Reviews for 48V 1000W kit

[rhfritz]

Anyone,

I haven't been riding my BD36 much since it hasn't been quite right since I did a magnet rebuild a year or so ago. But I just saw these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/48V-1000W-ELECTRIC-BICYCLE-KIT-E-BIKE-MOTOR-HUB-ENGINE-/230596977333?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b0a6a2b5

Has anyone seen a review? Do they look like anything from a known OEM? It's sold here as well:

http://www.thelashop.com/catalog/48v-1000w-26-Inch-Front-Wheel-Electric-Bicycle-Motor-Conversion--p-722.html

Thanks.

 

[wesnewell]

I bought the 48V 500W rear version about month ago off ebay (yescomusa.com) for $227.90 shipped and haven't had any problems with it after a little over 300 miles. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again.

 

[shorza]

It's a Conhismotor kit. I have the 48v 500w motor and works well, better than Conhis's service.

Conhis sold me a battery which they claimed to be LiFePo4, it wasn't. The charger broke within 3 charges and the replacement was a 24volt charger.

 

[rhfritz]

wesnewell/Shorza, thanks for replying.

Shorza, I found conhis. I'll avoid them. Did you get a substitute LiFePo?

wes, what battery & charger are you using with it? What's your recharge time?

Both: What is your cruising speed on flats? What kind of range are you getting?

I've found two different sets of pictures of motors showing the spacing between the forks. That e-bay listing shows 76mm, conhis shows 90mm. Can you clarify?

Thanks again!

 

[wesnewell]

Up until today I was using 4 old 7.5ah ups batteries and the charger that came with the kit. Took about 1.5 hours to fully charge the drained SLA batteries. With pedaling the farthest I went was 10 miles, but still had juice left for probably 5 more miles. Think I averaged about 12-15mph on that ride. Today I got my new lipo batteries in (14s 5ah) and started using them. Haven't had them long enough to test the range yet, as i just got it set up about 6pm, but a voltage check after my first test run of about 3 miles showed still having 57.1V, down from 58.6V (95% charge). I didn't want to push it, but checking my max speed showed 26.7mph.Knowing the old sla's started cutting out after about 6 miles with no pedaling and a no load of 50.1V (was 53.6V iirc right off charger), I think the lipos will at least double the range of the old sla's, maybe more. And weighs less than 1 of the old sla batteries. The whole lipo packs weighs under 4 lbs, and the 4 sla pack was 22lbs. And the lipo pack takes less space than one of the sla's.

 

[Ykick]

Lead is so very lame compared to Lipo - my estimate is that Lipo delivers 4x improvement comparing size/weight/capacity. Also charging rate - if you got power supply of 10A or above, you may charge in minutes compared to hours for lead. And least not forget C rate. Lead sags and sags while Lipo stays strong and stiff until reaching the cliff.

From what I've seen and used over the past 5 years possibly the ideal battery type for lightweight EV's. Used with caution of course.

 

[Raining]

Personally, I use conhis's 48V kit with Ping's 15Ah batt. No problems whatsoever with regards to the kit (Well maybe a little bit). But communications could be challenging as Jason takes some time to reply emails.

In fairness, the hub motor and controller work without any prob so far(abt 4-5 mths, 000km-ish).But, my thumb throttle and bicycle torch both failed within days and he promptly send a replacement.

From what I remember from other threads & on other forums, there seems to be some inconsistency with their accessories but for me, i am pretty ok with their products overall.

As for the customer service portion, my experience with conhis is mixed as sometimes it takes days for Jason to reply and occasionally, he misinterprete my queries. For e.g. recently I wanted to try the 60V path so I email him for a 12V Bottle Batt & misc parts like throttle,diodes,etc.

His reply is
"Dear Raining,

Sorry to reply you so late, because I also wait for the information from them.
1. Specification: LiMn2O4 cell
2. Capacity: 24V 10AH, 36V 10AH.
3. Size:
24V 10AH: Diameter-91mm, Length-330mm
36V 10AH: Diameter-91mm, Length-430mm
4. Price is as follows:
24V 10AH: USD235/pc
36V 10AH: USD270/pc
5. Shipping cost:
24V 10AH: USD45/pc
36V 10AH: USD52/pc
"
I was like wtf .

I cant comment about their quality control (esp with regards accessories), however, I have deal with him a couple of times and mostly my experience is satisfactory. The key is patience

My 2 cents

 

[wesnewell]

Ref: Range of 5ah 14s 15C lipo pack. Just did a 5.18 mile test run without any pedaling at all. Not even from start. Started with a 95% charge. Ended with a 42% charge. Max speed during run was 24+ mph (although that's not the top speed, had it at 26+ testing for that), and averaged 12+ mph (too many stop signs). Bike weight about 60-70lbs. My weight, way too much at 270lbs. The way I normally ride, I think i can get more than 30 miles out of a charge.

 

[rhfritz]

Wes,

Can you verify the spacing between the forks at the axle.

Thanks.

 

[shorza]

I just measured mine, and it's 45mm between the motor casing and fork on cassette side and 40mm between motor casing and fork on the other. Not sure if that helps you or not.

You can read about my 'adventures' with Conhis here http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23644 I didn't get a LiFePo4 battery and i'm pretty sure they are still advertising them as LiFePo4, even thought they know they are not. Apart from the slow and unreliable service, the motor is pretty good. The controller pulls too many amp for what the battery can handle, I may have to adjust the shunt.

 

[wesnewell]

Wes, Can you verify the spacing between the forks at the axle.

Mine was a rear wheel 48V 500W system from ebay. The spacing of the motor and spacers was 135mm. IOW's it matched my rear dropouts width. However, I replaced the original 5spd freewheel that came on it with the 7spd from the bike. That made it a little wider. Still wasn't a problem, just a tighter fit and had to pry the dropouts apart a little to get it to fall in easily. The bigger problem was when I replaced the original small tire with a 2.125. Because of the way the rear dérailleur fit in the dropout, it didn't let the axle go back far enough for the tire to clear. removing that little gizmo from the dérailleur fixed that perfectly. To be perfectly honest replacing the original freewheel was pretty much a waste of time. I've never used any gears but the highest 3 since installing the hub motor, and 90% of the time I just leave it in the highest gear.