This option really interests me. Keep the reliable belt drive and just find the best all around size rear pulley. I would love to flesh this option out some more.
Generic MD 1000 and HD 750 ebike model discussion
- Thread starter RMK!
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RMK!
Well-Known Member
+1
I think a belt drive single speed might do it for me too. The current rear Gates 26T sprocket with free wheel and front 60T might work. The steep stuff becomes an issue but the motor could handle most of the situations I get into. It's really more of a cruiser bike anyway and not having to deal with gears would be great!
Where there's a will ... there's a way.
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AztecElvis
New Member
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- USA
I have a bike on order & got same email asking to switch to SRAM 9. I ordered the HD1000 with IGH belt drive. Is the chain drive cheaper? Should I be asking for money off my order?
AztecElvis
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- USA
Leili is saying it's $250 cheaper. I told them to switch me.
Sounds good. My bike came with SRAM, so I can't compare to IGH, but at first I had issues with chain throw. Got a tune up, and since then no throws, but sometimes there's a clunking, like it's trying to shift, but only if I'm in top gear and hold down throttle or pedal hard in high PAS while in top gear. However, on slopes suited to top gear, I don't need that much power. If I'm making heavy use of throttle (frex late for work), I put it next highest gear and still get speeds higher than I'm supposed to,
RMK!
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately, I don't think the SRAM is a good long term solution. This motor can and probably will damage any conventional bike drive train unless operated very carefully. I went on a 20 mile back country ride on a rough gravel/dirt road. I had to ford 3 streams and there was some climbing. I was surprised how well the bike handled the conditions including easily crossing the rocky stream beds. I basically used 2 gears (4th and 5th) and bumped up the PAS for hills. The bike really impressed me and it was a great day in the saddle.
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Was it $250 cheaper? Leili told me it was only a $150 reduction for my order
RMK!
Well-Known Member
Their isn't much difference in the cost of the SA IGH Belt vs SRAM cassette chain setups. Leili is trying to incentivize you to go with the SRAM so they avoid more problems with the IGH's in the wild. Personally, I like the IGH belt much of the time and I think a three or even single speed belt system would work well for me. The RX-RK5 seems to be far to fragile for the motor power and the type of riding most folks will do on the MD 1000.Was it $250 cheaper? Leili told me it was only a $150 reduction for my order
BTW, I have no idea how Kyle @ Bolton got the MD 1000 to 42mph on level ground in his speed test. I was going down a moderate hill, smooth pavement and all I could get out of it was 40mph with my fastest cadence (105 rpm) and that was for only a second or two. I had set the max speed to 60mph so unless their is another way to unlock it? ...
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Long live the IGH!
That's rough, don't know what to say. Wattwagons uses 3-speed Sturmey-Archer IGH with Bafang Ultra, or much more expensive Rohloff 14-speed. Evidently they hold up, because Wattwagons also uses a custom controller to increase the power output of the motor, so it may be worth checking into these alternatives.
I keep wondering, but I suspect I wouldn't be riding yet if I'd ordered from Leili. I got in two good rides today - love how fast these 21700's charge - 35ish miles each. Not gonna catch up to you, RMK, but I'm over 600 now. Between hills and sand, 35 miles exhausts the battery (without quite exhausting me). The battery performance seems to have changed since I got it - balancing I presume - if I drain it all the way to 5% it seems sluggish, but I try to stay above 10% where it still has pep. Originally I noticed the sluggishness at 30%. Still a fan of Tannus Armour - I've ridden over cactus and sharp rocks with no problems.
On the subject of speed, on a section that seemed level to me, stiff wind but crosswise, I got up to 40mph, holding throttle while pedaling about as fast as I could. Battery was showing 45% at the beginning of the run (to 38% less than a mile later), so maybe 42mph is achievable on full charge. When I say I got to 40, I mean the display said 35, but previously I've found GPS reads 15% faster than speedometer. My version has 44T chainring and I was in top gear, 11T on rear for 4:1. Presumably a bigger chain ring would yield higher top speed, but I don't want to give up hill-climbing torque just so I can explain to a cop why my moped doesn't have a license tag. [EDIT: To test top speed with full battery, I'd have to transport the bike - nowhere near my house is suitable, as the closest I can find to "level" is the top of a rise where my speed peaked at 28 displayed, 33 per GPS.]
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RMK!
Well-Known Member
I'm sure you're right about the delays if you had ordered from China (Leili) instead of Biktirx. Interesting re the difference between your GPS and the Bafang displays speed indicator. What is the wheel size setting on your bike? I'm at 29" and don't have a GPS unit to validate the display' speed reading.
This is kind of embarrassing, but as you (and others) have mentioned that you use throttle along with pedaling was something that I just discovered today. My original ebike was a fat tire folder that would not allow simultaneous use of throttle and pedaling. My other ebike has no throttle so I've been riding the MD 1000 (over 1300 miles) using one or the other with throttle making up nearly nothing in terms of miles. So, my max speed of 40mph was pedaling level 5 assist but no throttle. Maybe adding throttle will allow me to stay at 40mph a bit longer than 2 seconds.
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Mine's set to 26, and I seemed to recall someone said upthread that Leili had set them to something else (but "upthread" comprises a lot of territory now). It makes sense as 26 is the wheel diameter but tire diameter can vary. Do you all have 4" or 4.8?
I understand being embarrassed about not having tried throttle+pedal, but there's so much to know about these bikes and that's why we're all here. I'd rather ask a stupid question than make a stupid mistake on the road. My bike seems to be programmed so that throttle kicks in at full power regardless of PAS setting, and I'm nt sure I can get full power while pedaling because the faster I go, the harder it is to pedal at a cadence that keeps torque on the pedals to tell the motor to help me.
Out riding, made friends with a subaru driver. My wife has one too so I joined him this morning on a dirt road over the ridge. It was fun until we got stuck and had to dig out, but even before then I kept thinking about how I'd rather be riding. He just bought that car, so there's nothing left in his budget for an ebike, and even if he could scrape together enough for a Himiway Cruiser, it'd have half the range and half the torque.
My biggest remaining gripe is the bubblegum crisis. That's when you're blowing a bubble and it'll collapse if you stop but pop if you don't. The analogous situation on a bike is starting up a steepenig hill in too high a gear to make it, but losing headway while you downshift. The solution is just to read the terrain, but my wife's a lot less experienced, so I don't want her to have that problem. Two ways to avoid it are with a hub motor or an automatic transmission. Out here I've realized that fat tires are a necessary safety feature; I got fat tires by mistake but whenever I dodge a car and wind up on soft sand I'm grateful. Plenty of fat tire bikes have 750W hubs, but I think she'll need a little extra to prevent overheating in Mojave summers. Evelo's Aurora Limited has the nviolo 380, but doesn't accommodate fat tires. Does anybody here know of a good bike for her that won't be a DIY project? Thanks.
Managed to fit in an afternoon ride, get my fix. Basket shook itself off, all but one of the bolts lost on the trail. Two of the boltholes were stripped to begin with, so the loctite threadrepair didn't hold. Only problem on my actual frame so far - do you hear me knocking on wood?
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