I am looking for a decent rear hub kit that is 1500-2000 watts. Something that would preferably run on 48-52 volts. I am looking for something reasonably priced but don't want to really cheap out on it. Are there any particular brands or kits that are a little higher quality than others?
Choosing a rear hub kit
- Thread starter Gkyle840
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Deacon Blues
Well-Known Member
I'd recommend a kit from Grin, but they're on the pricey side. https://www.ebikes.ca/
I really, really wanted to work with Grin, and I understand that they're swamped these days, but I was really, really disappointed that when they ultimately did reply they repeatedly ignored my clearly stated questions, and kept pretending that there's no such thing as a Bafang 48v 500w front wheel kit. Insisted on touting the eZee geared hub motor ($100 more than the Bafang), and insisting that it has 'twice the power' of the Bafang 250w. Well, yeah, it does. But apples and oranges, silly Nucks. Purchased a Bafang from Bluenergia off of Aliexpress. Shame.
indianajo
Well-Known Member
luna has delivered for me, although I bought their 500 W mac, not a 2000 W street monster. ebikeling has been reliable but his limit is about 1000 W. The quoted watts is a sham anyway. My 1300 W ebikeling motor would put 340 W on the ground, measured with a scale and an incline measurement. The rest came out as heat.
AHicks
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- Snow Bird - Summer S.E. Michigan, Winter Gulf Coast North Central Fl.
I'm assuming you're talking about a direct drive kit? Hopefully you are aware that a gear driven rear hub half the size of what you are asking about will outperform the direct drive, any way you'd like to compare them, at speeds under about 20mph?
Assuming there's good reason for going direct drive, Leaf supplies a pretty nice kit that uses a nice KT controller and display. Been around awhile, decent reputation.
https://www.leafbike.com/
AHicks
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Most geared hubs are pretty tapped out by 25mph.
If you're looking for a bike that will hit 40, I feel pretty safe telling you that you won't be going that fast very long, as you'll be using a huge amount of power to do that. The kind of power most batteries are only going to tolerate for a few minutes.
Not sure how you plan on using this bike, but you may want to to do some more reading before setting out with 40mph in mind on an e-bike
If you're looking for a bike that will hit 40, I feel pretty safe telling you that you won't be going that fast very long, as you'll be using a huge amount of power to do that. The kind of power most batteries are only going to tolerate for a few minutes.
Not sure how you plan on using this bike, but you may want to to do some more reading before setting out with 40mph in mind on an e-bike
indianajo
Well-Known Member
My geared hub tops out at about 23 mph. Gets there pretty quickly, though. Great on short green lights across 6 lane highways.
I did not know it was not feasible to go 40 for very long. My current bike will cruise at 29 mph for as long as I ask it to but I was hoping to build one capable of 40 for the few times I do ride on roads that are 35mph. Going 40 will not be my main goal but it would definitely be beneficial. Most of my riding will be on the road going 25, a paved bike path going 10 mph or on dirt trails with very slight inclines.
A 40 mph ebike is going to require either a very high powered direct drive hub motor, or a mid-drive and the right gear ratio. My BBSHD 1000w mid-drive in a single-speed setup (46t stock Bafang chainring, 18T sprocket) tops out right around 27-30 mph. You might be able to improve on the top speed of a geared hub motor by overvolting, but only up to a point before you'd have reliability issues.
AHicks
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- Snow Bird - Summer S.E. Michigan, Winter Gulf Coast North Central Fl.
Yes. They would be direct drive rear hubs. Again, hopefully you're thinking of covering just a short distance at 40mph. A direct drive can get you to 40mph, but you aren't going to be there long. Not with today's batteries anyway.
I understand Leafbikes (leafbikes.com) in China will build you a hub with fewer windings, designed for speed, on demand. You'll need to ask them about it. There may be others that I'm not familiar with.
I understand Leafbikes (leafbikes.com) in China will build you a hub with fewer windings, designed for speed, on demand. You'll need to ask them about it. There may be others that I'm not familiar with.
A direct example of one of the reasons bikes have a hard time hitting high speeds without a down hill: A 86 BMW built in the days of fuel savings had a smaller engine. At 122mph the tach is setting around 4200 rpms. The max on this engine is around 5600. The car would not go any faster than 122 even though the engine could. It’s because of wind resistance. Same thing with bikes. Our bodies have a huge amount of wind resistance in relation to everything else.
My bike does have hydraulic brakes. I don't plan to travel at that speed often or for very long, I would just like to have the option to go 40mph if needed. I see posts with direct drive 1500 watt bikes that say they go this fast but I haven't been able to find the details of what motor/ controller they are using.
AHicks
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Gkyle840, you do realize that a hub motor capable of 40 mph is going to be gutless at lower speeds, say those under 15 mph? I mean it will accelerate from a stop, but the performance required to allow 40 mph is coming from the available low speed performance. You can't have a top performing motor at both ends of the speed spectrum. If you want more high speed performance, it will be at the cost of low speed. The plan is to figure out what speeds you'll be riding at most often, then make sure the motor you're considering is most capable of working well (best) within that range.
Point being, being "capable" of a speed you seldom use is a waste of resources.
Point being, being "capable" of a speed you seldom use is a waste of resources.
