Let Us All Compile Information

HippieLove

1 mW
Joined
Feb 26, 2015
Messages
19
So Hello NOOB here!!!

There is so much info in here and out there it seems difficult to weed through everything, but I am learning quite a bit. I have made no purchases so far other than a bike.

I was curious to create a chart. To make people better able to make a decision on what kind of motor would be best suited for their needs and climate.

I was sad to read that there is such issues to worry about overheating. Me being from a desert I learned that perhaps a smaller motor would be better suited. BUT ME I AM LIKE TIM ALLEN I WANT "MORE POWER URGH URGH URGH"

It seems I am unable to view all the info I would like when reading specs of motors. so I was hoping in collaboration with all the many enthusiasts out there riding these ebikes with various different motors and motor types we can start to graph and chart result to make us as a whole better able to advance our tech.

Here is a generic idea of the info that should be posted collaboration from those well versed in this industry would be appreciated

1) Type of Motor: front hub, Mid drive, rear hub I am unsure if there are any other types existing. When I started this venture I was going to start from scratch and my blue prints are much different.

2) Size: watt volt amp

3) Battery: type, volt, amp to include longevity of full charge with matched motor.

4) Speed: on flat, and various grades

Well, I hope this Idea is received well and I hope a great collaboration occurs.

Peace and Love,

HippieLove
 
The most popular type of system after polling build-threads of guys who were happy with their bike is a rear geared hub using 48V X 25A = 1,200W (eZee, Bafang-BPM, BMC, MAC). They don't have good heat-shedding, so they are not good candidates for hot-rodding. Plus any power over 2,000W may break the plastic gears. Nothing wrong with the US legal limit of 750W, but most people are happier at 1,200W. Nothing wrong with 2,000W, but more power is more expensive. 1,200W is the most popular.Geared hubs freewheel easily when you need to pedal without the motor, plus the internal gearing provides significant torque in a lighter motor.

Next up is a rear direct-drive (DD) hub at 48V. They have the ability to run especially quiet if used with a sine-wave controller. Their larger copper mass means they can temporarily take very high amps (but not continuous). Many users allow 40A, but again...the hub will overheat if you use high amps continuously (like on a long and steep uphill). If you want to use over 3,000W?...a hub will bypass all the bike components. A recently popular hub for 48V = 1,500W-2,000W is the Leafmotor. For 72V X 60A = 4,300W the MXUS-3000W hub is currently popular.

Mid drives are the buzzy new kid this last year. They are more expensive and typically noisier than a DD hub. They are useful in areas where the legal power limit is very low (Europe at 250W), and...also on off-road bikes, because the motor can use the bikes gears (the first two suggestions are essentially "one speeds" from the perspective of the motor).The BBS02 is recently popular when limited to around 1,000W, and for a high-power mid drive the Lightning Rods kit can use 1,400W-2,800W
 
There are too many variables for there to be a "chart" to cover everything. There are many, many posts about what motor x can take in terms of watts and speeds, etc. but it's not that cut and dry, motors perform better at certain rpms on certain rim sizes, with certain controller settings. It's like asking is there a chart that tells you how to build a car from all the car parts out there, it's just not possible.

Buy a kit, or read, read , read, the forums.

there's about 100 motors/windings out there, 20 or so battery types(thousands of configurations), 10 major classes of controllers, once you understand what they all are, then you can get a picture of what's best for you. Best of luck building a great bike!
 
Motors opperate on a curve, with different performance under different conditions. Just charting 1 motor and 1 set of variables for what 1 bike could expect in various conditions would take pages of spreadsheets. The amount of information to add a second variable would be overwhelming in any static chart.

The Simulator on Ebikes.ca's website does a good job of giving you some information dynamically. But it's not all inclusive.

A chart is just plain out. A multi-gigabyte database full of reference tables might be possible, but you're looking at a multi-year project who's information would be of limited value and obsolete within a few months anyway. This technology is evolving so fast nothing can keep up.
 
This is a decent idea, but we need to standardize a class rating first. I think there should be about 4 or 5 different power classes for hub motors and a few for mid-drives.

Off the top of my head for hubs:

  • Mini hubs (~250W rated).
  • small hubs (~500W rated)
  • medium hubs (~750-1500W rated)
  • Big hubs (2000W rated)
  • Behemoths (3000W continuous rated and above)

Suggestions?
 
Fellow desert dwelling hippie here. I've amassed a semi organized 4gb ebike reference file over the years and ended up building a bike a few years ago that worked well. Happy to advise parts/layout for your build if you want to post a build thread and explain your needs, riding areas, and budget. :D
 
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