hightekbikes.com motor kit review. Electric bike kit.

[RTLSHIP]

Saturday at 12 PM I rode 6 miles in about 18 minutes on my Brushless with a 48 v pack. I touched the hub and it felt barely warm. Outside temp was about 88 with humidity @ maybe 65%.
On Sunday, I rode the BD36 pretty hard for 2 miles and hub was quite hot. Controller was warm and plug in cables to
controller were also hot. Seems that hot parts are related to higher amps drawn as the BD36 has a higher amp draw. So, if possible, buy lower amp controllers?

 

[dogman dan]

A 20 amp controller would help a bd run cooler for sure. I belive the stock one is 35 amp. But I doubt it would ever run as cool as a brushless. I think the sparks on the commutator are the source of the extra heat.

 

[RTLSHIP]

A 20 amp controller on a BD36 would likely require pedal assist when starting.

 

[docnjoj]

Negative to the pedal assist on a BD36 at 20 amps. My wife runs such a setup @ 36 volts and it really pulls right off the line. She has a 16" wheel, though which does multiply torque a bit!
otherDoc

 

[RTLSHIP]

docnj, thanks for the response. Since you are considering going brushless, you should also consider that the brushless controller is the weak link. Of course, you get more efficiency with the brushless and brushes never have to be replaced.
I have run my brushless, identical to dogman's hightek kit, at 36v and 48 v. 3 times I had blown/shorted the controller
@ 48v lifepo4. Luckily, I have a spare controller around. This bike has been advertised as compatible with 36 & 48v.
This is the third time I had to send it back out for repair/upgrade. Problem seems to be on a little daughter board.
It's not expensive as I have some warranty coverage, but it can be awful inconvenient if controller blows far from home and you have to pedal because the the hub motor doesn't always roll nicely when controller is blown. usually the bike will roll OK when pedaling alone. But last week, after controller went, it felt like something was wrong with hub.
The only perfect solution seems to be: run only at 36v. Problem is I'd like to use 48 v packs.

 

[docnjoj]

I built her bike-e about 8 years ago and the brushed motor and controller have never caused any problems. I still like the simplicity of brushed systems and the economics of controllers being "comodity items". You can get them for less than 20 bucks. Definitely makes sense as she mostly pedals but uses the motor for assist at times.
otherDoc

 

[dogman dan]

If I lived in flatter terrain and a cooler climate, I'd still be riding my original two brushed motors. I just was pushing their limits too far and needed to go to something a bit more efficient, and cooler running. My brushless aotema needs 10 miles or more of riding to reach 150F, where the brushed motors did that in about 5 miles. My ride to work is just about 5 miles too long to use the brushed motors for long in summer. But most people ride their ebikes 5-10 miles per trip, making brushed stuff an ideal choice. But adding a few more miles range to the motor makes so much sense, that the trend now is permanently toward brushless now.

 

[RTLSHIP]

I agree that the trend is clearly towards brushless and the cost of brushless vs brushed has dropped.
No doubt that this brushless kit sold by Terry (and a few others) is very nice.
I've just had bad luck, and it's partly my fault as all of my controller issues have arisen at 48v. I kind of wish the kit had not been promoted with that 48v compatable claim. Of course, many others have run there Aotema brushless @ 48v without problems. My kit has about 800 miles most of which came under 36v. I'm not going to quit on this kit. If problems continue, I'll try to find a higher 72 v rated controller.

 

[dogman dan]

Well summer is ending, and I haven't roasted a motor yet. Clearly the brushless Aotema has what it takes to ride in the heat. Most days were under 100f when I rode home this year, but other hot days did not show a lot of difference on the thermometer. Full throttle rides of 15 miles or more are no problem unless you are gaining more than a thousand feet of vertical. The motor does get into the hot zone at about 10 miles, but never climbed into the melting zone at around 200F. The highest I ever saw all year was 130f measured on the axle stub, which translates to about 170 inside. Many many days the motor was ridden for at least 15 minuites while above 160F measured inside.

Terry offered to replace my motor if I melted it, running hard this summer. BUT IT NEVER DID MELT. It never even showed the symptoms of being really overheated, which feels like voltage sag as the over heated motor loses power. I've got about 2300 miles on this motor now, and it runs good as new. 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

 

[WonderProfessor]

Thanks, DogMan. This is really good news! Assuming an electric motor is not abused and is used for what it was designed to be used for, a well-designed, well-built electric motor can last for decades with virtually no maintenance. When I first started researching assembling an e-bike about a year ago, the countless horror stories about poorly-designed, poorly-built electric motors were very disheartening. The horror stories are still coming in, but in just a short year, we are now seeing many reports from vendors and users that some of the brands of motors are demonstrating much better quality, nicely counterbalancing the sad tales of woe. As you noted with your Aotema, I've only ridden my eZee motor the long distance to work and back a few times now, mostly full throttle, but I checked the axle and motor housing several times for any signs on overheating and could find none. For my eZee and me, it looks like the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

The global economy shows signs of perking up. Oil is creeping up. Within a few years, we in the United States will see gas prices at least match and maybe even exceed the August 2008 spike of close to $5 per gallon. The future is bright for e-bikes!

