Neezy, this motor can hande 48V 20A, no problem. It is very quiet.
I did some testing yesterday in San Francisco. First I took it to the ususal hills in the upper Marina, around Scott and Vallejo streets. The stock comtroller only puts out about 15 amps so I upgraded it to a 22A controller. The battery was our 36V10AH Lipoly pack. I started on Scott street which it went up with no problem, I believe this is 16% grade. I tried several other streets with increasing slope. It goes up a 16-17% in 2nd or 3rd gear with light pedaling. It goes up a 18-19% grade in first gear with moderate pedaling. I weight about 150 pounds, so lighter than most people. The current peaked at 21.8A and power was about 775 watts. I didn't have a speedometer but estimate the speed was 10-12mph on the 16% slope and 6-8mph on the steeper slopes. I only felt the motor a couple times and it was barely warm. The ambient temp was about 65deg. The hills are only a couple blocks long.
I think I can comfortably say this motor, on an average bike, will get someone (up to 200 lbs) up a 16% grade with light to moderate pedaling. The motor weighs about 9 lbs. Overall, I was very satisfied with the perfomance.
After the testing I did some cruising along the embarcadero. The acceleration is pretty good, and top apeed is around 18-19mph. The tires are knobbies for off-road, btw. One guy came up at a light and asked where the motor was
On the way home I stopped at the Marin headlands for one of my favorite rides, the coastal road over looking the golden gate. I think the grade averages 5 to maybe 15% for a couple miles. The bike gets up to speed quick, even at the base of a hill, something you can't so with a DD hub. I blew by one of the roadies who train on the hill and left him in the dust. It actually could go up the mild parts with no pedaling at all. The steeper parts required very light pedaling in 3rd or 4th gear. I made it to the top pretty quickly. After enoying the view and snapping some pics I cruised down, appreciating the dual disc brakes (the motor is disc compatible). I liked this bike so much I decided to keep it, instead of selling it.
