Bafang Max Drive bikes

[Woosh]

But ELBC do state a "manufacturer warranty".

that's the tricky bit. I think (with the usual caveat, I am not a lawyer) that in UK law, the importers act as manufacturer's agent.
You can of course deal directly with the factory, send back to China (TGWG in this case) the faulty motor but I think you pay for for courier fees to their factory.
When I need to send faulty motors back to China, I pay freight there and back. They graciously pay for customs import duty (you have to declare a value when dealing with factories even when the goods have no commercial value).
It would be better for all if Bafang supply with their kits an international warranty.

 

[cyclebuddy]

that's the tricky bit. I think (with the usual caveat, I am not a lawyer) that in UK law, the importers act as manufacturer's agent.
You can of course deal directly with the factory, send back to China (TGWG in this case) the faulty motor but I think you pay for for courier fees to their factory.
When I need to send faulty motors back to China, I pay freight there and back. They graciously pay for customs import duty (you have to declare a value when dealing with factories even when the goods have no commercial value).
It would be better for all if Bafang supply with their kits an international warranty.

Yes, I take your point. And at the end of the day, it's mostly down to the professional integrity of the supplier as to how fairly you get treated. I'm comforted by the fact that ELBC (for what might unkindly be described as a "box-shifting e-commerce company") do have onsite a build/repair area - and there were a number of "new" bikes having been stripped for parts. Having met a couple of the guys, I personally don't doubt for a moment we'll get at least the statutory year from ELBC... although I don't know how they'd react to receiving warranty claims for overdriven/fried motors that might result from the members here experimenting.

 

[Ultrafunkula]

When my bike arrived the back wheel was like an egg, so out of round/buckled, Greenway offered replacement immediately, and remarked if any other problems that I don't hesitate to contact them, they will do their upmost to sort any issues.
I had my wheel trued by local cycle shop for a fiver , so no biggie and told Greenway thanks for offer of replacement, they also offered the fiver that it cost to get it trued,

 

[Nealh]

When my bike arrived the back wheel was like an egg, so out of round/buckled, Greenway offered replacement immediately, and remarked if any other problems that I don't hesitate to contact them, they will do their upmost to sort any issues.
I had my wheel trued by local cycle shop for a fiver , so no biggie and told Greenway thanks for offer of replacement, they also offered the fiver that it cost to get it trued,

From your comments and contact with ELBC/Greenway it does sound like they are a decent outlet to deal with.

 

[Ultrafunkula]

It is a pretty early build motor, 2 years old showing build date Jan 2015! Here's hoping the early ones didn't have any problems. I like to think (hope) not. EDIT - read it wrong upside down, it's actually 10/15 so October 2015, so only year and few months since build. Better.
These motors won the 24hr ebike race around Nurburgring back in 2015, beating 11 other teams, all with Bosch motors.
Here they are bringing it home 1st!
View attachment 17579 View attachment 17580

I was a little concerned on the battery's state, as they've clearly sat around somewhere for quite some while, but it seems fine. Will perform half discharges for the first half dozen or so before any longer range testing.
I've had a bit more of a look than up the keep current to 42? - no warmth from motor or ought. I'm not sure of your calculations on the 42% becoming 350W? Amps setting can be adjusted though.
It's always a pay off between power and range, so I'll see how it goes and tweak accordingly.


Sent from here to there with computer wizardry.

Hi, Brightonebikes, in this article from member elenhinor at endlessphere they comment of the settings and the pedal assist is limiting the motor to 250w and not the amps and that it's capable of pushing 750w max .are they correct?

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=85918&p=1259716&hilit=+max+drive#p1259716

 

[brightonebikes]

Hi, Brightonebikes, in this article from member elenhinor at endlessphere they comment of the settings and the pedal assist is limiting the motor to 250w and not the amps and that it's capable of pushing 750w max .are they correct?

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=85918&p=1259716&hilit=+max+drive#p1259716

Hi Ultrafunkula,
Going by this...?
"'Keep current' - What this setting does when set at 60% is ramp the current down to 60% of the PAS level selected based on pedal cadence rpm, so at low pedal cadence you get 100% of the level selected but as your pedal cadence increases the power is reduced down to 60%. As you pedal faster the motor does less work down to whatever this number is set to (60% of max current or 15 amps on 25 Amp system)."

