Manufacturers and dealers to avoid

[WonderProfessor]

Keep in mind they went through some internal restructuring and, from what I heard, they've cleaned up their act a fair bit from when that was posted.

It will take a life time for GM to rebuild their business reputation after the horrible manner in which they treated some of their past clients and the unprofessional, mean-spirited behavior they demonstrated here on this forum. Studies have shown that consumers will literally write off a business forever and never consider patronizing such establishments in the future. For me, that might be a bit too harsh -- forever is a long time -- but it would take Herculean efforts on the part of this business for me to ever consider them in the future, especially when I now already have started a relationship with Justin at eBikes.ca and Mr. Ping.

Consider that other GM, General Motors. There are many U.S. consumers who will never again consider an American car when beginning their search for a new vehicle. I hope GM, Ford, and Chrysler can change that rigid attitude, but it won't be easy and it won't be fast. The funny thing is that in China, the Buick Division of General Motors is considered very high quality and is very desirous. Go figure.

In other words, Golden Motors will be hard pressed to get much, if any, business from the folks here on this forum who have been exposed to their shenanigans. They might consider doing what some companies (such as Blackwater and Philip Morris) and change their name. That might be a start in the right direction.

 

[skeetab5780]

I recently just finished my first ebike build. It is a hardtail gt avalance 26" frame that i equipped with a 48v 1000w golden motor kit from ebay and a 48v 10 ah lifepo4 from ebay as well. The GM kit was on back order for 33days. meaning they sold me something they didnt have in stock at the time. The reason they gave me was that "our 1000w kits we have in stock are not compatible with disc brakes(witch my bike has) and that it would take a month to get the NEW TOP OF THE LINE MOTORS designed for a brake rotor. So like they promised they sent out the kit 33days after my payment from paypal went through. After i received the tracking number from my ebay messages it only took 5 days to get here to the US (Worcester, MA). When i picked the package up from my local post office it was in rough condition and i was a little pissed/scared. I opened the box to find a vigour double walled 2008 rim with scratches and nicks around it, a few loose and BENT spokes and a nice new shiny black motor with a few scratches and chips in that as well....Also im sure this happens with every kit but it came with useless cheap plastic motor cut-off brake levers(and they went right in the trash). the thumb throttle ive grown to like it now so i wont dog it. But before i get sidetracked, back to the motor. First thing i noticed is no mounting holes for my disc brake!?!?. There is a threaded spot for an adapter THAT YOU THINK they would have included knowing that i needed it. So anyway i decided to mount the motor on the rear of my bike anyway with no rear brakes to see how it performed. After getting it bolted on i pedaled the rim with the bike upside down to see how true it was. But what i found out was that the rear freewheel was seized tight against my hub motor and gouging into it causing and uneven surface for the new shimano freewheel i had to put on it. So i had to spend 40 more dollars on a washer spacer and 5speed freewheel. So a few weeks ago i sent them an email explaining all of this, and they nicely told me that they would send me the disc brake adapter in the mail for free with free shipping . I was happy about that.....until it came in the mail. After chasing down my mail man and getting the package, i opened it to find a 8mm thick piece of aluminum with 6 allen head bolts tapped into it. I didnt think twice about it and tore my whole bike apart to get ready to assemble it. Come to find out the bolt pattern is completely different from our US pattern disc brakes and not only that but the 8mm thick metal needed to be atleast 2cm thick to come close to clearing the hub motors thread and reaching my brake caliper. At this point im angry and sweaty working in the sun and humidity with 95degree weather and dont know if it would be easier to order a different brake rotor that would fit the bolt pattern they sent me, and find a way to keep the 8mm thick adapter from threading all the way to the motor so it would stay in the calipers range. Or to try and have a machine shop CNC me a new adapter thats the correct thickness and has the proper bolt pattern for my rotor. All said and done i got the rear brake on the bike now...custom install job like the whole bike was. but my brake caliper is 2mm from my hub and the disc rotor is just slightly rubbing against the inside of the caliper just enough to cause noticeable resistance when spinning the rear wheel, as well as the disc brake getting hot enough to splash some water on it and see and hear it sizzle and smoke. Im not sure what the long term effect of this install will be, but i like having rear brakes again. I only have 163 miles on the bike only about 10 of them with rear brakes, so at this point its a guessing game. But all said and done to be honest im happy with the motors performance...surprisingly. And ive had no issues with the controller. Only time will tell if the product lasts or not, i will keep you posted.

