Mid-drive e-bike without cranks & pedals

[Hex]

Hey there, guys,

I've been reading for some time, but there's quite a lot of information to sift through - so I decided to ask what's the most reasonable way to create a cheap mid-drive bike (or rather a scooter, based on a bike, since I intend to remove the cranks).

I was thinking of using a scooter motor, controller and throttle. I stumbled on some cheap MY1050 DC motor (48V, 1000W, 3000RPM, 20.5A) and a 1000w 48v controller - sold as repair parts for electric scooters. Can I use four small 12v 6ah motorcycle batteries (i.e. typical car batteries, but for motorcycles)?

Here's a photo of the motor - it's an inrunner, which is not as good, as far as I've read around here:

Any suggestions for alternative components or a setup, or links to projects by other people with a similar setup, would be highly appreciated!

 

[dontsendbubbamail]

I used that motor on my first ebike. For batteries, I used small ridding lawn mower batteries. The weight of the system and the width of the motor makes what you propose better suited to a trailer pusher design. If you look back through the archives, you will find that the inexpensive e-scooters motor have been used in every configuration that you can think of. The e-scooter stuff is as cheep as it gets, but most folks have moved on to systems that are lighter, have more power, are more compact, weigh less, and give you more distance. Of course this all comes with more cost.

Bubba

 

[Hex]

I used that motor on my first ebike. For batteries, I used small ridding lawn mower batteries. The weight of the system and the width of the motor makes what you propose better suited to a trailer pusher design. If you look back through the archives, you will find that the inexpensive e-scooters motor have been used in every configuration that you can think of. The e-scooter stuff is as cheep as it gets, but most folks have moved on to systems that are lighter, have more power, are more compact, weigh less, and give you more distance. Of course this all comes with more cost.

Bubba

Thanks for your reply! Can you (or anyone else, who's stumbled on this post) suggest some cheap and reliable components for a simple mid drive configuration - as before, directly replacing the bike's mid drive with a motor?