Hi-power cycles Anyone have experience with them

[recumbent]

I thought Electress was Electro's female significant other.

Or more likely his mother, think-about-it, would you ask your wife to log into a site for support after only a couple posts?

 

[John in CR]

I thought Electress was Electro's female significant other.

Or more likely his mother, think-about-it, would you ask your wife to log into a site for support after only a couple posts?

but then the name would be electromom? Big sister maybe.

 

[vdhhdv]

Does anyone have any experience with Hi-Powered Cycles (Hi-PoweredCycles.com)? They have a 3500w full suspension bike that looks good. Any feedback would be appreciated.

(moderator edit: combined your duplicate threads into one; please start only one thread on a subject. )

 

[vdhhdv]

Does anyone have any experience with Hi-Powered Cycles (Hi-PoweredCycles.com)? They have a 3500w full suspension bike that looks good. Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

[richirich1113]

I have one of their bikes, you can check it out here-
http://motorbicycling.com/f9/hi-power-cycles-xc-104-e-35337-2.html

I only have the 2500w XC-104 , Thats all i could afford at the time. it is an awsome bike.
In a couple of months i am going to get Their 78v controller and another battery to bring it up to 78v
All in all im am very happy with the bike

 

[vdhhdv]

Hey, thank you. They don't list bike weights, do you know that? And are they easy to peddle when the juice runs out?

 

[richirich1113]

My bike weighs 60 pounds, It is somewhat hard to peddle but im not used to peddling.Whar happens is the gearless has some drag but from what i understand the geared has no drag. From what ive read the geard can run into more problems than you would encounter with the gearless, so it would really be up to you what you want to get into.

 

[wesnewell]

Hmmm... Their 48v 900w basic diy kit cost $1600. The 48v 1000W kit I bought cost $278. Of course battery pack cost me an extra $200. Had to spend another $35 to hit the 40+mph mark, which their basic kit won't come close to. I'd have to richirich too to blow $1600 on their kit, when my $500 kit is 30% faster. No thanks.

 

[neptronix]

Heh, yup no kidding.. they also make all sorts out outlandish, unproven claims about the BMC motors, which has been tested by ebikesSF, other groups, and disproven.. ( like the higher efficiency V4 motors etc. )

IMHO, they ship out bikes with controllers and batteries that exceed the motor's actual capabilities.. i do wonder how long the motors last at that power.

I could have an equivalent MAC motor setup, plus a nice 48v A123 battery or some 57v lipos for well under $1200, easy.

Can't really compare a big geared motor to a DD, they are two different things really. You'll never get the light weight plus high climbing torque & efficiency out of a DD, watt per watt. Unless you need Crystalyte 5xxx or cromotor power, the big geared hubs are in a league of their own. It is worth extra money to some, including myself.

You know who hipowercycles is good for? the guy who wants the best thing ( other than say the optibike ) and is willing to throw down some serious cash to avoid building it himself. The same guy who will spend $1000 on a suspension fork, or buy a carbon fiber bike.

We know what it costs to convert a bike from scratch here on ES though so it's kinda stupid to throw down for one of these

BTW: It's pretty crazy that they offer the same exact motor in 900w to 3500w configs. $1900 price difference between the "900w" and "3500w", LOL.

I am sure that higher power controller, v4 gears, and some thicker phase wires really cost $1900 :lol:

 

[Hugues]

...We know what it costs to convert a bike from scratch here on ES though so it's kinda stupid to throw down for one of these

..:lol:

well, yes and no.

I bought their XC204 in July. That was my first e-bike ever, did not know about e-bike at all. Now i know much more and maybe could build one myself for less money. So someone has to start somewhere.

I'm satisfied with this bike, close to 2'000 km, got all sorts of issues with the X'lyte, but this is due to poor design, so can't blame it on Hyper-Cycle. Also got some problems with the controller, but after i upgraded to the Infineon to get regen. So i only used their standard Crystalyte controller for a few weeks. still working fine, used as backup.

