20-25mph hub drive kit?

[The Urban Raver]

Hi guys, new to this forum so apologies in advance if I'm asking stupid questions.

I have a hybrid bike which I'd like to convert. I do a 10 mile commute 4 days a week with 2 fairly substantial hills each way.

Can anyone recommend a complete motor kit (with battery) please? I'm quite competent with spanners so should be no trouble in fitting it myself.

Thank you.

 

[Nealh]

Realistically you need 48v @17/20a & a 270 - 300 rpm wound geared hub, which you will have to mix and match to together as well as making sure the battery has very good branded cells inside rather then mediocre branded ones.

Or a 20-25a BBS crank drive and again a very good battery.

 

[DynatechFan]

Did you have a budget in mind?

Depending on what you really mean by 20-25mph a more modest kit may work for you - I have a 36V Yosepower rear hub, it arrived without a speed restriction so doesn't cut out above 15mph. The no load speed is just over 25mph and assists up to that, but not so much at the higher levels, so maintaining high speed takes a fair bit of pedal power - if you want the kit to "push" you along at those kind of speeds then listen to Nealh not me

FWIW my commute is 6 miles each way, with some nasty hills, I average 19/20 minutes journey time and see no need at all for more speed, especially in traffic. Use assist level 3 on the flat level 4/5 on the hills

 

[The Urban Raver]

Did you have a budget in mind?

Depending on what you really mean by 20-25mph a more modest kit may work for you - I have a 36V Yosepower rear hub, it arrived without a speed restriction so doesn't cut out above 15mph. The no load speed is just over 25mph and assists up to that, but not so much at the higher levels, so maintaining high speed takes a fair bit of pedal power - if you want the kit to "push" you along at those kind of speeds then listen to Nealh not me

FWIW my commute is 6 miles each way, with some nasty hills, I average 19/20 minutes journey time and see no need at all for more speed, especially in traffic. Use assist level 3 on the flat level 4/5 on the hills

Thanks for the reply.

Your kit sounds perfect for my needs. Can you send me a link to the exact kit you got please & more importantly the battery you purchased to match the kit? I’d be really grateful for your help.

 

[wheeliepete]

This is the kit DynatechFan mentioned, unfortunately, it is out of stock at present. Drop them an email to ask when new stock arriving. Chinese company, but shipped from Germany in 4-5 days.

https://www.yosepower.com/en/product/Hub-Motor-36V350W-Black-Hub-Motor-for-Rear-Wheel-28"(700C)-&-HL1-36V13Ah-Battery-Conversion-Kit-DIY-E-bike-112.html

 

[DynatechFan]

assuming you have a fairly modern bike then a Cassette hub kit is better than Freewheel as it will allow you to reuse your existing transmission parts rather than need to source a new freewheel (and probably new chain too):
https://www.yosepower.com/en/product/Hub-Motor-36V350W-28"-Rear-Motor-with-Cassette-Bicycle-E-Bike-Hub-Conversion-Kit-Silver-DIY-E-bike-LCD-Display-123.html

Very happy with the kit, if I was to buy again I would still get a Yose but I might get a better battery (for more money) - in my understanding you can use any 36V battery with these kits. A 385/400Ah battery does me one commute so I charge after every trip, a 500aH might just do me two

You've not really mentioned your weight or anything about the bike. I am near 80kg and adapted a steel framed bike - the kit is fine for this combination. Alloy frame *should* be fine but worth showing your drop out design to folks on here. If you are a lot heavier than me then you might want more power/torque

 

[The Urban Raver]

Sorry I should have added, it’s a Carerra alloy hybrid bike with 27.5” wheels. Also it has hydraulic brakes.

I’m currently 95kg but this is coming down weekly (was 111kg).

I’ve emailed yose but I’m desperate to get this build underway.

Would this kit not be a suitable alternative?

https://em3ev.com/shop/bafang-48v-750w-bbs02-kit/

 

[lyme]

Cannot remember seeing many kits available with 27.5" wheels and I recently fitted a Yose Power 700c kit to my Carrera Subway 2 which did have 27.5" wheels and hydraulic discs. The rear 700c rear motor wheel with a 32mm width road tyre is a straight fit in the frame and I purchased a 700c disc compatible front wheel from Halfords for less than £40 which fitted straight in the forks. After fitting the kit I now have a Carrera Subway 2 with 700c wheels and a Yose Power kit which I am very pleased with and have so far covered around 200 miles on it. Will be going out on it tonight to cycle to the pub for a few beers which is a round trip of 16 miles which roughly takes an hour in total.