 

[chet]

Golden motor does not sell on ebay. you were dealing with a reseller or fraud.

 

[skeetab5780]

you are probably right, i didnt think it was a golden motor kit but someone told me it was from the pictures of my controller.

if it was fraud..i could care less cause the kit works great after all the install BS was over with.

 

[chet]

Great. I love my imitation also.

 

[GoldenMotor]

Did it happen? Was this another one of the cleaning up of the mess?

 

[317537]

My hubs rock. I bought my hub from authorized dealer and the hubs are bullet proof, powerfull and Ive heard of folks running the balck gearless hubs on much higher volts than 48v.

The above post reads more like avoid the ebay dealer. Why wasnt the dealer mentioned?

The way that box came to the buyer sounds like it was attacked by a A-hole with a bad grudge. Ive suspected foul play somewhere between manufacturer and postage address for some time. WTF is going on as I do not think GM sends them out like this.

 

[HAL9000v2.0]

Hi guys,

try your best to avoid GM when you see this:

Video!
1. Built-in function-rich reliable cruise controller
2. Super thin body (60mm only) for most existing bike frames
3. Large diameter means higher climbing torque and smooth riding
4. Single motor can take multiple battery voltages: 24V, 36V, 48V to get desired power and speed, only need to add more batteries.
5. Plug-and-Run, use easy and professional connectors
6. Adaptable to disc-brake and 6-speed sproket (gear wheel)

It is designed for any existing bike frames, one for all.



picture



Flamers/trolls like KazBlueSky and DannyRay... competition is fierce but... wish you good luck when we launch our next product. See if that hits you hard.

I don't think this name is right choice... (althou I am not native english speaker...) It is just funny... I dont know how it sounds to others...

 

[JasonEBK]

Deleted. Thank you to all at ES.

 

[The Stig]

Magic Pie definitely sounds funny. And the pattern on the motor looks funny. Probably a good motor though, has potential! The bike pictured looks nice.

 

[julesa]

She's my magic pie
Cool drink of water such a sweet surprise
Taste so good make a grown man cry
Sweet magic pie, yeah

Woaw

Well, swingin' on the front porch, swingin' on the lawn
Swingin' where we want 'cause there ain't nobody home
Swingin' to the left and swingin' to the right
I think about baseball, swing all night, yeah
Yeah, yeah

Huh, swingin' in the livin' room, swingin' in the kitchen
Most folks don't 'cause they're too busy bitchin'
Swingin' in there 'cause she wanted me to feed her
So I mixed up the batter and she licked the beater

I scream, you scream we all scream for her
Don't even try 'cause you can't ignore her

She's my magic pie
Cool drink of water such a sweet surprise
Tastes so good make a grown man cry
Sweet magic pie, oh yeah

She's my magic pie
Put a smile on your face ten miles wide
Looks so good bring a tear to your eye
Sweet magic pie, yeah

Swingin' to the drums, swingin' to guitar
Swingin' to the bass in the back of my car
Ain't got money, ain't got no gas
But we'll get where we're goin' if we swing real fast

I scream, you scream we all scream for her
Don't even try 'cause you can't ignore her

She's my magic pie
Cool drink of water such a sweet surprise
Tastes so good make a grown man cry
Sweet magic pie, oh yeah

She's my magic pie
Put a smile on your face ten miles wide
Looks so good bring a tear to your eye
Sweet magic pie, yeah
Pie, yeah
Swing it
All night long
Swing it
(Aow)

