Help choosing power of the hub

Hi,
I’m newbie what relates e-bikes and have really tough time choosing right battery and hub motor for my mountain bike (wheels 26) and of course for myself. By the way I weigh 85kg. I assume weight and distance needed to ride makes huge difference choosing how many watts motor and Ah (battery) must be.

I live in place where we have mostly planes (flatlands) but there are also few steep and long streets which are really tough to wheel. I like to cycle (currently without any electric motor) and when I go for a ride on a sunny day, I usually do like 25km distance trip or so. I’m 26 years old and still have that kick for crazy rides in a bumpy forest, parks and sometimes in city center. To be exact and clear – mostly I don’t enjoy slow rides. When I’m cycling I got that feeling to push as fast as I can and then I become tired and there is way back to home… Surely there is no pleasure to cycle in long road; there is no difference how fast you go on a long road; long paths or roads give dull feeling. What I like is rides with turns and some bumps.

I live somewhere in north Europe and in place where I stay e-bikes are not so popular, that’s a pity; I got no chance to try one. I heard that they are sold in my region but haven’t seen one on the road yet.

I noticed some five sellers in ebay.co.uk and ebay.com which sell hubs and batteries. Some of these are "Wilderness rear Kit 800w” and “E-bike Retrofit Kit 700w” and some others about which I either don’t know much; some of these kits I can’t even find brand. I know that there are really good brands which are twice expensive (crystalline etc) then these Chinese Kits on ebay. But don’t want to spend more than one grand for my kit including battery. I saw many videos on youtube were people share only positive experiences after or during their ride with 1000w hub kits. After watching these happy videos I started to want as powerful hub as I can get, but is my wish economically sensible? On other hand, I’m doubtful if 700w hub will give me enough kick to my bike. Surely I have to admit that I expect not less than 30km ride distance with my kit whatever kit I would acquire.

I’m thinking about 700w, 800w, 1000w rear hubs and battery for them 15Ah (~12kg; 500$ including shipping) or 20Ah (~15kg; 640$ including shipping).

Also have hesitation choosing battery brand. Some brands I managed to find are: Elephant, VPower, Ping battery, EV Battery. If all these batteries are Lipo4 then is there any difference in these. I mean they use the same technology to manufacture them then what’s the difference? Well, partially I can try to answer to this question. Yes, there is big difference  and the two most important differences are: weight (less is better) and discharge rate (bigger is better). But anyway, which brand would you be happy with and why?

The only thing about which I stopped hesitating is that I want rear kit because I have aluminum fork with shock-absorber. I found that it’s not advised to put hub to front wheel when fork is alloyed from aluminum, plus I assume that due shock-absorber there would be some jerks when power applied.

I would be pleased with replies from any of you with your experiences and/or suggestions about what kit is best for my case and also would be very nice to hear what kits you have and how you like/dislike them and/or enjoy them.

Where to get your motor from is hard for us in North America to answer. We have some great vendors here, but shipping gets pricy.

A rear 9 continent motor would be a good choice for you I think. Ebikes-ca in canada can supply one worldwide.

Of the batteries on Ebay, pingbattery is a good one for a 1000 watt or less motor. Above that wattage other types with higher discharge rates make more sense. The other vendors batteries may be similar, but the higher price of the pings is worth it for his better customer service and better record for low defect rates. It's true though, that the others have improved since two years ago by quite a bit. Get ping, or at least a battery made from the pouch cells similar to ping. Avoid the packs with hundreds of little round cells.

Look into other stuff too, 4 of the lithium drill batteries works good! Bosch fatpacks are a favorite for that approach. You could start with two, and add more later.

With a 9 continent motor and 48v 20 amp controller, a 48v 15 ah pingbattery is a good size. It will easily take you 35 k per ride at about 35 kph. That is the 2807 model motor, or sometimes called 9x7. Sellers in Europe may be selling 9c motors that run slower due to the ebike laws there.

what many Ebay sellers call 700, 800, and 1000 watt kits aren't realy. they are giving you the peak output.
Motors are actualy measured by the average they sustain at top speed, and their peek is much higher. Reputable dealers will give you this lower number as the motor's rating.

