Getting an ebike

Z

Zshortyz

100 mW
Joined
Feb 26, 2014
Messages
46
Location
Arizona
I have been looking through various ebike forums and looking at hundreds if different products, and I'm ready to get an ebike. I'm wanting to get a conversion kit as I have a few bikes already and will convert one of them. Is there a conversion kit you guys recommend? Here are some specs I am currently wanting.

Speed: 20-25mph
Distance: 25-30 miles
My weight 135-140lbs

I have been looking at the amped bike kit, http://www.ampedbikes.com/complete.html they say 20-30 miles not sure how accurate that is. My current ride is 6.5 miles each way and I usually drive some days and ride the others. This summer my ride to work will be around 25-28 miles, usually I drive it but I have also been pondering using an ebike to save some money on gas. Are there any kits that can suffice my wants for around the same price as the amped bike kit? Or some different combination of kits and batteries to get me there. Thanks for the help.
 
This is the kit I bought 3 years ago. Got over 11K miles on the motor.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/48V1000W-26-Rear-Wheel-Electric-Bicycle-Motor-Kit-E-Bike-Cycling-Hub-Conversion-/231132763662
Today, I'd probably buy this one, simply because it's disc brake compatible.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/26-Electric-Bike-Bicycle-Motor-Conversion-Kit-eBike-Rear-Wheel-48V-1000W-/370934929537
All the motors come from the same place, China. Take your pick.
There are many different choices for batteries. I decided on rc lipo 3 years ago and don't regret it.
 
Thats the same kit that I have, runs great. 900 miles already on 48v Li-ion, 32mph top speed, and great range. Battery and kit combined was only $700.
 
Many geared mini motor's will carry you into the low 20's using 44v and a typical 250w controller. Your going to want 20Ah of it though. 15Ah at least.

Or you could step up from 3kg to 5kg with a 500w bpm. Partner that with a 12 fet sine wave controller and nice lcd. That is 23amp so a rear pannier 20Ah slab could work

Took so long to finish writing this this, I was first poster when i started... The above kit looks good value. Coupled with hobby kings for sure. Although I think it is a little faster than you wanted. I would rather stick with a geared motor. That same 48v might only make 27mph, but it would pull better.

How flat is Arizona? is it like little fluffy clouds that run on and on forever? Because I'm picturing airwolf for some reason.
 
Ah okay I think I am understanding this better. So if I were to get the 48v 1000w conversion kit, I would need a 48v battery, and the AH is just how long the battery will last correct? So a 48v 15-20ah battery would work with that kit? And yes Arizona is flatter then flat. My ride right now has 1 hill thats decently steep but its no more then a half mile long, but the 25 mile ride every day this summer is completely flat.
 
Ah okay I think I am understanding this better. So if I were to get the 48v 1000w conversion kit, I would need a 48v battery, and the AH is just how long the battery will last correct? So a 48v 15-20ah battery would work with that kit? And yes Arizona is flatter then flat. My ride right now has 1 hill thats decently steep but its no more then a half mile long, but the 25 mile ride every day this summer is completely flat.
 
If you go with rc lipo, I'd suggest using a 12s pack. That will get you ~28mph top speed on the kits I posted. It's 44.4V nominal and charges to 50.4V. it's perfect for the 48V controllers lvc of 42V. 10ah will get you ~20miles @20mph. For longer range, just add more ah as required. Charger options many. If going with an rc charger, I'd get this.
http://www.hobbypartz.com/75p-1220-charger.html?gclid=CNa3z9_N57ICFayPPAod10MAPw
It makes charging 12s easy and would charge a 10ah pack in ~1.5 hours.
 
I have used lipos before with my quad copter but I kinda dont feel comfortable putting lots of them together just yet maybe down the road. But I still want to get a big AH battery so I don't have to worry as much getting to my destinations. I came across this http://conhismotor.com/ProductShow.asp?id=346 seems like a good battery and seems decently light at 17lbs. They have another battery that is 70 dollars cheaper, is 48v 20ah as well but its 30lbs, is the extra 13lb savings worth 70 dollars? Or is there another battery option that is 48v 20ah that I am missing?
 
