My 1st ebike, Pls Help Verify Kit/Info Before I Buy

DearDeathDay

10 mW
Joined
May 27, 2021
Messages
33
Edit: I'm currently looking at this Bafang 48v 500w with a 48v 10.4AH Battery, this Shuck 48v 500w Kit, and this CSC 48v 1000w Kit from ebay along with the same UPP battery mostly 'cause its cheapest. However, the fire hazard makes me hesitant so I might just wait another 6 months and get a better kit and battery... I'd rather not tho.

After much research this is the result: a 48v 15ah Battery and a 48v 1000w Motor Kit and (2) necessary (?) torque arms at a $600 budget on a Schwinn Voyageur from a few years ago.

I suppose, my main question is: will those parts (assuming they fit on my 21 speed probably freewheel 700c bike) cause any explosions?

Further, if I magically got a $1000 budget should I prioritize a better kit (from an actual company and not a generic Chinese retail) or a better battery more?

If possible, I would prefer a cheaper kit but I’m generally unwilling to go below 36v and the price point seems to be about a $200> difference for a massive shift in quality. Do... those exist?

I went for a 1kw Motor because I read that it’s better to have more than you need (read: legal) to prevent overheating and such and... it was also the cheapest one I could find with a twist throttle, speed limit and PAS.

I would have preferred to keep the budget at $500 but I know I will absolutely have buyer’s remorse if I get a cheap battery that doesn’t last long. I’ll have poor-life choices remorse if I get one that explodes so Amazon seemed like a relatively safe bet. I also can’t fit a tube battery in my tiny triangle, unfortunately. I might have to get a lower capacity battery for budgeting reasons but the battery has a baked in shelf life anyways so I might be able to convince myself I’ll upgrade when money isn’t an issue. Maybe.

Pros:
-my unfit noodle leg self doesn’t have to rely on muscle power to travel my relatively flat commute,
-I can justify getting actual security for my bike that isn’t a U-Lock,
-I can go to the store to buy groceries instead of ordering them, etc.
-speed? is that a question?

Cons:
-Back Heavy with the battery + motor + potential cargo=more flat tires + handling issues,
-using the “cheapest motor I could find” probably won’t end well,
-I have never mucked about with a bike before and it may all go horribly wrong,
-increased chance for theft (though I’ll hopefully be mitigating that by having a hub motor),
-do I really need it? No... do I want it? Yes... am I capable of biking my commute without begging the gods to smite me? RNGesus has a better chance of answering your prayers.

Anyways, thank you for reading all of this! Any assistance here would really be appreciated! I’d hate to get everything together and then learn it didn’t work because I misunderstood something lol

tl;dr: I desire a kit that:
-can easily sit at the Legal speed limit for the USA (28mph w/PaS),
-20 mile range minimum,
-enough acceleration to avoid drivers,
-mostly level ground with some hills,
-it won’t explode (or melt, etc.) if I gun it up a hill,
-700c wheel with a brushless hub motor,
-I don’t have disc breaks but if it’s necessary I can maybe retrofit some?
-including usual cargo, the rider is less than 150 pounds,
-including groceries and stuff the weight is whatever the bike can handle at most probably,
-my budget... the cheaper the better. $600 is where I’m at right now but $500 or less is preferred. Unfortunately, I can not invest any significant amount more than that at this time.
 
Buy a yescomusa ebike hub motor kit for $250'ish usd
https://www.yescomusa.com/search?q=hub+motor
Those kits do not have a 700C wheel selection, but you can relace if you buy a 700C rim and correct length spokes.

Voilmart is another option for hub motor kit that lots of people have purchased from, not sure if they are on ebay or Amazon.

Conhismotor/Risunmotor if you want KT display hub motor kit.

Buy a good quality battery from any of the usual places that sell good quality batteries for $500+
Do not cheap out on the battery, you get what you pay for.
Do not forget torque arms, and buy a spare throttle.


$1,000 would be Leaf 1500W hub motor https://www.leafbike.com/
and a good size battery for longer trips from em3ev.com or Grintech (www.ebikes.ca)







DearDeathDay said:
-my budget... the cheaper the better. $600 is where I’m at right now but $500 or less is preferred. Unfortunately, I can not invest any significant amount more than that at this time.
 
markz said:
Buy a yescomusa ebike hub motor kit for $250'ish usd
https://www.yescomusa.com/search?q=hub+motor
Those kits do not have a 700C wheel selection, but you can relace if you buy a 700C rim and correct length spokes.

