Alien - Gents Special

[rustic]

Having trawled through 20 odd pages of the forum & looked at the recent review pages I have seen little reference to these bikes.

At first glance they seem pretty reasonable machines for the money. Does anyone have any first hand knowledge / interesting insight that would help me through the wilderness!!

 

[The Maestro]

I've not heard about anyone on here who owns one of those but quite a few people have the same electrical components. The motor and controllers are very reliable but they have sent out duff batteries in the past. Customer service is very good for a mail order seller. Just going off the specs of the normal bicycle components - gears etc. they look pretty good.

 

[PCC]

I bought the "Alien Special" about a month ago and it is ok but not as good as I had hoped. The motor in mine is NOT a Bafang and has NO FREEWHEEL!! This was the biggest disappointment. The general quality of the regular bike components is not too good either but then you wouldn't expect much at the price. On the plus side it is very powerful and ~20 miles between charges is no problem at all - so far.

 

[flecc]

I bought the "Alien Special" about a month ago and it is ok but not as good as I had hoped. The motor in mine is NOT a Bafang and has NO FREEWHEEL!! This was the biggest disappointment. The general quality of the regular bike components is not too good either but then you wouldn't expect much at the price. On the plus side it is very powerful and ~20 miles between charges is no problem at all - so far.

There are other manufacturers making motors like the Bafang ones but which are inferior, so looking like one isn't enough.
.

 

[torrent99]

I bought the "Alien Special" about a month ago and it is ok but not as good as I had hoped. The motor in mine is NOT a Bafang and has NO FREEWHEEL!! This was the biggest disappointment. The general quality of the regular bike components is not too good either but then you wouldn't expect much at the price. On the plus side it is very powerful and ~20 miles between charges is no problem at all - so far.

That's a real pity on two counts.
1) The Special really did look like it might be quite a nice bike.
2) Alien has allways used bafangs in his kit before, and that's one of the key features that earns his kits a recommendation. If he's switched to inferior parts...

 

[timdw]

I've just fitted an Alien kit to my bike. I don't know how to tell whether the motor is a Bafang but it definitely has a freewheel. If anyone has any questions about the kit ask away, but bear in mind this is my first experience with e-bikes so be gentle

 

[keithhazel]

I bought the "Alien Special" about a month ago and it is ok but not as good as I had hoped. The motor in mine is NOT a Bafang and has NO FREEWHEEL!! This was the biggest disappointment. The general quality of the regular bike components is not too good either but then you wouldn't expect much at the price. On the plus side it is very powerful and ~20 miles between charges is no problem at all - so far.

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did you de-restrict it as he up to a few weeks ago always had on e-bay auctions that you could and get up to 20mph with just a few simple instructions to follow ?

 

[Lawrence]

I have one of the Alien Gents Specials and I love it! Never had an eBike before, so I didn't really know what to expect. You get a reasonable 100 quid mountain bike coupled with the 400 quid conversion kit. Its all nicely integrated and I suspect they are put together in China and shipped as a completed bike. The motor is VERY powerful with lots of low down torque. The bike pulls me (110 kg) and I can easily tow a 50kg payload without too much effort on my part. The very low gearset is a real boon allowing me to pull loads up steep hills. Charge time about 4 hrs. Range in my case about 20 miles. A lighter guy would get more mileage from one charge. The powered front wheel spins freely enough. I can feel a definite drag when pedaling faster than 20 mph whilst the motor is powered. Using the bike unpowered (turned off) drag seems not to be present. Downsides, well the manufacturer has cut a few corners on the bike. The hydraulic seatpost is poor quality and yaws slightly, which is a bit disconcerting. Some of the spokes in the rear wheel came loose and required tightening. The rear light is poor (2 LEDs), the front light has 6! The front deraileur needed to be adjusted to get the outer chainwheel to engage. But otherwise cracking value for money. 9 out of 10. Great Forum. I'll write a review if you like.

Lawrence

 

[The Maestro]

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did you de-restrict it as he up to a few weeks ago always had on e-bay auctions that you could and get up to 20mph with just a few simple instructions to follow ?

Hes actually changed this description a few times, orginally most of his descriptions said 'capable of 20mph' and then I gave him ebay feedback (positive) but said that it was only capable of assisting up to 18.5 . So the next day he changed it to say that the bikes wouldn't necessarily 'go at 20mph' but that the controller could be used up to this speed. This is true since the wheel will spin at just over 20mph if you lift it off the ground it just has almost no torque at this speed and provides not assistant in real usage.

It puzzled me why he changed the description on the Alien Gent's Special to say that that it definately WOULD go at 20mph on the road, so I asked him what he'd done and he said something about a 'speed controller' which didn't make sense to me. Its weird that the 2 forum users have different experiences of this bike in terms of freewheeling ability it certainly sounds like they have different motors attached to me unless the first poster's motor is faulty or something. The Alien site does state that the motors are Suzhou Bafang still.

Edit: actually his site's FAQ no longer says that the motors are Suzhou Bafang so maybe hes switched

 

[timdw]

Wheel off the ground speed on my 700c wheel is 19.5mph, about 250rpm I think. I weigh 105kg and on a flat road I get around 16-17mph without pedalling. It doesn't take much effort to get to 18.5-19mph, but when you exceed 19.5mph I think I'm right in saying you're suddenly doing all the work because the motor is free-wheeling, not because the motor is creating drag. I rode the fairly flat 20 miles to work this morning in 1h10m making an average speed of over 17mph, the recharge time was 3 hours. I guess without the motor I would have averaged around 14mph but been exhausted!