To give an example. A true 500 watt motor is slightly less powerfull than a 50cc moped, but can be tuned for more power and speed. a 750 watt would be 50% more power, but with a weight penelty and need bigger, batteries as well.

I have a slightly overpowered 9 Continents motor. it can do 29mph (1mph less than the legal max of a 50cc moped in the texas.) but can out accellerate my moped up to top speed.

If you are feeling adventurous, you can build your own kit. Find some components that you like, and find a way of attaching them to your bike. But of course if you do that you won't exactly have a "plug-and-play" system. You'd have to deal with working out the bugs until it does what you like.

I think you are on the right track with avoiding front wheel hub-motors. All the extra spinning weight on the front wheel has got to affect handling.

Also, pick a motor that you can safely overpower later, when your need for speed grows.

you ask a number of good quest\ions
Firstly always better to push a bicycle from the rear wheel than the front wheel - less chance of spinning front wheel in wet/icy conditions and so losing steering and hence control, also bicycles designed to be powered from rear wheel.
For the power you want which, by todays standards is intermediate, still 48V system will be satisfactory as this results in lower ampage than 36V.
I am sure that after you process your decisions with comments and help from this Forum you will develop an E-Bike that will bring a smile to your face every time you go for a ride on it

Hi,
thank you all for your suggestions&answers. I'm completely confused now and haven’t ordered anything yet
Dogman, You wrote:
“Get ping, or at least a battery made from the pouch cells similar to ping. Avoid the packs with hundreds of little round cells.”
Why these batteries with hundreds little rounds cells are not good? I was about to do my order for Vpower battery 48V 20Mah (made from many cells).

The lack of love for round or cylindrical cells is mainly because many don't seem to have enough power output to adequately drive higher wattage systems and being round you can't fit as many in the same battery case that you can with retangular or prismatic cells.

That said - I'm building a Headway pack which uses round or cylindrical cells. Building is one thing but buying a ready made pack is another. Your best bet there is probably Ping.

My 9 Continent 48V 1000W hub motor consistantly delivers peaks of 1500W with a stock controller. 1000W is easily the average power output. The build quality is very good and it's not too heavy. It's a pretty good hill climber but that's really hard to say from one hill to the next.

However, 48V will put you way over the UK power/speed limit. These 48V 1000W 9C motors in 26" wheels hit 25-30MPH. Keep that to yourself and don't display that speed in populated areas and you might be okay?

Hi,
My mind bends towards 9 continent motor. Even it’s twice expensive as kits on ebay. I checked their web (http://www.goldenmotor.com) site and I think that they are worth of trust. Maybe doubled amount of money which I will spend on this kit raised this trustfulness?... Does is really worth spending twice relating initially kit quality (not counting future service)? In other words, are these GM kits really so good that they cost twice expensive and - these ebay kits so bad they cost twice cheap?
I have some interest in MagicPie kit, because it has integrated controller into wheel, Wow. It’s good, I thought…, there is no need to think where to attach controller, and bicycle looks neat. But again, if these (GM 1000W) motors are capable to cope with higher voltages then 48V then there would be a problem, because controller is in the wheel and I would have no chance to use external controller to increase Voltage for ex to 60V. Maybe it’s better to buy regular GM hub motor wheel but not “MagicPie wheel” relating needs to increase voltage in future?

9 Continent is goldenmotor? Maybe I've picked-up on the wrong terminology but I thought 9C (nine continent) was conhismotor.com products??? SImilar price point to GM (golden motor) and some folks suspect a connection but I don't know about that? Fairly certain conhismotor is what the eBikekit folks use, last I heard?