Voilmart is another option for hub motor kit that lots of people have purchased from, not sure if they are on ebay or Amazon.

Conhismotor/Risunmotor if you want KT display hub motor kit.

Buy a good quality battery from any of the usual places that sell good quality batteries for $500+
Do not cheap out on the battery, you get what you pay for.
Do not forget torque arms, and buy a spare throttle.


$1,000 would be Leaf 1500W hub motor https://www.leafbike.com/
and a good size battery for longer trips from em3ev.com or Grintech (www.ebikes.ca

Thank you so much for the info!

I... I have no idea how to spoke a tire but a quick google search shows it’s definitely not impossible but would add at least $20 to the total. Voilamart was a kit I saw come up a lot but they don’t sell 700c sets anywhere I can find.

A... $500 battery? That’s like my whole budget! Is it really necessary? Won’t a decent Samsung-cell battery be good enough for my price point or have I totally missed the mark there?

I’m really not sure why I would need a spare throttle? In case it breaks?

Thanks again! I’m only a novice at even biking so I’m sure there’s a lot I’m missing but every bit helps!
 
Spend all you can on a quality battery. If you go cheap, charge it outside. My bargain 400 buck battery burned my garage down.

You may have to go with cheap as it gets to start out. I did that too, and as I saved money by keeping the car parked, I could afford better stuff later. I could afford a good battery when I bought that bargain, but got tempted by a large battery for cheap. My real mistake was trusting a cheap battery to be just as safe.

Commuting by e bike allowed me to retire 20 thou in charge card debt in 3 years, vs putting that cash into gas, and more expensively, repairs on a very old car, or replacing that car.

But you gotta start out lean, if you are in a similar situation. Need to get to work, but can't afford a car to get there. Do expect to buy more stuff later, batteries last a couple years in general, and you can go through a few of the low quality controllers and battery chargers. If nothing else, you repair the cheap plugs on them. I learned to keep spares around the house, I had to be able to fix fast, to keep commuting to work cheap. But again, over time, the savings gave me at least an extra hundred a month to accumulate what I needed to keep it going, eventually, a complete spare e bike always ready to ride.

BTW, the kit you linked to on ebay is also a 26" kit. You may need to start over with another bike. Best really cheap bike to convert is a schwinn or huffy 7 speed beach cruiser, with a rear motor. Has to be the 7 speed, with two rim brakes. NOT a coaster brake cruiser.

It could be cheaper to buy a cruiser, especially if you can find a used one, than buy much more expensive kits that come in any size wheel.
 
dogman dan said:
Spend all you can on a quality battery. If you go cheap, charge it outside. My bargain 400 buck battery burned my garage down.

You may have to go with cheap as it gets to start out. I did that too, and as I saved money by keeping the car parked, I could afford better stuff later. I could afford a good battery when I bought that bargain, but got tempted by a large battery for cheap. My real mistake was trusting a cheap battery to be just as safe.

Commuting by e bike allowed me to retire 20 thou in charge card debt in 3 years, vs putting that cash into gas, and more expensively, repairs on a very old car, or replacing that car.

But you gotta start out lean, if you are in a similar situation. Need to get to work, but can't afford a car to get there. Do expect to buy more stuff later, batteries last a couple years in general, and you can go through a few of the low quality controllers and battery chargers. If nothing else, you repair the cheap plugs on them. I learned to keep spares around the house, I had to be able to fix fast, to keep commuting to work cheap. But again, over time, the savings gave me at least an extra hundred a month to accumulate what I needed to keep it going, eventually, a complete spare e bike always ready to ride.

BTW, the kit you linked to on ebay is also a 26" kit. You may need to start over with another bike. Best really cheap bike to convert is a schwinn or huffy 7 speed beach cruiser, with a rear motor. Has to be the 7 speed, with two rim brakes. NOT a coaster brake cruiser.

It could be cheaper to buy a cruiser, especially if you can find a used one, than buy much more expensive kits that come in any size wheel.