All in all, i had and still have a lot of fun with this bike. It's been a good investment. I could not have built one myself back in july. Or i would have built 3 or 4 different design until i get satisfied and probably spent the same money, mabye more, and some frustration.

 

[richirich1113]

httI have to agree with Hugues, It is my first electric bike. I did not get a bmc motor ,it is a crystalyte motor and 48v/40controller. I did not pay their advertised price from them. Spending that much is like buying a car and paying sticker price would just be stupid. Maby now after learning some , maby i could do better now. i first started with a gas motor bike and sure the kits are $200 but by the time i was done i had $1500 going thru all the trial and error and upgrading parts. you can check out my bike here p://motorbicycling.com/f42/29r-genisis-almost-done-34580.html
And also the lithium polymer batts i have from them when charged are actually 58.5v off the charger, i also had gott a the crystalyte motor with ten gauge wires since i know ill be going to at least 78v but still am trying to figure out what controller to upgade to. I also looked up the bike alone i found searching the web msrp for $1200 by itself.
Really guys, you sound like you are knowlagble but do you have to bash someone that might not know as much as you about ebikes. And really when you got your first bike that it was absolutly fabulous and you never had to do a thing to it ever again?

 

[mvly]

Hi-powercycles is a good place to start if you have no experience, but most here would agreed that once you know what you are doing, it's probably not worth the price. Think of them as a place to start not a place to finish. As for their power claim, I would watch it carefully. They are probably setting it to the max already. So don't try to push it further if you don't know what you are doing... otherwise you will get burned motor/controller or whatever. : )

One note on the richrich's bike, Is the rear suspension steel? Otherwise, you might want to get a torque arm for that just for peace of mind.

Also sounds like once I upgrade to 10 gauge phase on my HS3548 to the axles, I should be good for 35A at least. richrich is running his HS3540, probably, at 40A, but with 10G upgrades only up to the axles from the pics. richrich, was the 38mph speed sustained until battery was drained or was it just burst of 38mph speed?

 

[Ypedal]

I just plain hate the way they advertise their stuff..... it's just wrong. :|

vaccum salesmenish..

 

[richirich1113]

mvly, its funny i was thinking about the other posters and it was funny that they were bashing the bmc motor like i had one, like they couldnt tell a bmc from a crystalyte from looking at my pictures?
Well i do know that the Battery harness is 10g wiring. I dont know exactly how long it will hold at 38mph but on my way to my college there is a stright strip of 1 1/2 miles of bike lane that i run full throttle.
But i do notice that at 34-35 mph that it seems to run the more effecient.
The rear suspension is not steel but the dropouts are vertical so would a torque arm be nessesary?
Would you know what 72v crystalyte or any other controller that would just plug in repacement tthat would be best to upgade to?
Also they told me that that the motor would handle 72v and 60amp max, is that right? So if i went to a 72v 40amp controller would i still be safe?

 

[Hugues]

The rear suspension is not steel but the dropouts are vertical so would a torque arm be nessesary?
Would you know what 72v crystalyte or any other controller that would just plug in repacement tthat would be best to upgade to?
Also they told me that that the motor would handle 72v and 60amp max, is that right? So if i went to a 72v 40amp controller would i still be safe?

re: torque arm: definitely recommended. I installed those from Doctor Bass on this forum, you can search for his post.

Then on the other controller: i bought an Infineon 40 A from ebikes.ca for my 72 V bike. Can't say that it was trouble free, but it is working fine now. Maybe i missed your post, but why you don't want to use the Crystalyte controller 72 V sold with the bike ? is it because you need regen ?

 

[richirich1113]

Hugues, I couldnt afford the 72v set-up at the time, but i really needed transportation.

 

[vdhhdv]

Hi, Guys, Thanks for all the input. A bit more advice if you don't mind.