My reply about cylindrical cells generally having lower power capability was stupid too. There's plenty versions of round cells capable of high power delivery - A123 is a beast for a round cell. What I meant was using C, D and even some F size cells only seems to work for low wattage motors.

High power flat, prismatic Lifepo4 is beginning to make inroads but there's plenty of low power versions out there too.

The best thing to do is learn all you can about battery packs or just use SLA. Which totally suck but they're very affordable (upfront cost) and easy to charge & maintain. Anything else, at this point in time, is going to require advanced understanding to acheive the desired results.

minde28383 said:

Hi,
My mind bends towards 9 continent motor. Even it’s twice expensive as kits on ebay. I checked their web (http://www.goldenmotor.com) site and I think that they are worth of trust. Maybe doubled amount of money which I will spend on this kit raised this trustfulness?... Does is really worth spending twice relating initially kit quality (not counting future service)? In other words, are these GM kits really so good that they cost twice expensive and - these ebay kits so bad they cost twice cheap?
I have some interest in MagicPie kit, because it has integrated controller into wheel, Wow. It’s good, I thought…, there is no need to think where to attach controller, and bicycle looks neat. But again, if these (GM 1000W) motors are capable to cope with higher voltages then 48V then there would be a problem, because controller is in the wheel and I would have no chance to use external controller to increase Voltage for ex to 60V. Maybe it’s better to buy regular GM hub motor wheel but not “MagicPie wheel” relating needs to increase voltage in future?

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The way I saw it unflold over the last few years was that the real issue with the round cells was mostly a matter of bad connections on the spot welds.

Take a ping or other brand pouch cell 48v 15 ah pack. You have 48 cells, connected with solder. The round cell pack such as v power has at least 3 times the number of cells, 3x the connections, and they are spot welded strips of metal. The chances of the frieght company delivering this spot welded pack gently enough to keep from popping some of those spot welds is very small. So right out of the box, they may not deliver the full capacity. Once capacity is less the discharge rate goes up for the remaining cells, stressing them to death. A few vendors were also refusing to refund for any problem batteries, even if you chose to spend $100 to send it back. These vendors would change names every month, but there are some vendors now that have been around more than a year.

However, some customers are starting to report Vpower HK batteries arriving in good shape, indicating that they may be packing them better, and or doing a better job on the connection spot welds. But over the last two years, none have the good track record for quality that ping has. I have about 520 cycles on one of my pings and 40 on the new one.

The golden motor and 9 continent motors look very similar, and may actually provide some pretty similar performance. Both have large rotors that give them better tourqe for the same watts imput compared to small rotor motors like clyte 408, or aotema.

One of the reasons we in the US are really liking the 9c motors, is the great vendors we have providing them. Also the 9c is a bit more tolerant of high watts than the goldens. Usually though, the really high power riders are getting inside and modifying stuff, like larger phase wires. the 9 c motors have gotten a pretty good reputation for quality, partly because the vendors have demanded changes. The goldens are not generaly seen as being quite so high quality manufatured, leading to a lower retail price.

Since the myth has been touted again, a word about front hub vs rear.

The OP would best be served by a rear hub. Rear works best in the dirt for sure, and the bike will be not street legal where he lives. So the stealth factor of a rear hub may be real smart for him.

But that does not mean front hub always sucks. If you can ride at all, a bit of wheel spinning doesn't faze you, front wheel or rear. It is not ALLWAYS better to push a bike from the rear. If you say that, you must not have had a bike that could pull your through a corner on the street. I DEFINITELY corner faster on a front hub bike on asphalt. It just feels so sweet to power through a corner. BTW all real riders grab throttle through a corner, they know the secret. Also, my front hub bike has decent handling with some weight on the front wheel balancing too much weight on the rear. I won't call it good handling, but it sucks a lot less than the rear hub bike with rear carried battery.

