Cheapest 30+ MPH Hub Motor Build?

josaphine30

100 mW
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Messages
44
Location
West Yorkshire, England.
Hello,

I want to buy a hub motor kit for my mountain bike which will allow me to go atl east 30MPH. I wouldn't need more than 15 miles range and the bike wouldn't really need a lot of torque as I will mainly be using it on normal roads and pedaling quite a lot.

What would be the cheapest option to make an ebike that will do 30MPH or more?

Thanks.
 
Welcome to ES****Do this before your first post or now (it's retroactive)*****
Please go to the User Control Panel, select Profile, and then enter your city, state/province, and country into the Location field (country minimum) and save it. This will help people help you. Example: Wylie, TX, USA. Without knowing what country you are in it's hard to make any recommendations and you will waste your time and others. Thank you.
Select 48V 1000W
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rear-Wheel-Electric-Bicycle-Conversion-Kit-24V-36V-48V-250W-500W-700W-800W-1000W-/290754592384
35mph on battery charged to 63V.
 
That's the motor on the bargain. Only thing possibly cheaper with that speed on 48v would be a used one. "48v" charges to about 56-60v.

What's not cheap, is a battery big enough to go 30 mph for 15 miles at that speed. You can start small though, and have your 15 miles at 15 mph soon, to be followed by more battery later, giving you the range you need at 30 mph.

I never recommend lico (RC lipo batteries) to the inexperienced, unless they are obviously geniuses. But it's not impossible to learn for those less smart. Must not be, I did it.

Much depends on your requirements, such as do you have a safe place to charge lico. If you live in an apartment, you really should not go lico, but opt for a safer to charge chemistry but have to live with buying a larger size initially.

48v 15 ah of limn with a decent discharge rate should do the trick.
 
Hi, thanks for all the replies. :)

I'm in the UK, I will update my info now.

The battery would be charged in my garage. I have read a lot of stories about batteries setting on fire and exploding, is that the Lipo ones?

I think £1000 would be my absolute maximum.

The range isn't too important either. I'd like 10-15 miles, with me doing some of the work.
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/36-48V-250-500-800-1000W-Electric-Bicycle-E-Bike-26-Front-Rear-Wheel-Motor-Kit-/181237508447
48V 1000W will be fastest. Take your pick. Or search through this.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=&_osacat=888&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR10.TRC0.A0.X48v1000w&_nkw=48v1000w
 
josaphine30 said:
The battery would be charged in my garage. I have read a lot of stories about batteries setting on fire and exploding, is that the Lipo ones?
More than likely, but most, if not all the things you've seen are caused by user error. Either on purpose for demos, by pure stupidity, or by faulty equipment or charge practices. Properly handled, the chance of fire is close to 0.
 
With a 1000 pound budget, you shouldn't really need to cut much corners.

So now I suggest you look at the direct drive kits at EM3ev. The 370 RPM one will do 27 mph on 48v batteries. No, not quite 30 mph, but really it's quite enough. This motor has better disk brake compatibility and a centered rim that makes for a stronger wheel.

And still doesn't cost all that much.

Once you do pick a kit, then lets discuss compatible batteries. Hard to beat the ones EM3ev sells, but there are less expensive alternatives.

RC lipo, aka lico is the volatile chemistry. It's cheap for it's capability and high powered bikes pretty much need them. But 30 mph does not require lico.
 
To travel at 30mph and have a range of 15 miles and are planning to use lipos figure to use 8 5000mah 6 cells. That is what I use for my 11 mile ride to work and I still have a 30% power reserve when I get there. Once danger is that if you don't get enough batteries (AH)m it is easy to damage the lipo packs.
 
That's 20 ah of 12 cells in series to make the "44v" pack. That would make the motor I suggested slower, perhaps 25 mph. Still a pretty good click for a bicycle, though.

14s, 14 cells in series gets to to the full "48v", and most controllers can also tolerate "51v" That's 15 in series. 15s would get you very very close to 30 mph with the motor I suggested.

Since your budget is in pounds, I wouldn't recommend the USA vendor we talked about earlier. You can get the similar motor to the one at EM3ev in a faster winding, but I don't have a vendor in mind for it.

I'm not sure what speed motor the UK vendors Wes linked to sell. But for sure, they are likely to be able to go 27 mph on 48v.

Another good choice, but slightly more costly, is crystalytes HS model. Grin Cyclery is the best dealer to get them from. It should do 30 mph on 48v.

For more than 30 mph, run more voltage through these same motors. 72v 20 amps is quite modest power, but enough to go about 35. 72v with a 40 amps controller gets you just into the 40 mph club. But at 3000w power, you have to be careful about ride distance. Past 10 miles at 40 mph, you can melt a motor. You can go the 15 miles at 35 mph no problems with a 72v 20 amps controller.
 
Hi, thanks for all the helpful replies once again.

The first eBike we built had an Em3ev 500w motor and a 15Ah 36V LiFePo4 battery from Pingbatteries.com so I would be happy to get the motor from Em3ev.

I now have a couple of questions which I hope you can help with.

Firstly, what's the difference between these two motors from Em3ev and would both be able to reach the 27-30mph I'm hoping for?

http://em3ev.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=36&product_id=54

http://em3ev.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=36&product_id=107

Another thing is, I don't understand all the different controller options. Example is '6 fet 25A' What does 'fet' mean and what does 25A mean? Lol

I have decided against the RC batteries too as I am just too scared of it catching fire. I believe that leaves me with the choice of a LiFePO4 battery from Ping or one of the batteries from Em3ev.

If I have to wait longer to save the extra money to get better quality parts that's fine, I want something that will last well.
 