I have a kit add-on that my local bike shop put on to a cruiser 2 years ago. It is SLA and has ceased performing well. I want to move to a good quality bike that will get the kind of numbers being talked about by Hi-Powered Bikes (35 MPH w 35 mile range). I am looking, ideally, for the quality of an Optibike without the price and without the amount of proprietary stuff (like batteries, etc). I don't want to build a kit bike myself, so I am looking for something (mountain bike w full suspension) I can order and use with the expectation that it will be relatively trouble free. So, with that being said, is Hi-Powered Cycles in the running or should I look elsewhere? Don

 

[Ykick]

Hi, Guys, Thanks for all the input. A bit more advice if you don't mind.

I have a kit add-on that my local bike shop put on to a cruiser 2 years ago. It is SLA and has ceased performing well. I want to move to a good quality bike that will get the kind of numbers being talked about by Hi-Powered Bikes (35 MPH w 35 mile range). I am looking, ideally, for the quality of an Optibike without the price and without the amount of proprietary stuff (like batteries, etc). I don't want to build a kit bike myself, so I am looking for something (mountain bike w full suspension) I can order and use with the expectation that it will be relatively trouble free. So, with that being said, is Hi-Powered Cycles in the running or should I look elsewhere? Don

Those offerings are nothing like an Optibike so forget that comparison IMO.

What do you currently have? Post a picture and you might be surprised what could be done to replace those SLA, improve performance and save a ton of money.

Forget the battery hype of 2000 cycles, blah, blah, blah. Regardless if you build a bike, you really should concentrate on understanding batteries. Perhaps build your own battery pack? Or at least get some value and turnkey performance for your money from cellman or Ping?

I dunno about these Hi-Powered Cycles folks? They fluff stuff way too much for any experienced eRider to trust their claims...

 

[mr.electric]

I got the hi powered cycles Xc 204 with a BMC used from a friend who up graded. Then I upgraded too. It was the start of an obsession with Ebikes.
I was reasonably satisfied with the parts that hi powered cycles selected but the real hi performance comes when you start to upgrade. KHS is a decent frame to start with.

 

[richirich1113]

vdhhdv, as far as put together bikes, before i bought from them i spent weeks searching every vendor on the web i could find. i searched every ebike site i could possibly find. Unless you have $10,000 for an opti-bike i could not find anything that i felt i would be satisfied with. Thier KHS bikes are a high quality bikes to begin with. To pay alittle more to have a pre buit bike i feel is okay, since im not an ebike genius like some of the other members claim to be,and not having to go thru all the trial and error and headaches from trying to get it right, and in the end costing the same with the time and money spent.
Try Bing'ing or google every different way you can say ebike(high performance ebikes, mountain ebikes ect..ect)
I personally could not find anything else that would compare.
My only bummer is that at the time i needed transportation but could not afford the 72v set-up. As time goes by i will be able to and then upgade.
Like i said in a private messege to you figure out what you want then HAGGLE with them on the price.
So far my bike has 590miles on it absolutly trouble free.
If you have any questions about my bike i would be happy to answer them if i can.
Happy shopping

 

[Hugues]

My experience with Hi-Power cyckes in a nutshell:
- The X'lyte hub was not trouble free, had to modify the axle due to wire cut (would blame HPC 10% for not having done the mod themselves and 90% on Crystalyte for poor design)
- I upgraded the Crystalyte controller to Infineon, got some problems with the latter though. No problem with Crystalyte controller. Although it does not regen (at that time at least)
- I'm satified with the batteries, 72V, 10Ah. One cell of one pack was a little lazy, got a replacement pack. Now it runs real good. I'm impressed with the range. I think these batteries are pretty good and trouble free. Come with bulk charger. They stay balanced pretty well (added balance lead for monitoring).

 

[mvly]

mvly, its funny i was thinking about the other posters and it was funny that they were bashing the bmc motor like i had one, like they couldnt tell a bmc from a crystalyte from looking at my pictures?

They mean to point out the fact Hi-powerCycle overrate their stuff. i.e. if the motor is rated to only handle 1KW continuous, they say you can shove in 2.5KW continuous. I think it's all for advertisement. Most people who buy from them were probably told NOT to use it at those power continuous.

Well i do know that the Battery harness is 10g wiring. I dont know exactly how long it will hold at 38mph but on my way to my college there is a stright strip of 1 1/2 miles of bike lane that i run full throttle.
But i do notice that at 34-35 mph that it seems to run the more effecient.