Nevertheless front hub does result in some serious issues, particularly dropout failures on alloy suspension forks. The problems can be solved, but at some point, it does become dangerous to put too powerfull a motor up front. I draw the line at about 48v, 30 amps. Any more power than that does belong on the rear wheel.

Although GM and 9C may be cousin they are distant cousins. GM is wound for speed but 9C has the best of speed and torque. The 9x7 9C motor can be considered the X5s little brother with big balls. Just as much torque and speed as the X5 but it doesnt have the mass behind it to sustain currents over 2000w.


Im a GM owner but If someone gave me a 9C i would put a hurting on that thing in a heartbeat and wouldnt think twice about going back to my GM.

I have successfully ran 96v 45A or 4000w+ through a GM motor and know for a fact that it it cant sustain that much power without heavy modification.

Ive learned my lesson and running mine now at 60v and about 60A with air cooling modification and temperature monitor and ive hit the limit about 2500w sustained power without damage but its modified.

The stock GM is made for 48v and it can do about 1500w constant without issue. Any higher without air cooling you will cook the motor.

GM and 9C are diffrent companies. 9C is a light weight yet large diameter hub motor. the larger diameter helps the motor make more torque while it weighs less than a standard 500 watt motor.

9C are possably the best direct drive hub motors available. They only fall behind on their sound level. They are extreamly quiet, but there are motors that are quieter. They do make a large range of motors but finding a vendor who stocks something other than the 9X7 (also called the 2807) can be difficult. Thats fine as the 9X7 is a good balance between speed and torque.

GM motors are.... 5th best, maybe 6th. I rate them better than questionable ebay buys, but below everything else.
GM makes a number of diffrent motors. some better than others.



As for front VS rear motors. Front motors are simpler to install, but more dangerous if something goes wrong or a novice installs them without knowing what they are doing. Half the world is below average inteligance. So for that reason, I don't recomend them to anyone. But that said, having your drive motor in the front or the rear is a matter of personal taste. There are a few things a front motor can not do, but there are a few things only a front motor can do. its a trade off. I prefer rear motors my self. All of my bikes have been rear motors and i have never found my self limited.



Another point on flat pouch VS round cell batteries, the round cells are in a metal shell. that adds weight. that can make the round cells 20 to 40% heavier.
And if you look at the way 4 beer cans sit together, you'll notice that there is a lot of air space between them. Flat cells eliminate that air space, and end up being 20% smaller too.
And generaly, round cell batteries are made up of small capacity cells, meaning more cells in the pack, and more chances for one to go bad. 1 bad cell can ruin a whole battery.

Hi,
Are you saying that 9C (nine continent) is conhismotor.com products? So it means that following webs are selling the same hubs?:
http://www.ebikes.ca/store/store_nc.php
http://www.conhismotor.com/Diy_eBike.asp

Ykick said:

9 Continent is goldenmotor? Maybe I've picked-up on the wrong terminology but I thought 9C (nine continent) was conhismotor.com products??? SImilar price point to GM (golden motor) and some folks suspect a connection but I don't know about that? Fairly certain conhismotor is what the eBikekit folks use, last I heard?

My reply about cylindrical cells generally having lower power capability was stupid too. There's plenty versions of round cells capable of high power delivery - A123 is a beast for a round cell. What I meant was using C, D and even some F size cells only seems to work for low wattage motors.

High power flat, prismatic Lifepo4 is beginning to make inroads but there's plenty of low power versions out there too.