The listing on ebay has a line about 20 ", 24", 26 ", 700C, 28", 29" rims being available so I figured there must be a way to contact the company and get the one I need shipped? Otherwise... yeah. All the cheapest motor kits seem to be 26" tires unfortunately. At least I wasn't off the mark with a high quality battery being the right call. However, I do think the price of getting a new bike would probably be equal to the price of getting a branded kit that fits the bike instead. The ebikeling 750w kit (whenver that comes back in stock) is about $370 which is less than $150 on the super cheap kit. A decent bike might be hard to find for significantly less than that? However, I might get lucky and find a 26" bike on the internet so thanks! That is totally something I didn't consider!

If I find that I enjoy biking over the life of this kit then I'll probably ditch the idea of a car altogether. After all, they are terrible for the environment... and very expensive! I could spend that money on another 3 copies of Stardew Valley and it would feel like less of a waste.

The battery brand I picked is called "Unit Pack Power" and they don't seem particularly sketchy? Its $350 for a 48v 15ah 1000w battery & the possibly proprietary back rack to seat it. Is that way too cheap?

As always, thank you for the info! I really appreciate it! Also, so sorry that your garage burned down! That is absolutely terrible. If my battery was the source of a fire I would totally be out of luck and in-debt for the rest of my life! Maybe I should look into getting some kind of flame proof charging container... What kind of battery did you buy so I know to avoid those?
 
Look at ebikeling for your motor kit. I've had good service from them and they have several systems with 700c. As stated, if you get a UPP battery, charge and store where you wouldn't mind having a fire.
 
2old said:
Look at ebikeling for your motor kit. I've had good service from them and they have several systems with 700c. As stated, if you get a UPP battery, charge and store where you wouldn't mind having a fire.

Ahh... that's a shame on the battery front. If its really that dangerous then I probably won't be able to afford the setup right now as any other decent battery/kit combination goes above what I can reasonably pay for a long while. Sad. Thanks for the info!
 
whats wrong with upp?
are their batteries burning down houses all over the world?
or did some employee have a bad day
if thats keeping you from buying an ebike, why not buy the upp pack and open it up to make sure the wiring harness isnt rubbing where it shouldnt be rubbing, do your own QC
 
goatman said:
whats wrong with upp?
are their batteries burning down houses all over the world?
or did some employee have a bad day
if thats keeping you from buying an ebike, why not buy the upp pack and open it up to make sure the wiring harness isnt rubbing where it shouldnt be rubbing, do your own QC

I have absolutely no tangible knowledge regarding batteries. If you include my failure to learn physics (though I did pass the class... some while ago...) then I know a very little bit. My QC check is just as likely to result in my breaking something. However, is it actually a possibility for me to post pictures of the insides here? I can probably do basic QC after some research but if that thing catches on fire then I am seriously screwed for a long time. You are right that the horror stories are just the vocal minority but at the same time I can't find any good non-generic reviews of the company.
 
goatman said:
i dont know what a gradeA samsung g2500 cell is with 3500mah

I'm not sure I understand? I know 18650 cells are the standard for these kind of battery packs and I know they're usually rated for around 3.5ah each (or something).
 
Find me a good battery cheap is a very hard thing to do. 48v15ah is minimum. If you buy from a USA company at least it's here and can be helped in China there little to No help. Except by Ping or em3ev maybe some others. USA vendors like Luna or ? But more money. Where do you live ?
 
DearDeathDay said:
goatman said:
i dont know what a gradeA samsung g2500 cell is with 3500mah

I'm not sure I understand? I know 18650 cells are the standard for these kind of battery packs and I know they're usually rated for around 3.5ah each (or something).

grade "A" samsung g2500 might just be a "rebranded" grade B 35e by them, the seller. meaning BS

i did a quick google, didnt see a Samsung data sheet for a Samsung g2500, if anyone has the data sheet, please share :D
 
999zip999 said:
Find me a good battery cheap is a very hard thing to do. 48v15ah is minimum. If you buy from a USA company at least it's here and can be helped in China there little to No help. Except by Ping or em3ev maybe some others. USA vendors like Luna or ? But more money. Where do you live ?

