The Basics:
Kit included
First Impressions:
The rack requires rack eyelets. The bikes I had in mind as donors do not have the eyelets, with the exception of the 700C ones. For my initial testing I'll be using my Ventana, a very high end MTB outfitted with the best of everything. It's the only 26" wheeled bike I have with eyelets. This is my absolute favorite bike, and I've spent a lot of money keeping it light and strong. The kit won't be staying here, I'll be lacing the motor onto a 700C wheel in the future to use it on another bike.
(edit: The donor will not be the Ventana. The washers inside the fork rub the fork on the Ventana, taking it out of the running. I'm going to try to make it work with a few other bikes. When I get one that'll work, assembly notes will be forthcoming, along with pics of the insides of anything I dare open up).
The kit looks pretty good out of the box. It came with a tube and tire, which was a nice surprise since the rim is Schrader drilled (which is to be expected for entry level bikes) and all my tubes are presta. The battery is pretty heavy, 19.2lbs out of the box. I'll weigh it again when fully charged.
Everything appears to be well made. As my pics show, it arrived with part of the rack poking out of the box. The rack legs were tweaked out a bit as a result, but bent back in without issue.
Can't really comment as to how true the wheel is, since it's not in a bike yet (I've got some filing to do). The spokes are loose, but machine built wheels always are. I fully expect to true the wheel, as I would any other wheel that was not hand built.
There is very little by way of instructions. The rack takes a bit of figuring to figure out how to mount. Not an issue for us technical types, but the layman may want better instructions.
The instructions are very clear not to discharge beyond 30%. I'm not sure if this is an indication that there is no BMS to handle LVC. If not, I'd consider this a serious flaw. The battery gauge does not give percentages, so if the controller or battery doesn't know when to shut down the power, you've got an issue on your hands unless you have a watt meter on the bars, something that the kit does not include. Aside from that, on first appearance, everything is tops.
I was pleased that the horn is separate, allowing one to skip it if they want. I would, but am worried about the exposed connections that would result.
^^ Rack mounting bits. It figures out easy enough, but is enough to make you pause at first.
The battery charge port leaves something to be desired. It does not spin far enough out of the way in either direction to allow the charging plug in, unless you bring it up and over the handle. Not sure how much this will shorten the life of the cover. I suppose nobody will be lifting it by the handle while it's charging, so that shouldn't be much of an issue.
^^ Notice how the cover had to come over the handle to allow access to the charging port.
More to follow...
Kit included
26†front wheel with hub motor (500W Nominal, almost 1000 Peak)
LED automatic headlamp with battery indicators & shutoff key
LiFePo4 48V 10Ah battery pack
Motor & regenerative braking controller
Rack for the above
Charger
Horn
3 Gear switch
Brake levers for regen braking
First Impressions:
The rack requires rack eyelets. The bikes I had in mind as donors do not have the eyelets, with the exception of the 700C ones. For my initial testing I'll be using my Ventana, a very high end MTB outfitted with the best of everything. It's the only 26" wheeled bike I have with eyelets. This is my absolute favorite bike, and I've spent a lot of money keeping it light and strong. The kit won't be staying here, I'll be lacing the motor onto a 700C wheel in the future to use it on another bike.
(edit: The donor will not be the Ventana. The washers inside the fork rub the fork on the Ventana, taking it out of the running. I'm going to try to make it work with a few other bikes. When I get one that'll work, assembly notes will be forthcoming, along with pics of the insides of anything I dare open up).
The kit looks pretty good out of the box. It came with a tube and tire, which was a nice surprise since the rim is Schrader drilled (which is to be expected for entry level bikes) and all my tubes are presta. The battery is pretty heavy, 19.2lbs out of the box. I'll weigh it again when fully charged.
Everything appears to be well made. As my pics show, it arrived with part of the rack poking out of the box. The rack legs were tweaked out a bit as a result, but bent back in without issue.
Can't really comment as to how true the wheel is, since it's not in a bike yet (I've got some filing to do). The spokes are loose, but machine built wheels always are. I fully expect to true the wheel, as I would any other wheel that was not hand built.
There is very little by way of instructions. The rack takes a bit of figuring to figure out how to mount. Not an issue for us technical types, but the layman may want better instructions.
The instructions are very clear not to discharge beyond 30%. I'm not sure if this is an indication that there is no BMS to handle LVC. If not, I'd consider this a serious flaw. The battery gauge does not give percentages, so if the controller or battery doesn't know when to shut down the power, you've got an issue on your hands unless you have a watt meter on the bars, something that the kit does not include. Aside from that, on first appearance, everything is tops.
I was pleased that the horn is separate, allowing one to skip it if they want. I would, but am worried about the exposed connections that would result.
^^ Rack mounting bits. It figures out easy enough, but is enough to make you pause at first.
The battery charge port leaves something to be desired. It does not spin far enough out of the way in either direction to allow the charging plug in, unless you bring it up and over the handle. Not sure how much this will shorten the life of the cover. I suppose nobody will be lifting it by the handle while it's charging, so that shouldn't be much of an issue.
^^ Notice how the cover had to come over the handle to allow access to the charging port.
More to follow...