Coupled with 'current decay' increase, increased power will certainly be possible, just important not to overcook it! Small incremental changes at a time.

"'Current decay' - Determines how high up the pedal cadence rpm range it starts to reduce power, 8 being the highest. There is no detail on actual rpm speeds for the Current Decay setting. The lower this setting is the sooner the drive unit will start cutting back on the power as you pedal faster."

No watt meter at the mo., so can't check what the output really is, but it would feel notably keener with the keep curr. raised slightly

Software states max curr. for the motor is 25A, out of the box set at 20A. More isn't always more.

That's if all the BBSxx settings info. transfers across to the max drive.. It does seem to.

Reference: https://electricbike-blog.com/2015/06/26/a-hackers-guide-to-programming-the-bbs02/

 

[Recy]

Will it be possible to fit a throttle on this bike?

 

[Woosh]

I don't think you can.

 

[Recy]

It would be really helpful for a feller I know with a knee prob, he's done what he can on a static bike and is now ready for some 'action'. i do see his point on the throttle issue.

 

[brightonebikes]

The main wire loom looks remarkably similar to that of the BBSxx motors (as does the motor itself save controller position), so it's possible somebody will 'hotrod' one in the future. Depends if the controller has the capability? It all highlights in the prog. software. Could the red/green/yellow multi be it?
There are 'plug and play' head and tail light connectors though, which is nice.
I opted to disconnect the gear sensor as it doesn't suit my style of riding. A little silicone grease on the terminals and tucked it away.
Also took the opportunity to tidy the wires into a more orderly fashion.

 

[Woosh]

yes, it could be it.

 

[brightonebikes]

yes, it could be it.

Agree. My money's on the red/yellow/ green multi. It would correlate looking at what else is there and where the others go.

Sent from here to there with computer wizardry.

 

[Ultrafunkula]

Agree. My money's on the red/yellow/ green multi. It would correlate looking at what else is there and where the others go.

Sent from here to there with computer wizardry.

Only one way to find out , you may have to plug it in and enable it in the software, be a shame not to,now you have the side off ready.

 

[Ultrafunkula]

This looks real nice, it's upped to 44v so is speed Pedelec, http://overvolted.com/first-look-karmic-koben-s/

 

[brightonebikes]

Only one way to find out , you may have to plug it in and enable it in the software, be a shame not to,now you have the side off ready.

Lol. Ok, you go first and I promise I'll go first after.
A little more research will provide the answer. I can't think what else it could be? Anyone?

Sent from here to there with computer wizardry.

 

[brightonebikes]

This looks real nice, it's upped to 44v so is speed Pedelec, http://overvolted.com/first-look-karmic-koben-s/

Ah yes, with a Nuvinci. I might be popping one of them on the greenway to see what it's like with the max drive

Sent from here to there with computer wizardry.

 

[soundwave]

ask bruno i bet he knows what all the wires are
https://www.youtube.com/user/bruno2bari/featured

 

[brightonebikes]

ask bruno i bet he knows what all the wires are
https://www.youtube.com/user/bruno2bari/featured

Good idea. Or a guy I know at Bafang. I'll email them.

Sent from here to there with computer wizardry.

 

[Rohloffboy]

It does seem odd that the Greenway is coming from a retailer that mostly deals in low end regular pedal cycles.

I wonder why it is that the more established ebike retailers are not offering similar Bafang Max Drive Ebikes.

The bar has now been set, and I can only guess the £1000 price tag is what is putting those other dealer's of, as they seek to sell higher price Ebikes and make more margin.

It is a brave dealer that can say buy a few containers of Max Drive Ebikes to make a decent margin on an ebike selling at a £1000.

 

[Woosh]

I wonder why it is that the more established ebike retailers are not offering similar Bafang Max Drive Ebikes

From my point of view, I am not too keen on promoting a torque sensor system while knowing it won't suit the majority of our customers.
If you look at the possibility of matching Greenway £1,000 price, it's nil, unless you are fed up with e-bikes.