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I worked on a couple of Hammer Bikes today. One had zoom hydraulic brakes with no oil in them because the guy had been fiddling with them and didn't know how to sort it, and the other had cable brakes that had run out of adjustment. The task was to put decent hydraulic brakes on both, so they got Shimano XT, which worked pretty well. I didn't bother with switches because these bikes have KT controllers that stop the power more or less the instant you stop pedalling. The bikes belonged to father and son. That's why I had two, in case you're wondering.
That gave me the chance to ride them round a bit. They were both 1000w with a 52 cell Dolphin battery. One was restricted to 15 mph. I didn't get to try any hills, but I got a good idea of the torque from the acceleration, which is similar to my 48v Q128c with only 14 amps. Once you get past 20 mph, you can feel the motor getting into its stride after which it would leave my bike for dead. The 15 mph performed a bit better than your average legal 250w hub-motored bike, but there would be a massive difference in battery consumption.
One of the two had totally worn out forks, though it still handled and braked OK. I have no idea how many miles it had done. I think quite a lot. I would recommend upgrading the forks if you want a serious fast commuter.
I can imagine that the 52 cell Dolphin batteries won't last that long. IIRC, the conttroller that I looked at was 26 amps, which is asking a lot of the battery. If you used it for regular commuting, you should think about a new battery in around 12 months or less. get one with high discharge cells like Samsung 30Q. Just riding these two around the car park to bed in the brakes. I think I used up half a battery (shared between the two bikes).
In summary, at £999, they're not bad as a cheap fast commuter, but if you want to commute seriously, you need to upgrade the forks and brakes, and you'll probably need a new battery sooner than you think. Don't buy one if you want to ride it restricted to 15 mph because there's much more suitable systems that don't don't cost much. These bikes are fun to ride unrestricted as long as you don't do it too much. There's a few other traders selling similar bikes.
http://www.hammer-ebikes.com/product-1
That gave me the chance to ride them round a bit. They were both 1000w with a 52 cell Dolphin battery. One was restricted to 15 mph. I didn't get to try any hills, but I got a good idea of the torque from the acceleration, which is similar to my 48v Q128c with only 14 amps. Once you get past 20 mph, you can feel the motor getting into its stride after which it would leave my bike for dead. The 15 mph performed a bit better than your average legal 250w hub-motored bike, but there would be a massive difference in battery consumption.
One of the two had totally worn out forks, though it still handled and braked OK. I have no idea how many miles it had done. I think quite a lot. I would recommend upgrading the forks if you want a serious fast commuter.
I can imagine that the 52 cell Dolphin batteries won't last that long. IIRC, the conttroller that I looked at was 26 amps, which is asking a lot of the battery. If you used it for regular commuting, you should think about a new battery in around 12 months or less. get one with high discharge cells like Samsung 30Q. Just riding these two around the car park to bed in the brakes. I think I used up half a battery (shared between the two bikes).
In summary, at £999, they're not bad as a cheap fast commuter, but if you want to commute seriously, you need to upgrade the forks and brakes, and you'll probably need a new battery sooner than you think. Don't buy one if you want to ride it restricted to 15 mph because there's much more suitable systems that don't don't cost much. These bikes are fun to ride unrestricted as long as you don't do it too much. There's a few other traders selling similar bikes.
http://www.hammer-ebikes.com/product-1
