Want to increase top speed of your electric bike without buying a more powerful motor? Well you can do so by removing the speed limiter on your bike.
In the world of cycling, speed is often considered to be a necessary part of the sport. If you are riding an electric bike, then one way that you can increase your top speed is by increasing the motor’s torque.
Unfortunately, this will only take you so far until something breaks and prevents the bike from going any faster at which point your ride can become dangerous very quickly.
When you look at the top speeds of the fastest ebikes, you will usually see them getting about 40 MPH.
But if you are not content with just a 40 MPH bike and wish to go faster, one way to achieve this goal is by removing your ebike’s speed limiter.
Most e-bikes are limited to 20 miles per hour but can easily go to 36-40 miles per hour. You can remove speed limiter of electric bike to tap into the full power.
Things to Consider
When you remove your bike’s speed limiter, you need to be aware of a few things. The first is that you need to pay attention to your speedometer.
There are many bicycles today that have a built-in digital speedometer, which can tell you instantly how fast or slow that you are going.
However, when removing it from an elbike, this method will no longer give you an accurate reading of your speed. This means that you need to invest in a new speedometer, which has a needle and is calibrated to your bike’s input.
Another thing to consider is that most ebikes are limited in terms of power output the same way that cars are.
The only difference is that you can adjust your electric bike power output with a few button presses instead of taking it to the shop.
Why Remove Speed Limit
We all love traveling at high speed and going fast on our bikes. It’s something that we’ve always enjoyed doing.
But as we all know, a motor is a very powerful piece of equipment and sometimes they can reach extremely high speeds.
And that’s one of the problems with ebikes. They can reach very high speeds without any kind of top speed limiter. When you ride one, you just need to pedal faster and faster and it’s as if you are riding a motorbike.
But if you go fast enough, a rock is going to get in your path or something is eventually going to break. So it’s better to have control measures in case something goes wrong or goes off the road.
After a few accidents related to e-bikes contries like USA, Canada and even within EU have put restriction on how fast can an electric bike can go. Which in most case bike companies comply by installing speed limiter.
The limiter control the power supply to the motor thus restricting you to go faster than what specified by the government in that country. For example 20 MPH in most EU countries.
You can easily get faster without need for spending a premium by simply removing or adjusting / bypassing the set settings of the speed liter switch.
Is It Safe?
Well, there are two ways to remove the top speed limit from an ebike. The first way is a little dangerous, but it’s quite safe. This method involves removing a switch from behind the seat to slowly open up your ebike’s throttle.
It basically cuts out some power and makes your ebike go faster by itself until you reach a certain top speed.
Make sure that you’re in control of your ebike at all times and that you have enough power to slow down if something goes wrong.
Before now, ebike riders have had to reduce their top speed to prevent from damaging their bike or themselves, but many have found ways to get around this.
They are able to ride their bikes at top speeds by removing it on their bike.
After learning how to remove it, many ebike riders will get on their bike and start riding faster than before. But you need to be very careful because even though your motor is capable of reaching higher speeds, your bike is not.
It is possible that you could take a corner too fast and lose control.
How Do I Remove My Speed Limit?
If you can get past the potential dangers and drawbacks associated with removing it, then there are many benefits that doing so will bring.
You will be able to ride your bike faster, and it is likely that you would travel longer distances than before, which is always a good thing.
To remove the speed limiter you will first need to make sure that your throttle is turned off. This means that you will need to push on the throttle in order for it to stop moving.
Then, you will need to locate the little screw that is located on your throttle. Loosen the screw so that it comes out.
After doing this, you will be able to remove it from your bike. The next step is to plug in the speed limiter into your charger and put it aside for a few hours.
Once it gets hot from charging, you will notice that it heats up very quickly when you touch it with your hands – which means that this is an indication of its weakened circuitry.
The final step is to use a screwdriver in order to short out the wires. This will make it so that your bike’s motor can turn on again and go faster than before.
How To Remove Speed Limit On A Pedal Assist Electric Bike
If you own a pedal assist ebike, then removing it may not be as easy as it is on a throttle ebike. That’s because pedal assist bikes require that the rider constantly regulates their speed by pedaling along with their motor.
To remove speed limits on these bikes you first need to find and disable / remove the speed sensor that feed data to your bikes speed limiter.
You may find them as the rear wheel’s magnet and frame’s base sensor. They sense your speed automatically and controls the motor output. You may either remove or place them somewhere else.
This may take some time but can be done easily with bare hands.
Ideally you should replace the magnet to your pedal bracket with your speed sensor facing the magnet to remove the speed limit for a fun and enjoyable fast riding experience.
Alternatively you can also find and cut / remove the speed limiting wire connected with the speed controller. Gently take out this wire and you are done.
Generally you can find this limiting wire next to your electric bike gear.
Pros of Removing The Limit On Your E-bike
There are many advantages associated with removing it on your ebike, but there are also some disadvantages that you should be aware of. The main benefit is of course being able to go faster than before.
If you don’t like having to pedal your bike, then you have found the solution. If you have a throttle ebike, then removing the limit will allow you to go as fast as possible.
Getting rid of the speed limit is a great method to make your ebike go faster. It usually leads to much better performance, especially as it drops your top speed to around 40 MPH.
In terms of range, it’s already great for an ebike and decreases your need for a battery pack.
If you are riding an ebike with above 40 MPH speed but limited to just 20 MPH, then why not remove it? It will make you much faster and safer at the same time.
Another benefit is the actual safety. They can make your bike harder to control and keep under control, especially at high speeds. Removing it actually makes your ebike safer as you will be able to control it better and make it easier to stop when something goes wrong.
Cons of Removing The Limit On Your E-bike
The main disadvantage of removing it is that you can easily damage your motor by letting it run at high speeds for too long. You should make sure that your bike is in good working condition before going really fast.
If your bike has a shaft driven motor, then remember your chain will eventually snap if you go very fast.
But other than the higher risks of accidents or reduced life of your motor and battery; the one reason why you should not do it so casually to avoid breaking the law.
Most countries and states have made legal speed limits for electric bikes. For which the manufacturer put the speed limit to comply with the law.
Now if you remove the limit and get faster you are simply breaking the law.
At last it is very important that when riding an ebike at high speeds, you wear protective gear such as a helmet and arm guards if needed. These items can save your life in the event of a crash.
Even though riding fast and not pedaling may seem like a great idea, it is important to remember that it is also dangerous.
Final Words of Advice
If you are ready to remove the speed limit from your ebike, then you should follow our advice on how to do so.
Make sure that you only upgrade your battery’s wires and capacitors to handle more current because this will protect your motor from failure.
While this process may seem somewhat overwhelming at first, it can be a ton of fun to do as it will allow you to customize your bike and make sure that you are able to get the most use out of it.
If you are planning on trying this out, we strongly recommend that you take notes of how the limiter is installed so that way when you put everything back together, it will be exactly how you want it.
Also Read
How Fast Do Electric Bikes Go? Top Speed of An Electric Bike