 

[dogman dan]

Actually, I have been flogging the doo doo out of this thing half the summer, riding another 6 miles after the motor is good and hot. Imagine how long it would last if I lived 10 miles from work instead of 15! The same treatment last summer quickly toasted the cheaper and hotter running brushed motor. It's nice though, to prove the aotema motor can be as druable as the clytes so many love. The motor heat issue is really only a worry when it's over 95 F, and this summer proved that I don't need to stop and pour water on it or stuff like that as long as the hills don't get too long and steep.

 

[RTLSHIP]

Dogman, it's nice to hear about your overalll good luck with this kit. My situation is different. My front forks have those ridges (lawyer lips) and it took me a while to notice. Got a torque arm. This past weekend I finally noticed that the green wire near the axle was hanging on a few threads. This may be what's causing my controller to fail, especially at 48v.
I opened up hub and soldered green wires together. Reinsulated and shortened the length of the wire. Closed up hub.
Is this kind of soldering acceptable? I still haven't tested hub as a spoke is busted and I'm waitng to fix it.
I have a feeling that my whole controller problem could have been avoided by "seeing" those lawyer lips on the fork dropouts.
Any ideas on that green wire would be appreciated. thanks

 

[dogman dan]

Your repair sounds like it will be ok. That sure would cause some problems, if your axle spun and cut the wires. My first ride on a WE brushed motor, I spun the hub and cut wires, blowing the controller. Sellers really need to emphasize what forks are compatible and what arent. Most just say, " we recomend a cheap bike" knowing that they have heavy forks.

 

[RTLSHIP]

My second Raleigh 7 speed is identical to the first except that the fork dropouts have ridges on it. I didn't notice the difference for 5 months. Opening the Aotema hub and soldering the green wiring wasn't difficult. I did have to shorten the overall wire length and tie wrap it onto the inner hub supports so that the hub and bearing could be properly closed.
Anyways, to add injury to insult, the front hub suffered a busted spoke while riding it w/ dead controller. Any idea where I can get some heavy duty spokes?
I also need the spoke-nut because the spoke broke off at its' screw threads.

 

[dnmun]

your controller could be having a hard time digesting 48V if it was for a 36V system. no way of knowing which green wire you were talking about or if it indicates other hall or phase wires could also be shorting.

 

[RTLSHIP]

Mr dnmun, I'm refering to the green wire near the axle. There are 3 colored wires yellow, blue and green.
No hall sensors. The problem is that I keep blowing controller at 48v lithium.
Some folks have run this kit at 48 v SLA without incident for about 1 year now. I've read of another person who had problems w/ 48v lithium. various theories abound.
One interesting theory is that overvolting can happen when coasting because coasting turns motor
into generator. Thus, 48v lithium plus generator means controller is over 63 v? I'm not sure about that.
My point is that this kit was originally "marketed" as compatible w/ 36v or 48v. I have noticed that Aotema vendors have somewhat backed off this claim. This is an issue that the distributors or Chinese manufacturers will have to answer. It apparently was designed to handle 48v. American vendors probably didn't hype it up.

 

[dogman dan]

Now I'm confused, I thought you just said you were blowing controllers since one wire was touching the forks, where the insulation got nicked. That would do it.

 

[RTLSHIP]

I'm not sure exactly why I was blowing controllers.
In the meantime, I bought a 48v controller from campsolution.com. It comes with a 48v throttle, also. Only problem , assuming it doesn't fry, is that it will not work for 36v.
None of my wires were touching forks. But the green wire was gradually torn because the fork dropout ridges couldn't keep hub axle in place. Originally, I noticed the green wire hasd a nick.
Gradually, the nick grew into a tear. This could cause a short, but evertime it happened with 48 v.
Terry & eking are trying to map-out this type of controller.
The other controller is 17amp, a bit less reponsive.

 

[RTLSHIP]

I think my controller problem is finally solved as I'm using a 48 v controller instead of the stock one. So far I've put about
60 miles on it with no problems. But this 48v controller probably has an lvc, so my 36v packs will not work on it.
It's impossible for me to determine whether the stock controller problems were caused by overvolting or a slightly cut wire near axle. That's for the more technical to determine.

 

[dogman dan]

Bump

 

[WonderProfessor]

Bump?

 

[dogman dan]

Moves it up for people to find when it's about to go to page two

 

[kevo]

From a newbie,

Having recently bought a hightekbikes Aotema hub I must say Dogman I totally appreciate your torture testing and Rtlship your cautionary tale.
HTB_Terry and his product have been gratefully fully supported and w/o problems for my 72V/45A Aotema bike - it rocks. Economical and dynamite.
Hoping to get the CA and other tools to report back on the excellent performance.
Thanks for the review help,
-K

 

[RTLSHIP]

Good Luck with kit Kevo. I'm finally confident in my kit. I have a regular 36v controller and a 48v controller thanks to eking.
The front hub motor has run fine from day one.

 

[dogman dan]

HTB has a great deal on this kit now for ES members. See the for sale section for the link to get the discount.

Still a great kit, with better top speed than most others. Close to 30mph if you run 48v. No halls to fail, and less wiring makes a nice clean looking bike.