IN NEED OF YOUR EXPERT OPINIONS

The ebike laws are different in various countries and most of all, they are enforced with more or less attitude by the police in different regions and cities.

I can't tell you how it is where you are, nobody does but your neighbour. Here, I ride ebikes with motorcycle performance for a long time and been doing a lot of mileage in the city and the mountain. I never had any problems, the only police officers who wanted to chat with me were just curious about the bike. Yet, lately I have been warned to wear a helmet or else I could be fined.

The situation is the same for many ES members across the world. The opposite is also true. Some are having problems with the police, riding bikes that are much closer to legal power than mine. I guess it has to do with both, rider behavior and police attitude. The patrol officers have no means to measure your power and I doubt that they really care. If they are after you for any reason, you will be hassled no matter if your bike is legal or not.

Then, you are the only one to decide what you ride and how you ride it. Some on ES are obsessed with the law, maybe because the police is after them, or because they feel that they need legal restrictions to behave, or just because are scared for some reason.
 
Hehe... I vote for "sneaky". Lots of mentions on Alt-Reality Planet (watt goes around Endlessly) to "Faux Pedaling", and afaik best by far nEVer to "anger" or "upset" BUT to leave folks confused about their reality - their perceptions about the world around them. Such that they just go and read up on "stuff" for themselves?

Anyway... MY other "vote" is to maybe NOT start w/a "high powered" bike as first ride w/electric assist. Pick a nice frame w/"capable" components yah can "upgrade" later. :wink: AND note that while some folks on ES started by "upgrading" pedal-only bikes, in more recent times TONS of manufacturers both large and small are "climbing aboard the bandwagon" to offer ready-mades. (Like... Show of hands? How many tobacco users still "Roll Yer Own"?)

:lol:
 
i will always point people in the direction of the law and make them aware of the potential issues if they then choose to break the law that is there choice what annoys me is the people that promote high power bikes without telling the person what could happen if they get in trouble its not every day riding that causes most issues its when you get hit by a car and the insurance company want to get out of paying so they shift the blame to the over powered bike
in the last 10 years i have been hit 2 times the first was a hit and run on a roundabout the 2nd was an old guy that pulled out a junction without looking i am sure if insurance company had been involved they would try and find some way to get out of paying lucky both times it wasent a bad smash
 
Hehe... Fluck the "laws"... I always just follow the Universal Rules of Travel:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=57283

Had to develop my own "laws" in the daze before Canada, then the Provinces legalized our "power-assisted bicycle".

Stuff I'd already learned sailing a "high speed"/"Olympic-Class" Tornado catamaran sailboat around in Toronto Harbour at 2-3 times the harbour speed limits. :wink:

Had to ask a Toronto Harbie (Toronto police, marine division) one time why we never got "pulled over" and he admitted they weren't quite sure how. But they (and we) knew the absolutely WORST thing we might do was to hit anybody or anything. Our boats were built like "egg shells" and would immediately crumple and sink. (Think "huge expense" to repair.)

... and in the same way (sort of...) I'm a big fan of travel on two wheels, where any risks of damage (or injury or death) is shifted in part back to the vehicle operator ("rider"), such that they are MUCH more prudent/careful in operation. Usually.

But then ya get young folks who think they will "live forever". Hehe... Oooops
 
I prefer seeing those young folks on ebikes, for they are much more dangerous driving cars. :wink:

People who are buying the legal ebikes that are sold here, ride them once in a while as a leisure and continue to use the car for transportation. The spread of clean, light weight urban transportation can only be achieved by higher power and speed that are making ebikes an interesting alternative to the personnal car or motorcycle. As long as regulations will try to limit them to bicycle speed, they will be interesting to cyclists only.
 
i have said my bit on the issues of a fast ebike in or near London its up to people if they want to risk it what i have to say to you guys telling people to break the law is that your not the ones that have to deal with the consequences your the other side of the world if he gets busted its guna frock up his life not yours its down to each person to make there own choice if they want to follow the law or not and i will always try my best to make sure they have all the info to make an informed choice
 
^^ Hehe... This thread starter asked "I've been bitten by the E bug and im thinking of building my own ebike using the nyx frame kit, what would be a reliable very high power hub motor and controller setup, qs? Cromotor? Adaptto? Any help/advice before making my decisions on parts is greatly appreciated."... and titled this thread "IN NEED OF YOUR EXPERT OPINIONS".
Personally I've owned and operated many vehicles on land and on and under water. And WOKE UP to the pleasures of electric traction near TWO DECADES ago. Have so far traveled MANY tens of thousands of miles across urban spaces on two and three wheeled vehicles (both "motorized" AND "unmotorized").