The best thing to do is learn all you can about battery packs or just use SLA. Which totally suck but they're very affordable (upfront cost) and easy to charge & maintain. Anything else, at this point in time, is going to require advanced understanding to acheive the desired results.

minde28383 said:

Hi,
My mind bends towards 9 continent motor. Even it’s twice expensive as kits on ebay. I checked their web (http://www.goldenmotor.com) site and I think that they are worth of trust. Maybe doubled amount of money which I will spend on this kit raised this trustfulness?... Does is really worth spending twice relating initially kit quality (not counting future service)? In other words, are these GM kits really so good that they cost twice expensive and - these ebay kits so bad they cost twice cheap?
I have some interest in MagicPie kit, because it has integrated controller into wheel, Wow. It’s good, I thought…, there is no need to think where to attach controller, and bicycle looks neat. But again, if these (GM 1000W) motors are capable to cope with higher voltages then 48V then there would be a problem, because controller is in the wheel and I would have no chance to use external controller to increase Voltage for ex to 60V. Maybe it’s better to buy regular GM hub motor wheel but not “MagicPie wheel” relating needs to increase voltage in future?

Click to expand...

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Yep, that's pretty much what I'm saying. But before you get all excited about the Conhismotor pricing - remember, there will be $100-$150 shipping from China added to the purchase price. I did my 1st order before I found eBikekits or I would've probably just bought from them. Same basic motors but there are some minor differences attributed to the individual reseller/dealer. Things that they ask for from the factory that kinda makes them their own brand. I had good experience direct from factory but if there had been problems I would be stuck paying more shipping costs to get anything covered under warranty.

I do have a story about one of my spoke nipples stripping out and the good folks at eBikekit even added a couple of their spokes/nipples to an order I placed for torque arm. That's when I discovered their branded hub motors use 13ga spokes instead the of 12ga that Conhismotor uses. Conhismotor was willing to send me compatible replacement spokes if I paid $20 s/h. I eventually replaced the nipple for much less than that from domestic source. However, when I ordered my 2nd kit from Conhismotor I requested a couple spokes for spares in each size I have, 20" & 26". I'll tell you what - they stuffed enough spokes/nipples in my order to completely lace both wheels if I ever want to. They're not reluctant about replacing parts it seems but shipping makes it hard to do so without some costs invovlved.

I like their build quality very much and about the noise? it's not bad, just a little zip-zing kinda sound but my 20" is much less of that than the 26". I believe the shorter 20" spokes don't resonante as much sound... I consistently see 32A, 1500W peaks from the standard 48V 1000W controller/motor. Unpowered rolling resistance is very minor - I can coast very easily with their hub motors.

minde28383 said:

Hi,
Are you saying that 9C (nine continent) is conhismotor.com products? So it means that following webs are selling the same hubs?:
http://www.ebikes.ca/store/store_nc.php
http://www.conhismotor.com/Diy_eBike.asp

Ykick said:

9 Continent is goldenmotor? Maybe I've picked-up on the wrong terminology but I thought 9C (nine continent) was conhismotor.com products??? SImilar price point to GM (golden motor) and some folks suspect a connection but I don't know about that? Fairly certain conhismotor is what the eBikekit folks use, last I heard?

My reply about cylindrical cells generally having lower power capability was stupid too. There's plenty versions of round cells capable of high power delivery - A123 is a beast for a round cell. What I meant was using C, D and even some F size cells only seems to work for low wattage motors.

High power flat, prismatic Lifepo4 is beginning to make inroads but there's plenty of low power versions out there too.

The best thing to do is learn all you can about battery packs or just use SLA. Which totally suck but they're very affordable (upfront cost) and easy to charge & maintain. Anything else, at this point in time, is going to require advanced understanding to acheive the desired results.

minde28383 said:

Hi,
My mind bends towards 9 continent motor. Even it’s twice expensive as kits on ebay. I checked their web (http://www.goldenmotor.com) site and I think that they are worth of trust. Maybe doubled amount of money which I will spend on this kit raised this trustfulness?... Does is really worth spending twice relating initially kit quality (not counting future service)? In other words, are these GM kits really so good that they cost twice expensive and - these ebay kits so bad they cost twice cheap?
I have some interest in MagicPie kit, because it has integrated controller into wheel, Wow. It’s good, I thought…, there is no need to think where to attach controller, and bicycle looks neat. But again, if these (GM 1000W) motors are capable to cope with higher voltages then 48V then there would be a problem, because controller is in the wheel and I would have no chance to use external controller to increase Voltage for ex to 60V. Maybe it’s better to buy regular GM hub motor wheel but not “MagicPie wheel” relating needs to increase voltage in future?