I'd love to bring up the unloaded speed to match my maximum unassisted speed of 24mph, but the only ways I can think of doing that without increasing the voltage are by changing the sun and planet gears in the hub or changing the windings on the motor. Has anyone tried any of these options?

 

[The Maestro]

Wheel off the ground speed on my 700c wheel is 19.5mph, about 250rpm I think. I weigh 105kg and on a flat road I get around 16-17mph without pedalling. It doesn't take much effort to get to 18.5-19mph, but when you exceed 19.5mph I think I'm right in saying you're suddenly doing all the work because the motor is free-wheeling, not because the motor is creating drag. I rode the fairly flat 20 miles to work this morning in 1h10m making an average speed of over 17mph, the recharge time was 3 hours. I guess without the motor I would have averaged around 14mph but been exhausted!

I'd love to bring up the unloaded speed to match my maximum unassisted speed of 24mph, but the only ways I can think of doing that without increasing the voltage are by changing the sun and planet gears in the hub or changing the windings on the motor. Has anyone tried any of these options?

Very similar to my experience on 700C but I get about 20.4 when the battery is fully charged. If I measure it when its partially discharged I get 19.5. I also don't really notice anything at 19.5 on the road, maybe a whisper of assist at 19, good assist at 18 but it drops of quite rapidly even after 17mph.

I'd also like to change the gearing on my motor but I suspect it would be easier just to swap the motor for the same model geared for a 20" wheel like on the Torq 1. I've been looking to buy one of these motors seperately for ages but have never managed to actually get one A couple of places quoted me £70 ish for the motor but never actually came up with the goods.

 

[flecc]

I'd love to bring up the unloaded speed to match my maximum unassisted speed of 24mph, but the only ways I can think of doing that without increasing the voltage are by changing the sun and planet gears in the hub or changing the windings on the motor. Has anyone tried any of these options?

Theoretically ok , but not practical Tim.

The tight integration of the gears, freewheel and rotor don't give much leeway for change and there's no alternative spares available. Equally the winding assembly doesn't lend itself to change, and the easiest option would be to change the motor for one with a different speed spec. Suzhou Bafang have made them for up to 22 mph in a 700c wheel with a 1.95" tyre. However the hill climbing suffers severely in that version when in the 700c wheel.

That one is the model used in the eZee Quando and the original eZee Torq, the latter being the 22 mph one, and here's the internals of that motor:

P.S. Crossed with Maestro's post.
.

 

[timdw]

Thanks for the replies. I suspect that the only way to get hold of a new motor on its own would be to order direct from a supplier in China or the US. The gears look like they may be changeable though. Has anyone here dismantled one of these hub motors personally?

 

[torrent99]

Thanks for the replies. I suspect that the only way to get hold of a new motor on its own would be to order direct from a supplier in China or the US. The gears look like they may be changeable though. Has anyone here dismantled one of these hub motors personally?

The ebay seller known as ecrazyman or keywin (search on EndlessSphere's forums or ask Knuckles on that forum), apparently sells Bafang motors to individuals. He can also source spare parts including metal versions of the nylon gears.

One combination I did think would be good would be to use a 24V 28" motor in a 20" wheel but run it at 36V. (The size specifics might need changing). The idea being you get the torque from the smaller wheel size, and the speed is corrected by the increased voltage. Bafang motors are apparently reasonably friendly to overvolting. Just an untested theory though.

 

[PCC]

Just to return to the original topic of the Alien "Special" I wonder if anyone can help me to identify the maker of the hub motor. Here's what is written on it:
XDYPW01 36V 26" 0809 0002
Does that ring any bells for you ebike gurus?

 

[flecc]

It doesn't ring a bell with me. A search on XDYPW brings up a Chinese cleaning products company:

Please contact us: cgz@xdypw.com
0871-8632988 Service Hotline: 0871-8632988
Web domain name: China Netcom to use Cleaning Products Web site: China Cleaning Products.
.

 

[The Maestro]

The ebay seller known as ecrazyman or keywin (search on EndlessSphere's forums or ask Knuckles on that forum),

I've attemped to contact this seller numerous times about sourcing a bafang motor but never had any luck. He was one of the sellers who quoted me a price but never let me follow it up. Maybe you could get one but the fact remains that they aren't readily available which is a pity because they are a bike component as un-complex as say, fitting a disc brake.

 

[torrent99]

I've attemped to contact this seller numerous times about sourcing a bafang motor but never had any luck. He was one of the sellers who quoted me a price but never let me follow it up. Maybe you could get one but the fact remains that they aren't readily available which is a pity because they are a bike component as un-complex as say, fitting a disc brake.

Oh, that's a pity, we really are desperately short of parts suppliers in this country

 

[Wooky]

Just to return to the original topic of the Alien "Special" I wonder if anyone can help me to identify the maker of the hub motor. Here's what is written on it:
XDYPW01 36V 26" 0809 0002
Does that ring any bells for you ebike gurus?

I asked about that part number and it is the part number of the housing and either Brushed or Brushless fit in it, I have actually had both types in my hands with that part number on the housing.

My kit came with a brushed motor but Bob happily changed it for a Brushless, remember to specify which you want when you order.