Any feedback from those electric bike kits:

[Vanart]

Hi everyone,

You guys are awesome - so much helpful advice!

I am choosing a hubless kit and from reading this forum those two would make the best sense: money spent/ performance: Front 48v 1000w + 48V 20AH LiFePO4 kit and I found couple so far on e bay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/1000W-48V-ELECTRIC-BICYCLE-MOTOR-KIT-20AH-LIFEPO4_W0QQitemZ130380741708QQcategoryZ11332QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m8QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DMW%26its%3DC%26itu%3DUCC%26otn%3D5%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D6637156764064325806

http://cgi.ebay.com/Front-48v-1000w-48V-20AH-LiFePO4-Battery-Scooter-new-/320647694191?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa817876f
The latter is $200 more and according to the description there is no difference besides it has LED front light. Or may be I am missing the deference!?

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with any of those kit /e-bay sellers: maybe one is a better quality motor and/or or a battery as it comes from different factory in China (maybe!?)
Thank you for any info,

Art
P.S. there is a third kit from the same seller as a first one it is $150 less but is it 48V 500W ELECTRIC BICYCLE MOTOR KIT + 15AH LIFEPO4: as I gather it is not much money-wise difference but big difference in power/battery?!:
http://cgi.ebay.com/48V-500W-ELECTRIC-BICYCLE-MOTOR-KIT-15AH-LIFEPO4-/130328434810?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1e582e187a

 

[oldpiper]

You want advice? Don't play eBay roulette. Your odds are just slightly worse than they are at a roulette wheel in Las Vegas.

Now, before I get a mountain of people mad at me, I did NOT say, "Don't buy anything from eBay." There are many legitimate eBay merchants, several of which are ES members. Just don't page through the ads and pick the cheapest, not on the heart and soul of your ebike. Little accessories, sure, but not at this stage. One thing, when you see 50 ads in a row from several different vendors, using the same picture, at slightly (or majorly) different prices, you can bet it's a generic kit and you are getting the lowest-common-denominator performance.

Dig through threads on ES where people have built ebikes using kits, see which ones they are happy with, and which ones they are not. They will say if they are satisfied with the products and service of a particular eBay vendor or not (you can't trust the "eBay ratings" further than you can throw them). One thing you may want to do, as someone just getting into the game, is to find someone on your own continent to deal with. Then, you have a name and a face and a voice (maybe), and s/he can give you personalized advice and help you troubleshoot the inevitable little problems with a kit ebike. And before you push the red button, irreversibly debiting your bank account, you can search the forums one more time to see what experiences people had with him/her.

It's winter, if you're in the northern hemisphere. You may not be going anywhere on an ebike for a while, the weather's lousy, with an extended chance of more crap to come. Take a deep breath, and use this opportunity to learn as much as you can to make your first foray into the world of electric vehicles one where you can be sure to get "that EV grin ."

Cameron

 

[DAND214]

Hi Art,
both kits are hard to know what you are getting till you recieve it.
There was post about the first kit that had a problem getting the wiring correct and blew the controller. It could be just his own mistake or the kit.
I know the second one you list as VPOWER, that the battery will not be 20ah, but closer to 16ah. He uses the round 18650 cells and non have been what they listed.
The first seller has sent me info on the cells he is using and they are the early version V.1 cells that Ping started with. They are better than the round cells as being closer to as they claim to be. Also they are about 25% lighter and smaller.

As for the hub the picture shows a Golden Motor which is a decent motor but not like a 9C or a Crystalite. Both seller show the same motors in differant pictures but not sure what you will get.

For a little more you could get a 9c from Justin or Jason and the battery from daoji666 (First listed).

I'm sure you will get more replys about this with other suggestions.
Dan

 

[neptronix]

Stay away from ebay, for the love of god.

Read some reviews of stuff we've bought.
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=4

cell_man sells some cheap kits in the for sale - new section here.
And for a pre-made no hassle, low discharge battery, try http://www.pingbattery.com/

 

[RallySTX]

It also helps to make sure what you buy will fit your bike. You will end up taking a tepe measure and checking things out, unless you already know the answers. Welcome to the Forum.
Brian L.

 

[dogman dan]

That seller has been around for some time, but I have never been quite clear what he sends you, since you get pretty pics of several different motors in the ad. That alone turns me off.

Where you located? Some fantasticly trustworthy vendors in north america.

 

[Vanart]

Thank you for all the great feedback.
I somewhat agree about ebay though i bought so many thing including electronics - all just as good of a quality even compare to the local stores (if not better), so far i have heard some good reports about (including right here) one of the sellers i mentioned.
I live in Vancouver Canada - and whatever is available here is probably at least 3 time more expensive compare to that $800 deal for a 20 A bat and 48/1000 e-bike kit.
I am pondering that i better upgrade my bike too - since I will probably need disk brakes (48v fast motor) and stronger front fork?
anyone installed 48W 1000v on the front wheel!?

 

[neptronix]

That amount of power on a front wheel is not advisable.

First off, you need a steel front fork that is very strong.. often meaning non-suspension.. because a hub motor will separate the stanchions on suspension forks O_O

Second off, if you want 1000watts, you will wanting front suspension..
Get it?

As for disc brakes, yes yes and more yes. rim brakes can be okay but nothing can stop a bike like a pair of good 8" or 10" discs!! as you become more of a speedfreak, you will thank yourself for installing them

So yeah, get a good bike with a nice rear dropout setup, strong frame, and disc brake compatibility for front and rear. You won't regret it. I went through 4 different bikes to learn that's what i needed.

 

[dogman dan]

Hogwash dude.

48v 1000 watts on a front hub is nothing to be scared of, installed properly on steel forks. Ive run that power for thousands of miles, but if installed improperly, you get about 50 feet and then go flying and destroy stuff.

3500 watts on my death race bike front hub, yeah, only a kook like me would do it.

A newbie installing a front hub of any amount of power on alloy forks, now that is scary.

BTW, I know not everybody has a ton of money, but save yourself a lot of hassles by going straight to the best ebike vendor on the planet. Ebikes-ca. Living where you do, only a fool would go elsewhere. Get the kit here, http://www.ebikes.ca/store/store_nc.php Then shave a bit of cost by getting a battery elsewhere if you must. Pingbattery for long distance, or maybe straight to lipo if your ride is very short.

 

[Evoforce]

I have had excellent luck buying things off ebay. Especially the LiFePo4 cammy_cc (Hi-Power) batteries that are on auction. You will also find a lot of people selling off there old projects to move on to new ones in the used section of this forum. Very rarely are there scammers that post there. There are a lot of kit venders out there and most are trustworthy. It was already mentioned about a good vender that was located in your country. It can have a benefit sometimes to deal with a vender that is close by. However, I have also had good luck dealing directly with China vendors but count on longer shipping times unless you are willing to pay more for faster delivery. Good luck and happy hunting!