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Ykick, that's just amazing what you are saying. I thought there is no point to compare built quality of “Conhismotor” hubs and “9 continent” hubs. My believe was that “9 continent” hubs are so much better than “Conhismotor” hubs, but you say that these two re-sellers (ebikes.ca & conhismotor.com) basically sell the same stuff except that their hubs differ a little bit. And these minor hubs’ built differences occurs because of re-sellers (ebikes.ca & conhismotor.com) preferences when their order these hubs from factories?
What controller “Conhismotor” provided with the 1000w hub when you bought it? Was it 25A? And what Cycle Analyst you are using with the controller?
And what relates shipment charges I still have no option to escape them because I’m in Europe and hub shipped from US or China has shipment charge from $100 to $150.
If you say that hubs are the same quality then it’s much worth to buy from “Conhismotor” because their price is much attractive. Prices:
“Conhismotor” 1000w hub – $335; shipment included
“9 continent” 1000w hub - $600; shipment included
The only difference is that ebikes.ca always adds Cycle Analyst to all “9 continent” kits. Cycle Analyst is worth around $70.

Please post us a link to that $70 cycleanalyst. I'd finally buy one at that price.

For us in north america, dealing with the local vendors has many advantages. But for those in Europe, you'd be paying for shipping twice essentially. So buy direct from china, and GET TWO. That way you have spares when you need em. Eventually you will, and in the meantime you can have two bikes. One gets a flat, just grab the other. Ask for spare spokes for sure at least.

In the end, a motor that works is a great ebike. Even the crappiest shit I've had was great compared to pedaling unassisted 30 miles a day for me.

Please don't take my word as gospel about the 9 Continent - Conhismotor connection. I'm 99.9% certain that they're from the same factory but before you spend money with those expectations please double check what I've said with another source? Measure twice, cut once, ya know?

I think some of these NA resellers buy bare motors (primarily saves shipping volume/weight) and lace them to their own wheels? And because of rim quality in the early days while some wise people in this industry believe thinner spokes to be better than thicker spokes. Not much difference IMO. They also add torque arm to their kits and excellent service to NA customers. They seem to get some custom factory paintwork/labeling too. I can't say enough good things about eBikekits - great folks that'll help a person even if you didn't buy from them!

My Conhismotor experience is that the 20" rim is okay and has remained true once I got the stripped nipple repaired. The recent 26" wheel uses a nice looking rim. Very thick and strong - I should try to get a photo to show what I mean about thick? It's something I've never seen before...

I use the standard 48V 1000W controller - it's silver and looks like maybe 5 FET heat sink screws? I have no idea what's inside and I don't use a CA. I have a Turnigy power meter so when I say it pulls 1500-1600W, that's from the battery and there will obviously be losses by the time it arrives at the motor phase wires. I doubt it's losing 500-600 watts inbetween so I'm happy with their seemingly conservative power ratings.

I really like the roughly 15lbs motor but I would suggest NEVER overvolting or increasing the current from stock. Phase wires seem to be sized for stock specifications only. Anything more than that and you'll be asking for trouble IMO.

As much as I like and respect most NA retailers, due to your situation I have to agree with Dogman that you're probably better off buying direct so that you don't have to pay twice for shipping.

All the best and let's see what you work-up when get the parts!

Cycle analysts:
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=cycle+analyst&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Before I had some typo about price. Actually it costs about 70 pounds, not bucks. So it's around $100
ps. 4 items found from international sellers

And what relates shipment charges for us in Europe: we pay almost the same price when we send from USA or China. Roughly $100 for hub and $120 for battery, surely price depends on exact weight. And I can't find any hub kits which would be sold in EU, or least they would have English web interface where I could check/order kit.

