Q100 high speed on KHS Urban Soul

[Goodies]

My first ebike build. Nothing special, but does exactly what I want for a commuter, and is within NZ's legal power limits for road use.




Background
New job means I'm back to a 20 km commute. I can bike this easily, but with a new baby at home, any time I can shave off will make my wife happier/sane. I bought an ebike locally (Jammis MTB with pedal4me kit) on the cheap (less than the cost of a kit) but was disappointed to find the speed maxed out at 27 km/h, and it was frocking heavy even with a Lithium battery. So I sold it, and started hunting around for a kit for my single speed.

System
- KHS Urban Soul single speed
- Greenbikekit Q100, 36 volt (318 rpm)
- total weight 16 kg

GBK are great to deal with. Although they tried to persuade me away from the 328 rpm motor in a 700c wheel, but I'm glad i stuck to my guns, it does exactly what I want - maintain a cruising speed above 35 km/h. And the torque is actually much better than I expected. Weight is slightly front heavy, but at least its low down. Note my commute is flat and always will be.

Mods to do
- add a thumb throttle, I hate the full size one
- add a Sturmey Archer S2C 2 speed rear hub so I can pedal assist more at high speed

Next bike
- crank drive
- nuvinci CVT rear hub
- even lighter weight

 

[full-throttle]

total weight 16 kg

That's awesome!
Very nice clean build

What's the power consumption like? Does the motor get hot?

 

[Goodies]

Thanks. Not having gears and crappy shocks (like most cheap ebikes) saves a lot of weight. It's also nice being able to stand up on the pedals and throw the bike around without feeling unbalanced.

Range is 30 km range, which is pretty good for an 8.8ah battery (I do pedal).

I'll remember to check motor temp tomorrow and report back. I suspect it should be good as I get up to speed quickly.

 

[Mastadizasta]

That looks like a great bike!

Is that the KU63/KU65 Controller Case from BMS? What is the width needed to mount a Q100 on a front fork? I'm considering doing this build to my Mercier Kilo tt but with the lower rpm version as there are a considerable amount of hills where I live.

 

[Goodies]

I got the controller case from Greenbikekit, but yes it's the same one BMS sell. I had to cut and solder all wires to get everything to fit nicely in the case. FWIW BMS are $180 more expensive than GBK for the same products once you include shipping.

Pretty sure the Q100 front (GBK-100F) is for 100mm wide front forks. But I'll have to check.

As for how hot the motor gets. Not even warm to the touch after a 11km ride.

 

[Danos]

Nice build, very stealthy. Where in NZ are you?

 

[Goodies]

Christchurch. Makes for nice flat riding.

 

[Goodies]

I just checked out your ride Danos. Nice setup with the battery in the frame. I would have gone with a mac kit but couldn't justify twice the price when I don't need high torque.

 

[Danos]

Yeah, I needed some decent power to get up a narly hill to and from work so went for the Mac. I'm very happy with it. Done about 1600km so far.

That kit you have seems like really good value...got me thinking about options for future builds!!

Ride safe, cheers.

 

[chvidgov.bc.ca]

I really like these Q100 kits - mine is on a Norco Yorkville Aluminum hybrid and it is a great solution for general urban riding - the freewheel is excellent - everything feels super efficient, with a smaller pack on the bike - I'm using the 700C Q100, KU63 201rpm. It assists well into the low twenties, and I can pretty well hold 25 if I want to, with decent but not killer level pedalling. I have a feeling ebikes.ca is going to pick them up and sell a few zillion of them. Very easy to set up and safe for aluminum front forks with torque arms of course (which is probably overkill). Won't scare the wife either, which is important to get her to the lake.

 

[Kepler]

Just noticed this build after seing in another thread hence the late entry into the conversation. I really do like this and its clean lines. An excellent under the radar commuter. You wouldn't get a second look from other riders when on this bike.

I wouldn't mind a similar setup as a backup plan for the Super Commuter I am building at the moment. I am thinking a quick remove assist with a front wheel and controller and battery all built into a handlebar bag. I would run a 201 rpm motor on 75V and about 500W. 5ah LiPo would be plenty for around 200Whr. Sound like a plan.

Wondering how carbon forks would cope with 500W. Some well designed torque arms should bo the trick I would think.

 

[grindz145]

Super-clean build man. I feel like this type of bike can really catch on.

 

[Samd]

Same kit I fitted on this thread when I decided the Ezee was overtorqued for a flat rattler bike. http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=45570#p664805
I used a laser thermometer to track temp, barely warm. Now it's my 'business bike' that I commute to work on, seems to rate a nod from most of the suits.

The q100 is physically a small radius motor, so lacks torque even at 20 amps compared to feeding same amps into a Mac/ezee/BPM.
But it'll take 800 watts at 20 amps from a 9FET no prob. I got sidetracked with building an e-bakfiets over Xmas, but once my dual susp is done, I think I am going to put a rear Q100 on it and run it dual power, just for bursts at the lights, dodging dumb drivers and hill climbing with some groceries up front...

When you are pedalling along the flat it's barely perceptible, and on skinny tyres you don't get range anxiety anyway.

 

[Goodies]

After nearly a year of use I'm retiring the KHS. Its mostly to do with the bike and not the kit.

I'm snapping a rear spoke about once a month. Surprisingly the cheap Chinese wheel that came with the kit hasn't snapped any, although a few have come loose.
Theres not enough clearance for decent mud guards which sucks for a commuter.
The stock rear rim won't take my 32mm panaracers.
I'm burning through brake pads.
I bent the stock seat post (no impact), and the 26.2mm down tube made finding a low cost replacement a pain in the ass.

The good. For one of the lowest priced bike kits available, its held up well, it's smooth, and it's fast. The thumb throttle is also awesome. I'd be keen to try a push button throttle if anyone can point me in the right direction.

New bike is a Kona DR Good. 7 speed nexus in hub gears, rear drum brake, front disk brakes. I've transferred the electric kit over installed my 32 mm panaracer ribmo tryes front/back with michelin slime filled tubes. These should provide bullet proof riding. I just need to cable tie up all my wires, and adjust the bike to my sizing and I'll be good to go. It is heavier but better balanced as the nexus hub counter the weight of the motor up front.

I plan to order the bafang bbs-01 crank drive in the coming months. Will be interesting to see how well that will work with the nexus hub, hopefully give me a bit more torque without sacrificing top speed.