Leafbike Kit help wanted

[tonewavestudio]

The Kit is a Leafbike 48v 1500w front hub kit. 40 amp sine wave controller that came with the kit. I installed everything, the wheel is in the proper orientation, however, on first power up everything worked fine, except the throttle made it spin backward.

So I swapped blue and green phase wires, and blue and green hall sensor wires. It really didn’t like that, it threw E07. I couldn’t make the error code go away, I knew my wires were all making good connections. So I swapped it back to stock, color coded. The error code stayed.

So I propped it off the ground and connected the “learning wire” powered it on and it spun very smoothly in the proper direction, in learning mode. However, after that the throttle doesn’t work. It does a bit of a jolt when you engage the throttle but that is all. The error code now disappeared.
I’m fairly certain something is messed up in the brain of my controller, my wires are all making good connections because of how nicely it runs in learning mode.
My question would be is there a way to factory reset these controllers, and is there a certain sequence you need to do to not mess up what happens when you program motor direction, specifically with a LeafBike controller…?
Thanks all

 

[E-HP]

Why not delete your other duplicate post?

The leaf kits have used several different controller/display combinations over the years, so provide either a link to the kit or pics of the display and of the controller label. Self learning routines vary between manufactures.

 

[AussieRider]

If it spun backwards, you could just flip it around unless it has a disc brake that would be on the wrong side.

AussieRider

 

[tonewavestudio]

24 inch 48V 52V 1500W front hub motor - bike conversion kit

Convert your 24 inch original bike to ebike with leaf 24 inch 48V 1500W front hub motor electric bike conversion kit.

www.leafbike.com

This is the kit I bought

 

[tonewavestudio]

If it spun backwards, you could just flip it around unless it has a disc brake that would be on the wrong side.

AussieRider

Yeah I could have done that but I didn’t, and since I messed with the learning wire, it doesn’t work either way.

 

[E-HP]

24 inch 48V 52V 1500W front hub motor - bike conversion kit

Convert your 24 inch original bike to ebike with leaf 24 inch 48V 1500W front hub motor electric bike conversion kit.

www.leafbike.com

This is the kit I bought

The description doesn’t mention the controller model and the pics don’t show the label. The s830 display is used with dc moto/JN controllers, but a pic of the controller label would help.

 

[tonewavestudio]

I won’t be able to get a photo of the controller until tonight, however here’s a link to that controller, although there’s not much info to be found on it. I’ll get a photo of my controller label after work.

48V 52V 1500W electric bike motor controller

The leaf 48V 52V 1500W bike motor controller is so easy to drive your electric bicycle.

www.leafbike.com

 

[neptronix]

Hey..
I started this thread a decade ago.. not sure if you read it.
Leaf / leafmotor / leafbike high efficiency 1500w motor

These controllers are garbage quality, full of problems and not supported well, and don't even properly utilize the motor, nor are tuned correctly per wind. I'm yet to see a report of someone having a good time instead of a bad time with them. Any chance i get to tell people to not buy the kit, i take

Assuming you have your hall + phase wire colors 1:1 and we're not missing some other variable..

Here's what i'd do, in order:
A) hound leafbike support for answers ( they deserve it for shipping this )
B) hope ES can help you
C) buy a good quality programmable controller ( examples: Phaserunner, VESC ) and enjoy that big motor..

 

[E-HP]

I won’t be able to get a photo of the controller until tonight, however here’s a link to that controller, although there’s not much info to be found on it. I’ll get a photo of my controller label after work.

48V 52V 1500W electric bike motor controller

The leaf 48V 52V 1500W bike motor controller is so easy to drive your electric bicycle.

www.leafbike.com

Ok. If you check the self learning procedures under the controller section of the DIY faq below, you can see some of the variations for using the jumper. The steps to save the settings afterwards are important, but vary between controller manufacturers. When the jumper is unplugged and whether to power the controller down play into whether the learned settings are saved.

DIY Newb FAQ?

2021 proposal I think I've read through all of the stickies in the ebike forums, which provide great guidance. Yet, I see a lot a new folks getting into ebikes and posting questions that are not in the stickies, or are embedded somewhere among the existing stickies. Another observation is there...

endless-sphere.com

 

[tonewavestudio]

*UPDATE* I got it figured out. After trying again and again, I finally got it by : prop it up so the wheel’s off the ground. Power on. Connect the jumper. Let it run in reverse for about a minute. Unplug while it’s still powered on. Power off. Power on. Plug in the jumper. Now it’s running forward, let it run for a minute. Unplug while running. Power off. Power on and it works.
Thanks for all your suggestions, I will never buy a Leafbike kit again. I can’t believe how in 2026 a lot of kits still use such terrible wiring. (Thin Spaghetti) Another thing I hate is how sensitive the throttle is. Even in mode 1 it spins the tire when you start off.
Lesson learned. Leafbike = garbage

 

[E-HP]