Basically there are following Cycle analysts:
1 Stand Alone Model
2 Direct Plug-in Model (CA-DP)
3 Direct Plug-in with Speedo (CA-DPS)
4 High Current Model (CA-HC)

Second one is best to use of course if controller enough capable. Controller has provide needed signals to CA. You have to check your controller i.e. if it has needed output.
Description about CA: http://ebikes.ca/drainbrain.shtml

dogman said:

Please post us a link to that $70 cycleanalyst. I'd finally buy one at that price.

For us in north america, dealing with the local vendors has many advantages. But for those in Europe, you'd be paying for shipping twice essentially. So buy direct from china, and GET TWO. That way you have spares when you need em. Eventually you will, and in the meantime you can have two bikes. One gets a flat, just grab the other. Ask for spare spokes for sure at least.

In the end, a motor that works is a great ebike. Even the crappiest shit I've had was great compared to pedaling unassisted 30 miles a day for me.

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yes, it would be nice if you would share some photos. No matter how much I put search on NC, GD, wilderness, Roadrunner, Conhis etc hubs I can't make final decision which one to get. When I was buying my car there was no so much hesitation. It took like few days and I bought it, but what relates bicycle it's so much stir and doubts, maybe it's because I had to find so much new things that I didn't know before.

Ykick said:

Please don't take my word as gospel about the 9 Continent - Conhismotor connection. I'm 99.9% certain that they're from the same factory but before you spend money with those expectations please double check what I've said with another source? Measure twice, cut once, ya know?

I think some of these NA resellers buy bare motors (primarily saves shipping volume/weight) and lace them to their own wheels? And because of rim quality in the early days while some wise people in this industry believe thinner spokes to be better than thicker spokes. Not much difference IMO. They also add torque arm to their kits and excellent service to NA customers. They seem to get some custom factory paintwork/labeling too. I can't say enough good things about eBikekits - great folks that'll help a person even if you didn't buy from them!

My Conhismotor experience is that the 20" rim is okay and has remained true once I got the stripped nipple repaired. The recent 26" wheel uses a nice looking rim. Very thick and strong - I should try to get a photo to show what I mean about thick? It's something I've never seen before...

I use the standard 48V 1000W controller - it's silver and looks like maybe 5 FET heat sink screws? I have no idea what's inside and I don't use a CA. I have a Turnigy power meter so when I say it pulls 1500-1600W, that's from the battery and there will obviously be losses by the time it arrives at the motor phase wires. I doubt it's losing 500-600 watts inbetween so I'm happy with their seemingly conservative power ratings.

I really like the roughly 15lbs motor but I would suggest NEVER overvolting or increasing the current from stock. Phase wires seem to be sized for stock specifications only. Anything more than that and you'll be asking for trouble IMO.

As much as I like and respect most NA retailers, due to your situation I have to agree with Dogman that you're probably better off buying direct so that you don't have to pay twice for shipping.

All the best and let's see what you work-up when get the parts!

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I don't power bicycles I use footbikes, kickbikes, sidewalkers - whatever you wanna call 'em. There's a new forum topic for similar machines. That's why I never mention pedaling - I don't.

here's my 20" -



Simple, lightweight, easy to kick or push at walking speeds and in crowds - out on the road it's all Conhismotor to maintain neighborhood road speeds with the big vehicles. Aerodynamics are shit but it's not meant for much over 20-25mph anyway. Fresh off the charger, no wind, level ground this one can hit around 27mph

I also have a 26" version but I prefer the 20" - simply a nice size capable of serious commuting work.

it really looks lightweight and neat, that's kinda thing most people should have and start using for commuting instead of cars. It must be sheer fun to ride such machine.

Ykick said:

I don't power bicycles I use footbikes, kickbikes, sidewalkers - whatever you wanna call 'em. There's a new forum topic for similar machines. That's why I never mention pedaling - I don't.