Thanks for the response. I notice my motor getting hot after a 10 minutes continuous ride at 2.3KW of power. I will have to do more test to see where is the sweet spot so I don't burn my motor out and still can go max continuous power until my battery is depleted. I have a 74V20Ah Lipo setup right now.

The rear suspension is not steel but the dropouts are vertical so would a torque arm be nessesary?

Previous post recommended it. For me, it's for peace of mind. If you use it at lower power and slow acceleration, then I think you will be fine, but I tend to compete with cars in acceleration, so I need the torque arm. : ) Get the DoctorBass's one if you can. Just know you will have a hard time removing it using the recommend epoxy to glue it together. Search for the post on it. Also make sure it will work with your bike.

Would you know what 72v crystalyte or any other controller that would just plug in repacement tthat would be best to upgade to?

The 12FET/18FET Lyen controller should do, I have the 18FET Lyen controller customized to allow me to use at 74V or 88.8V with a switch. Contact Lyen if you want his controller. Make sure to let him know the connectors you are using so it can be plug and play once you get it. After using the Crystalyte sensorless controller and the Lyen, I can say the Lyen is definitely better. Lyen Controller also have Regen and other customization stuff. I can't recommend anything else because I do not have experience with them. Hopefully other users can chime in on this.

Also they told me that that the motor would handle 72v and 60amp max, is that right? So if i went to a 72v 40amp controller would i still be safe?

I don't know about the 72V 60Amps, but I do recall someone here doing that. I am confident he did not do it continuous. Either that, or he had holes in his motor to cool it down. I know the Crystalyte HT/HS series have problem with wire cuts and heating issues.
Good luck with the upgrades.

Hi, Guys, Thanks for all the input. A bit more advice if you don't mind.

I have a kit add-on that my local bike shop put on to a cruiser 2 years ago. It is SLA and has ceased performing well. I want to move to a good quality bike that will get the kind of numbers being talked about by Hi-Powered Bikes (35 MPH w 35 mile range). I am looking, ideally, for the quality of an Optibike without the price and without the amount of proprietary stuff (like batteries, etc). I don't want to build a kit bike myself, so I am looking for something (mountain bike w full suspension) I can order and use with the expectation that it will be relatively trouble free. So, with that being said, is Hi-Powered Cycles in the running or should I look elsewhere? Don

Looks like Hi-powercycle should be in the running, but also look at other places. But if you are adventurous, I recommend ebikessf.com. He is really helpful and will do most of the hardwork for you. It's really plug and play on your bike. Of course this route will be more time consuming.
Good luck with your bike!

 

[neptronix]

Really guys, you sound like you are knowlagble but do you have to bash someone that might not know as much as you about ebikes. And really when you got your first bike that it was absolutly fabulous and you never had to do a thing to it ever again?

This is a forum full of people who build their own bikes because it's cheaper, it produces a better product, and we're friggin' nerds who just get satisfaction from doing so.
So consider your audience. :lol:

Of course i am going to hate. They have scummy marketing, big markups, and sell stuff that is WAY underspecced for the power levels they are pushing. Looks great on paper.... doesn't pan out so well in real life. They have not done their research at all.

If you can't build your own, at least find a company that has good ethics to buy from.

 

[Ariane]

Hi Guys,

RichiRich and vdhhdv are the perfect" newbie guys coming from no where, one ask about Hi Power Cycle and the other one has already the anwers :lol: Looks really strange to me, those guys or may this guy works for Hi Power Cycle already. None of them have any posting before this first post :x :x

Good day!
Black Arrow

 

[richirich1113]

its great everybody has to chime in with some BS.blackarrow if you read my posts to the guy you would have read that i told the guy to research every possible ebike site that he can find and make his own decision. I guess i could build up the number of my posts by making stupid statements on everyones threads if you think that would help? I cant wait to get to 465 posts so i can be a genius to.
Thank you, to those that at least have somthing nice to say and like helping out the people that dont know to much.