Choosing the right kit for my needs

[to the beach]

I want to install electric assist on my beach cruiser and want the least drag if possible. I almost pulled the trigger on a couple used kits at auction on ebay. The more research i do, the less I believe there is an affordable compromise. The 48 volt 1000 watt kits basically make the bicycle perform like a moped because the hub motors have drag when not in use....I'm sure they're a thrill though, if you just want to jab the throttle everywhere. I'm looking for 20mph and plenty of juice to get at least 20 miles (that means heavy or expensive batteries). I weigh 245 so I'm actually just below the weight limit for my bike and with an aluminum frame, I've read it's wiser to power the front wheel which is attached to a steel fork. Does such a kit exist? I'm willing to cut the cost and use sealed lead acid batteries to get the kit up and running but don't know what capacity batteries to buy for my needs. It's just near 20 miles to work and my goal is to ride my bike there once a week at most. The ride has a couple sizeable hills in terms of pedaling which would make me too tired to get there without assist and the bike will be heavier with the addition of a 20 pound hub motor on the front and 25 pounds of batteries on the back so my ability to pedal the distance will diminish too. Is the hill topper powerfull enough for this much weight? I like the currie kit too though I'm not sure if it will break my aluminum rear dropouts. I'm confident I can install a kit myself and even do mods to improve and customize the installation of a kit.

 

[wheelbender6]

Two types of kits can freewheel, or provide zero mechanical drag. Geared hub motors (as opposed to direct drive) will free wheel. The Hill Topper is a geared hub motor. There are some non-hub motors, called mid drives that transmit power by driving the bicycle front crankset, and the crankset actually free wheels. Most Cyclone kits drive a free wheeling crankset. Many owners of direct drive hub motors say the mechanical drag is barely perceptible.
The Hill Topper system is only 24 volt, 250 watt, so it is truly an "assist" motor, unless you don't plan to do over 15 mph. It is designed for maximum range for the dollar.
To go faster, you need a 36 or 48 volt, 500 to 1000 watt kit. They require more batteries, which costs considerably more.
As with gas engines, speed costs money so your budget may be the deciding factor.
Here is a link to the Hill Topper thread on this site. Opinions vary, often in proportion to the expectations of the buyer.
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=24367

 

[Tommy L]

Bionx kits have come down in price and they are very efficient.
They are plug and play, easy to charge, just set the console to 4 (max assistance from torque sensor) and pedal away).

It's a small light package. Although the rear motor doesn't free wheel, it is hardly noticeable. The design is half way
between a direct drive and a geared hub.

I have two of these installed. One on my wife's bike and one on mine.
I also have a 9C2810 that I run between 72v and 128v nominal.
I don't know this vendor, but the website is easy to understand.
It gives the weight, speed and range of the different Bionx Models.

http://www.nycewheels.com/bionx-electric-motor.html

Tommy L sends.....

 

[wesnewell]

Please go to the User Control Panel, select Profile, and then enter your city, state/province, and country into the Location field (country minimum) and save it. This will help people help you. Example: Wylie, TX, USA. Without knowing what country you are in it's hard to make any recommendations. Thank you.

 

[to the beach]

Thanks wesnewel, I have updated my profile...I'm in New Hampshire, USA. My max budget is too low for most decent kits. The hilltopper is the only one in my current price range and it's not rated to get me far enough, distance wise(commute is 13.8 miles each way and I can park right next to a power outlet at work).

I wish I could test drive systems to get an impression, but that is the beauty of forums.

At this point, it would be ideal to buy an older, used hilltopper kit in need of new batteries. I could then adapt some kind of battery compartment that fits maybe 3 15ah sla batteries to my current rack and complete the install. Can controllers be mounted in compartments or would one get too hot for this?

 

[to the beach]

I just bought a used 48v1000w generic(like ebay and amazon)front wheel kit with a 48v 22ah pack....wow! the sla batteries are heavy, I'm going to get a workout when pedaling I guess. I paid $350 and as long as it works as advertised, is a fair market price comparing to used ones listed in auctions and current prices for new ones. The seller threw in a metal double basket rack and I'm hoping to divide the battery pack in 2 to balance the load nice and low in the baskets. I already have a double kickstand on order through amazon so now my project begins.

question: What kind of speedometer is compatible with a front hub motor? I like the old fashioned cable ones if possible and amazon has one with good reviews and great price.

 

[wesnewell]

Any wired bike computer should work fine. Stay away from wireless ones. There's too much interference for them to work right. I use one just like this.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Bike-Cycling-Computer-LCD-Odometer-Speedometer-Stopwatch-SD-548B-T7-/111066846675

 

[dogman dan]

The old fashioned mechanical one won't work. It would have a tab that hooks to spokes closer to the hub than you have spokes on a motor.

So you have to use an electronic one. One with a wire to a sensor you attach to the fork, sensing a magnet you put on the spokes.

 

[Ykick]

14 miles each way? SLA? Good luck with that....

 

[to the beach]

YKICK, I DO appreciate honesty. So what would be my shortcomings? I plan on going easy on the throttle, around 20 MPH, and pedaling along with motor, no offroad, 3 decent 100 foot hills with moderate slope. I need some time to save up for a lithium battery pack.

