A new e-bike test setup from Volos Projects uses a reflective LCD (RLCD) to keep speed and other indicators visible in direct sunlight—where many common transmissive LCDs struggle. The display hardware is based on a Waveshare board, and the developer says the
When you’ve ever tried to read an early digital device outdoors. you know the frustration: the numbers are there. but the sunlight wins. Volos Projects built a workaround into an e-bike-style test stand. swapping a typical LCD approach for a reflective LCD (RLCD) designed to stay legible in bright light.
The display is built on reflective LCD technology. which uses a reflective layer to bounce ambient light back to the viewer. The result is higher contrast and better readability under high light conditions than what most people are used to with transmissive LCDs—screens that can essentially disappear in direct sun.
Instead of just testing the idea on a bench. the project integrates the hardware into a setup meant to mimic an e-bike. Volos Projects used a board from Waveshare that includes the screen and its driver components. then mounted it into a test stand that imitates an e-bike’s speed sensor and other hardware such as turn signals. On the display. the bike’s speed appears along with a few other indicators. and the key claim is simple: the information can be easily seen in full sun.
Volos Projects doesn’t yet have the setup on an actual e-bike. Still. he hopes it can be useful for people who want to upgrade or experiment with low-cost e-bike displays that don’t perform well outdoors. The code used for the project is available on a GitHub page. and the natural fit—at least in the spirit of the build—is pairing this kind of display with an open-source e-bike project.
e-bike display reflective LCD RLCD sunlight readability Waveshare board DIY electronics GitHub code speed indicator turn signals
Reflective screen seems like it would just glare tho.
So basically they fixed the “can’t see speed in sun” thing? Bout time. I swear my display just turns into a ghost when I ride midday.
I don’t get it, isn’t reflective LCD the same as those old calculators? Like they look cool but at night it’s still gonna be hard. Also they said e-bike style test stand but not on an actual e-bike, so I’m guessing it won’t work in real life.
This is neat but why not just use a phone screen with an app? Or put the screen under tinted plastic so the sun can’t beat it. The Waveshare board part sounds like DIY tinkering, which is cool, but I’d want to see it survive rain too. If the code is on GitHub I’m sure someone will mod it into every e-bike display like immediately, lol.