New to eBikes! Appreciate comments on this configuration.

Yep. You got to watch that ebay stuff. I've only got 5+ years and almost 20K miles on the 1000W motor kit I bought off ebay. So stay away from ebay. These specialty stores need to make money. :(
That 11.5ah battery is made with 4C cells, and the other with 3C cells.
1500W peak on a 1200W motor. I put more that twice that in my 1000W motor. You know what? I just give up.
 
Alright wesnewell, just get right out with it then, what do you recommend for a battery, motor, controller, for a 20" wheel tire on a recumbent that works good on hills.. Decent battery that puts out a lot of power, gives me good range, and enough torque in the motor to get up some pretty steep hills. I'm obviously lost and hopeless.... and if it is ebay, who are some reputable dealers to get this stuff at awesome prices... I don't want to buy a $500 battery off ebay and have it be a dud.
 
First, I wouldn't get a front hub motor. Puts too much stress on forks imo. I get this from the many post here about broken forks. Is your rear wheel 26"?To get good advoce, follow the link in my sig. Just edit your first post with the info.
 
wesnewell said:
First, I wouldn't get a front hub motor. Puts too much stress on forks imo. I get this from the many post here about broken forks. Is your rear wheel 26"?To get good advoce, follow the link in my sig. Just edit your first post with the info.

It is 20" in the back too.

Desired max speed on level ground. mph or kph
18mph on flats

Desired max range at what cruising speed. mph or kph:
50miles

Preferred bike wheel size, or wheel size of bike you want to convert. Most common kits are for 26" wheels.
20" front and back wheels on a recumbent bike.

Brake type of motor wheel. Disc or not.
V brakes

Rider weight.
220

Terrain. Exp: mostly flat, some short hills under 20% grade, I want to climb mountains, etc., etc.
very hilly, very steep and long at times, not sure the grade, but I live out in the Berkshire mountains in Western MA near Vermont if that helps.

Budget.
Well originally wanted to stay around $500, but doubt that is possible.. So maybe $800 to $1000, preferably closer to $800.
 
LewTwo said:
Normally 1200 watts is considered a lot to put through a fork but we have (at least I) have no idea what your recumbent bike frame looks like.
I figured it would need torque arms for sure.
 
cgokey said:
LewTwo said:
Normally 1200 watts is considered a lot to put through a fork but we have (at least I) have no idea what your recumbent bike frame looks like.
I figured it would need torque arms for sure.
I am a proponent of front hub motors but I think with that bike and 1200 watts I would definitely consider a rear motor.
Among other things you are going to have very little in the way of traction on the front wheel.

edit ...
and the problem gets worse on an incline.
 
LewTwo said:
Normally 1200 watts is considered a lot to put through a fork but we have (at least I) have no idea what your recumbent bike frame looks like.

The other thing I noticed too is that the controller that comes with the motor only has a 20A controller. So if i use a 52V battery, I'm at most going to get 1040W into the motor. Assume that will help from overheating on the long treks up some of the hills, but might be nice to have a 25A controller.
https://store.hightekbikes.com/index.ph ... cts_id=100

I'd love to know if anyone uses one, especially the sensored ones where they state:
"For going up steep hills with a heavy load, sensors are useful. If you have a heavy trike or go up steep hills, consider this model over the sensorless model. There is an extra cable coming out of the motor to connect the sensors to the controller. "
 
OK, here's what I'd get. Then strip the motor out of the 26" wheel and lace it into a decent 20" rim. And not one of those weak narrow rims, but one that's 32mm wide inside. That way you have all the other parts you need, The controller that comes with this kit will be either 26A or 30A max. And a minimum of 2.125" tire. Bigger the better as long as it fits.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/48V1000W-26-Rear-Wheel-Electric-Bicycle-Motor-Kit-E-Bike-Cycling-Hub-Conversion-/231974925396

Battery wise, I'd use 10-20C 12s rc lipo, If you catch it on sale, you can get 10ah for <$100 and that's good for ~20 miles at 20mph on level ground. Max unloaded speed will be ~25 mph on 12s lipo. It won't sag like those flashlight batteries. But any pack with a 30A output should work if you want to go that route.