Fet is short for MOSFET, the transistor type used in BLDC controllers. More FET's in parallel gives you more current handling capability. If your motor can take the power...

25A refers to 25 amps, the safe level of current you can run continuously within the voltage limit of the FET's.
 
Either will reach 27-30 mph, at 48v ( 16s lifepo4) depending on the winding speed you select.

The fastest one on the dd motor will hit 27 mph, with a 25 amps controller. A "25 A" controller means the controller will limit continuous amps to that level. But ratings are not gospel, typical 20 A controllers actually are often 22 amps.

It's important to match your controller to the battery. For example, a 15 ah ping battery should not be used with a 30 amps controller, unless the rider is very careful. Better to limit to 20-25 Amps controllers for a 15 ah ping.


The fastest selection of the Mac will be faster, but a bit sluggish off the stop signs if you choose the really fast wind. I'd say go for 8t, rather than the 6t. In fact, most find the 10t fast enough.

But I wasn't thinking the Mac, because they cost more, and they can't be overpowered as much as the DD motor later. Fast and cheap, to me that says get a 2807 winding dd motor, and give it some volts.


The faster winding dd motor is what I have on some of my bikes. One, I had going 47 mph. They don't last long overvolted that much, but a 72v 20 amps controller works just fine with this size dd motor, and will get you 35 mph. That's 1500w, but the dd motors can take 3000w for short bursts.

A typical dd motor in the faster rpm will reach 27 mph on 48v, but try to get a controller that can do 48v or 72v at 20-25 amps. Then once you have your 48v pingbattery, you can still experiment with 60v or 72v with additional batteries, even such as a cheap sla.
 
This is all very helpful. Thanks.

Would on of the Samsung batteries from Em3ev be able to reach 27MPH with the 500w Direct Drive motor too?

I was looking at this 50V 14.35AH one. It's small enough to fit on my bike and it isn't too expensive.

If this battery is compatible, what type of range could I expect with it?
 
Consider using the ebikes.ca calculator to answer some of your questions about range, speed, climbing ability etc.

That said, the triangle pack uses good Samsung cells and it's a pretty good deal between cycle life and energy density.
 
I didn't even see the triangle batteries before, one of those would be perfect on my bike.

I think I have decided on a battery and motor. I used the ebikes.ca simulator and top speed was 28.7MPH with 15 mile range. I think I have selected the most appropriate controller for the battery I have chosen. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Both from Em3ev

Motor:
500W Direct Drive Kit
- Motor Speed Rear 370rpm (296rpm loaded, 36V)
- Controller Type 6 fet 25A (36-75V, IRFB4110)
- Wheel Type 26" Alex DM24 Disc
- Throttle Type Full Twist
- Ebrakes Yes

Battery:
50V 12.3Ah Samsung Triangle Pack (11.7Ah & 16.5Ah Option)
- Bag Including Bag
- Cell Type ICR18650-22P (12.3Ah, 615Whr)
 
Exactly what I'd prefer too, if I had the money for one of the EM3ev batteries. The controller will have plenty of power, 1200w worth for sure. Only if you had very extreme steep hills to climb would I recommend more.

I have liked that type of motor a lot. I lose track of how many I've owned, it's like 8 or 10 of em. At 48v 25 amps power, I bet you cannot ruin one. At best, you can bend a rim.

But if you want more later, they will run 10 miles at a time at 40 mph using 72v 40 amps.

You won't quite have 30 mph unless you have a tailwind, but for sure you will have 27 mph. 27 mph for miles at a time is quite fast for bicycling. It should be all you really need. People talk about needing more for certain routes, but I reply that a different route is the answer to that.
 
Thank you. I just realized I made a mistake in the motor specs. The 370rpm one is a front wheel. So I'll have to get the fastest rear wheel one which is 335rpm. Do you think I will still reach 27mph with this motor?
 
No, it would take the 370 rpm one. That is the 7 turn winding, aka 2807, aka 9x7.

The rear motor he offers must be the 2808, 8 turn. It should go about 25 mph on 48v. I hadn't noticed that he didn't offer the 370 rpm in rear motor.

How hung up on the top speed are you? 25mph cruise is still fast enough to get there pretty quick.

If you really want the max speed on 48v, then you need to hunt down a similar motor in 2806 winding. I don't know where to find one immediately, but I'm fairly sure one could be found.

FWIW, the 10t version of the Mac motor at EM3ev should hit 30 mph. ( if I remember right, I haven't owned one) 8t even faster. 6t mac is too fast for 26" wheels. But it's a bit more pricy.

Yes.com in the USA has the 30 mph motor cheap, but shipping to you might get costly across the pond.
 
I have been reading on the Em3ev website and I think the 500w direct drive kit at 335 RPM is the best option. At 25mph it's not quite what I hoped for but it is definitely fast enough. I could always add another small battery to increase maximum speed right?


So, just to clarify.

500w direct drive kit
-335rpm motor speed
-6fet 25A (36-75v) controller


50V Samsung Triangle Battery Pack

12.3Ah
15 mile range, 25mph top speed

That seems like a pretty good kit for £670

I also heard that the direct drive kits are more reliable.


Thank you for all the help.
 
Would I be able to add one of the 25V 20Ah Battery packs from Em3ev to get more speed? How would it work because one battery would be 12.3Ah and one would be 20Ah. If the 12.3Ah went flat while I was out riding would it just use the 25V one and go slower?
 
You would need a controller to handle the increased voltage. If you wanted to up the voltage you would put the two batteries with a series connection and and amount of ah wouldn't matter be better if it was the same. If put into a parallel connection it would need to be the same chemistry so it discharges at the same rate but absolutely needs the same voltage
 
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