footloose
10 kW
About a year ago –dg and I talked about a pretty cool project to evaluate several small front-wheel drive motors, and thoroughly document their relative characteristics. But I flaked out and took way too long on my parts of the project, so it kind of died. But recently I did end up getting a Q100 build on the road.
So first, what was I trying to achieve with this build?
A reasonable performance folding commuter bike, capable of at least 8 miles distance without recharging, and with lightest practical non-LiCo battery.
Here are basics of the build:
- Bike: old Raleigh Twenty, upgraded with Nexus 8 speed rear hub and misc other tweaks
- Motor: Q100, nominally 36V, front wheel
- Battery: custom battery from EM3ev (14S3P / ‘48’V / ~6Ah / INR18650-20R NCA theoretically 10C discharge rate cells)
- Controller: a generic 6FET controller
So far I’m pretty happy with the bike.
It has enough torque to spin the front wheel slightly on gravelly surfaces.
The battery is very small and light, fits like a glove in a small Topeak bag strapped in below my center of gravity. (Bike c.o.g. stayed neutral front v rear.) Don’t know exact top speed yet, but it is in comfortable range for small folding commuter bike. In top gear on bike, I can add some pedal power. I’m guessing ~20mph, maybe a bit more.
Did two test rides this week.
Started with battery at 90% SOC (57V) on each test.
Similar conditions (same flat path, no wind, 8 miles, comfortably warm afternoon).
First test: moderate throttle, with reasonable amount of pedal contribution.
Second test: full on throttle most of the way, very little pedal input, “ride it like you stole it” approach (as much as you can with Q100 :wink: ).
First test:
~2.6 Ah (<50% of capacity)
~130 Wh
~16.25 Wh/mile
~15 A max draw
~ 850W max power
No detectable heating of controller
Motor very slightly warmer than ambient temp at end of ride
Second test:
~2.8 Ah (~50% of capacity)
~154 Wh
~19.25 Wh/mile
~15 A max draw
~850W max power
No detectable heating of controller
Motor definitely warm to touch (but not hot) at end of ride
No big conclusions yet, other than:
1) This very small/light battery punches more than satisfactory for this setup and ride profile
2) The Q100 is great little motor for this setup and ride profile
3) More research is required
So first, what was I trying to achieve with this build?
A reasonable performance folding commuter bike, capable of at least 8 miles distance without recharging, and with lightest practical non-LiCo battery.
Here are basics of the build:
- Bike: old Raleigh Twenty, upgraded with Nexus 8 speed rear hub and misc other tweaks
- Motor: Q100, nominally 36V, front wheel
- Battery: custom battery from EM3ev (14S3P / ‘48’V / ~6Ah / INR18650-20R NCA theoretically 10C discharge rate cells)
- Controller: a generic 6FET controller
So far I’m pretty happy with the bike.
It has enough torque to spin the front wheel slightly on gravelly surfaces.
The battery is very small and light, fits like a glove in a small Topeak bag strapped in below my center of gravity. (Bike c.o.g. stayed neutral front v rear.) Don’t know exact top speed yet, but it is in comfortable range for small folding commuter bike. In top gear on bike, I can add some pedal power. I’m guessing ~20mph, maybe a bit more.
Did two test rides this week.
Started with battery at 90% SOC (57V) on each test.
Similar conditions (same flat path, no wind, 8 miles, comfortably warm afternoon).
First test: moderate throttle, with reasonable amount of pedal contribution.
Second test: full on throttle most of the way, very little pedal input, “ride it like you stole it” approach (as much as you can with Q100 :wink: ).
First test:
~2.6 Ah (<50% of capacity)
~130 Wh
~16.25 Wh/mile
~15 A max draw
~ 850W max power
No detectable heating of controller
Motor very slightly warmer than ambient temp at end of ride
Second test:
~2.8 Ah (~50% of capacity)
~154 Wh
~19.25 Wh/mile
~15 A max draw
~850W max power
No detectable heating of controller
Motor definitely warm to touch (but not hot) at end of ride
No big conclusions yet, other than:
1) This very small/light battery punches more than satisfactory for this setup and ride profile
2) The Q100 is great little motor for this setup and ride profile
3) More research is required