I live in the USA! Sadly, there are no local vendors so everything would be by shipping anyways. I was looking at the em3ev batteries earlier and they’re so expensive! And I’m really not sure what’s going on with the charger situation there. The website seems a bit on the janky side but maybe I just need to get used to it... I’ll check out Ping!

goatman said:
grade "A" samsung g2500 might just be a "rebranded" grade B 35e by them, the seller. meaning BS

i did a quick google, didnt see a Samsung data sheet for a Samsung g2500, if anyone has the data sheet, please share :D

Ahh, I think I understand. Thank you! It’s so hard to find information on these cheaper batteries which... means I definitely shouldn’t be buying them. I got in contact with the UPP retailer to see if they could ship me one that wasn’t stock but I don’t know that much so we’ll see if the technobabble I used was enough to at least elicit a response.

999zip999 said:
New or to rewrap a cell in China is the same. What would you like printed on your shrink tubes. Panasonic Samsung LG no problem

Ahh... that hasn’t actually occurred to me lol

Would someone actually do that? Is there a price difference between them or something? I mean... the name brand is worth something on its own but that seems super sketchy...

Eastwood said:
goatman said:
or did some employee have a bad day

Yes exactly!

I reaaaally want to agree with that sentiment (because I really want to put together this ebike) but if there’s even a 1% chance of a fire... it’s way too dangerous. Then again, there’s always going to be a chance of a fire - isn’t there? Maybe doing QC is the best bet but I’ll have to learn a ton about batteries first but... maybe I should do that anyways?
 
Don't let me talk you out of an e bike. I saved 20 thou by riding one about 100 miles a week, in 3 years.

Perhaps I should be more clear about fires. Its really rare to have a battery catch fire. REALLY rare. Just pretty devastating if your house is not insured when one happens. Mine was well insured, but it wasn't worth the money they paid out to have my house burn.

The danger is mostly while its charging, and for many years I was quite careful with other batteries that were known to be more fire prone. (because of cheaper manufacturing). But the one I had was supposed to be "safe", so I was charging it in the garage.

Storing it in the garage while not on the charger is quite safe still. I just got realllllllllllly unlucky with my fire.

I don't see a problem with your choices, if you can get the kit in 700c. I just did not see any options for wheel size on the page when I looked. The battery will be fine for a first one, but like I said you can upgrade later.

One of the better batteries I ever had was from Luna, called the wolf battery. I liked it because it was completely sealed and waterproof, and came with a superb magnetic mount. I ran ping batteries for quite some time too, and they are a much less likely to cause a fire type of battery.

One last thing though, about cost. E bikes can be very affordable transportation, but along the way, because you keep replacing batteries, the cost per mile of a 150 cc gas scooter or 125 motorcycle is cheaper. But those can't be ridden on sidewalks, bike trails, etc. If you live where there are good bike routes, a bike cant be beat. E bikes are perfect transport when your weekly riding is under 75 miles. But if its more like 150 miles, its kind of amazing how quick you need new tires, new brake pads, and even wear out whole bikes. And that much miles, you will run though those batteries.
 
When it comes to no-names, UPP is one of the biggest battery sellers, and perhaps selling more batteries leads to risk of problems. I've bought five batteries from them.One I gave to my sister, and I wouldn't do that if I didn't think it was well made. A few years ago, their batteries were assembled using tape/glue but the one I gave my sister used the modern battery forms. If you go by price UPP is about 24% more expensive than the true no names, and if you look at amazon, some vendors claim to sell UPP but aren't UPP.

Anyway, your results may vary, and I hope neither yours or mine will include a fire.
 
DearDeathDay said:
Eastwood said:
goatman said:
or did some employee have a bad day

Yes exactly!

I reaaaally want to agree with that sentiment (because I really want to put together this ebike) but if there’s even a 1% chance of a fire... it’s way too dangerous. Then again, there’s always going to be a chance of a fire - isn’t there? Maybe doing QC is the best bet but I’ll have to learn a ton about batteries first but... maybe I should do that anyways?

Yeah there’s always that chance of fire with any battery. Upp batteries is a solid choice. They also can use whatever grades cells you want and customize the sizes. Use the seller on Amazon if you buy from them.
 
