New Bafang Crank-Drives

Arkclark
Love the electric yuba
Others may disagree but If you have hills gear the bike down to carry your load up the steepest of them at a comfortable cadence.
I agree with you that 30+ is fun but honestly too fast. Cars pedestrians other bikes etc. are not expecting it. Great to have the power when you need it but I gear all my cargo bikes to top out at 22-24mph. In an urban area that is flying. If I had a longer commute with some open road it would crank up the speed. We know that the difference between low 20's and upper 20"s is a lot of amps. High amp draw equals battery consumption and reduced reliability. With good bakes etc the yuba can handle the speed but it's complicated. You are on a bike. Your helmet design, bike paths etc all work at normal bike speeds.
Have fun on the mundo. It looks awesome!

Samd said:

Nice result - they pull really well!

How many stages of power have you set the display on? I've got a 963 on my yuba and I find it hard to get just right sometimes. Good thing there's a 3540 under the rear as well

Australia needs a national Yuba race

Click to expand...

Set on 9 stages. Not able to switch between them while riding at moment as display reports error due to speed sensor fault (sensor cable too short). Looking at the programming thread on these motors I wonder if the lack of wheel speed input is affecting the motor power settings?

jpo said:

Arkclark
Love the electric yuba
Others may disagree but If you have hills gear the bike down to carry your load up the steepest of them at a comfortable cadence.
I agree with you that 30+ is fun but honestly too fast. Cars pedestrians other bikes etc. are not expecting it. Great to have the power when you need it but I gear all my cargo bikes to top out at 22-24mph. In an urban area that is flying. If I had a longer commute with some open road it would crank up the speed. We know that the difference between low 20's and upper 20"s is a lot of amps. High amp draw equals battery consumption and reduced reliability. With good bakes etc the yuba can handle the speed but it's complicated. You are on a bike. Your helmet design, bike paths etc all work at normal bike speeds.
Have fun on the mundo. It looks awesome!

Click to expand...

I had thought I might need to put a smaller sprocket on the hub (it's an Alfine 8 speed), but actually it's fine for sensible cruising speeds (I did have a 38t chainring on before fitting the motor though, so still noticeably higher geared now).

arclarke said:

Samd said:

Nice result - they pull really well!

How many stages of power have you set the display on? I've got a 963 on my yuba and I find it hard to get just right sometimes. Good thing there's a 3540 under the rear as well

Australia needs a national Yuba race

Click to expand...

Set on 9 stages. Not able to switch between them while riding at moment as display reports error due to speed sensor fault (sensor cable too short). Looking at the programming thread on these motors I wonder if the lack of wheel speed input is affecting the motor power settings?

Click to expand...

My car can go 110mph but, of course, I never drive it that fast. It is my responsibility to drive at a safe speed and/or obey the speed limit. Same for my bike. It's nice to be able to go 30mph, though. Sometimes the Tour de France riders go 60mph.

I think I'm ready to pull the trigger on getting the BBS01. As noted above, I have a Fuji Absolute 2.0 hybrid. I'm living in Louisiana, where the hills are mild and the roads suck. This bike is going to be a commuter (less than 10 miles each way, modest loads) bike with possibly some weekend cruising about town, though I have a good road bike for pleasure riding. I weigh about 160#, and the bike is (per Fuji) around 24# now. I am not looking for high speeds - given the drivers and roads around here, I will not spend a lot of time at 20 mph on my commute. However, I don't expect to live here forever, and could end up somewhere with some decent hills and longer commute. Based on a fair amount of reading here, I'm planning to order the 350 W BBS01, along with the 36 V 12.3Ah bottle battery. I have a few questions for you experts:

1. I'm thinking the HWBS Ebrake sensor, to keep my current brake handles. Is it worth the extra $12.50? Seems like a no brainer to me, but maybe the brake handles that come with the BBS01 are awesome.

