Cyclone Mid Drive 3000W Planetary

[SimiGuy]

Anyone has any experiences with this mid drive?:
http://lunacycle.com/black-friday/cyclone-mid-drive-3000-watt-planetary/

Considering purchasing this but worried about how noisy it is compared to a Bafang BBS02 or BBSHD. Also wondering about general quality and what type of battery to use with it. I'd like to use it on a heavy cargo bike that will weigh about 350 lbs with rider & cargo. I'm not looking for speed but would like good hill climbing ability.

 

[le15otl]

I have the cyclone 3000w mid drive, (it's the 1920-3000w not the 1800-3000w, slight difference in the motor I think, 1800w is the newer one)
It's not very noisy I find the sound no problem, but compared to a hub motor I guess it could be called noisy by some. The motor has nylon planetary gears now I believe and is therefore quiet (unlike steel gears) the sound is not an annoying whine.

Quality of the parts are not the best because you're paying a super low price, but they are definitely up to the job in my opinion. I had a controller blow recently, I think it was just bad luck though as it went randomly. In terms of performance it is very very good, it has no problems with hill climbing at all, mine could climb anything even in 3rd gear without the motors stalling or anything. I was towing another bike up a 10% hill at decent speed and it wasn't even struggling, however my AUW is nowhere near 350lbs.

I use two 6s lipo's in series to give 20000mah at 48v volt which weighs just under 5kg and gets me roughly 25miles range at about 20-25mph.

So basically I would recommend the cyclone 3000w you won't be disappointed in the power, but you should be prepared to make modifications to your installation and be ok to do some repairs. for example the chain liked to slip off and the tensioner took some work to get working well ( can't really complain for the priceower ratio)

 

[SimiGuy]

Are you using a Cycle Analyst with your Cyclone drive? If so was it pretty easy to hook up? Also, are you running a rear derailleur - any sort of PAS involved? Do you have the twist throttle or thumb throttle? Does the throttle have fine resolution that allows small power adjustment?

Thanks for all the info! Just trying to find out as much as I can before purchasing the Cyclone before the sale ends - was originally going to go with the Bafang BBSHD but the price difference is so huge...

 

[le15otl]

Not using a cycle analyst, I do plan to try and hook one up though.
Yeah I have a 9spd derailleur but no PAS, just using a twist throttle. the twist took some getting used to, it does have fine power adjustment but requires a steady and accurate grip, I still struggle not to wheelie when starting off especially up a hill, but it's really because of the insane amount of torque rather than the throttle being a problem.

I think the bafang would do ok up hills but probably slower and with more heating, with this big beast of a motor I wouldn't really worry about it overheating even with 350lbs. don't have experience with bafang but have read about it getting hot after long climbs.

 

[jonnydrive]

le15otl,
what do you think about the extended bottom bracket require to keep the engine between the cranks? If I'am right you may have a 190mm axale.

I use 164mm square bottom bracket (on my Fat Cyclone 1680w) and after a while I bend it. Pedaling backwards the crankset tilts, not good!

 

[le15otl]

Yes I have the 190mm BB it is quite wide and felt strange at first but now i'm used to it now. It is very slightly bent but it's no problem, the axle doesn't stick out really far, rather the BB shell is extended with a tube so it sticks out a normal amount.
I pedaled it for 25km after the controller failed and the wide cranks felt alright