Ebikeling kit 1200w

[Bigjayvapes]

I'm thinking about buying a ebikeling 1200w front hub kit, for a tricycle is it really waterproof and is it worth the money

 

[harryS]

There are two kinds of hub motors. Geared and direct drive. The latter are good after they get started, but are inefficient at low speeds. There was a guy here who built a trike with a 1000W front direct drive motor and he was getting horrific battery consumption. I found it hard to believe, like 8 miles off a big 48V battery. I never owned a direct drive motor, doing all of my conversions with geared motors..
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So I suggest you ask around about which motor works better for a trike. Most trikes don;t need 1000W anyway because of their low speed, but you might have some heavy weight to pull.
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As for waterproof, what they mean is that the connectors for the motor, display, and controls are waterproof. You can still get water inside the motor or into the display/throttle and wreck them. People should cover those when parking in the rain.
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I've had a few ebikeling kits from his early days. Price has gone up a lot.

 

[Bigjayvapes]

Okay let give more info, the trike max weight limit is 500lbs so the bike it self is about 80 pounds, the battery I'm using is 52v 20ah battery with plans on buying a second one in a year, I want to use pedal assistant on the bike it will be hauling camping gear and another 70pound ebike. Also the kit is direct drive.

 

[indianajo]

Totally flat terrain, no stops, no cargo, rider under 160 lb, DD might work for long commutes. Stopping & starting a lot, any use on hills, heavy rider or cargo, lots of time spent at low speed where DD uses waay too many watthours compared to geared hub or mid-drive. I tried DD, could use up a 840 wh battery a mile & 4 hills short of my destination (66 hills 27 miles). 1300 W ebikeling geared hub used about 2/3 the battery same route. Mac12t 1000 w about half the battery with more 14 hills and 3 miles added to keep me off dangerous State Rte 3. With 94 lb bike tools supplies water, 80 lb cupplies, 170 lb me (down to 160 this year). I stop at stop signs & traffic lights.
"Waterproof" connectors don't impress me. Putting the rectangular white connectors under the seat with drip loop has worked for me in this area where it rains 220 days a year. What did not work was an ASI controller with a connector with pins 0.5 mm apart. Harness too short to mount that controller under the seat, and rain shorted out +48 and negative and burned the pins into the Mac12t wire harness. Rectangular white connectors are about 1.5 mm apart and that seems to be adequate. Hard to buy anymore, those juii connectors can be sold as "waterproof" but the real advantage is that they cant be modified by popping pins and moving. The purchaser is locked into buying his controller & motor from the same vendor, all years in the future. Ebikeling parts from 2022 to not match motors+throttles+PA pickups from 2018 Buy buy buy, repairing anything prohibited or extrremely difficult. I finally did it but I had to dive into scooter controllers with no PAS pickup and no display.

 

[tomjasz]

lots of time spent at low speed where DD uses waay too many watthours compared to geared hub or mid-drive.

I enjoy your posts, BUT, Bafang BBSHD mid drives are used HEAVILY and are EXTREMELY popular with Pedicab businesses. Capable of low-speed hauling exactly as the fellow asked about.

I just finished a trike with a 9C hub motor front drive, I hate it. the steering dynamics suck. Converting to mid-drive, selling, and moving on to a Day6 trike with a 38" wheelbase. We'll see how it likes the front hub.

As Harry pointed out, delta trikes are a tippy at fairly low speeds.

 

[Bigjayvapes]

I understand the tippyness I do I'm just trying to figure this out I want to go 12-15 miles a hour on a straight away, u was also thinking about a voilamart but I don't know.

 

[AHicks]

If you want to avoid a mid drive, then it sounds to me like you need to study the difference between geared hubs and direct drive hubs. The direct drive hubs use a LOT of power to get moving because with no gears they are crazy inefficient at low speeds - like those most trikes run at. Imagine trying to make mileage with your car if the were no low and medium gears available, just high? Geared hub motors generally have something like a 5:1 set of gears built in. This gives them a huge advantage over a direct drive from a standing start, and even slight hills. Bottom line, when talking heavy loading like you can expect on a trike, the geared hub is a much safer bet.

I wouldn't go with a "kit". Most come with junk controllers. Because of this, low speed control is poor, and support for any issues you might have is even worse.

A Bafang motor and a KT controller/display won't cost any more and will very likely provide much better service. Downside is you have to do a little more homework sourcing the parts vs. buying a "kit".

 

[harryS]

This guy has built a fleet using the dd motors. I'd rather use a geared motor with KT controller too, but for 12 mph, it's not inportant,.