TranzX System Mod/Replace

George Mann

10 µW
Joined
Jul 8, 2023
Messages
6
Location
Denver
Hi everyone. I am looking to replace the TranzX battery/electronics on my Raleigh ebike with a throttle only system.

I figure that the throttle portion may need some type of control circuit?

The stock battery module and canbus system will be entirely replaced, leaving only the Curry motor.
 
Not sure what you mean by "throttle control kits".

If you mean the motor controller, then yes, there are (at least) thousands, with varying capabilities and feature sets.

What kind of motor is it? Brushed? Brushless? Hubmotor? Middrive?

What job do you need the bike to do for you, under what riding conditions?

What features do you want or need it to have?

What battery will you be using on it? (the job and conditions will determine if this battery will be sufficient)

Depending on those things, we can narrow down recommendations for you to pick from.
 
Not sure what you mean by "throttle control kits".

If you mean the motor controller, then yes, there are (at least) thousands, with varying capabilities and feature sets.

What kind of motor is it? Brushed? Brushless? Hubmotor? Middrive?

It's a middrive Curry motor.

What job do you need the bike to do for you, under what riding conditions?

Casual city riding.

What features do you want or need it to have?

I just require a throttle control of the motor.

What battery will you be using on it? (the job and conditions will determine if this battery will be sufficient)

Don't know yet.

Depending on those things, we can narrow down recommendations for you to pick from.

Thanks.
 
It's a middrive Curry motor.
Is it brushed, or brushless? There are different controller types for each, and I've seen stuff about both kinds by Currie. (I couldn't find one made by Curry, if yours is spelled that way, and I haven't seen that kind before, myself.)

What power level is it designed for? (and what power level will it be used at?)

Any available information about it may help us help you find a solution that will work for you without destroying it.


Casual city riding.
FWIW, there are a lot of different kinds of cities, with different conditions (weather, terrain, traffic), and a lot of different "casual" riding styles. If each of us assumes our own version of those, you'll get a different recommendation from every person that replies, of which it's possible that none will apply to you, and none of which you will be able to tell if they do apply or not (because neither of us will know the conditions/etc of the other). ;)

For instance, here I would say a 5-10A controller would work for what I myself consider casual city riding on a typical bicycle, because it's pretty much all flat, usually with no wind (and your own pedalling can usually overcome that if necessary--when the winds are high and gusty enough to make that a problem it can be unsafe to ride anyway) and there are bike lanes and sidewalks to keep out of traffic in many places, and back streets can be used most other places to stay out of traffic. So for a brushless motor, a tiny 6FET generic controller would work. Brushed motors could use an even smaller one--possibly even one intended for a little kick-scooter.

This is one possible brushless controller like that
which I've never used, so couldn't say how good it is. (the company ebikes.ca I would normally use doesn't have any low power controllers right now, just the PhaseRunner and variations (which would work, but are much more complicated to setup and have many features you don't need/want). KT and Lishui controllers would also work and are better quality compared to most "generics", but also have features and parts you don't want, though they are much simpler to setup than the PR family).

This is one possible brushed controller like that
which I've never used (I haven't used brushed controllers in such a long time I don't know which brands are better nowadays, just which characteristics are better to look for in them, but almost no seller states these as they don't usually know anything about what they sell).


Without sufficient info, we can just suggest things that would be overkill for most conditions, and those would probably work, but they will require more money, more space on the bike, and a bigger more expensive battery to handle them...and then if not setup to limit to what your motor can handle (whatever that turns out to be), may overheat and damage the motor.

For instance, you could go for a good display-less 40A controller, which would work for most conditions for casual riding, but it will damage or destroy a motor that is too small if the conditions / usage are harsh enough. ;)

This is one possible brushless controller
(again, don't know anything about them; KT and Lishui controllers would also work and are better quality compared to most "generics", but have features and parts you don't want)

This is one possible brushed controller
(again, don't know anything about them)


Basically, if you don't define the job the system has to do for you, under the specific conditions it has to do it, it's only guesswork if any solution will work for you. The more info you can provide, the more likely that suggested solutions will be useful to you.


I just require a throttle control of the motor.
For that, almost any controller of almost any kind would work, as long as it has a throttle input***.

When looking at different models, please note that some of them that list they have PAS or any form of pedal sensor input are going to require you to pedal for the throttle to operate, some of these will work throttle-only. Most of those also have displays you don't want so you can see pretty quickly that they're not what you're after when looking at sales pages for them.


***and is compatible with your type of motor, and can supply enough current to operate the motor the way you need it to for your riding conditions and style, presuming the battery can do so.
 
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The M16 motor series have an integrated RPM sensor and controller.

If your motor has an integrated controller, then to use a different controller you'll have to take the motor/controller unit apart enough to wire in an external controller in place of it. Note that it is unlikely a typical controller will fit inside the motor casing (the internal is probably custom built to do so), so you'll need to find a place on the frame close to the motor for it, where there is cooling airflow (I don't recommend putting it in a bag/etc).

If the integrated controller supports throttle use directly (without any other things connected to it besides battery power) then you just connect the appropriate throttle to the appropriate wires.

The linked page doesn't specify the motor type (brushed or brushless), so if you don't locate this info anywhere on the web, you may have to open it up to see which kind you'll need, but it is likely to be brushless. A brushed motor will usually ahve two thick wires for power (possibly others for temperature/etc sensors). Brushless will have three thick phase wires for power, and may have five-plus thin position (hall) sensor wires. I don't know if it is sensored (with such wires) or sensorless (only phase wires), or uses a non-UVW type of position sensor, so that you'd also find out when you open it up.


I will be riding this bike in my city neighborhood of Denver year round.
Unfortunately that's still not detailed enough info, so the best I can say is that if the original system is specified as 350w, you would go with a similar controller if you want similar performance and want to keep the motor loading the same as the original system. Watts is Volts times Amps, so you can figure out what amps the controller needs to produce based on the battery voltage you end up using.

Note that the higher the battery voltage, the faster the motor spins at full throttle, so if you want to keep the same speed for the same gear ratio, you should use the same voltage as the original system.
 
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If the integrated controller supports throttle use directly (without any other things connected to it besides battery power) then you just connect the appropriate throttle to the appropriate wires.

There was a small two-way throttle module that was an option for this bike. So a regulated throttle may be enough.

There is a wired connection provided for it.
 
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