How much can I overdrive a BTwin Elops 500E "24V" motor?

[Fallingwater]

I've found a fully functional Elops 500 E bike in a thrift store for €185. On its own it's fairly weak, as it has a 24V 250W PAS powertrain that's nothing to write home about.

However, I happen to have a surplus 48V controller, dashboard and battery. The controller is good for about a kilowatt, though it can be limited to lower values.

I'm thinking I could slap that stuff in in place of the original electronics and have a sleeper bike that looks all legal-like but can actually take my city's uphills without slowing down to a crawl like all the useless EU-compliant crap does.

The only question is how much that motor can take before the magic smoke gets out. All I know it's a geared motor specced for 24V, not sure how much leeway there is. I know these can run on a variety of voltages independently of how they're specced, so I figure all I need to know is how much to limit the controller.

I can't find the exact part they use as the motor, but this is the spare wheel with motor included (can't find it in any English sites): Rueda bicicleta eléctrica 28 trasera doble pared 24v plateada rosca

This is the bike: ELOPS 500E (2017) ELECTRIC BIKE

 

[amberwolf]

Is it a brushed motor (2 fat wires), or brushless (three fat wires minimum, possibly plus 5+ thin wires)? The image in the link shows the latter, but you should check the one you have to be certain.

Brushed are less capable of overvolting, but can take at least double what they were made for, usually. Brushless can probably take at least 200V, depends on the winding insulation, etc.

Power levels...that depends. Most motors of either type can take twice or more their labelled power levels briefly, but how much they can continuously take varies widely, and is based on heat generated and dissipated by the motor. The hotter it gets the more likely something is to fail.

A geared hubmotor usually has plastic gears, so keeping the temperature as far down below 150F as possible is a good idea to keep from softening the plastic enough that the torque can remove the teeth (look up peanut butter gears). The freewheeling roller clutches in these also have torque limits at which they may either slip, or even crack, but this varies enough it's a trial-by-fire test to find out. I broke a 350W Fusin's clutch on a "normal" bicycle at less than 3x that rating just starting from a stop at the very start of my commute home a decade or so ago. Ooops.

If you can use a soft-start controller or slowly roll power on, or only start power after you're already rolling via pedals, it will be eaiser on the clutch and gears.

Since the frame looks "normal" for the dropouts, you can abuse this motor until it gives up, and replace it with a more suitable one then, if necessary.

 

[Fallingwater]

Is it a brushed motor (2 fat wires), or brushless (three fat wires minimum, possibly plus 5+ thin wires)? The image in the link shows the latter, but you should check the one you have to be certain.

Don't think Decathlon/BTwin has ever used brushed motors. Never seen brushed hubs, either. I'd say it's almost certainly brushless. Not sure if sensored or sensorless, but the controller I have can do both.

I don't actually own the bike yet; I left it in the store as I gather more information and figure out if it's worth the attempt.

Power levels...that depends. Most motors of either type can take twice or more their labelled power levels briefly, but how much they can continuously take varies widely, and is based on heat generated and dissipated by the motor. The hotter it gets the more likely something is to fail.

So you'd say limiting the controller to 50% power (more or less 500W) ought to keep things reasonably healthy?

 

[amberwolf]

So you'd say limiting the controller to 50% power (more or less 500W) ought to keep things reasonably healthy?

As noted, it depends...realistically the only way to find out is to try it.