Manufacturers/Dealers to Gravitate Towards

[NewCTRider]

Thanks Drunkskunk

After taking a close look at the bike in general, dropouts, alloy "cast", etc. and some info from some tech posts, etc., I can see how that would rip this bike to shredds! Costly Mistake!, (plus swallow the pill the guy sold me nothing special for a bike, walked in clueless, but it got me riding) thanks for the honest heads up. I'm gonna keep looking at the info you guys keep posting, try to keep getting info., B4 anything. I was really blown away looking at the diff., set-ups and video's you guys post, really impressed with whats possible.( If done right) Plus this is the 1st summer I'm really riding at length (most days now), since a long time and thats helping just getting me in better shape, I'm on the other side of 40, and just doing < 10m trips a day, foot power has got me hooked on riding, plus feeling great.

Thanks for the welcome, and I appreciate your advice and won't get the thread off trak, thanks! I'll deffinity hit you up 4 advice again.

[bart_dood]

Hi, I'm new to the forum. I ordered my bike parts before I found this place. I ordered a 750W rear hub motor and a controller from golden motor, I was a little worried that it would arrive used or broken but it came in the mail after 6 business days, a little plastic piece on the motor was damaged in shipping but the rest of it looks fine. I will try firing it up tonight and report back with any problems. I'll also be posting photos of my bike project.

edit:

I took a vid of my motor running, everything seems fine on it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9Y-qJyUbNY

thanks!

bart

[fabiograssi]

And what anout Kenny at crystalyte.com?
Any comments?

[aaronski]

A newbie needing to scratch an itch for a motor on my Rans V2 recumbent, I read this thread, as well as most of the rest concerned with electric bike motors. A great education, for sure. I communicated with several on the recommended list, found most were quite responsive, but chose, and most highly recommend, Morgan, of Cycle 9 (http://www.Cycle9.com). Cycle 9 was as responsive and informative as the best, but the tie breaker for me was they had the motor I wanted and are located in the U.S--gotta do what I can for our economy.

Turns out choosing Cycle 9 was a great decision. If I had a question in selecting components they had an answer for me almost immediately, seemingly regardless of the time of day. A HUGE surprise was they followed up after the sale, several times. First to see if I had received the kit, then to see if I had questions about its installation, and finally to see if I was happy with it. Never have I experienced that before.

I have no doubt others will receive the same customer care. Simply outstanding.

Seconded. I emailed 2 companies asking about my particular circumstance. One replied with a link to their faq page, but Morgan at cycle9.com replied addressing my needs completely. After speaking with her at length about torque and weight and hill grade and temperature and how their motors actually worked under conditions similar to mine I felt like I had a really good grasp of what I was getting. I got the kit and everything is pre-wired with nice Anderson connectors and works great.

[mn_scot]

I second the recommendation of Jason at E-Bikekit.com. Good product, fast shipping, quick response to questions.

I got the 500 W Brushless Motor, Controller and the 36V SLA package for $404, including shipping. There was a $75 off sale for the 4th of July. Jason called me within 30 minutes after I emailed him a question about his kit before I bought it. It was after 11 pm on the east coast where he's based. I haven't had any problems, so I can't comment on customer support.

The kit works good. I'm about 215 lbs and it will haul me up the hills just fine. I usually pedal on the hills because the motor starts to struggle and I'll slow down a few mph. I'm able to make it the 5 miles to work without breaking a sweat in about 16-20 minutes depending on the lights. I'm contemplating upgrading to 48 volts.

I just measured how much it costs to charge up my batteries after a round trip(~10 miles). It takes 0.24 KWH or about a 2 cents.

Typical speed on flat ground: ~21 mph

Best of all, riding to work is fun and I'm getting some excercise.

[baileysmith6]

I just got a 500watt motor and a 48watt, 20ah lifepo4 battery for less than $800can from "YXM" through ebay. This is half the price of equivalent motors. Everything works ok. Shipping was good. There is no user manuals, and receipt is in chinese but i can live with that.

update: After more than a month and 700 kms. This turns out to be a very worthwhile investment. Comparatively speaking, this motor and battery is much cheaper and is dependable. I have changed the fuse from the installed glass tube fuse to an automotive mini plug-in fuse.

[monster]

team hybrid in the UK are really good. good customer service and they know about the products they sell. i bought clyte X5 and V1 controller from them 2 years ago. very impressed.

i bought from ebikes direct in the UK also. they supplied a decent product but there service was not as good. they seamed too busy to solve any problems. their batteries and bikes were good though and a good price too.

