What Is The Story With This.....

[The Mighty Volt]

http://cgi.ebay.com/2000w-Off-Roads-Electric-Motor-e-Bike-Bicycle-Kit-ebike-/320359629707?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15

Hi there, I do believe I saw a guy with one of these on youtube.

I understand almost nothing of chain-drive systems....so.....what's the lowdown? Is this thing really that good?

Do chain drives really have more oomph than a hub or is that just my impression?

The spiel on this ebay article is that it does all this magic at only 48v...

Would be grateful for any input as I really know nothing about this type of system.

Cheers.

 

[TylerDurden]

Overpriced, underpowered junk.

 

[The Mighty Volt]

Overpriced, underpowered junk.

Oh.

 

[Jeremy Harris]

Certainly massively overpriced. This is a dual Cyclone kit that you can buy for $789, but I'm not even sure its worth that. If you're interested, then you'd be better looking directly at the Cyclone website: http://www.cyclone-tw.com/order-E.htm (scroll down this page and you'll see the same (1500W, not 2000W) kit as that eBay ad, using the same photo)

Jeremy

 

[swbluto]

It looks like a "1500 watt dual motor cyclone" kit. Look it up, I'm pretty sure you can get it for less than that from the manufacturer directly.

As far as "underpowered", I wouldn't be too sure about that.

 

[TopCat]

Heres a video of that setup running...

[youtube]Y6o-g7YeC4Q[/youtube]

Regards
Tom

 

[Miles]

"Under-engineered" garbage.

 

[The Mighty Volt]

Hi, thanks to all for your opinions.

In terms of efficiency, how much energy is surrendered through the chain drive of a setup like this?

Thanks again for your opinions and time.

 

[spinningmagnets]

There is a thread somewhere around here with a list of parts to make a "freewheeling bottom-bracket (BB)". By having a motor drive the BB (pedal axle) the motor gets the advantage of the bikes gears. Very good for reducing motor heat and increasing hill-climbing ability.

You "could" hook up a chain to your BB right now without a freewheel, but when the motor is turning, the pedals will have to turn also. This can cause a crash when you are banking in a turn and a pedal hits the ground. Cyclone became famous for producing freewheeling BB-drives like this (in many different power ranges), but they don't have much competition, resulting in their somewhat high prices.

I would not criticise their prices if they sold a high quality product, but most buyers have reported that after a VERY short time, many of the weak and cheaply-made components have worn out. Most notably, the BB freewheel should be replaced with the $80 ENO freewheel.

http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=7192#p165215

 

[jdcburg]

Several of us here have scratch-built bottom bracket (BB) drives. You can read about mine at http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=15529. I put a freewheel on the cranks (as described above) so the motor can turn the drive chain back to the derailleur w/o turning the cranks. I also put a 2nd freewheel on the motor driven chainring so I could pedal w/o driving the motor. It doesn't appear that they have done that on the eBay model and there doesn't seem to be freewheels on the motors so it looks like if you pedal, the motors will be turning. Regen the hard way!!

I used a LH freewheel (ACS Southpaw BMX sprocket) but that would never hold up to the stress of 2 Cyclone motors. White Industries (ENO) doesn't make a LH freewheel.

If you're interested you can get all the parts you need to build a BB driven bike from SickBikeParts.com. They make a shift kit for gas motors and you just pick the parts out that you need. I think the total would run around $100, more if you get the HD ENO crank freewheel. let me know if you are interested - jd

 

[jdcburg]

ps you also need to get motor rpms down pretty low if you're going to drive through the BB. I can't tell if it's there but Cyclones use a planetary. Others use a 2-stage reduction. I use a brushed gearmotor with an rpm of around 330, which has a 9T sprocket driving a 36T on the BB. My pedal cadence is just over 80 at full motor rpms - jd