2. I'm considering getting a second charger, to keep at work. I figure if I order one later from EM3EV, I'll have to deal with expensive shipping. However, I may not need a second charger initially, and if I can get an equivalent charger for a similar price, and without paying crazy shipping, I will probably hold off for now. Are suitable chargers easy to come by, say via Amazon prime?

3. Does the 12.3Ah battery sound right for me and this system? I recall reading on one of these threads that with the BBS01 one should get at least 12 Ah.

4. Go with the 46t chainwheel, or get the optional 48t chainwheel since I don't have much in the way of hills?

Thanks for all the help so far, and let me know if I should make a sep. 'first ebike build' post with these questions.

KC,

I have a 36V 350W BBS01. I would recommend purchasing the 36V 500W version. Everything is the same except the controller programming, and you can detune to a lower current limit (350W) in the control panel if you want.

HWBS: I haven't tried them, but they're pretty cheap, so I'd order them.

Battery: I have a 12 AH battery, and I get around 20 miles on a charge, with moderate pedaling.

Chain ring: at $8 each, I'd recommend buying one of each, and trying them out. Gives you a few spares too.

Charger: I bought my setup from Lectriccycles, and the charger looks like it would come with a laptop. Should be able to get one from Fry's or another electronics warehouse.

I have three bbs0x's a 350, 500(48 volt) and 750.
It is very hilly where I live. Two of the systems are installed on cargo bikes. The third (500) on a mountain bike.
All work great. I have no issue with any of them. The 350 is smoother and the lower power is safe to use with the nuvinci cvt hub (at least so far 2000 miles). This is a great combo. The 750 is supper powerful and flyes. I have it detuned the controller to approximately 18 or 20 amps. It runs at 1000 watts max. I rarly ride it at full power. The 3rd bafang 48 volt "500" watt. (Runs at 800 watt max). It also has loads of power. For me the 48volt 500 watt hits the sweet spot. With cellman's em3ev or lectric 48 volt 11 amp frame pack you can build a very capible bike.
One other noticeable difference is the cadence. The 350 has a noticeably slower cadence than the 48 volt systems. This maybe more or less desireable depending on you own personal riding style.
The only real issue I have is that they are not all the same voltage. I wish I could use the same battery and charger with all three. I originally bought the 350 because I had a 36 volt battery and at the time we did not know much about the bafang. Knowing what I know now. I would get all 48's not for the performance/power difference but for battery flexibility. So if your like me and own a lot of bikes consider the 48 volt for the future.

jpo said:

I have three bbs0x's a 350, 500(48 volt) and 750.
It is very hilly where I live. Two of the systems are installed on cargo bikes. The third (500) on a mountain bike.
All work great. I have no issue with any of them. The 350 is smoother and the lower power is safe to use with the nuvinci cvt hub (at least so far 2000 miles). This is a great combo. The 750 is supper powerful and flyes. I have it detuned the controller to approximately 18 or 20 amps. It runs at 1000 watts max. I rarly ride it at full power. The 3rd bafang 48 volt "500" watt. (Runs at 800 watt max). It also has loads of power. For me the 48volt 500 watt hits the sweet spot. With cellman's em3ev or lectric 48 volt 11 amp frame pack you can build a very capible bike.
One other noticeable difference is the cadence. The 350 has a noticeably slower cadence than the 48 volt systems. This maybe more or less desireable depending on you own personal riding style.
The only real issue I have is that they are not all the same voltage. I wish I could use the same battery and charger with all three. I originally bought the 350 because I had a 36 volt battery and at the time we did not know much about the bafang. Knowing what I know now. I would get all 48's not for the performance/power difference but for battery flexibility. So if your like me and own a lot of bikes consider the 48 volt for the future.

Click to expand...

One issue jpo doesn't mention is weight and I notice the Fuji Absolute 2.0 hybrid aims to be light, 10.7 kg in one forum. The BBS01 is half a kilo lighter than the BBS02, not a huge difference but if you are happy to carry an extra half kilo, extra battery is more useful than more metal. Against that I find the maximum cadence of the BBS01 to be too low.

