Bafang ultra,how strong is it.Does it overheat?

I am in the prosess of ordering av Frey ebike.But a lot of reading makes my hesitate.Many reviews say the motor is lazy and overheats easily.And many reviews says the opposite.So which is it?
I already have a bafang bbs 36w 500w 25a and it needs to be significantly stronger than my Bafang bbs if it should be interesting.
I have stuidied all the info I can find,the thing that worry me a bit is the "low" gear reduction 1:18 is not much.My yamaha pw-x Haibike have 1:45 gear reduction.
I see the Bafng Ultra has good amount of coppar and a big rotor .But from playing with the ebike.ca simulator it seems that bigger gear reduction is much more important for torque and overheating than a bigger motor.

how long is a piece of string?

if its data is in the simulator, that has the most objective answer there

otherwise you need to lay all the same use-case info in narrative prose here

and get more subjective feedback

Very helpful,thanks

I have an Exess HP-E180 52v with one & I'm very happy after a year of riding. Compared to a Bosch Gen3..there is none. MUCH stronger & definitly NOT lazy.
I use the bike exclusively off-road on relatively flat terrain, so I can't comment on how it would perform in a commuter application or off-road in very hilly terrain, but after a hard 1.5 hour ride (battery down to <20%) neither the motor nor battery were more than warm throughout the summer.
I changed the 42t chainring to a 38t because 35mph is...adequate :lol:
I'm getting a new 40A controller to get over 2kw & have seen an Ultra run @ 72v/55A with no problems.
If you are planning to run at 48V 1000w configuration, I'd guess it will give you 1000's of miles of service.

Thanks,thats very useful info.I am looking at Exess bikes myself.VERY nice bikes www.exess-bikes.de
Just got a mail from them that they are working on a Bafang Ultra PEDELEC 250w version for this summer.
I see the motor has unhumanly high rpm,how does it handle low cadence? For relaxed commuting I like around 50 in cadence and about 35 kmh

Using an Exess for commuting seems like major overkill, why pay for a cf 180mm travel bike & lock-out the suspension ?
As far as low cadence...riding off-road I'm often at low cadences with no issues.
I understand why they'd make a 250w Ultra, but this is also major overkill. I think the smaller Bafang motors would accomplish this application with a lot less weight (3-4kg vs. 7kg for the Ultra).

Not only for commuting,also mountain biking.

Joe interested in the controller for your excess, this would be the same one they are retrofitting on motors sent to them?

I have an ultra with the stock controller and for slow, lower cadence riding it is doing poorly
Power kicks in too hard/big clunk for level 1 and cuts in and out on any slight downhill no matter the gear to the point where i have to turn off the pas

My riding is a lot of offroad slow but heavy loads, some flats but 30% decent size hills
Do a lot of 8-12mph riding but want the power for big hills and to move in a hurry if i need to

On the throttle my ultra is set to speed up slowly, too slowly to me
But on the other hand most people say the stock ultras are wide open or off on theirs....
Hoping with some programming work i will be able to hit this in the middle...???


Would be very interested in your impressions of the excess Pas/throttle programming etc vs any other ultra bikes you may have ridden
Considering send the motor to them for the excess controller but want to see more feedback on it first

Cvin, if I would you I would buy a programing cable and change the settings on the stock one first.

It should increase the drive ability.

Egg rider should be here in a few days and I will play with it then

But I think this has already been programmed by pushkar who made my wattwagon, so it is probably not at stock settings now, will confirm that

Should add I have also read on the biktrix forum some of those guys have some of the same complaints I do

Motor not smooth and clunking when the power kicks in, and those bikes are programmed by roshan..

Am willing to learn about the settings and try the egg rider or using a computer but am suspicious it is just the unrefined bafang controller

Would be nice to compare all the different programming on them

Cvin

The controller that came with the bike is NOT their latest controller. I am buying a new motor from Exess with the new controller & should be getting it in a few weeks.

My trails are pretty open, so I never ride in low assist modes; plus I like to go fast! The Exess has ECO 1-5 & Sport 1-5. I primarily ride in Sport 3 so I don't have much experience at low assist, but it didn't seem to have any of the issues you described the few times I did. My only (small) problem was a barely noticeable overrun at the top of hills. The throttle is pretty linear after getting past the initial dead spot. Exess may have done some tuning to the stock controllers before they sent the bikes out...you might ask Jurgen.

I believe he will convert Ultra motors purchased from other sellers with his new controller. They require the complete motor be sent to them to calibrate the new controller to your motor as you may have heard.

I also am working with a battery supplier here in the States to make a battery able to handle the 40A continuous needed to take advantage of the controller's potential. The stock 52v/14Ah battery only delivers 30A, so it would be silly to not have a battery able to supply at least 40A continuously. The Exess frame's top tube creates a fit problem which I (hope to) have worked around with the custom battery which I should be getting in a few weeks. Since the motor will be producing up to 2200w, the new battery is 52v/21Ah so I won't be pushing the bike after 1 hr. :lol:

After I get the bike together I'll let you know my impressions of the new controller, but it may be a few weeks because I am just getting into the coldest part of the winter here....& I'm a wus

Sounds interesting I am really interested in how the new controller goes.

