. To aggravate things the top regen torque zone must be smack at around 25kph, which is the speed I like to use in right-angle turns.

***on steep downhill: full-regen slows down the bike, but it slows it too much - so I keep the throttle half-open - here's the annoying bit. With no notice whatsoever it passes from regen to no-torque or even forward torque - I imagine it slows enough that the throtle level and the forward speed correspond, thus regen cuts and forward torque kicks in for only a tenth a second or so while it enters again in regen mode. The result is a sort of torque vibration of regen/push/reeeeeeegen/push that I can't predict.

What are your thoughts? I'm thinking some settings in the Infineon software work better than others and I'm taking a shortcut by passing the question to you.

cheers

 

[Alan B]

Signalling is done with left hand, not throttle hand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_signals

 

[xenodius]

Even that wikipedia page points out that a right arm to the right is recognized as a right turn signal in the US for cyclists, no need to follow automotive practice. Especially since it's more visible to people in the right hand lane.

Pretty much all cyclists here signal rights with the right hand.

 

[Alan B]

Right handed signals are not compatible with right hand throttles.

 

[zombiess]

I signal left handed as I was taught from childhood. No odd throttle issues on mine. Just rode tonight with regent set on high and it gives a nice decel on my heavy Greyborg. I let a total stranger take it for a spin and he commented on how the throttle felt like his dirt bike when he let off.

It's a personal preference deal. I love slip charge but did not think I would initially when I read how it worked, I am glad I tried it because it's now my preferred setup. I also get a way higher regen percentage and don't use the brakes as hard.

 

[Jolly Jumper]

It´s more efficient to release the throttle and just roll out 100 yard before your stop.
Rather than release the throttle and Slip Charge 25 yard before your stop.

I don´t use slip charge just the normal e-brake regen when needed

 

[amberwolf]

if you signal a right turn, you have to release the throttle, and the bike brakes. holding the handle bar with one hand only while braking is a challenge.

that's what turn signals (and brake lights) are for.

besides which, seems like hardly anyone at least around here even knows what hand signals *are*, including the police. but they do know what turn signals mean, even if they don't pay attention to them or use them.

 

[John in CR]

I love it too, but only with a gentle regen force. I've never come close to the high regen %'s of slip charge using regular regen activation. Once you get accustomed to the braking distances a nice relaxed ride never touching the brakes can be liberating in its simplicity. ie Twist throttle to go and let off to slow down.

I'm glad the topic came up. Zombiess, are you saying with slip charge mode you gentle lower level regen and then if you also hit the ebrake it increases braking force? I've used slip charge for 3 or 4 years on my cargo bike, but no ebrake connected.

Regarding signalling, my regen braking is nice and gentle on the bike with slip charge and I never had any problem with right hand to signal. It doesn't have to be like squeezing a brake handle with only one hand on the bars.

 

[zombiess]

John, I have found through riding several ways that using slip charge mode nets me a higher percentage of regent on the cycle analyst vs if I only use regen on a button. The way its some what variable makes riding easier for me, just like you I find myself only using the brake levers a lot less. Usually for low speed stops after slip charge has kicked off or a really hard stop.

Highest regen percentage is when I use a combination of slip and manual button, but I do not find myself using the button very often.

When I do not use slip charge I will usually max out under 5%, but with slip charge I find I my percentage is almost always higher. While I was out testing an eb324 controller today I managed just over 10% in 3 miles. Lots of hard acceleration and stopping but I was not even thinking about regent or trying to maximise its use. I only noted the number after the ride when flipping through the screens.

Regen current was 12a I think.

 

[drebikes]

I'm not sold on turning lights on a bike, it seems a bit much. There would be another thing to add on the handlebars and I think nothing would grab cops'a atention more that your bike is a motorcycle than having branke and tunring lights. In Europe it's still forbidden to have the ebike power itself without pedaling, so you don't want making it look like a motorcycle if you can avoid.
Left hand signaling doesn't work either, I've never heard of it. Seems a good idea in the wiki, but if the drivers (me, others) don't know what it means, it's not really going to help. I'm left with either not sigaling at all, or to cruise which can be tricky in crowded traffic (this is when I bother to signal anyway).