By the way. your selection of motor kit uses what looks like an s866 LCD display. I recently bought a Brianpower controller that used an S866. It was used, and the controller was dead, so I got a return. However, the LCD display was one of the cheapest made units I've ever seen. While it worked, the buttons sure felt cheap and flimsy.

Of course, some of the Violamart kits don't even have a display.
 
Pretty sure I read on this site that UPP was using nickel plated steel in their connectors and poorly constructed BMS'. Any company that uses cheap items like that isn't very trustworthy IMO. The results of a fire with almost any battery are low; up to the individual to decide how much he wants to gamble. If em3ev and ebikesca are too expensive, I'd use US based companies where there will be some accountability even though their batteries may be rebranded.
 
dogman dan said:
Don't let me talk you out of an e bike. I saved 20 thou by riding one about 100 miles a week, in 3 years.

Perhaps I should be more clear about fires. Its really rare to have a battery catch fire. REALLY rare. Just pretty devastating if your house is not insured when one happens. Mine was well insured, but it wasn't worth the money they paid out to have my house burn.

The danger is mostly while its charging, and for many years I was quite careful with other batteries that were known to be more fire prone. (because of cheaper manufacturing). But the one I had was supposed to be "safe", so I was charging it in the garage.

Storing it in the garage while not on the charger is quite safe still. I just got realllllllllllly unlucky with my fire.

I don't see a problem with your choices, if you can get the kit in 700c. I just did not see any options for wheel size on the page when I looked. The battery will be fine for a first one, but like I said you can upgrade later.

One of the better batteries I ever had was from Luna, called the wolf battery. I liked it because it was completely sealed and waterproof, and came with a superb magnetic mount. I ran ping batteries for quite some time too, and they are a much less likely to cause a fire type of battery.

One last thing though, about cost. E bikes can be very affordable transportation, but along the way, because you keep replacing batteries, the cost per mile of a 150 cc gas scooter or 125 motorcycle is cheaper. But those can't be ridden on sidewalks, bike trails, etc. If you live where there are good bike routes, a bike cant be beat. E bikes are perfect transport when your weekly riding is under 75 miles. But if its more like 150 miles, its kind of amazing how quick you need new tires, new brake pads, and even wear out whole bikes. And that much miles, you will run though those batteries.

I'm in an apartment complex so it's not just me I have to worry about... However... I definitely haven't been talked out of it. Every momentary lapse just brings me back stronger... looking for different parts...

Do you mean you saved... $20? or $2k or?

Ping and Luna batteries are like twice the competition, but I can see why one would prefer that instead of, well, a fire hazard. If I wait to upgrade until the new year then I could put that much into it but... that's also six months away and I'm not certain I'll survive until then. Metaphorically speaking, of course. I would probably come out stronger for being forced to actually bike... or walk... or take the evil bus.

Unfortunately, when I contacted the retailer they just sent me some response that didn't make any sense in context so I probably won't be able to get the kit I linked. I did find these options on Amazon:

Bafang 48v 500w 700c with a 48v 10.4Ah Kettle Battery - it is $616.90 but that's not significantly over so my concern lies more in performance. Banfang seems like a decent brand and the battery pack is advertised as being 2.5Ah samsung 18650 cells so there's that. However... it doesn't have a twist throttle :<

That isn't a... final decision kind of thing... because I can get another one with the same connection type and presumably plug and play... it's just disappointing... lol

Schuck 48v 500w 11A 700c Kit with a thumb throttle (sadness). It is also a Front Wheel Kit and I haven't been able to find the Rear Wheel version, which goes against the - err - plan.

Then I found this CSC 48v 1000w 700c with a twist throttle! But... its 1000w and... I don't want to break the... law? The longer I research the less concerned about that I am, but all the same. If possible, I'd prefer to just stay inside the legal limit. I definitely don't need anymore power than that-not for my first bike anyways

Lastly, my commute is relatively short by biking standards. I'm just a noodle with stick legs and I'd rather not be exhausted while traveling from place to place. I'd also like to have the ability to go further because... I don't have a car. My bike is, in fact, soon to be my only method of transportation besides taking the (horrible, evil) bus. If this ends up working out I anticipate saving myself quite a bit in the long run (assuming it doesn't cause me to drift into the danger zone of the motorcycle world). The biking scene is pretty decent in the area I'll be using the bike (i.e. lots of sidewalks) so it'd be much better for me to kit up my bike over swapping to something else, I think.

docw009 said:
When it comes to no-names, UPP is one of the biggest battery sellers, and perhaps selling more batteries leads to risk of problems. I've bought five batteries from them.One I gave to my sister, and I wouldn't do that if I didn't think it was well made. A few years ago, their batteries were assembled using tape/glue but the one I gave my sister used the modern battery forms. If you go by price UPP is about 24% more expensive than the true no names, and if you look at amazon, some vendors claim to sell UPP but aren't UPP.

