27.5 bad for road use?

soundwave

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May 23, 2015
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:p
 
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Charliefox

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 11, 2015
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Culloden Moor Inverness
I don’t necessarily want a £10k ebike. I just initially, wrongly assumed that they would be really well built and reliable.

I will still keep my eye on eBay for any local bikes at a good price. I don’t know enough to buy anything that is well used.

My commute is 3 days a week outside of rush hour with some steep hills and a few shortcuts off road.

Im beginning to think a Chinese frame with a high powered bafang or similar is my best option. I liked the suggestions Soundwave made. Slightly nervous about any carbon frame though, let alone a Chinese one.

The only new bike I’ve seen that tempts me is the cf Haibike for £3k. Seems a bargain to everything else, but I’d prefer a more powerful motor.

There is a lot of woodland and trails where I live. The area I’m moving to even more so.
I thought a 250W Yamaha motor on a Giant Trance E+3 sounded wimpy after using a 350W rear Bafang hub on a DIY job on another well used Giant full suspension frame. But not a bit of it! The mid motor is amazingly powerfull as I found out on taking it to Switzerland for a week in the mountains in 2019. And all nicely legal too. Which was why it was bought as I was not sure of the Swiss response to a throttle powered DIY job. Don't forget, fit a monster motor and your range will go down a fair bit and if you are involved in an accident, then the fact that your motor is illegal if over 250W may come to haunt you.
 

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Kev.k

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Jan 22, 2023
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I thought a 250W Yamaha motor on a Giant Trance E+3 sounded wimpy after using a 350W rear Bafang hub on a DIY job on another well used Giant full suspension frame. But not a bit of it! The mid motor is amazingly powerfull as I found out on taking it to Switzerland for a week in the mountains in 2019. And all nicely legal too. Which was why it was bought as I was not sure of the Swiss response to a throttle powered DIY job. Don't forget, fit a monster motor and your range will go down a fair bit and if you are involved in an accident, then the fact that your motor is illegal if over 250W may come to haunt you.
The carbon Haibike for £3k with the Yamaha seems like a bit of a bargain compared to everything else new.

I understand your fear of the Swiss police. Their speeding fines are mean tested and horrific. I imagine they are strict on bikes too.

I would never push my luck with anything too powerful or that looks more like a sur ron or stealth bomber. But I was hoping a Dengfu E22 frame and bafang ultra m620 would look standard enough not to interest the police?

I have no intention of riding around at 40mph or through busy traffic.

3 options im considering are, New Haibike, but I’m guessing derestricting it would void the warranty? If it’s detectable?

Used bike most likely from ebay, derestricted Levo, Whyte or similar.

Dengfu E22 frame and Bafang m620.
 

soundwave

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May 23, 2015
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you can have a dongle and warranty but you can only get this from them but wont work with pwx 3 atm
 
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Kev.k

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Jan 22, 2023
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you can have a dongle and warranty but you can only get this from them but wont work with pwx 3 atm
Older bikes seem to work better with dongles.

Has the Yamaha got gps like the new Bosch? That seems like a real PITA
 

soundwave

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May 23, 2015
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no they just have a basic lcd remote, gps only works when i link my phone to the kiox display via Bluetooth.

tho it will still record the mileage ect it just wont have the map data without the phone.

DSC_0271_04.JPG
 

Kev.k

Pedelecer
Jan 22, 2023
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It seems gps is going to be a issue with new motors going forward. If gps is monitoring speed I’m guessing that’s hard to work around?
 

soundwave

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May 23, 2015
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there not there yet but it looks like thats where it is going and if so no dongle will work.

or do this :p
 
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Kev.k

Pedelecer
Jan 22, 2023
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I find it amazing that for the price, they use plastic gears.

I’ve been reading about solutions today as there is a 2023 cube 160 with 88 miles for sale locally for a really good price. Just found out its XL which is too big for me.

Id be happy to have a derestricted 250w bike if the bafang 620 is too much of a risk?

What do you think of the Dengfu frames?
 

soundwave

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May 23, 2015
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id never get a bike with a carbon frame no matter how much it costs as it isn't f1 quality and far from it.

id go for the bafang and a alloy frame but you can never make that bike road legal as most ppl think they can set it to 16mph and 250w and it does not work like that as the fact you can change these settings means it has a off road mode or switch.

a dongle just removes the speed limit it has no way to add more power from the controller.
 
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sjpt

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2018
3,832
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Winchester
I find it amazing that for the price, they use plastic gears.
Plastic gears are much quieter; and very easy and cheap to replace unless the manufacturer insists on anti-repair technology. They can also help reduce wear on more critical components if the motor is abused.
 
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Kev.k

Pedelecer
Jan 22, 2023
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When I started looking carbon was something I wanted to avoid because I was looking at used bikes and was wary of hidden damage.

The Dengfu frames seem to have a good reputation. I imagined Chinese carbon would be awful. I remember reading about Chinese carbon frames snapping years ago.

The main reason I was looking at them is that the bafang 620 just slots straight in, and the batteries are in the down tube. I thought it looks like a mountain bike and wouldn’t interest the police.

The Haibike is also carbon. Maybe a decent derestricted alloy used bike is a better option?

I seen a Levo chip that claims up to 72kph. More than quick enough for me.
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
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i got my bike 2nd hand with 160 miles on it as new it was 5500 + the dropper post.


problem is with carbon and a bike that can go 40mph + the sheer force of the stones hitting the frame could crack it and seen plenty of comp bikes just snap in half for no reason with no motors.

tho if you start looking on the other forum you will find plenty of expensive broken bikes and parts to fill a skip.

plus the alloy frames will be cheaper and mines not snapped in half yet and ride it like a mad man :p
 
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Kev.k

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Jan 22, 2023
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That’s a nice bike. I read a thread on the other forum about how in demand they are and how quickly they sell if they pop up on ebay used.

Im going to go with something similar to yours.

Cba spending £1000 on a Chinese motor that could cause me hassle with the police. Or waiting 2 months for a alibaba frame.

There is a 22 Whyte 160s for sale not far from me. He’s asking a bit too much considering it’s a bit beat up. Didn’t sell first time it was listed on eBay.

I might have a look at it. I think it’s only the 23 Bosch motors that can’t be unlocked.
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,370
16,871
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
or do this :p
very interesting project, SW.
The guy who did it is really excellent. I like his conclusion:
... i would think the small plastic gear would get mashed first if the motor was allowed to run at excessive temperature, with the bosch controller at 250 to 350w this will never happen but with the vesc pushing 800+w it would be easy to cook it on a long hill climb, 3 km of 8% grade in first gear and the motor was too hot to touch on a cold day. if you want reliability and more power and cheap easy to get spares get a bafang mid drive.
Still, his work is a good reference if you can pick up cheap a Bosch bike with a dead controller.
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
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there are dongles for the bosch gen 4 smart motors as ebike shop now sell them but you can never have a firmware or software update as it will brick the dongle and have to buy another one.

also note that the new smart frame batts will not work on older motors but you can get 3rd party ones from germany but there not cheap and no way to recell the packs in this country yet.

you can get this for the yamaha batts so any bms will work.

 
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Kev.k

Pedelecer
Jan 22, 2023
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I’ve just noticed that the carbon haibike has the older Yamaha motor, but they have sold out of my size now. Wasn’t keen on the orange anyway and want to avoid carbon.

ive heard about dongles working for a while on newer Bosch motors then having issues after a month or so.
 

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