A few thoughts on slip charge I've noticed and can't explain:
*from stop or rolling, 100% throttle for a while and then release the throttle to 0% - it does regen
*if I only wanted to slow down a bit, then I throttle again, it powers forwards. Here's the niggle - when I relax the throttle, even to zero, the second time it freewheels, zero regen.

...so if it's from 100% throttle to 0% it regens; if it's 100%, 20%regen, 100% and then leaving the throttle to 0% - it doesn't regen at all. It's almost like slip regen works only after the throttle had been upped from zero to 100%; if it had been 20% to 100% the release of the throttle doesn't trigger regen. It is repeatable and the speed doesn't seem to matter in triggering this behavior. If you haven't seen this, it may be just a weird combo of voltage/current/speed settings I dialed in XPD. Any thoughts?

 

[John in CR]

drebikes,
I've had some xie chang controllers that were programmable where slip charge simply didn't work, but on those that do I've never had the issue you mention. It always kicks on when I let off the throttle enough, and my bikes are fast enough that I rarely ride at WOT. My only complaint about slip charge regen is riding at constant speed fairly slow, and it ends up pulsing between powered and regen. Maybe your controller is newer and they changed the programming to avoid the symptom mine has only to create another.

 

[veloman]

I don't like it at all, I like to let my bike coast. It's easier on the controller and battery and motor too. Coasting will be more efficient than always have power on or regen on.

 

[zombiess]

I don't like it at all, I like to let my bike coast. It's easier on the controller and battery and motor too. Coasting will be more efficient than always have power on or regen on.

That's too broad of a statement. With a very fast accelerating bike like John or myself have we would wear out a set of bicycle brakes in short order and not recover any energy. Add in stop and go traffic or hilly terrain and things change yet again. Personally I use it for the additional braking force and I coast a lot, my coasting just happens to help slow me down and regen back into the battery. One of the best things about slip charge is it has variable levels with the strongest being throttle fully closed, but that still isn't as strong as level 2 regen on a button, but it's close. On my high speed motor hitting the regen button over 45mph will cause a squeak from the rear tire as it locks up for a fraction of a second, slip charge never does this and can be engaged smoothly.

Of course if you don't like it, don't use it. I personally enjoy the way it works, I just wish that on my Greyborg bike with 25" tires that it didn't kick off at around 10 mph and would work to a lower speed like my small tire setups do, but that's a function of RPM and the small diameter tires have more RPM for a given speed.

 

[iovaykind]

I think I might be missing something here. With slip charge mode enabled, what I've noticed it that you don't get any current back to the battery until the throttle is completely let off. Zombiess, are you saying that when you have slip charger enabled, if you let throttle down to 50% but are traveling at top speed, it will regen just the slightest bit to get you to 50% speed?

 

[ken1645]

i don't like it. especially if regen is STRONG. if you signal a right turn, you have to release the throttle, and the bike brakes. holding the handle bar with one hand only while braking is a challenge.

A right turn signal is properly done with the left arm bent upwards, this allows you to keep your right hand on the throttle.

Not many people know this though so most simply stick their right arm out.

bonus: Left arm bent downwards means slowing down / stopping.

 

[iovaykind]

Bump on my question.. too cold here to try it myself

 

[John in CR]

Bump on my question.. too cold here to try it myself

I believe it varies with the controller. I use it with my old Lyen 24fet that I've had for 3 years. It has only one force, on or off, and I don't have to let off the throttle to 0 to get regen. FWIW, with that motor even on maximum force setting the regen force is very gentle. Going down a 5% grade on the highway at over 50mph, it barely slows the bike, so it's nice to keep the speed down. At my typical 35-40mph cruising speed on that bike, I let off to activate regen over 100 yards before a turn. That bike exceeds all of my others in % regen by a wide margin, and I regularly see over 15%. I know I wouldn't like slip charge with anything more than a very gentle stopping force. I love it on that bike, twist to speed up and let off to slow down (recovering 20A for long durations) is elegant in it's simplicity once you get accustomed to the distances you need to let off.