That is why I've been wondering if the 48 volt controller will fit on the BBS01? I'm thinking that would be the sweet spot if it works.

1. I'm thinking the HWBS Ebrake sensor, to keep my current brake handles. Is it worth the extra $12.50? Seems like a no brainer to me, but maybe the brake handles that come with the BBS01 are awesome.

Click to expand...

I have the HWBS on my front brake and it seems to work well. Was easy to install and I have the Bafang supplied one on the rear brake. The Bafang supplied handles are less than inspiring but ok. HWBS were plug and play from EM3ev.

3. Does the 12.3Ah battery sound right for me and this system? I recall reading on one of these threads that with the BBS01 one should get at least 12 Ah.

Click to expand...

I'm using the 48V 11Ah on the BBS02 and have no issues with range. Nice compact setup that keeps the weight low and central.

4. Go with the 46t chainwheel, or get the optional 48t chainwheel since I don't have much in the way of hills?

Click to expand...

I went with the 46T and am in the process of putting a 42T on, but i have a few hills and $#%^&* headwinds to deal with. Paul seems to stock the 48, 46 and 44T now and they are cheap. If you are ordering and paying postage anyway my advice would be to buy one of each and try them out.

And think about buying a display extension cable if you reckon you may want to get into programming yourself.

Well this is interesting.

Just got an email from one of the people in the UK I have been selling chainring adapters to (Neil). He's running his recumbent's original two 48T and 38T chainrings on the front using my adapter, in concert with the bike's original front derailleur. He's sized it up and there is enough space for him to run down to a 32T on the smaller side.

I've asked Neil to send me some pics.

Ahhhh, so many options! Thank you all so much for the suggestions and information, it's tremendously helpful. I think I need to digest all this for a few days before I pull the trigger. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be happy whether I got with the BBS01 350W or the BBS02 500W. That said, I hadn't realized that the max cadence was so different between the systems, and I'm realizing that might be annoying. One thing I think I'll do is do a few rides with the Fuji and pay close attention to the cadence that feels right on the streets I'll be commuting on. I know on my road bike I prefer a higher cadence.

KC1983 said:

That said, I hadn't realized that the max cadence was so different between the systems, and I'm realizing that might be annoying. One thing I think I'll do is do a few rides with the Fuji and pay close attention to the cadence that feels right on the streets I'll be commuting on. I know on my road bike I prefer a higher cadence.

Click to expand...

You need instrumentation and post ride analysis in Strava or similar to reasonably quantify your behaviour. There is also a discussion on cadence in the programming thread including test data for the BBS01 in this post http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=58780&start=650#p967126 which might be useful. In that discussion Astmacca advocates limiting assist cadence to 75 rpm, so cadence isn't an issue if you accept the reasoning.

ditto on cadence. I've just got a 750W 48V motor, and it seems more powerful than I need, but is simple matter to restrict the PAS setting to around the 400W-500W level.
I've realised if I'm in a hurry I can pedal at the max rpm of the 48V motor, so glad I don't have the 36V.
The snag is batteries for 48V - either use 4P in a nice case, and limit the max amps to what the batteries can provide, or (as I have) use 6P and wonder what's the best way to enclose the battery pack.

how many km do you do before you have to change your chain? and what do you buy to care about the chain?

I wonder if anybody can help with my BBS01 kit.

Today I see error 21 on the display and nothing else.

I believe it means it is not getting a signal from the speed sensor. I checked the cable and it looks OK. However, when I unscrewed the cable, the 3 pin plug on the speed sensor itself came off. It looks like that this was meant to be soldered to the sensor so I pretty sure I need a new sensor.

I've been back to BMSBattery and awaiting their response but don't expect much help from them. The ones I've seen from China have extortinate postage cost of around £15. Does anyone know where I can get one for a reasonable price or even have a spare one I can buy from you.

