Locked Bafang settings & a useless dealer – did I get scammed by a lazy mechanic?
Hey guys,
I have two e-bikes at home: a Romet Erambler e9.1 (mid-drive, Bafang M300) and a Romet Emodeco urb 1.0 (hub motor, Bafang G020). Both use Bafang systems. I’d like to tweak one specific thing on each bike, but the display settings are locked. My question is whether this can be done by plugging the bikes into a computer (I've heard about the Bafang BESST tool).
- Mid-drive bike: I need to decrease the wheel circumference. Right now, the bike overestimates my speed by about ~2.2 km/h. It’s super annoying on group rides – the other bike assists up to a true 25 km/h, but my motor cuts off early because my display thinks I'm already going 27 km/h. I end up fighting with my own legs just to keep up.
I know I'm not making this up. The display speed is obviously higher than my phone's GPS and roadside speed radars. Plus, on a recent ride we did together, the hub-motor bike tracked ~60km, my Apple Watch GPS tracked ~60.5km, but my mid-drive bike showed ~65.5km. Way off.
- Hub-motor bike: I just want to change the pedal assist (PAS) levels from 1-3 to 1-5. Again, there's no way to change this manually directly on the display.
My question is: Can these two things be changed by connecting the bikes to a PC with the dedicated Bafang software at a bike shop?
I’m asking because I went to an authorized dealer in a larger city today, and the guy working there told me he couldn't do anything because "there are no error codes." He said he didn't know which bike was "lying" and claimed he only had a cable for one specific Bafang motor so he couldn't even plug into ours. He told us if we really want to pursue it, we could come back and they’d send an email claim to the manufacturer. He also claimed right off the bat that changing the PAS to 1-5 on the second bike would require buying a brand new display.
Did I just run into a lazy bike shop that didn't want to get involved and help, or is it actually impossible to change these settings? Any input is appreciated!