Another mid motor announced

[mike killay]

Quite right Mike Killay , Prince of Denmark at 36v, it's when you start pushing the power output above 750 w that problems with drivetrain kick in. I love everything Ive heard so far about this new wee Bafang unit.

In three years of use, I have had to change the cogs twice because the 11 tooth wore away. I changed the chain only recently.
Now I know that an 11 tooth cog is prone to heavy wear, but if it was a lot thicker, it would last longer. It was designed for pedallers not ebikers.
Even the pedallers complain of premature wear.
The root of the problem is the need for a wide range of gears, which is why I suggest that for an ebike, 4 thicker cogs and a heavy chain would likely do better.

 

[Gringo]

I use all 7 of my gears and would rather have to change the chain frequently than loose 3 of them

 

[hech]

With 5 tonaro hire bikes over two years we have had a couple of broken chains and two busted freewheels as well as wear problems on the 11 tooth cog. I'm guessing that XT quality components would have held up much better, and more so with an XT quality rider in the saddle, but in a red blooded, tooth and claw type business like ebike hire there is never any room for cherrypickers!

 

[mike killay]

With 5 tonaro hire bikes over two years we have had a couple of broken chains and two busted freewheels as well as wear problems on the 11 tooth cog. I'm guessing that XT quality components would have held up much better, and more so with an XT quality rider in the saddle, but in a red blooded, tooth and claw type business like ebike hire there is never any room for cherrypickers!

Can you explain about XT?
I would like to have something stronger, but just how stronger and longer lasting is XT?

 

[mike killay]

Speak for your self even when healthy I use every one of the 8 gears on my Tonaro and would like another lower one added for steep off road, but I need the current top gearing as well for road use.
But then my Esprit uses a single speed chain so no issues chain wise.

So, no derailleur?
I take it that you have hub gears, what are they like?
Mike

 

[hech]

Can you explain about XT?
I would like to have something stronger, but just how stronger and longer lasting is XT?

Wish I could Mike but the truth is that when it comes to ebikes I'm just pure winging it here. I do know that my own Diamondback which has xt gears has held up fine with the GNG2 motor at 1500w peak for over a year, the Bighit at similar not so much. Once I figure out which to keep I shall probably upgrade the cluster and derailleur and chain, there is no LBS around here. Would be interested to know how your battery is holding up after 3 years?

 

[mike killay]

Wish I could Mike but the truth is that when it comes to ebikes I'm just pure winging it here. I do know that my own Diamondback which has xt gears has held up fine with the GNG2 motor at 1500w peak for over a year, the Bighit at similar not so much. Once I figure out which to keep I shall probably upgrade the cluster and derailleur and chain, there is no LBS around here. Would be interested to know how your battery is holding up after 3 years?

The battery works just fine, although I suspect it is past its prime because of the voltage sag when I start off up the hill outside my house.
1 I am going to try keeping the battery indoors tonight to eliminate low temperature.
2 I am going to borrow my son's battery which is 2 years old to compare.
Let you know.

 

[Geebee]

So, no derailleur?
I take it that you have hub gears, what are they like?
Mike

Good with some caveats
Under human only power the 8 speed Nexus is silky smooth shifting and the same most of the time when shifting under power (I hit the brake to cut the motor momentarily) but occasionally it will fail to shift mostly up steep hills you just hit the brake to cut the motor again and it shifts, the drive with the motor is not a smooth as human only power (bing picky here) and I suspect its close to its limits.
I had to add a stop to the hubs shift arm as when climbing stupidly steep off road hills with me standing and the motor on max the arm would move and need the shift altered.
Overall I like it the above is every problem I have had an the last one is extremely unlikely to occur to most, especially if as mine it is on a Dutch style city bike

The question re battery life I can help with as well, my battery has the bike shops test label showing 7/2011 and it is still running the same as when I got it as far as I can tell, range according to the LEDs hasn't altered. Mind you the bike has only got a bit over couple of thousand K's on it.