[Sime]

Put one more up for Ampedbikes. I'm completely new to this; I was all set to buy GM directly and then found Amped. I bugged them multiple times both before and after the purchase. Always polite, helpful, honest. I installed a 20" front into my Trek recumbent. It works beautifully and I couldn't be happier, even with SLA's. Their relatively small forum has really useful FAQ's that I should have searched before bothering them, but they never got tired of my newbie questions.
I get the feeling that he has been burned once or twice, but now has a solid handle on dealing with Chinese motor makers. He's constantly improving and introducing new stuff; always humble and talking about growing slowly. As a small businessman I have to admire everything I see there.
And their torque arm kicks butt. Ask me how I know!!

[nutsandvolts]

.

[amberwolf]

http://evcomponents.com
Even though they know I'm not buying anything right now, nor for probably quite a long time due to economic problems, they still answer my questions about their products very helpfully. Certainly far better than other companies I have tried to ask questions of when I did have money and intended to buy if only they had ever answered my questions.

[moostrodamus]

ebikes.ca has always been an excellent company to deal with for me, Ping was very helpful answering technical questions over 2 months before i actually bought the battery. Karl from ZZipper.com is an excellent guy and took the time to talk at length about the ebike application for his fairings.

Moos

[only1jake]

I think we should give a large ammount of credit to Kelly Controls, LLC. Although i have not odered from then YET i sure plan do from their great and pretty fast customer service (considering they are in china). They should be given a thumbs up
Anyone had any experience with ordering from them?

[Jerome Daoust]

I must say that John at Stealth Electric Bikes provided detailed responses to my questions, and he responds quickly.

[fat albert]

i haul alotta lb's up 15% grades with my e-bike kit(9cont.) LIFEPO NO PRO NO SWEAT. TRUE NOT PIKES' BUT IT'S GETS MY FAT AL HOME.

[The Mighty Volt]

This may or may not be of significance, but Cammy_CC, whom I believe to be honest, does not appear to want me to leave feedback for two Li-Po batteries I bought from him. I can leave feedback for the Hub, but not the batteries. Dont understand it.

[Jerome Daoust]

...I've also been happy with Itselectric.com ....

Ken of ItsElectric seems to be looking out for the consumer: 1000 W BMC testing.

[Timma2500]

I know they aren't a proper "ebike parts distributor" but i found AstroFlight were very patient and helpful when buying my 8150 motor and servo tester.
Top marks to Bob and Michele.


Paul

[geetarboy]

Hi Everyone, I have been "breaking in" my new schwinn conversion over the past couple weeks. I went with E-BikeKit after about 10 monthes of research. Many of you on this forum helped me decide. It went together like tinkertoys and has performed as good as described. Jason was very helpful and knowlegable and I would highly recommend his kit to anyone.

[LI-ghtcycle]

I want to just say +1 for Amped Bikes http://ampedbikes.com/store.html I have purchased 2 kits from them now, the first in Aug./Sept. 2009, and haven't had anything but good things to say about their products.

Danny Ray is very accessible, I was able to both email and talk on the phone with him with technical questions about his kits, and he was also very open about discounts available for those with disability and other such circumstances.

IMHO, there isn't a better kit available for the money anywhere else, especially for the geared hub motor kits.

[Metallover]

I have had the best experience with keywin aka ecrazyman. Not only did he help me choose the right controller, he helped my diagnose my errors to get it up and running. Thanks!

[PeteCress]

Jason at E-Bikekit.com. Good product, fast shipping, quick response to questions.

I'll second that.

Good guy, totally upfront....

[kefa]

+1 for keywin (ecrazyman)

he knows his controllers very well - is happy to do little tweaks like modding the lvc for you, will also tell you how to do little mods yourself if like if you want to run a higher voltage etc.

[hydro-one]

Ebikes.ca -----I know this place has a great rep alread , but wanted to add my wholehearted GO TEAM J !!!!!!

Justin sent me a whole new motor at the drop of a hat, when I broke a disc brake boss after a few (crazy ) rides........................................................... See viewtopic.php?f=14&t=14182

Whole thing with torque arms, freeewheel tool, Cycle analyst (LOVE IT)--whole kit was 650 delivered within canada. So far 650km of winter commuting. Today minus 25c wires broke from backpack due to twinting and cold brittle insulation. . BARGIN!!!

EV GRIN ====PRICELESS

MIke

[chrisvw]

I've used electricrider http://www.electricrider.com/index.htm and ebikes.ca. I would recommend them both. electricrider has a pretty primitive web site and mostly sells the big Crystalytes, but has lots of parts available. Ebikes.ca has a lot of additional information available if you want to learn tradeoffs and recommendations. Can't always get them on the phone, but otherwise great service. I had a total (NiMH) battery burn (e.g. full flames)up and they gave me a fair credit on a Li replacement.

[Cold-E-Commuter]

If you are looking for fresh lead I recommend batteryspec.com. Two time user and more than satisfied both times.