Hi from County Durham

[CaptainCrash71]

I put a Q85 in a Brompton. It could climb a 14% hill with a 100kg on board without pedalling. That was at 36v and 14 amps.

A Q128 at 48v and 20A should manage 28% with the same bike and rider.

A Xiongda at 48v and 15A can easily manage 30% hills with a 100kg rider and 26" wheels.

Generally, hub-motors can produce more power than crank-drives, but to get them to climb, they need to spin at a reasonable speed, which means that you need one with either a high internal reduction ratio or a small wheel or both. One with a low winding speed will be more efficient when climbing, which means greater efficiency and less heat.

Hi d8veh
Can you recommend where to buy above wheels and controllers? I'm struggling to find UK suppliers of these items. And will all controllers work with all wheels, and will connectors need changing? It's all very confusing.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The Q-series motors can be bought from BMSBattery.com. Controllers from Aliexpress. You should get a motor with hall sensors, then all controllers will work with it unless there's something special about it, like a mk1 Ezee motor. A sensorless controller is never as good as a sensor one though.

The key thing when choosing a motor is to get one the right speed for what you want, because speed affects efficiency and climbing ability. If you could paint a clear picture of your requirements, it would be easier to recommend, but they're too vague at the moment. If your budget is tight, your choices will be limited too.

 

[CaptainCrash71]

Cheers d8veh, all I want is a bike that will help me up the long hills with pedalling. I don’t care about high top speed, I would like an average speed of around 15mph just so I can get to work in a reasonable time frame. Coming home I don’t mind if it’s a bit slower because it’s predominantly uphill, but the option of getting home with minimal effort if it’s been a hard day would be a bonus. 48v is do-able, I’m hopefully making my own battery pack, so shouldn’t be an issue.
I’ve just looked on bmsbattery.com, the wheels are very cheap, but then postage is double the price of the wheel!?!? Is this right. A 90 quid wheel costs 250 quid with delivery. Seems a bit extortionate, or am I missing something.

 

[Woosh]

I’ve just looked on bmsbattery.com, the wheels are very cheap, but then postage is double the price of the wheel!?!? Is this right. A 90 quid wheel costs 250 quid with delivery. Seems a bit extortionate, or am I missing something.

that's normal, because it's airfreight charge.
You'll get charged on top of that customs declaration, duty and VAT.
You would be better off buying from http://www.pswpower.com/peng/pic.asp
They can ship from Germany I think, considerably faster delivery and no bad surprise.
I bought from both companies, but prefer PSWP

 

[Nealh]

For 15mph average speed you will need a bike that can ride above the cut off quite efficiently, so allowing stop and starting 19-20 mph capable.

From BMSB buying bare hub motor is cheapest as the weight and package size is smaller, lacing/building in to a rim in the UK then might be a cheaper option sometimes.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

if you want the best stuff, it can be expensive. That 48v 328rpm Q128c is a great motor.

The Ebay YSpower stuff isn't bad if you're happy with 36v. Unless you're heavy, 36v should be OK for 15 mph.

 

[Nealh]

The Yose hubs aren't bad so far I have had no issue with mine, I run it at 20a with 36v & 48v (13s) my top gearing is 48/11 and have had it running at a tad over 28mph/45km/h.
Hill climbing thus far is good and for a boost pas 4 for a bit more oomph or pas 5 for max amps and 900w + for even more power.

 

[CaptainCrash71]

Cheers Nealh, they were top of my list. I was hoping
to get the kit, and upgrade controller/battery at a later date if I see fit. I think it looks like a good starting point.

 

[CaptainCrash71]

Has anyone used either elife or yose for battery packs? Just wondering about quality? Seems a decent price.

 

[Nealh]

They are ok for low power stuff with max 15a controllers and left restricted, you have to read the detail to cypher which cells are being used as they vary.
Samsung cells used will be mediocre 26F/H (2600mah) max 5.2a rated.
LG cells will likely be mediocre LF1 (3350mah} max 4.7a rated for really decent cells you are looking to pay over £300.

 

[Jammyb]

I bought the yose power rear wheel kit that included the 36v 14.5ah battery. I opened that case to check and can confirm the cells are Samsung 29E 2900mAh [emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Nealh]

If you post a link to any battery you are interested in then we can reasonably say what cells might be inside.
For 29E a battery will be 11.6 or 14.5ah if states Samsung cells.
You have to select the cell for your needs if you want to derestrict or use 20a + controllers, the more in parallel then the better the mediocre or so-so cells will perform.

The best cells very rarely are used in after market battery's with the exception of 30Q's though now and then you do see one or two others.
For top cells you need to build your own or go to Jimmy at BGA.
Though even with the best cells you can't always have the best of both worlds and expect range and
amp draw, though you can find a good middle ground to suit your needs which may involve carrying extra capacity for longer rides.

 

[chris_n]

Do let us know what you go for and how it performs.

 

[CaptainCrash71]

I bought the yose power rear wheel kit that included the 36v 14.5ah battery. I opened that case to check and can confirm the cells are Samsung 29E 2900mAh [emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi JammyB
Can you tell me what the plug is on the battery lead from the yosepower controller. I’m thinking of sourcing my battery from elsewhere as I need a seat post battery, and I need to see what plug I’ll need. Cheers

 

[Jammyb]

Hi JammyB
Can you tell me what the plug is on the battery lead from the yosepower controller. I’m thinking of sourcing my battery from elsewhere as I need a seat post battery, and I need to see what plug I’ll need. Cheers

The controllers integrated into the battery holding case on this one, one of the reasons i liked it for a minimal looking install:

 

[CaptainCrash71]

Oooh, that’s cool, wish I could fit one of their batteries now, would make a much neater install. Cheers anyway.