What are your impressions of The exess hp-e180

I am a short rider only 168 cm, and the reach, top tube length and chainstay length all seem really long. I wonder how bunny hoping and manuals are with such a long bike?

it does look like a really nice bike and i like the m620 power over the normal 250w motors the big brands use.

What is your experience of the exess hp-e180

Exess HP-E180....love it. I can't think of ANYTHING I have ever owned that has given me more smiles/$$.

I had a Bosch Performance CX powered bike before I got the Exess, so I have a basis of comparison. The difference in performance is like the difference between a pedal bike & an ebike. When I ride with my friend with his Levo he is just as tired as I was riding with him on a pedal bike.

The difference between 500w & 1600w is huge. I come from an MX/Enduro & mtb background & ride on trails where I can ride 15-25 mph so more power is just ...more fun! I use the bike for fast rides of about 1.5 hrs. where I drain the battery to <20% & ride in Sport 3 with liberal throttle applications. The Exess is a legitimate mtb bike with modern geometry & is significantly different from the previous generation (Stealth etc.) high powered ebikes. While it weighs about 57 lbs., the power masks the weight nicely, much like a 47 lb Bosch bike isn't cumbersome compared to an mtb bike. Where a conventional emtb feels like a pedal bike, the Exess feels like a very light Enduro m/c. I believe under the right circumstances (15-30 mph trails), the same rider would be faster on the Exess then on a motorcycle thru the woods because of the 200lb. weight savings.

The bike doesn't feel small by any standard & if your riding is going to be on tight 5-10 mph trails, you would probably be better served with a 250w Bosch, Brose etc. I'd suggest you contact Exess about the experience of similarly sized riders to you have had with the bike. If you are 120-130lbs., it might be a handful (but it would be stupid fast ). The bike is not a manual & bunny hopping monster...I doubt any 55-60lb. bike would be, but 180mm of travel goes a long way to getting over terrain.

I am getting the new 2200 w controller (& 21Ah battery) for the obvious reason as well as to smooth out the overrun it has now.

joe thanks for all the feedback here on the excess bikes

will keep watching this thread and the other one to see how you like the newer controller

quick question, the throttle even on your excess bike is laggy at first? wonder if that will change with this new one
certainly not happy with the throttle response on the one i have now

but i am about a week away from being able to spend some time programming with the egg rider, too busy with work

Yes, there was a dead spot on the throttle on the original motor/controller but I'm not sure if it's the fault of the cheap throttle or the controller. I'll see if the new controller makes any difference.

I have a Domino throttle I'd like to use but I'm not sure if it's compatible. If anyone knows what (if anything) is needed to use it I'd like to know.

I would also be interested in any better throttles that we can use with the stock controller if anyone knows

The Bafang Ultra throttle action is like the BBSHD. It sucks. From my observation, it seems like the PAS has priority over the throttle unless you give full throttle so it's like all or nothing. If you don't pedal, then the throttle works like you would expect. As soon as you give some pedal force, the PAS takes priority over the throttle and you can get some bad behavior. It should be possible to hardware hack it like I did on the BBSHD so the throttle has priority over PAS.

The Ultra has a significantly larger motor than the BBSHD so should be capable of more power. The gear reduction from the motor to the chain ring really isn't enough in my opinion but hard to change that.

fechter said:

The Ultra has a significantly larger motor than the BBSHD so should be capable of more power. The gear reduction from the motor to the chain ring really isn't enough in my opinion but hard to change that.

Click to expand...

How does the torque compare to the BBSHD at same current?
It has larger rotor,but BBSHD rotor is much wider and has bigger gear reduction

Thanks Joe for the feed back, sounds like a really fun bike. Exess said the medium frame would fit me well,

The Ultra is only slightly more powerful feeling than the BBSHD. I think it has more potential though.

Bafang ultra-you can swap from 44-42T chain ring to 38 T with Chain spider BCD 130, or order Christini spider BCD 104 and you can go to 32T chain ring.
Programming M620: I do not use throttle, but after programming: the response to pedaling is immediate - both engagement and ending, tried yesterday. I am satisfied, big difference from the factory settings.

I put a 38t chain ring on mine. I do a lot of fairly steep trails. It has been working great so far.

A have 38T too, but I have ordered Christini chain spider BCD104 and I will try 34T chain ring on bike with 27,5 plus tires.

Andy123

Check your chainline with the Christini spider, it's designed for fatbikes & you have to mount your chainring on the inside with about 5mm (or so) of spacers to get the correct chainline.

Btw, its a 110bcd.