Simple, lightweight, easy to kick or push at walking speeds and in crowds - out on the road it's all Conhismotor to maintain neighborhood road speeds with the big vehicles. Aerodynamics are shit but it's not meant for much over 20-25mph anyway. Fresh off the charger, no wind, level ground this one can hit around 27mph

I also have a 26" version but I prefer the 20" - simply a nice size capable of serious commuting work.

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I hear you about fewer cars! Fewer cars, more enjoyable and safer the ride! This arrangement must be pretty safe if my wife can wreck and her body never touched the ground.

Close to 1000 miles on this so far and no hiccups from the motor/controller. You do want to guard the wires exiting the axle. If it falls over on that side, you could do serious damage. I made a crude bumper from skateboard wheels but the thing I see every once in a while on delivery eBikes around town is a U shaped bracket that acts like a washer under the axle nut but does a nice job of covering the wires exiting the axle. I wished I knew where to find 'em?

This was sold as a front motor but obviously it can be used on the rear if there's not all that gearing in the way. My favorite way to commute in a seriously congested city.

minde28383 said:

it really looks lightweight and neat, that's kinda thing most people should have and start using for commuting instead of cars. It must be sheer fun to ride such machine.

Ykick said:

I don't power bicycles I use footbikes, kickbikes, sidewalkers - whatever you wanna call 'em. There's a new forum topic for similar machines. That's why I never mention pedaling - I don't.


Simple, lightweight, easy to kick or push at walking speeds and in crowds - out on the road it's all Conhismotor to maintain neighborhood road speeds with the big vehicles. Aerodynamics are shit but it's not meant for much over 20-25mph anyway. Fresh off the charger, no wind, level ground this one can hit around 27mph

I also have a 26" version but I prefer the 20" - simply a nice size capable of serious commuting work.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Hi,
I found that GD motors were seeking to minimize their hub weight and narrowed their hubs’ magnets width to 24mm.
NC still sells hubs with 28mm width magnets.
Probably both (NC and GD) retains advantages in their own way.
I’m interested what width magnets Conhis hubs use?

I asked Conhis some tech details relating controller wattage via email but didn’t get answer. Actually got reply to me e-mail, but - not to all question I asked. Surely, they want me to register to their forum and ask there. Well, that’s what I’m doing right now – registering to their forum.

Also I found that 1000w hub should weight not less than 11kg. And those hubs that are proclaim 1000w hubs, but weig ~6kg are actually 500w hubs with peak wattage up to 1000w.

In reading this post a couple of weeks ago I have gained more info from Conhismotor on the hubs. Below is the correspondence with CHM:

Hello Barbara,

I am contemplating a new hub motor and your unit looks good (as I need a faster one for daily commute).

For your 1000W 48V motor could you please answer the following:

Max amps of the 1000W standard controller.
Number of mosfets in this controller (suspect 12?).
Number of wires (or windings) from each phase in the 1000W hub motor eg the example below has 7 wires.

(Having trouble posting this image again....)

Thanks DSX

"Hello DSX,

The reply is as follows:
1. Max amps of the 48V 1000W standard controller: 30A
2.Number of Mofsets in the controller: 15
3. Number of wires: 6

Thanks.

best regards
Jason"

Jason thanks for this information,

One more question: Can you please inform of the magnet width - ie the longer dimension of the magnet.

Cheers DSX

"Dear DSX,

The size of the magnet is as follows:

1. Big Motor:
48V 1000W, 36V 750W, 24V 500W: 300*136*30mm

2. Other Big Motor:
36/48V 500W: 240*136*30mm

3. Mini Motor:
24/36/48V 200W, 24/36/48V 250W, 36/48V 350W: 420*111*30mm"

It appears the CHM Big Motor may be a nine continent clone. But unsure of the accuracy of measurement, as NC magnet is 27-28mm wide?