With the standard 2A charger, it'll take about 10 hours for a full charge. If that's ok, then nothing wrong with it as long as you understand the limitations of that battery type and bms.
 
Ah okay thanks for the help. My plan is to build something sorta like this. http://conhismotor.com/ProductShow.asp?id=209
 
That basically has the same motor as the first one I linked to. Top speed is exaggerated a little. Range is not based on top speed but is realistic for 20-25mph. If you ride at 15mph and pedal with the motor, range can easily be over 50 miles. It depends on many factors, with hills and wind causing major differences.
 
Yea I was planning on getting the 1000w motor you linked, however, I was wondering if i got the 48v 1000w motor, would a 36v 20ah battery not work with it? Or would it just make the motor run at 500-750 watts?
 
Zshortyz said:
Im not sure if 10ah will get me the distance I am looking for, around 25-30 miles?
Click to expand...
The nice thing about the HK LiPo's is you can easily add packs for added capacity and adjust your wiring harness accordingly.

On my Bafang BBS02 750W Mid-drive, using the PAS, I get about 13.5 Watt per mile and a range of 33 miles on my 10Ah pack. - A Hub Motor will be much less efficient, though - probably closer to 2o-25 watts per mile.
 
Zshortyz said:
Yea I was planning on getting the 1000w motor you linked, however, I was wondering if i got the 48v 1000w motor, would a 36v 20ah battery not work with it? Or would it just make the motor run at 500-750 watts?
Click to expand...
The lvc on the 48V controller is 42V, so you'd either have to lower that for the 36V battery or get a 36V controller. On 36v, top speed would be around 20-25mph.
 
Zshortyz said:
Im not sure if 10ah will get me the distance I am looking for, around 25-30 miles?
Click to expand...
At 20mph, you'd need 15ah of 12s lipo for 30 miles.
 
I have been looking endlessly for batteries. There are so many to chose from and different combinations of amps. I came across this one. http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-48v-20ah-LiFePO4-Battery-5A-Charger-BMS-Ebike-Powerful-Sea-7-8-Weeks-NEW-/181148272576?pt=US_Rechargeable_Batteries&hash=item2a2d4747c0 Does this seem like a decent deal?
 
Couple things to know right away.

The direct drive motor kits will stand the Arizona heat. Amberwolf in Phoenix has had good results, as have I living near El Paso, in slightly less hot climate. So you are on the right track with the motors. The really small gearmotors are not suitable for desert riding long distances.

Battery is a problem. Start with how far you will be going. Is it 30 miles one way? That's a bit far for practical ebiking to work. Not that it can't be done, but it gets to be a bitch if something happens and you are walking or pedaling it. Stuff does break, and if you commute daily, a 60 mile day is really pushing it for the distance. The result is, you need to go pretty top notch on everything on the bike. Not just a cheap bike.

So you decide you are going for it anyway, and need 30 miles of range, and charge at work. Here's how that works, at 20-25 mph, you will need .75 ah per mile. At 30 mph, you will need at least 1 ah per mile. If you have to ride 30 miles into the wind, your needs to go 30 mph could double.

A 48v 20 ah battery could take you 26 miles at about 23 mph. It will go further some days, but not on others. 26 miles is what you can bet your life on. But it would take you the 30 miles easy at 20 mph.

Now the real problem rears it's ugly head. Aside from how you will pay for a battery bigger than 48v 20 ah, you also get to deal with how will you carry it. It can be done, but it's no longer simple. You can put a 48v 15 ah battery in panniers, one on each side. But now you have put a 15 pound motor, and two 15 pound batteries on your bike. If it's not a very good bike, one build strong enough to carry the load, it will overstress the frame and ride wobbly. At 30 mph, possibly wobbly enough to be quite scary.

So it's not a can't be done thing, but more of a has to be done right to work thing. My bike carries up to 100 pounds of cargo, but it's far from an ordinary bike.

