Drift Trike 20" Front Motor Hub Suggestions

[wesleyb82]

I am building a drift trike to match the Local Motors trike (https://localmotors.com/MattJackson/verrado-drift-trike/).

I had a cheap 24v 500w brushed motor that just fell apart so I need a replacement. My budget for a motor is $300-400, 20" wheel, 15-20mph, frequent stop and go, and powerful would be nice. I am planning on using 36v or 48v, 12ah SLA batteries with .250 terminals. I have controllers and throttles for brushed motors, so brushed is OK.

Local motors is using a Magic Pie 3 but these seem to be on the high end side of the market and a little out of my price range.

Does anyone have suggestions for a front motor hub for this application? I'm really new to this so any guidance is appreciated

 

[wesleyb82]

Photo

 

[dogman dan]

You had either an aotema or crystalyte brushed motor. Nobody sells them new anymore, as I think you learned why.

Time to pony up, for a brushless kit. Yes.com 48v 1000w kit. As cheap as they come.

From time to time, you might find another of those brushed hubs on Ebay, but unless one happens to be selling used today, get the brushless kit. You'll see a big improvement in both performance and durability. Those brushed hubs just heat up too fast.

 

[wesleyb82]

Thanks for chiming in dogman. Before dropping $4-500 I have one more Aotema motor. I ran the first up to 48v for 15-20m and also have a controller with regen braking. Do you think I would have better luck if I ran 36v with a non regen controller?

Also, does anyone have suggestions for a 48v 1000w brushless setup for ~$400 with controller and throttle? Magic Pie 3 is going to be over $500 it seems.

 

[wesleyb82]

I'm about to spend $250 on this motor, does anyone think this is a good or bad buy for the money? The trike is a toy that I will use probably 20 times so a $500 magic pie seems excessive:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400526603945?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&var=670116011450&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Thank you

 

[wesleyb82]

Anybody out there?

 

[dmcke]

Seems like a reasonable price to me. I paid $400ish for a 1000 watt 48v kit from ebay for my trike. I still haven't got drift wheels for it yet, but with grippys on it I can hit 50kmh on a bit of a down hill.
Sounds like the kit you're getting is 500 watts? That should still be plenty fast enough to have fun.
I totally understand keeping the budget low as its just a toy, my entire trike was made from scratch so I could spend a little more on a motor!

- Daniel

 

[wesleyb82]

Golden Motors CA was out of the Magic Pie 3 but just listed the newest generation Magic Pie "Vector" so I bit the bullet and ordered one. Funny thing is in Gary's description and in his email correspondence he kept warning about the safety of road operation at 48v which made me want it all the more and pushed me to buy it. Anyone hear anything about this motor yet I can't find anything online about it.

http://www.goldenmotor.ca/categories/Magic-Pie-Vector/

 

[todmurray]

I just received my vector with 26" rim.
I can't get my laptop to connect to the hub. Have you ordered the USB cable to program this hub. I want to keep mine street legal at 32km/h here in Canada.
Haven't tested this on the road yet. I'm using a 48V life battery.

 

[wesleyb82]

I did not order the USB cable against Gary of GM CA's advice and I regret it. At 48v with the weight at the back of the trike the front wheel spins out and is hard to control. I have gotten better starting without spinning but my tire is already bald after a couple days! Pretty awesome power but its too much for this tire/application. Hoping the motor acceleration/low-end rate can be lower? Is this possible with the USB cable? Otherwise the thing rocks, powerful, quiet and barely warm after intense use for 30-40 min. Freggin rights.

 

[Bikemad]

The 20" Magic Pie can be fitted with 16" motorbike tyres which should be heavier and also harder wearing.

The USB cable can be used to slow the acceleration down to prevent/reduce wheel-spin on take off.
Getting the software to communicate with the controller can be very difficult if you don't follow the correct seqence, check out this post for more details.

I experienced a similar problem on loose surfaces with a front mounted Smart Pie on a 700C wheel, and I was only using an 8 cell LiPo pack (29.6V) so it must be virtually impossible to pull away on yours without spinning.

Alan

 

[Arlo1]

Drift trikes are a blast. I built 3 that run and have 3 more on the go. IM going to market them as well. Its hard to build something as cheep as local motors with any quality. Anyways they are so fun take the time to do it right. Choose a motor that will last. I just ordered a magic pie vector for my wife's beach cruiser. I will let you know what I think. I saw a couple guys with golden motor stuff down town last weekend they were very happy. It is Chinese but seams decent not that I think there is any non Chinese stuff you can get for ebike motors.

Welcome to Drift trikes dude IM so happy I built mine. I want to have 10 sitting here for all my friends to come race its so fun.
PS golden motor sells LiFeP04 (I think it is) in ready to use packs. I'm trying a 48v 10ah pack with the bms and waterproofing its hard to compete with that price. I will report how well it is. Its ~550 cdn with charger included. Drop the lead, Lead is Dead man, Leads Dead

 

[evrob]

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