So. Watts YOUR definition of an "expert". Anybuddy?
 
Maybe some did read "I am in need of a legal expert" :wink:

Everytime one want to build a bike out of the standards, he is the target of the legal advisers.

After one is told that what he plans to build is illegal, it is his own responsibility. It is pointless to repeat ad nauseam. We are not law enforcers, we are bike builders and if we are building them, it is because those that are available are not satisfying. Then we ride them at our own risk, legal or not. Things are changing in this world, because some are thinking out of the box and accept no limitations.

Then, ebikes have improved. There are many nowadays, that can satisfy riders who want to be legal. Some of them that a DIY bike builder could hardly make better within legal parameters. So eventually, most ebike builders will build illegal bikes, as those who want to be legal will not have to build their own anymore.

Ride half a horse or 40 horses, you can have an accident and finish in a wheel chair; wether it is because a truck ran you over from the back or you crashed in it head first. Your bike, your ride, your risk.
 
Hello DRAV, here is my long-ass spiel about my bike, which seems like it will be similar to what you want.

Okay, if you are set on the Nyx style frame (Qulbix Raptor 140 is what I have, they have 140mm wide and 76mm wide frames), that's great.

I went with Qulbix over Nyx because if I damage the frame, it's steel and can be easily fixed to essentially new condition with a bit of welding/grinding and some paint. Composite frames are awesome, they are much lighter, but they don't fail the same way as metal frames. They crack and fray. I don't know if they can be repaired the same way as steel frames can be. Maybe they can though. I also, personally, feel more comfortable working with metal, drilling through it, etc... Another benefit to the Qulbix frames is you can get the Moto seat, although its very... conspicuous, lol. Technically you can buy almost everything from Qulbix, but I am not partial to some of their parts (DNM suspension is actually made in china by one company, and labelled by multiple manufacturers, one being DNM), and its cheaper to get certain things from other stores. That said, beyond the frame, the only other Qulbix parts I own are the front and rear fenders. Hard to find a front fender for USD/inverted forks, and same with a fender for the rear swing arm.

For the motor, I would suggest QS. I don't even know if Cromotor still does mods to QS motors, but there are accessories you can get for the QS that are made for the stock version, that let you run higher power or just the same amount of power for longer periods (Statorade and Hubsinks), I don't know if they would work with a Cromotor. Another benefit of QS is that you can now order them laced and trued from factory. If I was you, I would get the QS205 50H V3. You can get it with various windings, but the most popular are 9.03Kv(5T) and 11.39Kv(4T), colloquially referred to as torque and speed, respectively. That is, at the same voltage, the 9.03Kv will putout more torque than the 11.39Kv, but the 11.39Kv can go faster at that voltage, its a bit misinformed, but a good general rule of thumb.

So yeah, I would get the 9.03Kv motor, I got the 11.39Kv and I regret it, there is no need for that top speed, and having more torque capability at more normal speeds is much more beneficial, imo. The motor is USD276, it has been shown to handle 14kW of power peak, and I would get QS to mount it in a 19x1.6" rim, this all depends on what tires you want to run as they might not have the right size, 18x2.15" is the other rear tire option I would choose. Then you can also get the 19x1.6" front wheel. Front and rear lacing/truing together, adds an extra USD187.90, which is a good deal, unless you want to true/lace yourself. You can also run the same tire front and back with the 2 19x1.6" wheels. This takes care of the motor, rims, spokes, and front hub.

Adaptto controllers are very nice, a well thought out and integrated system, you get the controller, the interface, you can also use the builtin BMS and get a charging coil, so its an all in one system. You can also buy a 2nd controller for a 2nd motor and daisy chain the the controllers, with one main controller controlling the other, so you can have a proper 2WD system. I have the Midi-E, would have gotten the Max-E, but they were sold out and backordered for months when I was purchasing ebike stuff. If you are going to run a front hub motor, you will need beefy front forks. I have Manitou Dorado Expert forks, and I would say they are on the lower end, in terms of tube diameter (36mm), of what I would use for a high power 2wd system, simply because of the torque, bicycle forks aren't meant for those kinds of stresses, so the beefier the better.

As for the front/rear suspension, just go over to Chain Reaction Cycles and browse, that's what I did, they have great prices, I also used JensonUsa.com. I live in Canada, and I still used CRC. I wanted USD/inverted forks, as that is what I had on my DRZ400SM, and I loved those forks, I ended up with the Manitou Dorado Expert, as they were priced well at the time, prices seem to have gone up a bit (about $200), but they are great forks. I also got a Cane Creek DBcoil rear shock. I went with coil over air because I understand coils coming from dirt bikes/dual sports. I can't say if either of those products is still for sale, but there are most likely lots of comparable products. I tend to buy moderate to high end parts.