I'm a trained professional
Swingin' in the bathroom, swingin' on the floor
Swingin' so hard forgot to lock the door
In walk her daddy standin' six foot four
Said, "You ain't gonna swing with my daughter no more"

She's my magic pie
Cool drink of water such a sweet surprise
Tastes so good make a grown man cry
Sweet magic pie, oh yeah

Huh, swing it


(kind of embarrassed to post Warrant lyrics but... oh well)

 

[JinbaIttai]

I actually like the pattern on the hub. It kind of blends into the spokes and disc brake rotor and makes it all look less obvious in a kind of way. I'm also willing to bet it performs nicely. I already have a setup so I won't be a Guinea pig to see if shipping conditions have improved. In all honesty, I hope Golden Motors turns around their reputation. We can always use another reliable source of inexpensive, quality ebike stuff.

That name however. . .
I will confess that my girlfriend has the most amazing magic pie! But I don't want to brag and it's not really appropriate to discuss on a forum like this. :lol:

In my opinion, it could work much better without ever writing out the word "pie." Just write magic (pie symbol). And where the word must be written, like on sales invoices for instance, write it as Magic pi.

Google image search "pi symbol":http://tinyurl.com/yl7rtnk

 

[ToughRowToHoe]

Flamers/trolls like KazBlueSky and DannyRay... competition is fierce but... wish you good luck when we launch our next product. See if that hits you hard.

I don't think these guys were flamers or trolls. Kaz in particular appears to have been badly mistreated. Clearly there were some problems with GM in the recent past. It appears those problems were primarily related to batteries. Pointing out very real issues doesn't equate to flaming or trolling which involves spreading misleading, false, or negative information. GM seems to be making inroads in cleaning up its problems but it did have problems.

 

[317537]

i just learned this from reading richard's comments about how they fail. the hall sensor output leg is the only leg of the hall sensor that you need the surface mount resistor on, your engineers can figure how big a resistor and how it will effect the controller's processor input as well as being large enuff to prevent the hall sensor output transistor from blowing.

then the hubmotor could be repaired without ever opening the case, by just soldering the broken wires together outside, a simple repair, otherwise the customer would not pay someone to repair it like i am doing because it would cost too much. i got it half price because it was spun out, but i wanted that since i expected to open the hub anyway to replace the phase wires with larger wires.

.

Now you tell me.

However in most case scenarios once the wires are bird nested you need to open the case and replace the broken wires right up to the windings or at least see if they have been effected and would be good advice to replace all wires just the same. That type of injury is pretty catastrophic and wire strands could break inside the insulator a good disitace from ground zero. Saving the hall sensors is enough to put the resistor in anyway. It could of saved me ordering the replacements. I am happy with the ss41 as they can take spikes, not sure what the specs are on the s41 Chinese made part.

What values is that noise filter cap?

BtW i didnt spin my hub, one hubs wire were squashed when it fell over and the other just stopped working. Ive found a nice pvc hose protects the wires much better then a little spring and the good insulation provided with stock wires. Hydrolic pressure hose would be the bees knees. seems that the rear hubs at recomended voltages work fine with the torque washers.

 

[GoldenMotor]

Problems always exist. XboX 360 had problems. However you do not go up to microsoft and start scolding their company in exchange for a new xbox. However everything seems fine between kaz and GM now. Hopefully GM will be able to regain it's reputation.

 

[chargedbiking.com]

i got really excited about joining the ebike world. i even make a website ( which im taking down soon)

stay away from www.raybenmotors.com!!!

i paid $600 for a conversion kit to be shipped to my door. after setting it up and running it for 300km's (about 3 months). the motor started to shutter and turned erratically. it was not ridable at all.
i emailed them, and they told me that it was my fault, and there was no warranty at all. AND to give them over $100 for a new controller, which had no warranty.

the best part is that they blamed me for over heating it, but i followed there installation instructions to the letter. they even have a video showing them putting the controller in the battery case. and they had the nerve to say i over heated it, by putting it in case.

they are now ignoring my emails.

now im stuck with this $600 pile of junk. is it possiable to run the batteris to the hub motor without a controller? theres 3 wires, so im not sure what one is what.

i would appreciate any help

 

[317537]

All the above happens and a whole lot more, when you think it has stopped raining it starts pouring, the smell of smoke from a controller of charger makes one feel the most horrible feelings.