BTW, That's the same motor I've been using for 5+ years and ~ 20K miles.
 
wesnewell said:
OK, here's what I'd get. Then strip the motor out of the 26" wheel and lace it into a decent 20" rim. And not one of those weak narrow rims, but one that's 32mm wide inside. That way you have all the other parts you need, The controller that comes with this kit will be either 26A or 30A max. And a minimum of 2.125" tire. Bigger the better as long as it fits.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/48V1000W-26-Rear-Wheel-Electric-Bicycle-Motor-Kit-E-Bike-Cycling-Hub-Conversion-/231974925396

Battery wise, I'd use 10-20C 12s rc lipo, If you catch it on sale, you can get 10ah for <$100 and that's good for ~20 miles at 20mph on level ground. Max unloaded speed will be ~25 mph on 12s lipo. It won't sag like those flashlight batteries. But any pack with a 30A output should work if you want to go that route.

BTW, That's the same motor I've been using for 5+ years and ~ 20K miles.

For a cheap experiment, I could wire 2 of these together right? They are $25 each.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__56841__Multistar_High_Capacity_6S_5200mAh_Multi_Rotor_Lipo_Pack.html


Recommend a place to buy them at 12S? I don't see any 12S at hobbyking.
 
cgokey said:
For a cheap experiment, I could wire 2 of these together right? They are $25 each.

Ha, maybe not...
https://www.commonsenserc.com/page.php?page=c_ratings_explained.html

So according to this, these batteries are 5200 mAh - 10C
So that is about 5.2 amps
5.2 amps x 10 = 52amps

Probably fry my controller, I would assume. Or am I not calculating this correctly?

Edit.. Oh read the bottom, that is the draw max rate, so I should be fine....
 
cgokey said:
For a cheap experiment, I could wire 2 of these together right? They are $25 each.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__56841__Multistar_High_Capacity_6S_5200mAh_Multi_Rotor_Lipo_Pack.html
Recommend a place to buy them at 12S? I don't see any 12S at hobbyking.
AFAIK, no one sells a 12s pack. Put 2 of those in series for 5.2ah 12s pack. That would be rated for 52A. Put 2 more in parallel for a 10.4ah pack rated for 104A. Read this.
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=39666
BTW, they sell 6s packs up to at least 16ah so you would only need 2 of them for a 16ah 12s pack. And buy from one of the USA warehouses, not from china.
A couple of these would make a good long lasting pack. But there are all kinds of options. Some a lot cheaper.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=89626
 
wesnewell said:
cgokey said:
For a cheap experiment, I could wire 2 of these together right? They are $25 each.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__56841__Multistar_High_Capacity_6S_5200mAh_Multi_Rotor_Lipo_Pack.html
Recommend a place to buy them at 12S? I don't see any 12S at hobbyking.
AFAIK, no one sells a 12s pack. Put 2 of those in series for 5.2ah 12s pack. That would be rated for 52A. Put 2 more in parallel for a 10.4ah pack rated for 104A. Read this.
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=39666
BTW, they sell 6s packs up to at least 16ah so you would only need 2 of them for a 16ah 12s pack. And buy from one of the USA warehouses, not from china.
A couple of these would make a good long lasting pack. But there are all kinds of options. Some a lot cheaper.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=89626

Thanks wesnewell...

I think that I'm going to go with 4 of those 5.2ah 6S lipo batteries (and get a fireproof safe to store these things in as well). Will wire in series and than in parallel (to give me 10.4ah) as suggested. I like this option as I've actually got a couple different bikes (not just the recumbent) that I might want to experiment with as well, so I'll have some batteries to mess around with later without a huge cost.
 
You can never be too cautious with batteries, That being said I've always just left mine on the bike in the garage until I bring them in to charge them. The garage gets up to at least 130F during the summer and down to maybe 20F during normal winters, and I've never had a problem in 5+ years. Ideally, you'd want to keep them in a cool place when not in use for longevity, but I don't worry about it. I'm over 4 years and 15K miles with the same pack now.
 
I'd say what ever you decide to buy, the battery can be purchased with one of two mindsets:

A) Disposable, cheap, often replaced in 1 - 2 yrs with mediocre performance.

