Hub motor direct from Chinese supplier

Torchy · Dec 4, 2020

Hi All,
Has anyone purchased a hub motor direct from a Chinese supplier? as they seem to be considerably cheaper than UK sources (I suspect these are the same Chinese items but with a mark up for the importer). What are the potential pitfalls other than getting something totally different from the description. Also any recommendations for reliable suppliers welcome.
Thanks

Santacruz · Dec 4, 2020

I have on 4 different occasions over the last 3 years, ordered motors and controllers from QSMOTOR.COM
Each time I have ordered, I have been told it will be 1 to 4 weeks before the item is shipped with a tracking number.
Everything has been sent via DHL and after shipping took between 2 days to a week to get to me in the Netherlands.
I don't know what the present situation is with shipping due to the pandemic and Christmas approaching.
Items I have had.
KLS kelly controller
QS205 motor
QS273 motor
Sabvoton 96120 controller.
On average, I got each item within 6 weeks and have not had a problem with one of them.
Now if I need anything, they are my first choice before anywhere else.
I know they also have a site on Ali express, but I prefer to deal with the company direct.

Torchy · Dec 4, 2020

Thank you Santacruz,
I would much rather deal with a company that comes with a recommendation, I have had a quick look at their website and I'm sure I will be able to find what I am looking for. A delay caused by Covid or Christmas won't be a problem as I have a couple of other projects to keep me occupied.

neptronix · Dec 4, 2020

I've done it many times as i'm the kind of guy to experiment with new motors and things which often aren't for sale at ebike part vendors.

It can be a cumbersome and time sucking process, and if you pay yourself a living wage in your country for the time you spend sending emails back and forth to someone who barely speaks english.. it only makes time/money sense to do so if you're buying in large quantities or you want a niche item.

In buying these unknown products i have occasionally discovered why mainstream vendors don't carry them.. IE they're crap.. and now i'm stuck holding the bag :lol:

Torchy · Dec 4, 2020

Thank you for your input Neptronix, I understand your comments and as a project builder of many years I am often looking for items to adapt to fit my requirements. However this is my first 'electric' adventure and I need a small project to gain hands on knowledge before starting something more adventurous. I have always found the best way to understand something is to try and improve it, there will be some failures on the path to knowledge.

qwerkus · Dec 4, 2020

Torchy said:
Hi All,
Has anyone purchased a hub motor direct from a Chinese supplier? as they seem to be considerably cheaper than UK sources (I suspect these are the same Chinese items but with a mark up for the importer). What are the potential pitfalls other than getting something totally different from the description. Also any recommendations for reliable suppliers welcome.
Thanks

I live in CH and often order direct from china. Beware of customs duties - that and shipping can easily double or triple prices. On the other hand, getting the motor directly from the supplier usually allows for more freedom. For an instance, mxus agreed to deliver the last motor (gdr-19) with a locked clutch to allow for regen. The motor turned out to be crappy (too noisy) the the clutch was nice.

Torchy · Dec 5, 2020

Thank you all, your input is appreciated.

neptronix · Dec 5, 2020

Torchy said:
Thank you for your input Neptronix, I understand your comments and as a project builder of many years I am often looking for items to adapt to fit my requirements. However this is my first 'electric' adventure and I need a small project to gain hands on knowledge before starting something more adventurous. I have always found the best way to understand something is to try and improve it, there will be some failures on the path to knowledge.

You're welcome.

If this is your first electric venture and you don't want it to be a disaster, may i suggest buying a kit that you can assemble and then tweak later. You'll learn a lot from doing so and the parts will already be fairly well matched.

Buying a small geared hub motor kit is how i got into this hobby.

99t4 · Dec 5, 2020

Torchy said:
...this is my first 'electric' adventure and I need a small project to gain hands on knowledge before starting something more adventurous. I have always found the best way to understand something is to try and improve it, there will be some failures on the path to knowledge.

Sorry I don't have answers directly pertinent to your original questions but your mission statement is remarkably inspiring and I am going to borrow and use it for awhile, thank you. :thumb:

Chalo · Dec 5, 2020

Torchy said:
Hi All,
Has anyone purchased a hub motor direct from a Chinese supplier? as they seem to be considerably cheaper than UK sources (I suspect these are the same Chinese items but with a mark up for the importer). What are the potential pitfalls other than getting something totally different from the description. Also any recommendations for reliable suppliers welcome.
Thanks

I got my first hub motor in 2003 or 2004 directly from a Chinese supplier (Crystalyte). I got my last hub motor many years later, directly from a Chinese supplier (Leaf Bike). Both have been entirely satisfactory.

There are Chinese suppliers with good reputation (e.g. EM3EV), with iffy reputation (e.g. BMSbattery) and with bad reputation (e.g. Okoman). If you're going to play in the deep end of the pool, you have to do some research.

markz · Dec 6, 2020

I bought my direct drive hub motor right from MXUS in China.
I bought another direct drive hub motor right from Leaf Bike.

Torchy · Dec 6, 2020

99t4 said:
Torchy said:

...this is my first 'electric' adventure and I need a small project to gain hands on knowledge before starting something more adventurous. I have always found the best way to understand something is to try and improve it, there will be some failures on the path to knowledge.

Click to expand...

Sorry I don't have answers directly pertinent to your original questions but your mission statement is remarkably inspiring and I am going to borrow and use it for awhile, thank you. :thumb:

This started when I was very young, I always wanted things I couldn't afford and the only option was to buy broken things and fix them.

Torchy · Dec 6, 2020

Chalo said:
Torchy said:

Hi All,
Has anyone purchased a hub motor direct from a Chinese supplier? as they seem to be considerably cheaper than UK sources (I suspect these are the same Chinese items but with a mark up for the importer). What are the potential pitfalls other than getting something totally different from the description. Also any recommendations for reliable suppliers welcome.
Thanks

Click to expand...

I got my first hub motor in 2003 or 2004 directly from a Chinese supplier (Crystalyte). I got my last hub motor many years later, directly from a Chinese supplier (Leaf Bike). Both have been entirely satisfactory.

There are Chinese suppliers with good reputation (e.g. EM3EV), with iffy reputation (e.g. BMSbattery) and with bad reputation (e.g. Okoman). If you're going to play in the deep end of the pool, you have to do some research.

Thanks for those suggestions.

Torchy · Dec 6, 2020

markz said:
I bought my direct drive hub motor right from MXUS in China.
I bought another direct drive hub motor right from Leaf Bike.

I will look up those companies.

electric_nz · Dec 6, 2020

BMSbattery has been a good supplier to me so far; shipping is screwed because of COVID tho. :edit: all arrived safely! Recommended

Hub motor direct from Chinese supplier

Torchy

1 mW

Santacruz

100 W

Torchy

1 mW

neptronix

Administrator

Torchy

1 mW

qwerkus

10 kW

Torchy

1 mW

neptronix

Administrator

99t4

100 kW

Chalo

100 TW

markz

100 TW

Torchy

1 mW

Torchy

1 mW

Torchy

1 mW

electric_nz

1 kW

Similar threads