For brakes I bought Magura MT5e brakes, specifically meant for eBikes, they have an integrated switch. I then bought some HIGO cables, as that is the electrical connector that Magura uses, from Reinhard at e-bike-technologies.de, so I could run those cables to the adaptto controller for ebraking. I need to fiddle around with this setup now, since the adaptto can now do variable ebraking, I might get a thumb throttle to do that now. But I still want the added safety of the motor cutting off when I pull the brake levers.

What else is there, gearing will be limited as QS motors are pretty big. With the largest dropout width swing arm (165mm, what I have) on the Qulbix, I can fit a 5 speed freewheel on the QS motor, with the smaller swing arm (155mm), I think you can only fit a 3 speed. With the Nyx frame, it has a 150mm drop out, so you might have to go with a 2 speed or single speed freewheel. But you can also mount a Hammerschmidt or a Schlumpf front crankset, they both are 2 speed internally geared cranksets. The Hammerschmidt uses a handlebar gear selector, the Schlumpf uses a foot activated button on the crankset. Qulbix requires that you notify them first if you are getting a Schlumpf, as they need to chamfer the bottom bracket to fit it. I have a Hammerschmidt AM, it comes stock with a 24 tooth chainring, so you get 24T or effectively 38T (w/ 1.6x). But I designed a modified chainring, there is also a guy on here that sells them, for my hammerschmidt that lets me mount a larger chainring on it, so now I run a larger 38T chainring, and I get 38T or effectively 61T.

As for batteries and BMS, the adaptto can take care of the BMS stuff if you buy the extra BMS board. The batteries I can't say, it's up to you really. It's hard to ship large numbers of cylindrical cell batteries to Canada, so while I want to run 26650 batteries, as they sit perfectly inside the Qulbix 140 frame. I'm currently only running a small number of LiPo's until I can figure out how to get those 26650s I want.

Note: I agree with MadRhino, tell the person once that the bike might be illegal in their jurisdiction, and then leave it at that, no need to repeat it over and over. After that, all we should be doing is helping them build a bike that will be safe with the power requirements they want. For instance, I would never recommend putting a QS205 in a regular bike frame, that is unsafe.

Personally, I don't agree with regulating ebikes by motor power, it realistically doesn't denote any metrics or specifications about the motor or bike except how much power the motor uses at peak efficiency, which is useless for safety purposes. It doesn't tell you anything about speed, acceleration, or torque. They should only regulate speed, just like they do with cars and motorcycles. Here in Canada it should be 32kph anywhere on public property (roads, parks, etc...), that way people legally don't need 2 bikes if they want more power in private or in unregulated areas. Drop the 500W and under requirement.

With that said, unless you want to go the civil disobedience route, I would pickup a sticker that says (xxxW) for your motor, Holmes Hobbies sells 500W ones, but I don't know what the ratings are for the UK, I saw 250W bandied about?
 
^^ Thank You SIR... (Great post.)
 
OP, yes you should build the bike you crave. If you can afford a great frame with great parts why not? So it is your first e-bike. That does not mean you shouldn't have max fun. I have not seen you set a budget or even a baseline for motor. So I would say get good quality DH parts for the frame. Like DH fork, DH suspension, brakes etc. Then get a motor/controller combo from QS. Like the QS 205 or if that ain't enough the fatter 273. Other sources for controllers are Adaptto. And have a look at the Mobipus controller(s) from es member SamD. Myself I am a big believer in motorcycle rims & tires. I feel they bring added puncture resistance as well as grip and that the overall benefits from using heavier wheels is bigger then using bicycle wheels. What you choose you need to decide.

Guys where does all the paranoia come from? Ride like a twat and yes you will likely be pulled over sooner or later. But use your head and ride whatever bike with pedals and "use"those pedals and you will be fine. Or at least the odds are so clearly in your favor.

2 keys held by other persons? What are you riding? An electric rocket?

To be honest if I was so worried I'd be riding an over the counter stock legal bike and be done with it.
 
"paranoia"? `Cause some are more "reality-based"?
 
macribs said:
Guys where does all the paranoia come from? Ride like a twat and yes you will likely be pulled over sooner or later. But use your head and ride whatever bike with pedals and "use"those pedals and you will be fine. Or at least the odds are so clearly in your favor.

2 keys held by other persons? What are you riding? An electric rocket?