B) High entry price, high performance, last many years (even "dangerous :roll: :p " LiPo can last many many years treated right!) 3 - 6 on average depending on quality of the cells, and how well treated they are, and yes, they aren't cheap! However, like most things in life, you get what you pay for.

The single best investment you will make for any E-Bike set-up is a good battery.

I have used high quality (not the what ever is cheapest) Hobby King Nano Tech LiPo batteries for 6 years now on multiple bikes, never had a single problem, not one puffed cell, only a couple days ago, one out of 8 bricks now has a weak cell (1 out of 4) and it's recovering nicely with some low amp charging.

However, LiPo is NOT half as user friendly as the average battery you buy.

#1 you MUST research and learn how to take proper care of them, because no matter the quality, if you abuse them sufficiently even once, they are very unforgiving, that said, I have used nothing more than a Cycle Analyst with a Low Voltage Cut-off, a rule of never using more than the top 80% of available capacity, and I never charge them above 85% capacity.

You will need to buy a good quality charger (don't forget to factor that into the cost of the batteries! most others have built in BMS, or are "smart" batteries that use "dumb" chargers, LiPo requires a "smart" charger), if you do not, you are playing with fire, not that it happens all the time, but I am not aware of any other battery chemistry that has resulted in more fires than LiPo.

However this is due to use of cheap low quality LiPo that is then often abused and or charged unattended (not as much a fault of the battery, but user error or dirt cheap low quality unstable LiPo, get what you pay for).

#2 Depending on how hard you run them, LiPo does not generally have as long a cycle life as other batteries, however see above and this can be an non-issue.

#3 LiPo IMHO is best suited to high powered maximum performance E-Bikes (read E-Motorcycles with out need for registration :wink: ) or for applications where light weight or extreme current draws are needed (your average hub motor will not tax the capacity of a good LiPo pack, so it's really a wasted effort IMHO unless you use it in the two above applications.)

If none of this is a challenge or barrier to you, I am someone with very limited electrical/electronic expertise, however with the help of experts here on this forum and using some common sense, I am sure you can use LiPo very safely and effectively! :D

I have used SLA's (GASP! :shock: ) LiFeP04, and LiPo and helped my father get into a decent Li-Ion pack (bottle battery) along with a customer or 2 using 18650 packs, and with the considerable improvements with 18650 Li-Ion, I cannot see a better choice for myself, remember, unless you're doing a pretty high powered set-up, or something requiring a very light small package with just a couple bricks of LiPo, you're not using half of the potential performance of that pack.

I really enjoy just having a good charger to plug into a decent pack with high amp charging capability and not have to monitor the charge like you do with LiPo.

That said, I was able to get nearly the same power density in a 72V 11AH 18650's as I have with my LiPo, fitting in the same amount of volume and weight with around 80% of the same capability at my current 25 amp controller, which is enough to get my 190lbs + 90lb Ebike up a 5% hill at 28 MPH (capable of 40 MPH on the flat). This is peaking at 1500W climbing that hill at speed, and cruising at closer to 250 - 300w on the flat.

I will have to test this new pack, but I expect about the same performance given my new 40A 72V controller (sold by the same company with a 6 mons warranty as a bonus!)

And just to give you an idea, with a cool running 91%+ efficient hub motor as mid-drive, (don't forget the cheap hub motors waste power making heat that would otherwise make you go faster or longer as they are closer to 80 - 87% efficient assuming they are running at speed that keeps them in their best efficiency, and that can happen while climbing hills OR on the flat, not both unless you sacrifice considerable speed for efficiency one way or the other) I am also able to get 20 - 30 miles range on that kind of battery capacity with moderate pedaling, and getting as much or little of a work out as I like.

P . S .

Don't be fooled by an apples to oranges comparison when looking at cheaper batteries, if the cells are low quality, 48v 20ah might not even equal the performance of high quality cells at 48v 10ah, go with something proven and known by other members' first hand testing. :wink:

And I would also so on average, you're going to get a lot more "bang for the buck" performance at 48v vs 36v with the batteries costing about the same, since you get more efficiency at higher voltage, meaning less current draw/waste heat = better performance all round.

Welcome to ES btw! :D
 
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