Golden Motors Magic Pie Edge

System looks good on paper so how about some input anyone who's bought the rear version with a cassette?

I've been playing with a variety of motors on recumbent trikes tried both the Smart Pie and Magic Pie among the trials, now considering a Magic Pie Edge.

Trikes tend to strain DD motors a bit. They're typically ridden at 8-15 MPH with boost only desired to climb hills. So I wonder how they perform particularly under those conditions, but any and all experiences with the Edge are welcome.

What exactly is it about a trike vs anything else that strains DD motors?



According to the picture here
http://www.goldenmotor.bike/categories/magic-pie-edge/
the edge is smaller diameter than the MP5, which means that for the same conditions otherwise internal and external, it'll have lower torque, and less heat shedding ability.

Beyond that, I don't know anything specific about them.

If you get the specs from GM for the edge and the motors youv'e already tested, you can compare them that way. For instance, if it's got wider magnets and stator than the others, it could have similar torque even though ti's smaller diameter. If it's the same width, then it's less torque, if the windings/etc are the same as the others.

Without the specifics on exactly what the differences are, there's no good way to find out without testing the new one under the same conditions the others were tested under.

You should give more info.
What is your trike brand and model
What happened to the many motors that you have tried

In any case, if you had fried the previous motors, you should be looking for a bigger one and eventually, a slower winding. That is because you are riding slow and seem to climb steep, so your problems can come from too fast a motor, too large a wheel, too much heat.

Riding very slow or very fast, are situations that require careful choice of a motor. The average motor is happy at average speed.

amberwolf said:

What exactly is it about a trike vs anything else that strains DD motors?

Click to expand...

Not so much the machine as the typical rider. Most trike riders, not all, tend to ride lower speeds and more than a few are often a bit overweight. Low speeds on a DD motor lead to longer dwell times between pole switching - reduced efficiency, bigger battery, more heating at a rate that exceeds thermal resistance on hills.

Adding a third wheel and a few extra lbs, thats all the trike really takes credit for, and its not that much of a factor. Not to mention none of the cable lengths are correct for mounting on a trike. Looping long cables is for those who get by on mediocrity, and many cables are too short. Handlebar mounting a display on a trike requires the rider's eyes on their forearm. Unless you've got the fab skills to overcome those fitment issues.

Most trike buyers fit the empty nest profile, I'd say nearly half of the couple hundred I've met across the USA are grandparents. Not exactly folks who are buff and physically fit by a 30 year old standard.

That said, most of them are mainly looking for a boost up hills, otherwise they don't mind cruising at casual, even jogging pace. Few are capable or willing to build brackets for mounting batteries and controllers so they often wind up buying a BionX. Then later on finding it folds back on hills or when the 3rd rate batteries expire learn about the BionX pride in replacement parts. Not to mention the typical bike shop usually adds a cheap rack to mount the battery about head level which makes the trike tip-happy. Keep in mind most trike riders are couples so those BionX bills run about 5 grand.

Bafang BBS02 sounds good on paper until you get that most trikes already in the market have too weak of a boom to not be a concern (a valid one at that) for cracks forming in cruciform welds. And several have. We played with the TSDZ2, what a piece of crap. It wakes the dead when we ride by a cemetery with the noise it makes and has more drag than most DD hubmotors have in cogging.

But given that few have responded with answers to the question it sounds like few have actually bought one and are capable to answer those questions.

Overall weight and cogging drag are another concerns. The Magic Pie weighs a ton, imagine your grandfather folding his 70 lb trike and loading in the back of his SUV.

Anyway just asking the question. I think the right package could be very popular in this market but frankly haven't found one yet for the mass market. I have the resources and knowledge to build a fabulous system, which for me is the MAC10T, Phaserunner, Thun, CA3, and an under boom mounted battery. Hand that combo to an LBS and they'll hand back a disaster.

I don't have any aspirations to retail this stuff, just looking for the best options. So now that the responses have focused on the nature of the query, does anyone have any input on the Golden Pie Edge?