Hill Topper Kit?

http://www.electric-bike-kit.com/hill-topper.aspx

Has anyone here used this kit? If so, please share your experience. I'm mainly interested in efficiency and reliability. Yes, I know it's SLA and it's slow (up to 15mph). I'm not looking for speed, just assistance on hills and head winds.

Thanks,
Sam

That looks like a cute 128 or bafang motor. You will be able to find reviews of those motors if you search around.

If you look on eBay, there are hundreds of hits for this type of kit. Basically you will see this same thing, with some variation, from dozens of sellers.. all calling it one thing or another.

At 24v with SLA, it will be slow & heavy to the point where you may as well just take the kit off and pedal.

Trust me, i have something similar at 37v and 250w nominal. I would consider the power to be 'barely adequate'. 24v is going to be far worse.

go check out the 'for sale - new' section on this site. Cell_man is selling a geared 350w kit for about $150 ( ~$200 after shipping and all that ). You can then use the money you saved to buy some *real* batteries ( you will end up dumping the SLA in the trash eventually )

neptronix said:

That looks like a cute 128 or bafang motor. You will be able to find reviews of those motors if you search around.

Click to expand...

Thanks neptronix. Are you referring to this http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=18425&start=30 thread? "BaFang vs Cute 128 motors"

Yessir, those are the motors.
Look at the small geared hub motors on http://bmsbattery.com and see if you notice the resemblance

IMHO, that kit sucks. It needs a throttle.
The motor looks like a Cute 128, or possibly one of the type sold by Ebikekit.com or Ampedbike.com
The motor is probably fine, but you could build a nice setup like that with a Cute, and real throttle, controller, and a battery big enough to use, for less money.

Thanks guys.

Hi Sam, As the other members point out, the HT motor is lower power than most, but I think that would only really be a disappointment for people working on "chopper projects" because for the same reason, it means that both the motor and batteries are lighter weight than others. The Clean Republic website points out this fact in many places itself because they're whole point is to offer "a kit for everybody else" who isn't an electrician or master mechanic and just wants a lightweight system for an extra boost on tough hills (like me). I have a HT kit myself now: http://www.electric-bike-kit.com/customervideos.aspx

really like it, and the easy installation was a big point for me. Thouht I'd put in my few cents worth! Cheers.

-Newb

Sam;

I have a Hill Topper kit. It was cheap and had it assemble in an hour, instead of 3 minutes as advertised. No problem, extra time was for enlarging the fork hole for the axle, did it carefully and took my time. I got the heavy SLA 24v package, I think it was 6 pounds heavier and had advertised distance of 10 miles as oppose to 20 miles for Li, which it did, I also pedal assist it too. It actually does 15 mph unassisted and I got 17-19mph pedal assisted, depends on how hard you pedal. It will get you up hills, there is actually no hills in Chicago, so I really have no experience except for minor hills, which it conquers. But I still wanted just a little more speed, after checking and taking things apart, I added another 12v 7.7a SLA for around $30, to see how it does at 36v, it made a pretty good difference, it could go 21 mph unassisted, which is what I wanted. and the controller was able to handle it, so fat. further testing is required. Now about the throttle, it is either on or off, no problem for me, as I really dont think I'll ever use it at part throttle, because go slower, I probably be pedaling it, I don't use it as unassisted riding, I pedal too. Jerry

Only if you want an easy installation... if not you can get much more(speed, torque, power, autonomy, less weight) for less buying from cellman

Thanks guys for sharing your experience with this hub.

I had the hill topper 2 months now.... at 36v, it is pretty quick, even with an SLA. now this kit opened the door for me to a new world. I am currently building a 2nd ebike, with twin 20's on a 24" frame. it will be front drive again, with geared motor from e bikekit.com. this time it will be a 36-48v with about 500 watts. Hoping to touch maybe 30, if not high 20's. I will still use the SLA as power, till I get more familar with the dangerous LiPo. I still have 3 recumbents that I may convert over to an ebike. Brings me back to those days of WisIL hpv fun. I see there are a few members here from WisIL. later

Jerry

Hi,
Just reading the posts on the Hill Topper kit. I have one and installed it on an Ingo Bike. If you are not familiar with it, it is like a scooter with a board you stand on and push off with your foot (no pedals). The rear wheel is eccentric and moves the back up and down. You move your body weigh up and down to propell it. Works OK if you get going fast enough. This is an antique from 1937. The Hill Topper works nice with this but I would like to add a speed control instead of the on or off switch. This bike is not going long distances or at full speed. The SLA battery is fine for my needs, just need a variable speed controller. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Jim