To be honest if I was so worried I'd be riding an over the counter stock legal bike and be done with it.

yes i think peaks of 16kw with 220nm + would count as a rocket lmao anyways my account is due to be deleted
 
DRAV - You do what you want for sure.

What I was trying to say is if you buy the NYX frame and drive courteously and safe, you will still be "eyeballed" by lots of people. In this day and age, everyone has a cell, just takes one person to be startled by your silent "motorcycle" because they did not see your pedals and they call the fuzz.

On one hand if the limit is 250W and you install on NYX.
On other hand, frock the law, install 1500 Leaf, 3000W MXUS, 5000W MXUS, QS 275 and you still ride courteously, you may be in for a ride with the fuzz. Judging by the one response on the penalties for ebike criminals, you are pushing the line, in my view. That is the only reason I say, go with those motors MXUS, QS, Leaf, but have something that LQQKS like a bicycle at a glance, and from far away. That's what I'd do if I was in England, even if I lost points on my license and the next pinch would be a stint at the b&b.

Of course the other option, is to go full bore spec, and go legit.

Its all up to you, your choice.
 
When I ride in the city on streets that are for pedestrians only and no motor vehicle is allowed I ride at walking speed or close to it. If I ride on a bike lane I ride like other bicycles. If I am on a pathway for pedestrians I adjust my speed to walking speed. When I ride in traffic I could go flat out but I don't. I try to follow the traffic. When the traffic is at a standstill I ride like I would on a motorcycle or a maxi scooter. I sneak in between. And I "pedal". When there is little to no traffic or I am at a back road or country road I ride as I like.

My bike is far from stealth, and sure people will suspect e-bike when they see a fat bloke pedaling a bicycle in traffic at 20-30 mph. But I don't go faster then 30 mph in traffic, and I don't tend to stay at that speed for long. Works for me.
 
Yep. AtariJedi, I thank you too for your post. Tells everything to someone who will be building on an ebike box frame. I find the moto wheels and front motor a big excess of weight but they serve some well, according to where and how they ride. For the rest of the rig, we have a lot in common.

My QS 205 H50 v3 is a 4t, in a 24" 65mm bicycle rim. It is a beast and I love it, fed with 24s RC lipo. The controllers that I use are much cheaper and simpler than Addapto: Modified 18X4110 pulling enough power to kill lipos that are not high C rate with matching cell impedance. I bulk charge the lipos fast with high power Meanwell PSUs. I build on DH racing frames for both, light weight and bicycle look. Top light weight components: Boxxer WC air fork, Manitou Revox Ti rear shock, Thomson Ti DM, handlebar and seat post, Magura MT 7 brakes on 125mm hope rotors, Cane Creek angle set headset, Race Face crank, White single freewheel, Alfine tensioner, custom CF mud guard... 70 lbs, 70 mph, 50" wheelbase, mad bike with perfect balance, that I can lift, drift or bunny hop at will. That is my 8th ebike, the 3rd city commuter, and the first that I am not planning to replace with a better one anytime soon.

@Macribs
I fully agree. And surprisingly, I am thinking of an ´over the counter' for my next Dirt bike. Too many joggers and tourists in my trails now, and I have to go before 6am to ride performance in the mountain trails. I want to try a light weight BB drive, to go back to technical and jumping, in trails free of tourist that I can ride anytime. My choice so far: The Specialized S-Work Turbo Levo FSR 6 Fattie. It is worth a test ride, if there is a dealer who has one nearby.
 
That fattie for sure will do the tricks for you. I've only ridden one Specialized bike, a few years ago. And that one did 50 km/h on flat level ground. Owner assured me bike was stock. So you might even get headroom at the top speed department too if you choose the fattie. Anyway it surely be a plush ride seeing as it got full suspension and fattie tires.
 
I am just going to say it again, something that does not look so much like a 5000w bike for town. Second bike for fun later. Face it bro,, you are going to have more than one e bike by next year anyway. So keep it simple and less conspicuous for the first ride, while you gather the parts for your off road ride.

NOT saying limit the town bike to 250w, just saying nothing so obviously more. Unless you like talking to cops. 1000w or so, 50 kph ish, should be plenty in town, and use a motor that is not terribly conspicuous as a high speed thing. And once on the roads that are usually cop free, you can still have a nice ride home.

Besides, they ARE going to steal that town bike anyway. So spend a little less on it.
 
DRAV said:
I've been bitten by the E bug and im thinking of building my own ebike using the nyx frame kit, what would be a reliable very high power hub motor and controller setup, qs? Cromotor? Adaptto? Any help/advice before making my decisions on parts is greatly appreciated.

