500c Bafang Display : The Mini-Me Of Ebike Displays

/ November 30, 2018

I’ve been pretty disappointed by almost every Bafang ebike display I’ve ever used. My number 1 complaint is that most ebike displays are way to big, and make your bike look too much like an ebike with any casual glance. With a backpack battery and a little discretion, I’ve found that most people don’t even notice that I’m riding an ebike on the trails, even if I stop on the trail and let them pass. If you don’t bring attention to yourself by looking down at your bike and if you weren’t riding insanely fast without pedaling, most people will just assume you’re on a normal bike. Nothing screams ‘EBIKE’ like having a large display on the handlebars with lots of wires coming out of it.

For any new BBSxx drive unit I bought today, I would only get with the 500c display

The updated 500c Bafang display (aka the Luna Mighty Mini display) available here for $69 is a display that is worth buying on its own and upgrading whatever display you are running. Lunacycle had this display developed to fit bikes like the Luna Banana which didn’t have a display that worked very well for it, and Bafang is now reselling it to their other dealers. I have about 12 Bafang displays right now, many of them are pretty beat up with broken brackets and screens and so I bit the bullet and just ordered one to test with. I really liked it, both because of the color display, the wattage graph on the left side that fills up with bars showing you at a glance how much juice you’re chugging (in watts) as well as native support for 52v nominal battery packs.

Before the 500c display came out, if you wanted to have a discrete Bafang ebike your best bet was to dump the display entirely. Instructions on doing this can be found on the Powered Ride website article here. The biggest disadvantage of doing this is that you lose your ability to switch PAS levels or disable PAS by selecting level 0 (it stays at your last setting). If you don’t care about PAS or only use one PAS level ever and aren’t afraid to cut and solder cables and plug them into your expensive ebike motor then it’s a distinct possibility (I’ve never tried it). For the rest of us, there is the 500c display.

I prefer having it mounted on the left-hand side so I can shift PAS levels with my thumb

Pros

  • Lighter and smaller than any other Bafang display currently available
  • Support for any battery voltage from 24v to 52v nominal
  • Shows proper voltage level up to 60v
  • Haptic feedback (unit vibrates when you press a button)
  • The bracket is a lot more solid than the plastic brackets on most of the other Bafang displays
  • Works with any BBSxx drive unit or the Ultra Max

The 500c display does not work very well in direct full sun, this is my primary complaint

Cons

  • Hard to see in direct bright sunlight
  • You have to buy it for $69 if you want to upgrade your current display
  • Have to hold the power button down for a pretty long time to get the unit to turn on

I like that the 500c has only on attachment bracket and it’s very sturdy

For using the display there are a few things you want to know

  • Long Press Power button to turn on and off
  • Long Press + turn the headlights on and off (if you have headlights, none of my kits do)
  • Short press MENU button to cycle through display settings/trip meter
  • Long Press MENU to get to the menu settings
  • Press + or – to change menu settings
  • Long Press on MORE in the menu to get to extended settings Password is 1919 (Bafang) or 1199 (Luna)
  • In the advanced menu, you can set wheel size and number of PAS levels as well as a speed limit
  • Press + and – together to reset the trip meter
  • Speed Poles is how many poles your motor has (don’t change this)
  • Start Poles is how many turns of the speed sensor happens before the motor cuts on

If you have less PAS settings than 9 the display, the controller will interpolate the levels according to this chart

I haven’t bought a BBSxx drive unit in a while (I currently have 4 BBSHD’s, 8 BBS02s and 1 Ultra Max) but if I buy another BBS02, BBSHD or Ultra Max you better bet your favorite weasel that I’m going to order it with the 500c display. Small and light for discrete weight weenies like me, it is now my newest favorite display.

It’s about time.

Ride On.

Bafang 500c on the left and the 750c on the right which was the previously the smallest Bafang display

 

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51 thoughts on “500c Bafang Display : The Mini-Me Of Ebike Displays”

      • Thanks Karl. Been following you for over year. Follow me on recumbents dot com. Iam carolina there. I build carbon velomobiel bodies. Iam in the velomobiels section. Have 1 customer with bafang on the yellow velo. My web pages getting rebuilt by Godaddy.

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      • Karl, have you had any issues with this display reading only a 75% – 76% charge, even with the display set to 48v, and even while using a 48v battery at a full 54.6v charge? I’m having this issue with my setup.

        I’m being told by a third party, who is supposedly in touch with the manufacturer, that it could be an issue with my BBSHD having a 52v controller, as opposed to the original 48v. Do you know if there’s any truth to this, or do you have any other ideas?

        Thanks
        Steve

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      • dont know much, bought jail broke fang from luna had to wait on mini display seafreight to get to luna, a new batch! maybe they have fixed all that. 750/1000 watt from luna, maybe all readings are correct now
        velosRus.com

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  2. Will the 500C be compatible with the Ultra Max? I thought that was only compatible with the DPC-18.
    I love my 750C displays, on my BBS02 and BBSHD equipped bikes, so I wouldn’t change them, but I’d go for the 500C if I ever ordered an Ultra Max.