*UPDATE* I got it figured out. After trying again and again, I finally got it by : prop it up so the wheel’s off the ground. Power on. Connect the jumper. Let it run in reverse for about a minute. Unplug while it’s still powered on. Power off. Power on. Plug in the jumper. Now it’s running forward, let it run for a minute. Unplug while running. Power off. Power on and it works.
Thanks for all your suggestions, I will never buy a Leafbike kit again. I can’t believe how in 2026 a lot of kits still use such terrible wiring. (Thin Spaghetti) Another thing I hate is how sensitive the throttle is. Even in mode 1 it spins the tire when you start off.
Lesson learned. Leafbike = garbage

No, the motor is hard to match in performance for a 35mm stator hub. Just do better research before buying next time.

 

[neptronix]

*UPDATE* I got it figured out. After trying again and again, I finally got it by : prop it up so the wheel’s off the ground. Power on. Connect the jumper. Let it run in reverse for about a minute. Unplug while it’s still powered on. Power off. Power on. Plug in the jumper. Now it’s running forward, let it run for a minute. Unplug while running. Power off. Power on and it works.

Oh, this jumper is a self learning function.

Thanks for all your suggestions, I will never buy a Leafbike kit again. I can’t believe how in 2026 a lot of kits still use such terrible wiring. (Thin Spaghetti) Another thing I hate is how sensitive the throttle is. Even in mode 1 it spins the tire when you start off.
Lesson learned. Leafbike = garbage

If you've been around on the forum for a while you'd know that virtually every hub motor kit seller is shipping garbage controllers to get the cost down. Been like that for decades.

Either that or the tune is stupid and this hurts the riding experience ( long delays in PAS engagement/disgagement, tune doesn't maximize motor capabilities, too high phase current, too low phase current, long delays in throttle engagements/disgagement ) and no means to change it exist.

If you know what you're doing with hub motors, you should almost never buy a kit unless we're talking about Grin technologies, one of the few kit sellers to still sell nice programmable controllers. Bafang kits can also come with nice controllers, but programmability is far from guaranteed.

Leafbike's motors are well above average quality for the dollar ( tight windings, good hub build quality, good wheel build quality, decent sized phase wires ).
With the right controller and tune... it's going to be the opposite of garbage

 

[ZeroEm]

It's the same with getting a motor laced up with large spokes and cheap rims. Baffles me to no end. But I do remember when I started ES took me to school.

 

[The Toecutter]

The Leafbike 1500W motor is not garbage. Both of mine, a 4T in a 26" wheel and 3" in a 16" DOT rim(originally bought it built into a 20" wheel) each have 5-digit mileage on each with minimal issues. My 4T wind DID melt the phase wires inside and I had to fix it, but I was also abusing it with 250A phase current. It does require periodic bearing replacement, which is not difficult if you have the tools. Just be careful to install the bearings correctly and without applying too much pressure, you you can ruin the bearing. Also, make sure you install torquearms, or else it can work itself loose.

For its size and price, you will not find anything better on the ebike market than a Leafbike 1500W, which is a shame because we have had much better technology since this motor became available, and no manufacturer is taking advantage of it for the e-bike market.

You need a different controller.

 

[neptronix]

One thing i like about leaf is that, from here, the wheel build quality was pretty good.
I don't think it needed truing out of the box.

Do i like the added weight and stiffness of 12ga spokes.. no.. but then again.. i was running 6kW peaks into mine, maybe that's helpful

 

[The Toecutter]

Neither of mine needed truing out of the box.

The 26" has a deformation in the rim but it is over 6 years old and has more than 30k miles on it in two vehicles over bad roads. I also cruise 30-35 mph most of the time, and in the case of the 4T in the 26" wheel, the first vehicle it was on could reach 45-50 mph top speed depending on battery SoC and frequently did. The roads here are terrible and potholes have sent both vehicles which that motor was used in airborne on more than one occasion.

The 3T has zero issues.

 

[tonewavestudio]

Ahh, understood. Motor great, controller/kit bad. But now what? I don’t feel like paying for a phaserunner or importing it from Canada… I do have one with a cycle analyst on another bike and it’s fine, although it has way more features than I need.
Maybe I should just start a new thread with this question, but I continue to very much dislike the controller and display that came with the Leafbike motor. The throttle is EXTREMELY TOUCHY! Even in PAS 1 it will nearly throw me off if I just barely touch it. Also PAS 1 goes all the way up to about 27 mph (PAS 5 ~38 mph) AND the speed limiter does not work, I can set it real low on the S830 but the controller totally ignores it. So what controller/display could I match up with this motor? Or would simply a new display make the throttle less touchy, and make the speed limiter work with this controller…?

 

[tonewavestudio]

Forgot to mention, soldering is no issue for me. I have been soldering 10 hours a day 5 days a week for the last 8 years…. So it doesn’t need to be plug and play (although that would be a bonus)