Anyway, your results may vary, and I hope neither yours or mine will include a fire.

Thanks for letting me know! I hope that as well... I had noticed that UPP was a bit more expensive than the trash on ebay and they do seem to have sold very many models. The idea of doing some QC just to make sure I don't get a defective one is probably worth it for the price difference... rather, the capacity difference I would get for spending that much with them.

Eastwood said:
Yeah there’s always that chance of fire with any battery. Upp batteries is a solid choice. They also can use whatever grades cells you want and customize the sizes. Use the seller on Amazon if you buy from them.

How would I go about contacting them about that? I used some buttons on Amazon somewhere and it let me send a message but (unless its hiding) I haven't gotten a response yet. I suppose I might just need to be more patient tho.

docw009 said:
By the way. your selection of motor kit uses what looks like an s866 LCD display. I recently bought a Brianpower controller that used an S866. It was used, and the controller was dead, so I got a return. However, the LCD display was one of the cheapest made units I've ever seen. While it worked, the buttons sure felt cheap and flimsy.

Of course, some of the Violamart kits don't even have a display.

Ahh, thanks for letting me know! The LCD screen is one of the parts I know the least about. I know just enough to know I should get a cheap-looking LCD screen (for anti-theft purposes) that's as discrete as possible and has some button inputs for PAS levels. Do you reckon the screens with any of the kits I linked above might be better?

2old said:
Pretty sure I read on this site that UPP was using nickel plated steel in their connectors and poorly constructed BMS'. Any company that uses cheap items like that isn't very trustworthy IMO. The results of a fire with almost any battery are low; up to the individual to decide how much he wants to gamble. If em3ev and ebikesca are too expensive, I'd use US based companies where there will be some accountability even though their batteries may be rebranded.

Augh, it really does seem like it would be a gamble but more on a 1/100 level instead of 50/50 kind of thing. That's still such a risk tho... Do you know of any similarly priced US-based companies? I've only been able to find expensive batteries based in the USA. Honestly though, the company doesn't absolutely need to be trustworthy so long as they don't send me a defective product and then pretend it wasn't theirs after it explodes... Well, I guess them not being sketchy would help with that. The only issue is that the whole project isn't really viable right now if I have to spend much more than $500-600. I'll just... have to get... swol... instead...
 
Yeah, its better to have a spare throttle then wait around for a month to get one.
I mean $5 extra for a throttle with miniscule extra for shipping added on is peanuts compared to buying one locally if your so lucky to have a store, I paid $20-$25 from a store locally.

Do not cheap out! on the battery, or the charger. Do not get less power, always get more power. Costs more to buy another more powerful motor.
Get a charger sufficient to charge the battery in a decent time.



DearDeathDay said:
I’m really not sure why I would need a spare throttle? In case it breaks?
 
markz said:
Yeah, its better to have a spare throttle then wait around for a month to get one.
I mean $5 extra for a throttle with miniscule extra for shipping added on is peanuts compared to buying one locally if your so lucky to have a store, I paid $20-$25 from a store locally.

Do not cheap out! on the battery, or the charger. Do not get less power, always get more power. Costs more to buy another more powerful motor.
Get a charger sufficient to charge the battery in a decent time.

Oh, so I should just ask whoever I buy the kit from for a spare? That doesn't seem like a terrible idea to be fair.

I totally get where you are coming from with that statement about not cheaping out! The problem is I don't have thousands of dollars to spend on an ebike. I can either get one at my budget now or wait six months and maybe have a bigger budget :<

I have $600 more or less at the most. If you have any recommendations in that price range I would be much obliged?
 
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