Then, if you are having to charge at work, then you cannot usually use the fire risky RC lico packs. You will need a safe to charge nearly anywhere lifepo4, or limn pack.

If your ride is 15 miles one way, then everything changes in your favor. Then all you need is a 48v 15 ah battery of a type you can charge at work. I did this that one way distance commute for 4 years with minimal problems, and when I did get problems, 15 miles was bad, but doable to pedal it with no motor. All you need for this distance at full speed is 48v 15 ah. And now the smaller battery is quite easy to fit on the bike and carry it with minimal problems with the handling. With some diligence, I never had problems other than a flat tire riding to work. A few bad days, I ran out of battery going home, but going home I could ride slow to make it on a windy day.
 
Thank you so much for all the information. I work with lipos almost everyday, and I still don't feel comfortable putting them together to make a battery suitable for my needs. Plus I travel between 4 houses and work throughout the year so I don't think lipos will be safe in that sense also.

As far as range this was my concern. During the summer I spend around $250-300 a month just on gas so I am trying to cut that down. There are a lot of park and ride locations on the route to work so maybe I could do a half drive and half ride, ill have to figure that out.

But mainly want to build this to save money on travels to school. Right now its around 12 miles round trip with only 1 hill at the end that is (according to strava) 0.7 Miles long 2.2% elevation and 85ft elevation difference. I am making it up on my road bike fairly easily so helping with a motor I don't think will be too bad.

So maybe im hoping too much out of a 30 mile range, really if I use google maps the closest location I work at is 25 miles and the farthest 30 miles. But like I said thats only 3 months out of the year the rest is traveling to school.

Justifying the cost for it also is really easy seeing as right now a parking pass for school is $500... That is 3/4 of a kit right there so really I will only have to ride 1,230 miles on the bike to even out the price vs a car, which is around 75 days, if my math is correct. So this is why I am so set on getting an ebike just trying to find the right combination is hard.
 
The 50v 25ah triangle battery from em3ev.com would probably suit you best. It is a little pricey but you know your getting a battery from a reputable seller and the battery will be as advertised... Plus u can make it fit in your triangle frame so you don't have to worry about weight ratio.. I'm new here and building my first ebike so I don't know everything but I do know that would probably be your best option
 
Those triangle batteries from em3ev.com look great. I am strongly considering a 50V 16aH one for myself and ditching my hobbyking LiPo to give myself a more plug and play solution. One of the issue with my setup is that I have an aluminum frame (which is fairly light) and a big box of LiPo on my seat-post rack. Anyway back to your plan...

Getting an ebike to save fuel costs sounds like a great idea, but as dogman pointed out; having to haul all that equipment without power would be a major pain. I don't have the technical background like some users on the forum here, but I do have about 5000km+ and 4 years of ebiking experience. Whatever you decide on, it sounds like you will want a reliable and capable setup. It also sounds like you will want to charge at work/school, so I would definitely point toward a more plug and play solution for your battery setup. Have a look at this ebike simulator to give you an idea about battery/motor combinations and you much range/performance you can achieve:

http://www.ebikes.ca/tools/simulator.html/
 
I think you can definitely go with something for the school ride. Save that 500 for starters. Then if you have car costs anything like mine, car is 50-75 cents a mile, and ebike is 15-20 cents a mile.

My 30 miles a day to work was putting 12 bucks a day in my pocket. I looked at it like almost making minimum wage for the ride, which I enjoyed anyway.

Like I said, it's quite possible to do longer rides, but its often just a question of how to carry, and how to secure from theft, a larger more expensive battery and bike. At school, you might be able to find a way to bring it inside while the bike remains chained up.

An EM3 ev triangle battery, or a ping 48v 15 ah pack would do the trick.

Re that other battery you linked to, it's of the ok type, I just haven't heard of the vendor. Sending money to china is a bit scary, but pingbattery and EM3ev are both very trusted people.

Are you in Phoenix? I was just riding the bike trails there the other day.
 
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