WHAT DOES $600 BUY?

2old

100 kW
Joined
Jul 19, 2014
Messages
1,698
Location
Socal
Read enough by wesnewell about YESCOM's 48V, 1000w kit that it seemed appropriate to try one. Finally got around to mounting it on a Tidal Force frame that was laying around doing nothing and coupled it with a Luna Cycle 52V, 10 ah battery. Assembly was easy with the only glitches revolving around mounting the battery since the frame's triangle wasn't adequate with the controller mounted there. Ended up strapping it on a front rack. Anyway, couldn't be happier with the conversion; speed must be close to 30 mph; 170 pound rider, flat road, no wind; 50 - 60 pound bike (no speedometer yet). So for $250 (kit) and $350 (battery), you can make a pretty nice conversion to an existing donor bike. My photographer is ill, but pictures when she recovers.
 
Rear and I've yet to try it on any steep hills, but it has enough pickup that I think it'll be good. Will get out to a local fairly steep hill in the next week and report on it.
 
Local hill about half mile long (but I don't know grade; probably 400' elevation change, but that's a WAG); climbs well with no sign of overheating. Really happy with this system for a very reasonable price. Look at others who use it; maybe they have better data. It ascends anything around my burg.
 
I'm putting together the lowest possible cost useful battery pack possible for a friend with no money. This what I have come up so far; (prices include shipping)


http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__9176__Turnigy_5000mAh_6S_20C_Lipo_Pack.html
$130

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idproduct=74030
$30


http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__32034__JST_XH_Parallel_Balance_Lead_6S_250mm_6xJST_XH_.html
$3.50

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__18604__HXT4mm_Battery_Harness_14AWG_for_2_Packs_in_Parallel.html

$3.00

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Proliant-DL380-G4-575W-Power-Supply-DPS-600PB-ESP135-338022-001-/391386529369?h
$35

Obviously, the pack would have to be broken down for charging, a real pain. But he has more time than money.
 
I'm not real good at math but aren't those lipo packs 22V? How does that equal 46V when you build the pack? And is there a way to change the LVC on those cheapo motor kits so it doesn't cut off at 46v, or 44v, or whatever it is?
 
terminus said:
I'm not real good at math but aren't those lipo packs 22V? How does that equal 46V when you build the pack? And is there a way to change the LVC on those cheapo motor kits so it doesn't cut off at 46v, or 44v, or whatever it is?
On lipos 50% capacity is about 3.85 volts per cell, 12S = 46.2V. Controller Low voltage cutoff is usually 42V; 42/12S = 3.5V per cell, which is correct for lipo.

Also see the Multistar 10000mah 6S are about $50 on sale now.
 
mybike.jpgAs far as the yescom rear hub motor and hills i have 793 miles 40hrs 18mins average 19.73 MPH and the hills range from 4% grade 2 23% a few steeper but i do not run those routes often . 0n 4% to 10 it maintains 22 to 18 mph steeper hills the speed drops but most with minimal peddling you can maintain 15 to 20 MPH . Mine and the bikes weight is 320 Lbs battery is 48v 30ah bike is a reused currie CB 24V450 . Battery will carry me with little peddling on a full charge 64 miles . and with peddling i have not found out yet. Battery was purchased from Koyochen on ebay . Hub motor was purchased from JET with discount for 209 and battery was 600 the bike i purchased in 2006 at Walmart for 275 and hadn't used it since 2010 .
 
Hodie Doe said:
As far as the yescom rear hub motor and hills i have 793 miles 40hrs 18mins average 19.73 MPH and the hills range from 4% grade 2 23% a few steeper but i do not run those routes often . 0n 4% to 10 it maintains 22 to 18 mph steeper hills the speed drops but most with minimal peddling you can maintain 15 to 20 MPH . Mine and the bikes weight is 320 Lbs battery is 48v 30ah bike is a reused currie CB 24V450 . Battery will carry me with little peddling on a full charge 64 miles . and with peddling i have not found out yet. Battery was purchased from Koyochen on ebay . Hub motor was purchased from JET with discount for 209 and battery was 600 the bike i purchased in 2006 at Walmart for 275 and hadn't used it since 2010 .

Do you notice any kind of stress / overheat from going up those hills?
 
one hill down from my house puts some stress on the motor and it gets warm but most hills it is cruising at 16 to 20 mph and stays pretty cool . now the temps when i have ridden have been between 55 to 78F so when the summer months come i will know if it gets hot or more stressed . have even ridden it in a strong storm that i got caught out in with no damage to any of the parts . also head winds will slow you down a few mph . have had no overheat problems though .
 
18 month update and both the motor and battery (doing double-duty in a BBS02 conversion) are performing perfectly. Top speed (before I shut it down was 32 mph (gps system). Wish that I'd achieve wes' or mci's mileage, but doubt it.
 
Three years and system still functions well, although traffic in Orange County has minimized running errands (I moved to a more urban area sometime ago). Battery has been used for the same interval powering a BBS02 off road. Probably has 400+ charges and still functions adequately although I have no quantitative data.
 
Is there any rating of TOP e-bikes under 1000$? Top 3-5 the best ones for newbies? Thank you.
 
This site caters to the DIY crowd, so lots of good information for building your own which has a lot of advantages since you'll have the satisfaction of the project as well as knowing how to troubleshoot. The only thing I can suggest for your needs is to define them (speed, distance, terrain, your weight etc). I looked at a few sub-$1000 on Amazon and was amazed that some had been highly rated by verified purchasers.
 
If you're interested in a 30+ mph, inexpensive e-bike, look up what wesnewell and mcintyretj (sp?) have constructed. Personally, I would purchase a better donor bike (Craigslist), but their bikes have impressive mileage.
 
BTW, recently took this motor (with a 52V mini battery) and added it to a conversion with a 350w front hub PAS. Always wanted to see what a 2WD with separate dedicated systems would be like. Really good acceleration, but impractical for me because the weight, while nicely balanced, didn't appeal, and the extra acceleration was a little out of bounds. Now it's on a 1985 Schwinn High Sierra for its fourth year and running smoothly
 
Moved the motor to a late 80's Diamondback Axis steel rigid bike (good roads in socal) and mated it with a 52V, 14 ah Luna battery. Still runs smoothly and fast enough for me (33 mph).
 
2old said:
Moved the motor to a late 80's Diamondback Axis steel rigid bike (good roads in socal) and mated it with a 52V, 14 ah Luna battery. Still runs smoothly and fast enough for me (33 mph).

I went a similar route as you, starting with a cheap $144 1000W ebay kit, KT sine wave controller, and cheap UPP battery pack, which came to just about $600. Still running strong with the same battery pack and motor, but swapped out the frame and controller, plus added a Cycle Analyst.
 
For $600 (before shipping) I can get an electric motorcycle with 17" moto wheels with a sizable hubmotor. Sure they have lead batteries, but I have a couple of lithium packs from electric cars, and I already know how to get the most out of hubbies. I forget how many the factory told me would fit in a container, but it was a lot, so shipping was going to add little to the per unit cost. Plus a few of the emoto models were a bit less than $600.
 
You're welcome to whatever you can scrounge up. This system has functioned extremely well for five+ years, and exhibits no characteristics of reduced performance in the near future. Plus, it's a bicycle, so doesn't require license or insurance in CA and most of the US. Some users report these motors have provided 25,000 + miles of use. Finally, the battery has been used for my off road BBS02 equipped hardtail during this interval.
 
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