 

[Ykick]

YKICK, I DO appreciate honesty. So what would be my shortcomings? I plan on going easy on the throttle, around 20 MPH, and pedaling along with motor, no offroad, 3 decent 100 foot hills with moderate slope. I need some time to save up for a lithium battery pack.

Everything. Mounting and carrying the intense weight, capacity, sag, etc. You'll be LUCKY to see 10 miles from 20Ah SLA IMO and based on personal experience using SLA for several years.

In a perfect setting SLA might work okay for 1-5 mile range bikes. I understand not having funds to go with battery chemistry from this century but your stated goal will be practically impossible if not downright dangerous attempting what you describe.

Nevermind the fact that 14 miles is a very long distance even with appropriate battery pack. People don't like to admit it around here but much above 10 miles one way, is probably a job best left to a small ICE scooter and/or motorcycle.

This is my opinion - 'might be right, 'might be wrong? You asked, I answered. Good luck....

 

[to the beach]

Thank you, up until now, I was believing the hype that these overseas companies have been printing and have found few testimonials about their products. I know the ebike and green community want people to buy ebikes but who is for propaganda?? The ratings should be standardized or at least approved by an unbiased, third-party, engineering organization.

Grr...I live in a rural area and now I only have a novel gadget, not transportation.

 

[dnmun]

you will need to charge at work. use at least 36V15Ah of lifepo4, a 500W motor, it can be on the front if you want. cheap is just a hole you learn to climb out of. if you wanna do this long term it helps to buy a good lifepo4 pack initially. if you buy the lipo then you have to use the balance chargers just to balance it but not protect it or use a BMS once you learn enuff and then bulk charge.

there was a 48V20Ah lifepo4 pouch pack from shenzen that just went on ebay for $429 total including sea shipping. that would drive your motor to work.

 

[to the beach]

Thanks dnmun, I just blew my budget out on this used kit so I won't get to work on this bike anytime soon. I'm just going to do some learning and puttin around until I gain more knowledge about this technology. The lithium pack you mentioned will take months to save for.

 

[dnmun]

but at least it will do the job, and for years and years. i find that when you pay more for something, you take better care of it. but that may be just me. but i am cheap too, not meant to diss you, just that it does not pay when considering a battery. jmho.

 

[wheelbender6]

The $399 SLA Hill Topper will not take you the entire distance to work. However, it should take you 2/3 of that distance and it does free wheel. Maybe the SLA kit would save you enough in fuel costs to get the 20 mile LiPo battery set in a year or so. I will also be a heretic by suggesting that you might use a gas motor for a year until you can afford an electric kit with a 20 mile range, but I don't know the MA laws on gas assisted bikes.

 

[to the beach]

I nearly bought the hilltopper but I came across this complete used kit and pulled the trigger right away. I haven't even installed it to try yet and I have already listed the kit on craigslist. I may still buy the hilltopper if I can recover what I spent. Whatever I use, I WANT TO pedal along with the motor anyhow so I don't need kilowatts to enjoy it.

I like the fact that hilltopper comes from a U.S. company

 

[wesnewell]

Good luck getting most of your money back on that kit. You can buy them new for under $285 shipped to your door, minus batteries. I vaguely recall the hilltopper kit, but don't recall much good about it. Just looked at it. Forget it. Use what you bought for now unless you can find some sucker to give you $350 for it. There's nothing wrong with what you bought, you just over paid for it and you don't need that much power for what you want to do. Still, you can use it although I'd dump the batteries and get a 10ah 12s rc lipo pack that weighs about 7lbs total.

 

[to the beach]

I also purchased a torque arm kit to help prevent axle spinning. I just don't like the hose clamp it comes with to mount to the fork leg. I'm wondering if a seatpost clamp will fit around the fork leg in its place.

 

[Nineballboy]

Here's a cool website that look like all the different currie kits. I had no idea there were so many!

www.ebikemotorkits.com

 

[RLD70]

YKICK, I DO appreciate honesty. So what would be my shortcomings? I plan on going easy on the throttle, around 20 MPH, and pedaling along with motor, no offroad, 3 decent 100 foot hills with moderate slope. I need some time to save up for a lithium battery pack.

Everything. Mounting and carrying the intense weight, capacity, sag, etc. You'll be LUCKY to see 10 miles from 20Ah SLA IMO and based on personal experience using SLA for several years.

In a perfect setting SLA might work okay for 1-5 mile range bikes. I understand not having funds to go with battery chemistry from this century but your stated goal will be practically impossible if not downright dangerous attempting what you describe.

Nevermind the fact that 14 miles is a very long distance even with appropriate battery pack. People don't like to admit it around here but much above 10 miles one way, is probably a job best left to a small ICE scooter and/or motorcycle.

This is my opinion - 'might be right, 'might be wrong? You asked, I answered. Good luck....

Thats not exactly true as I got over 40 miles on my 48v 18Ah SLA pack per charge going roughly 20 mph and that pack is still in use on a friends bike. And yes at roughly 50 lbs it is a heavy pack to use. My advice is to save up for either a Lipo or LiFePo4 pack and use SLAs as a last resort.