High torque hub motor opinions

[Jim615]

I posted in the non hub motor section regarding a mid drive to get hill climbing torque with a low speed of 20 mph.The complexity and maintenance have made me reconsider. I have searched and read at length and I cannot seem to locate a hub motor/ kit that is wound for my needs. The geared motors with nylon gears in the planetary reduction seem like they would be short lived. I am disabled and I would have a hard time if I had to walk back. I would like to be able to travel both dirt and paved bike trails in the state parks that are very steep at times. I am willing to spend what is needed to get me back reliably.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[John in CR]

I posted in the non hub motor section regarding a mid drive to get hill climbing torque with a low speed of 20 mph.The complexity and maintenance have made me reconsider. I have searched and read at length and I cannot seem to locate a hub motor/ kit that is wound for my needs. The geared motors with nylon gears in the planetary reduction seem like they would be short lived. I am disabled and I would have a hard time if I had to walk back. I would like to be able to travel both dirt and paved bike trails in the state parks that are very steep at times. I am willing to spend what is needed to get me back reliably.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Do you mean 20mph up these steep hills, or 20 on the flats and able to climb? They're totally different animals, and the 2nd is relatively easy with a number of options depending on your weight.

 

[d8veh]

You don't have to worry about the gears in hub-motors. Many of us use them without problems. The only time they fail is where people push their motors a long way above their design limits. I don't know about other motors, but I heard Bafang motors test cycle is 40,000 miles.
Any of the medium sized geared hub motors can drag a heavy rider around at 20mph and up very steep hills but at lower speed. A geared motor is lighter and requires less amps for hill-climbing than a direct drive one, so you don't need such a big battery, which means you can have a lighter more manageablr bike.

You should enter into your profile where you live because it makes a big difference what's allowed and what's available. Please do it asap.

 

[Timma2500]

Jim, a geared 10 turn Mac hub motor will give 20mph at 36 volts in a 26" mountain bike rim with solid torque.

A 12 turn Mac on 48 volts would give similar top speed with even more torque again.

They're available from Paul / Cell_man, PM him here or go to his website: http://www.emissions-free.com/catalog/i22.html

He's great to deal with, we bought my girlfriend's 8 turn Mac from him some time ago.


Paul

 

[dogman dan]

Currently, that's about your best bet, a 12 t mac. It will get you up some pretty steep hills, but do watch your temperatures if you get into really long really steep hills. Stop long enough to cool off when you must.

The gears should be fine, the mac's weak point seems to be the cover the freewheel screws onto. Big hard pedalers sometimes shear one off. Sounds like you won't do that.

Previously, some very slow winding 9 continent direct drive motors were avaliable, and that is what I use. I have some 12t rears, but I still melt them occasionally trying to climb a long enough hill. Mostly this is my fault, for using too much power.

 

[arkmundi]

That's similar to my spec and I went with the Heinzmann 500 Watt front hub motor. Torque has proven great for the hills of Worcester, MA. Getting up those hills was the whole reason for doing an ebike. I got my kit from http://www.heinzmannusa.com/.

 

[Jim615]

Thanks for all the reply's,
The 20mph is on level surfaces, I understand that the speed drops on hills. My experience on an e-bike consist of a Phantom X that I have had for about a month. It slows on the hills but with light pedaling does pretty good. Its the light pedaling that I am not able to do well.
My weight is 220 so you can see the need for torque.

 

[dogman dan]

The heinzmanns do truly have amazing torque. But they are pretty old tech, brushed motors that make a ton of heat. But if you hills are short, they will get up em.

A Mac 12t will nearly do as well, but stay cooler. I used to overheat the heinzmann really fast!

 

[Jim615]

This is Jim615. I started this thread and I cannot login under my Jim615 because I forgot my password and my email changed from verizon to charter. Can someone help me retrieve my pass word for my original login. Then I can change my email to the new one, I am very interested in continuing this conversation. The help here is priceless. Thanks

 

[Hillhater]

Jim, ..have you read this thread ?..
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=42785

 

[Jim615]

RE: hillhater I looked at that the mounting bracket looks nice I might order one just to get an eye full, but six to eight weeks is a killer. I think I am going to build a geared hub motor bike first. I can see several of these in my future.

Re admin help, THANK YOU so much. This forum is so nice and helpful.

 

[Jim615]

Thanks for the reply's I am going to order a 12t Mac in a 26 in. wheel with 1000 watts and run a 48 volt battery. I would like to get a full twist throttle and quality overkill speed controller. I looked at http://www.emissions-free.com/catalog/i22.html and they have what I want. Lifepo4 is new battery technology for me, is that the best available at this time or should I look at something else. Now I have to decide on a donor bike. I have looked at Giant and they offer a mild steel frame with front suspension that might work or the Rove 2 in aluminum. Again suggestions always welcome.

Thanks

 

[999zip999]

I like comoly bikes there are older but cheap and good componects. Better for a rear drive being stell with torque arms. Get the controller with a C.A. plug in.

 

[john7700]

Look at the Ping Lifepo. Lots of rep here and I've had good luck with mine http://www.pingbattery.com/servlet/the-12/48V-15AH-V2.5-LiFePO4/Detail

 

[atom1025]

You need the CA-DPS as the mac freewheels. So a CA-DP will only read speed and mileage when the throttle is held.

 

[Jim615]

It has been a while so I would like to kickstart this thread.

I bought a Falcon EV Green Hornet geared hub motor with a 48 volt triangle battery. Big improvement! Now if I could get twice the torque and half the speed I would be happy for now. I don't see anything on this forum regarding Falcon kits. It seem like a good solid motor to me, but I only have a Phantom X2 for comparison. I am thinking of having the GH rewound to a slower wind but I have a lot to learn first. Comments welcome. Thanks

 

[John in CR]

Add a 2nd motor, which is the easy answer. Not only will it be better on the dirt paths, but since you mentioned major difficulty for a walk or pedal the bike home, the 2nd motor gives you much needed redundancy. If you're talking about wanting double the torque, then you're bogging down on hills and pushing your motor into high stress. The guys using 2wd swear by them, and it will cost you little, if anything, in terms of range. In fact, if you are dealing with a lot of hills, 2 motors will be more efficient.

There are different options to reduce speed. Multi-speed switches are a good one. You can also control speed via a cycle analyst, something you need if you don't have, since running out of juice is the same as a breakdown. Lowering voltage is an option, though it reduces power too. Running smaller wheels is the best, but maybe most difficult to change. A smaller wheel lowers the mechanical gearing. With a desire for lower speed and more torque, going to a 20" wheel is going to put a big smile on your face, and it's going to make your motor much happier too due to far less stress. Making that size wheel work with your bike is the biggest issue, but it sounds like you're a non-pedaler, so you're likely to find a 20 actually better.

Happy New Year!

John