My first post on this thread was number 66, a very long time ago. Now, I am posting number 4,436 and reflecting how much has changed since those early days.
It's over ten years since I went to Suzhou to visit the Bafang factory to sort a CST motor issue (a manufacturing defect they did not detect because Suzhou has no hills whereas I live at the bottom of a very steep one). While there Yonree, their English speaking rep (who had visited me in New Zealand and experienced the defect trying to ride up our hill), invited me to take a test run on their BBS01 - serial number one. Here is a photo I took of it. 17 January 2013.
At the time it was the only BBS motor in existence. I asked to buy one, and in March (2013) they sent me serial number 17. I tested it for six months, then put together a buying group on our island. We convinced Paul at EM3EV, who had been making my batteries, to give it a try (and to coordinate shipping all the batteries and motors for the buying group). Until then he had not much to do with Bafang, but subsequently he had substantial influence in the evolution of the motor.
It took until Feb 2014 for the kits to arrive and we had an install day at our place.
Suddenly our island had mid-mount ebikes in all shapes and sizes, and - as we had hoped - the local bike dealers saw them, tried them out, and began to import them. The ebike market in New Zealand was transformed. The competition became fierce, with new retail businesses setting up shop and eventually the big boys getting in the game - with premium prices to match. Soon high-quality ebikes showed up in showrooms and on the streets, and today that first buying group is a footnote in ebike history.
We kept a few motors installed on various bikes (Bella Ciao, Velorbis, Raleigh, even a Mercedes Benz branded bike) but eventually settled on the Bella Ciao, an Italian steel frame made for city streets and cobblestone.
I even commissioned a bicycle-blogger named Velouria to pen her ideal geometry which we had made by the Italians - and yes, it is the most comfortable city bike I've ever ridden, but unfortunately the cost of international DHL shipping tanked the business plan we hoped for.
Eventually those 2014 batteries died, the last one giving up the ghost in 2020 (not bad... 6 years) so the guest bikes moved to the back of the garage to gather dust. Then the other day, we had some visitors where the son was friends with a couple of brothers starting a business making ebike batteries in their basement. NZ$250 (US$150), so I ordered one and was impressed. Today I picked up three more so I can repower the garage queens and sell them (on wife's orders).
But I also took over a 52v battery and BBS02 48V motor that turned into an arc welder three years ago. I'm good with mechanics, but not electronics, thus my solution in 2020 was to buy a new BBS-HD and a large 52V battery and toss the old kit in a box. I told the battery maker it gave off a huge spark, but he was not expecting the lightning flash - impressive that the battery held a charge for three years. He concluded the motor had a solid short, no different than touching the positive and negative wires. I may try pulling the motor apart, but having learned the battery is good, I thought it would be interesting to see how the market had changed in the past 10 years. If I have a good 52V battery who is the leader in the mid-mount motor biz?
Imagine my surprise to read it is the Bafang BBS02.
There also seems to be a Tongsheng brand, but similar price.
Any alternatives? I don't want to pay a lot as I have no idea how long the battery will last.