 

[mike killay]

The battery works just fine, although I suspect it is past its prime because of the voltage sag when I start off up the hill outside my house.
1 I am going to try keeping the battery indoors tonight to eliminate low temperature.
2 I am going to borrow my son's battery which is 2 years old to compare.
Let you know.

Today I tested my 3 year old Tonaro battery which has been used about 4 times a week since I had it against my son's nearly 2 year old one that has only seen light use.
Test 1 Throttle only start on slight hill and ride until 5 mph reached. Both batteries identical. Green lights sagged to two and a half.
Test 2 throttle start on flat and only travel 2 yards while watching the green lights. In both cases, two lights went out.
My conclusions are that the cold weather has misled me and my battery is still up to spec.

 

[mike killay]

Good with some caveats
Under human only power the 8 speed Nexus is silky smooth shifting and the same most of the time when shifting under power (I hit the brake to cut the motor momentarily) but occasionally it will fail to shift mostly up steep hills you just hit the brake to cut the motor again and it shifts, the drive with the motor is not a smooth as human only power (bing picky here) and I suspect its close to its limits.
I had to add a stop to the hubs shift arm as when climbing stupidly steep off road hills with me standing and the motor on max the arm would move and need the shift altered.
Overall I like it the above is every problem I have had an the last one is extremely unlikely to occur to most, especially if as mine it is on a Dutch style city bike

.

I think that hub gears might be my next choice. The ability to change gear when stationary appeals to me. Also, I don't know what chain size you have, but a thicker one would be a possibility.
I do not ride off cycle paths etc. I do have some steep main road hills, but generally 2nd gear out of 8 (Derailleur) works just fine, hence my need for only 4 well spaced gears.
On my hub folder, I start off in 3 (out of 6) and go straight to top. Steep hills see me in 1 or 2

 

[hech]

Thanks for that Mike.
Do you think you might still get 30 miles from a charge?
We have five of these batteries going into their 3rd season now, so I was a bit nervous how they're going to respond with the first hire of the year on a 3 day trip to one of the islands.T hese are flat pack cells, 10ah per cell I think, but often they make them from wee 3.7v 2.5 ah cylinderical cells all bunched up and soldered together - seems a much more complicated way to manufacture so there must be a drawback in the flatpack method?

 

[mike killay]

Thanks for that Mike.
Do you think you might still get 30 miles from a charge?
We have five of these batteries going into their 3rd season now, so I was a bit nervous how they're going to respond with the first hire of the year on a 3 day trip to one of the islands.T hese are flat pack cells, 10ah per cell I think, but often they make them from wee 3.7v 2.5 ah cylinderical cells all bunched up and soldered together - seems a much more complicated way to manufacture so there must be a drawback in the flatpack method?

With pedalling, yes.
I have never opened one up so I don't know what is inside.
These are the black plastic ones with a carrier on top that fit into the frame.

 

[adifrank]

Hi Mike & Hech,
Last year i got a 36v 17AMP battery with Panasonic cells from Phil for my Bighit as the original battery was not cutting it for me.
I was only getting about 22 miles from the original along with big voltage sag. This 17 amp one gets me about 18 miles before one light goes out and there is no sag whatsoever, its good for 35 - 40 miles i reckon so im very pleased with it.
Trust your well Mike..
Frank
Canvey Island............

 

[mike killay]

Hi Mike & Hech,
Last year i got a 36v 17AMP battery with Panasonic cells from Phil for my Bighit as the original battery was not cutting it for me.
I was only getting about 22 miles from the original along with big voltage sag. This 17 amp one gets me about 18 miles before one light goes out and there is no sag whatsoever, its good for 35 - 40 miles i reckon so im very pleased with it.
Trust your well Mike..
Frank
Canvey Island............

Thanks Frank,
think I might try one, how much were they and did they fit in to the original box?
Mike

 

[adifrank]

Mike give Phil a call as i know hes got some 15 amp ones.
the one i got was a direct replacement for the original, just swopped over
and away.
For example if you turn right at the lights along the front just before you get to the Mumbles it would go up that hill with no sag.
Frank