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  3. I agree, just built a bbso2 based bike with the 500c. It’s very stealth but still has great readability, and info. Can’t figure out what the default adv settings password is though…

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      • I just got the egg rider from em3ev. I like it for its small footprint on the handlebar. Haven’t tried it in bright summer sunlight yet, only in autumn morning sun. But it was still easy to see everything on the display. It shows the voltage – and that is a little too small. But everything else is clear. There is an app that you can download and connect it with your smartphone in order to configure the various modes (I have only tried the Iphone version). It is loosing connection and hangs – but the idea is good. An additional thing is that you have a button for off-road and road mode switching. Off-road mode lets you use the speeder without limitations. In road mode it stops at 20 km/h as is the legit limit for speed pedelecs using the speeder only, in Denmark. In the theoretical event that I will be stopped by the police, I can always activate road mode. I have just broken the plastic attaching the unit to your handlebars. I am not sure whether I overtightened it or it is weak.Still overall I like it better than my previous 750c display.

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      • Thank you Karl, you’re the best, you write inspiring articles. And you have a great country – even though I haven’t been there – yet. All the best.

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      • Hi Karl ,you seem to be very knowledgeable ,I bought a Bafang 750 watt 8fun with a 500c display ,we love it it works super ,,but it times out during the ride, have to turn it back on, what do I need to do ,,?

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  5. Thats great to see – I was looking for a way to unclutter my handlebar but Im stuck with wires for my brake sensors. Im using hydraulic Shimanos, so how can I hide the wires for the sensor?

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  6. I’m looking at this display on AliExpress, but they’re all listed as only supporting 48v.

    Is there an update to the firmware? How does on flash it? Is it the same cable used to programme the BBSHD?

    Thanks!

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  7. Thanks Karl for the much needed info! Just finished my first build and I really like the 500c from Luna Cycle. I put it on the left just like your picture and found it to be the perfect spot. As you said, barely noticeable.

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  8. hi Karl, is this display compatible with rear hub drive motor? (mine is Bafang 48V 500W rear hub running with Bafang C961 display). I try to look everywhere but no one mention about it. Thanks

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    • Most Bafang controllers use the same display. If the connector is similar then it’s very likely it will work. Buy it from someone that you can return it to if it doesn’t work (Amazon or Luna).

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    • Hi Benzoma, have you tried it on your rear wheel bafang motor? Does it work? I had the same question, having a 36V 250W rear wheel motor. Thanks Marco

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  11. Hey folks, on my second 500c screen (fat bike and tourer). Nearly time for a third on my 29er+ with front sus and a BBS02B 750W. My Fat Rohloff BBSHD and this is a combo for big happiness! My life is nearly complete 🤗 although I’m now bankrupt. 😂

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  12. The display size may not matter that much for stealth, because a lot of the conventional pedal bikes also have a lot of electronic gizmos on the handlebars. (Speedometers, bike computers, GPS, cell phone holders. etc., etc.) I’ve seen a lot of conventional pedal bikes with their handlebars loaded with gizmos; it seems many of the serious pedal riders have at least one display on their handlebars.. So having a display of some sort may not be a conclusive tip-off to the powers-that-be (or just meddlesome people) that you’re riding an e-bike,
    Frame mounted batteries are probably more damning, as well as obvious motors. (The Bafang is at least semi-obvious, if someone looks down towards the bottom bracket.) Of course, riding like a maniac without pedaling, especially uphill, will always cause you to pop up on the radar.
    Anyway, based on your article, I went ahead and got a 500c from Luna.. Riding MTB trails of dubious permissibility, its better to have all the stealth you can get.

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    • Could be the speedometer pickup coil. Check that the wiring is connected, the coil has continuity, and the magnet is magnetized and passing by within about 0.10 inch, (2.5 MM) of the pickup coil.

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  14. Now if they would integrate a throttle to it and a small plug for an ebrake, (all left side), then we could have one wire to the controller without the four-way split that adds so much bulk and mess to the bars!

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  15. Pingback: Luna X-1 : What Low Power Euro Ebikes Want To Be When They Grow Up | ElectricBike-Blog.com

    • Michael Ellis, I like it’s size and dimensions even better. It’s horizontal positioning makes it even more stealth, and more visually appealing in my opinion.

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  17. On 500c display, with the number of assist levels set to 5. Can run at power level 0 (no assist).

    In the Chart in the article it does not show. So I though I would ask.

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  19. Ihave a Krafty AWD and this only displays power usage on the rear wheel, nothing for the front. Is there a firmware upgrade toaccomodate power usage for both wheels?

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  20. Hello! I bought and built my Bafang Bbs02B 750w bike with this screen. This is amazing, but the poles setting is greyed out and just show an X in the menu. Have you got any idea what could be the problem, and what is very important it is a real problem? So do I need doing something with this? Thank you! (I will try to found somebody, try to check this with an other display, and my programing cable will be in my hand soon)

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  21. Hi, great article but I have an important question. I would change my LED indicator with 3 PAS levels (on Argento Piuma with an XF Brushless motor 36v 250W) with an APT 500s. This APT 500s, Argento mounts on the same bike: Argento Piuma S with the same motor (like mine). About you, if I’ll buy this 500s my bike will have 5 level of PAS? And, about you, will works? *_*
    P.s.
    My current LED display is a King-Meter 790 with only 3 PAS levels.

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    • Hi, I too have a Argento Piuma bike like yours and I would like to understand if is possible to upgrade.
      Have you succeeded?
      Hello

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  22. Hi I have the IGO Elite 3.0 and wonder if anyone has found out the display password. Neither of the above work. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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  23. I bought a Bafang kit with this display. It works great. I’dove to be able to change the splash/start screen (a big Hello on a yellow background). ALSO, can the display firmware be updated?

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