Its all a balance between weight and performance. dont go for a mxus 3k if you want to run say 6kw continuous as it will probably overheat fast. My cromotor is run at about 7kw off road on stop n start muddy hilly terrain and after two hours of riding gets to about 110degrees C which it can handle but is 2 kg heavier than the mxus at 11kg. The qs205 is heavier than the cro by about 2kg. Having a heavy back wheel can feel like having an anchor on the back of your bike, but a qs205 will handle even more heat than the cro and may pip the post with performance but there probably wont be much difference. Depends what you are going to do with the bike. I have a nyx and its great but its a pita to work on as the battery entrance is quite restricted and becomes a pain to strip down when something goes wrong. I also use an adaptto maxe but they are far from reliable. Mines been back to Russia twice. When they work they absoulutley brilliant, but they can develop problems and it costs alot of money and time to send them back for repair. Waht ever motor you pick put it in a small diameter motorbike rim like a 16 or 17" which will give you extra torque/acceleration and reduce overheating problems as the motor will find it easier reaching its designed rpm. Larger diameter rim which equal more heat issues.
 
brumbrum said:
Its all a balance between weight and performance...

... Waht ever motor you pick put it in a small diameter motorbike rim like a 16 or 17" which will give you extra torque/acceleration and reduce overheating problems as the motor will find it easier reaching its designed rpm. Larger diameter rim which equal more heat issues.

Contradiction

Saving 2 kg of motor weight, and adding 5kg of wheel weight... Is a dramatic deficit in acceleration performance, efficiency, and heat dissipation. The benefit of a smaller wheel diameter is soon lost in excess of weight and inertia. The only valuable reason to do so, is the lower maintenance of a motorcycle wheel. Yet it is at the cost of lower efficiency, as well as a loss of speed, acceleration and braking performance.

Your calculation would be right, only if the motorcycle wheel is 14 inches. Then you would still have an excess of weight and that would reflect in W/h usage, but for torque and acceleration you would have an improvement over a 24" bicycle wheel.
 
Putting a cro or QS in a bike wheel with bike spokes just doesnt seem right to me. But yes, you are correct about weight penalty comparing bike and moto parts. I would personally not like to ride without my moto tyre at the speeds and on the surfaces that i do.

Btw, apologies if i have re-stated anything already in this thread, my post was merged from another thread started by the op
 
brumbrum said:
Putting a cro or QS in a bike wheel with bike spokes just doesnt seem right to me.

Then you haven't considered how much harder spokes are working when pulses of pedal torque goes through a 44mm hub flange than when steady motor torque goes through a 200mm or larger flange. He'll need a hefty rim due to weight and speed, but for reliability and low maintenance, the spokes should be thin. Their elasticity is what makes them work.
 
To the op .
I only ride my NYX off road in the woods. It does draw attention and most people do think it's som kind of motorcycle but that is more due to the off road knobbly scrambler motorbike tyres. If I ride it on the road it is never an enjoyable experience as I am too busy looking over my shoulder to see if the police are about.
Sinewave controllers are great as they are silent, so in the woods no one knows you are there. NYX frame will not break. It made from several materials and Ive jumped and crashed mine on Numerous occasions. The only issue I had were the bushes wearing down on the concentric bottom bracket/swing arm pivot point. Replaced by giving NYX a few measurements.
As said earlier the only pita is the only access to the battery and wiring is through a top hatch which is only big enough to get two hands into. A qulbix or other frame let you take of side panel which is a better idea.
Btw here's my bike.... http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e192/apaclark/29AC6C1A-7D65-489F-ADBA-A7D863BD491E_zpsfoxvoavt.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e192/apaclark/E1823134-26CC-4169-B809-7EA4B517FA9C_zpscqffbbuw.jpg
 
Moto tires are a must for some, because square edge rocks and hard thorns can make the best bicycle tires PITA. Yet, with a good choice of tire, speed and grip are not a factor since bicycle dual ply clinchers are available with a softer gum than motorcycle tires in the sizes that we are concerned. Soft gum moto tires are only available 6" and up, mostly racing slicks. The thickest of 2 ply DH tires are safe to ride 100 Mph on pavement, off road too when the trails are nice.

The moto rim and spokes are not much of an improvement, unless one is willing to add a lot of weight for a very thick alloy, or steel rim. Big spokes are too stiff for light alloy rims. I have an average of 15000 km wheel life with 24" X 65mm bicycle rim laced 14ga with nipple washers. That is on a very powerful bike, riding hard and fast. It is higher maintenance than a moto wheel and the tire changes are frequent, but the performance is much better.
 
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