Welcome to the world of ebiking.

If its not your controller, its your rims, or the batteries, or the hall sensors.

Sad to read about your experience with the seller.

Another suggestion is fix the bike, I’m sure you can pick up some cheap stuff to keep you out of trouble. It’s always handy to have a spare controller, even a spare hub.

There are a lot of mistakes that ekits, manufactures to consumers get picked up a long the way. From start to end it’s a balancing act of does and donts and any hope in any hell that dealers and manufacturers are going to translate this all the way down to the end user, but when you get it right, everything works surprisingly reliable.

It might not be your controller even.

The way I look at it is you still have something worth retrieving but its not worth it for you to buying the wrong parts.

Learning to trouble shoot can save you a of time.

 

[rguy56]

Chargedbiking/raybenmotors.

I bought two kits from raybenmotors. I've been commuting for years with one of them, and the other sits as a spare right now.

One worked perfectly, and one was awful. The one that didn't work exhibited exactly the same symptoms you describe, but it did that right out of the box. I had a different experience than you after that. We emailed each other a couple of times, and decided that I should send the faulty kit back. I had to pay the return shipping, but other than that, raybenmotors replaced the whole kit, including controller. I'd have to say that my experience was good with them.

Sorry to hear your experience was so poor.

I'm not sure that the problems you're having are just with the controller. I think I had both hall sensor problems and controller problems with the "bad" kit I had. If it's just the controller, you should be able to replace only that, and it shouldn't be too expensive to do, relative to the $600 kit.

Bob

 

[The Mighty Volt]

:lol: :lol:

 

[The Journey Guy]

On Nov. 30, 2009 I ordered a thumb throttle with LED indicators from Earl Witcher at http://www.poweridestore.com , and paid in full with Paypal. I paid for Priority Mail shipping, and was notified on the website that it was in stock and would ship within 48 hrs. It has now been 7 days, and not one word from Earl Witcher! The shipping status on the website informs me that it is pending, been that way for 7 days now.

So, yesterday I start to get ansy, and I do a search on this forum, and turn up information that Earl has been having extreme personal problems for the last several months, and is currently listed as "EXTREMELY RISKY TO DO BUSINESS WITH!". I PMed a member of this forum who lives very close to him, and that member informs me that he is ignoring all phone calls, emails, and even visits. This particular forum member even tried contacting him with an offer of doing $300 worth of business, but not a single response.

So, this is a warning to anyone who happens to stroll by the poweridestore.com site and is tempted to order something. DON'T, you'll have nothing but grief, and wasted time.

I have started a dispute thru Paypal, and I'll have to wait to recover my money. Just another delay for me, as I wait to start my dream bike build.

 

[Russell]

So, this is a warning to anyone who happens to stroll by the poweridestore.com site and is tempted to order something. DON'T, you'll have nothing but grief, and wasted time.

I just checked the site and it says;


Store has closed



I guess that's that :|

-R

 

[The Journey Guy]

Store has closed


-R

Well, nice of him to finally put up some sort of notice at last. Too bad for me he didn't do it a week ago!

At least I didn't make a major purchase from him.

 

[Ypedal]

wow.. very unfortunate, i've done business with Earl many times in that past years and have never had a problem ( must admit i have not contacted him in over a year however ) ..

 

[The Journey Guy]

wow.. very unfortunate, i've done business with Earl many times in that past years and have never had a problem ( must admit i have not contacted him in over a year however ) ..

I agree, unfortunate indeed. I realize that we are all subject to the "Human Condition", and when things go bad, it usually happens in a hurry. I make no judgement against him as a person, I only advise others that now might not be a good time to do business with him. :wink:

 

[docnjoj]

I'm very sorry to hear of Earl's difficulties. He always came through for me in the past.
otherDoc