That is a speed sponsor error code. There are UK dealers. http://eclipsebikes.com is one.

Also several German dealers, like, http://www.rftec.eu or http://www.ebike-easy.com

11:11 Sales

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/48v-750w-8fun-bafang-bafun-motor-BBS-02-mid-Center-drive-position-Motor-eletric-bicycles-trike/1720185922.html
US $364.65+shipping

Shipping to Aust
All Total: US $398.20
(Approximately AU $479.20)

Can anyone give me an indication of 36v 500w and a 36v 350W BBS02 cruising speed on the flat please? Can't seem to find a simulator.

I know there are so many variables etc, but to give a baseline I cruise about 32 kmh with Q100 and 36V 15A sine wave controller with Li-ion 10S on my 29er right now. Can I expect to continuously get over 35kmh with the same pedal input or is it my battery that''s the limiter.

If anyone in the San Francisco Bay Area considering ordering anything from BMSBattery and wants to share on shipping costs, let me know. I want to order 2x of their SmartBMS units and 2x (or 3x, haven't decided) of their custom APFC chargers and thinking if anyone else is ordering we can cut our shipping in half (or 1/3rd if multiple) since it seems they start at $50 or $60 bucks to ship a postage stamp. I'm using my iCharger 308Duo to charge currently so no super rush, but bulk charging with a BMS would make things a lot easier (I'll update this post to remove the request once I order so if you're reading this and interested, feel free to PM me).

To cwah asking about chains: I'm only a week into it, but I'm loving the KMC X9SL. It shifts so much more smoothly —both up and down— than the Surly 9-speed chain I grenaded in the first week. It has steep concave bevels on the edges to catch the teeth better during a shift. I ordered the one with the Titanium-Nitride coating (although I'd prefer a non-gold chain). Time will tell on longevity but so far, so good.

I've always been a mountain biker and for chain maintenance, I have used PJ-1 Blue Label chain lube since I was a kid: it goes on like a super thin solvent but dries into an almost perfectly slick grease-like substance. It's died blue so it's also easier to tell where you've applied and where you haven't. It is a time-proven motocross staple and I highly recommend it to anyone running a high-powered mid-drive. It's probably not the best for an athelete trying to go for highest efficiency on a sub-20lb road bike but for anything with stress or subjected to dirt/water/thermonucleardetonation, this stuff is the absolute best.

a little over 60 miles in and I'm loving my BBS02 so far !

SF Bay Residents, let know on the BMSBattery order thing...

Thanks !

-=dave

Hello Melbourne.

Thanks for the heads up on the AliExpress 11/11 day sale. I was just about to order my Bafang 36v 500w mid-drive from em3ev.com. Paul has been great answering all my questions on that unit and buyers on this forum highly recommend his company. However, I just couldn't pass up the sale price of $355.30. Now I'm hoping all goes well with this order from BTN.

Can someone tell me if I can fit the bbs02 onto a bike with an eccentric bottom bracket?
I will not need to use eccentric to tension the chain so if it rotate the eccentric to lowest spot in the bottom bracket shell it might work. Does anyone know or is the diagram that shows how much clearance I need?
thanks

a new model ?

http://b-t-n.en.alibaba.com/productshowimg/60068809605-218437809/new_8fun_bafang_max_mid_drive_system_with_torque_sensor.html

Yes, but it won't fit normal bikes.
Does anyone knows where to get this set for a lower price:
http://www.electricbikesales.co.uk/shop/conversions/sunstar-ibike-so3-kit/prod_818.html
This 1 is the only 1 with a torque sensor and has the ease of installing on a normal bike like the Bafang BBS-0* kits.

Might have more clearance for carbon frames? Better chain line?

Well, BMS Battery finally shipped out the order I placed on September 20th. I should be getting it next Monday. I'm looking forward to joining you fellas.