hi,
I am also thinking about buying the papamotor kit..
would you say this kit is reliable?
what is the weakest part in your opinion?
were you able to attach your disc brakes to the motor?
what is the PING battery like?
all in all is it a worthwhile kit?
Hey ya spiritxxx733t,
Starting on the first build hey?
PapaMotor's Kits are not bad. I'll explain all the Pros and Cons IMO.
Ping Battery: 5/5 - It's heavier than LIPOs and doesn't pump out the C Rating that they do. But it's Plug and Play Simple and you know you have nothing to worry about.
Papa Motor's Hub Motor: 4/5 - I'll give it 4/5 because it's
Stator was
Thicker than the
MXUS and the
9C I bought used later. So Faster and higher torque. That made me think it wasn't so much of a bad motor after all.
Wires of the motor: Horrible! Esp. the Phase wires. Maybe good for 20-30amps anymore above that and they tend to over heat, ruture, short out, ware out the coverings of them. I'd imagine you'd be replacing them of fixing them a couple months down the line like I did.
Halls: 1/5 - Seem useless to me now looking back. I managed to break them after I severed the cord after the bike fell down in the rain. Cord coming outta the axle = "Snip" when it falls over. With out the halls, I run a
sensorless Lyen controller and it's simpler, higher amps and Faster! So 3 wires instead of 8 to worry about. I like the motor sensorless better.
Controller: 2/5 - Seems like cheap run of the mill sensored controller. Low amps, like 30 amps I think. No Regen breaking. No name also = if ya break it on your own to fix it. No documentation. I like
Lyen's 12 Fet Sensorless 100x better! Nice thing about it though is it's compatible with the battery bar on the
Thumb Throttle or the Twist Throttle and both have on and off safety switches that need the support of the controller also with the connections.
Thumb Throttle and Twist Throttle that come with the Kit:
2/5 - Have extra features that I don't find useful and take up space. Don't like the design of the Twist Throttle either. Thumb Throttle Broke after a couple falls and is reputed to go full "WOT" (Wide Open Throttle/Full Throttle) if it get's wet in the rain.
Break System: 2/5 - The Stopping Power, better than the bike original disk breaks. Noise: Horrible. The caliper design: Horrible. Sits in middle of a square 0 ring that fits around the axle. Is not welded.. So moves to side to side, forwards and backwards. Has to be secured to frame to make the break works and stop the play that causes problems. Gets worse over time as it bends the metal and de-shapes it from stopping.
Rims: 1/5 - Okay for street use. But a couple bumps or hards hits to the tire during riding can break spokes and bend it. Make it outta true. Be gentle. They're cheap Aluminum. Spokes are "Cheap Chinese Pot Metal." Not high quality.
Customer Support: 5/5 - Before and after support is amazing. Can talk to them on Skype about anything and will help out with damaged parts and replacements.
Double Leg Kickstand: 2/5 - Managed to break one of the legs off. They're hollow Alum.
Clip on Rear Rack: 1/5 - Broke after a big bump. Ping Batt is way to heavy for it. Get Cheaper off Ebay.
I think that's about it.
The "GOOD" is it's a "A
ll-In-One" Kit. No thinking, no searching, everything works together.
The BAD: The QUALITY. Except the
Ping Battery. No Flaws with that at all for me.
If I were you. I'd just go the hard and long way instead and buy things piece by piece.
Buy Cheap.. Buy Twice..
Maybe a
Ping Batt 48v 15ah,
Lyen Controller 12 FET Controller and a
Crystalyte Motor from
EBikeDeal might be a good start. Don't have any advice on how to get the Breaks going. The
Crystalyte Kits prob come with some decent ones.
It will probably work great for a while. But then things will go wrong and you'll have to improvise. So in that case I would say that it's not really reliable. The Set up I described above would be much more "Reliable".
Weakest Parts: Phase Wires and Break Caliper.
Hope that helps you make a decision with the direction you choose. Good luck with your First Build!