Now want to build a mountain bike with a mid drive motor.

 

[DynatechFan]

just spotted your other seller listing - are they USA based? Assuming yes, In case you haven't encountered it before, you may get hammered for VAT and import duties, which can make US purchases really pricey

YosePower and Elife used to have active ebay shops but I notice little there now, esp if you want a cassette based kit

 

[The Urban Raver]

So Yose have replied and they won't have anymore kits in for a month. I can't wait that long so seriously considering ordering a mid drive kit with battery as they seem much more readily available.
Any recommendations chaps?

 

[Steve Dyson]

I have a VoilaMart 250W/1500W 48V kit, this doesnt include the battery but comes in at less than £200.

I commute 11.5 miles each way with substantial hill climb and have a 22Ah battery that i built myself from lithium ion batteries.

My total distance there and back uses 12Ah out of the battery and in 250W road legal mode will cruise at 18mph with a little bit of pedalling to assist it up the steep climb near the end of the journey

i have had it in off road mode a couple of times and pulls 37Amps out of the battery but will hit a speed of 47Mph, this kills my battery and i can only just make it home with the battery dipping to empty and peaking at enough to give it a touch of throttle to get up the final hill.

also a side note, i over volt mine to 60v which gives it that bit more speed than the advertised 35mph

 

[Centaur25]

Hi Urban Raver,
My commute is almost identical to yours, 10 miles each way, couple of reasonable climbs. Just in case you had consided a mid drive kit I thought I'd post my experience.

I fitted a Bafang BBS02 750w to a Trek hybrid. Initially the battery I used was heavy 17.5 Ah 48v which I split into 2 x 52v 7ah packs. I did this for weight/stealth reasons. I get 1 round trip per charge then swap out the pack. The batteries are capable of 30 miles each but I'd rather not push them that hard. The key for me was changing the controller settings to hold my road speed at 19.5 on the flat. At that speed I make good progress without "looking" like I'm being powered.
The main down side to the mid drive is chain/sprocket wear. I ended up fitting Shimano Alfine 8 gears with a 1/8" single speed chain and heavily modded rear deraileur to tension it. Although the system works well I feel like a rear hub motor would be the better option if you are reasonably fit.
With a hub system the power goes directly into the wheel so the only stress on the chain/sprockets is your input.

So a hub driven system will be my next build. Probably 250w: XF08C Rear Hub kit

Good luck

 

[anotherkiwi]

Hi Urban Raver,
My commute is almost identical to yours, 10 miles each way, couple of reasonable climbs. Just in case you had consided a mid drive kit I thought I'd post my experience.

I fitted a Bafang BBS02 750w to a Trek hybrid. Initially the battery I used was heavy 17.5 Ah 48v which I split into 2 x 52v 7ah packs. I did this for weight/stealth reasons. I get 1 round trip per charge then swap out the pack. The batteries are capable of 30 miles each but I'd rather not push them that hard. The key for me was changing the controller settings to hold my road speed at 19.5 on the flat. At that speed I make good progress without "looking" like I'm being powered.
The main down side to the mid drive is chain/sprocket wear. I ended up fitting Shimano Alfine 8 gears with a 1/8" single speed chain and heavily modded rear deraileur to tension it. Although the system works well I feel like a rear hub motor would be the better option if you are reasonably fit.
With a hub system the power goes directly into the wheel so the only stress on the chain/sprockets is your input.

So a hub driven system will be my next build. Probably 250w: XF08C Rear Hub kit

Good luck

250 W mid motor my chain is +2800 km old and starting to show signs of tiredness. Steel sprockets look fine. I honestly can't see the need for more than 350 W nominative on a commuter, even 500 W is overkill unless you live in the Alps.

That motor will be going on the trike and I am going to try 1 X 10 speed but... The chain on a trike is three times as long so should only suffer a third of the wear and tear. Also because it is so long those torquey moments are better absorbed.

All that said my commuter will be getting the Muxus XF08 too:

- because I have two bikes and it is sitting there in the corner doing nothing
- because I want a more moped like commute with me twiddling the pedals and the motor doing most of the work.