New user - Just set up my 1500w conversion

Hi all,

Already a pretty keen cyclist I am however new to the world of electric bikes due to being banned from driving. I decided this would be the best way of getting around for a while, what with living in a rural area.

This week I have taken delivery of my new 1500w rear hub motor conversion kit from 'Passion E-Bike' in China. Along with a 48v 20ah triangular battery, again from china.

So today i set about installing it all on my old mountain bike and eventually this evening got out on the road to take it for a spin despite it being dark, cold and wet. God I hate winter.

Surprised at how well it went! Went for a blast into the next village and got there in no time, turned round and on the way back went over a pot hole and the power cut out... Not sure what happened, must be something come loose/disconnected I'm guessing (hoping), will have to inspect tomorrow. Didn't have time when i got back.

Is there anyone else with this sort of set up? I am 10 miles away from my local town and wanted a bike capable of sitting at around 30-40mph for each way, I'm hoping i made the right choice with my set up.

Didn't want to fit the brake levers and the bike has hydraulic brakes anyway, and I will fit the pedal assist sensor another time when I get a crank remover.

Nice set-up. Couldn't see on your photo if you've fitted any torque arms.

On a higher powered motor it's a must. If the axle spins in the drop-out, it could damage the wiring, or worse, cause the wheel to come off entirely. If you are going 40mph at the time.. ouch

...due to being banned from driving... I have taken delivery of my new 1500w rear hub motor conversion kit...Went for a blast into the next village...I am 10 miles away from my local town and wanted a bike capable of sitting at around 30-40mph for each way...I will fit the pedal assist sensor another time when I get a crank remover.

Hate to be a kill-joy, but your bike is totally illegal for road use: Anything with more than a 250w motor and powered beyond 15mph needs licensing like a moped/motorcycle... road tax, number plates, MOT, insurance... and importantly, you need a driving license! And it needs to be pedalled, not powered by a throttle.

You're taking a big risk using it, and can be prosecuted with penalty points and even be banned from driving (again). I am of course assuming that you're not whizzing along at 30-40mph across a privately owned field for the 10 miles to your next town.

There's more info on the legal side of using road-legal pedelecs in the guides above.

I'm sure if you ride that at 30/40 mph and don't pedal you will get a tug by the police.

Ooooooh sounds kinky

Hi, welcome to the forum and the world of ebiking.

Your setup isn't dissimilar to my main ride. Although talk above of illegality is largely factual, if you don't ride like a dick, you won't attract attention. Please make sure that you install torque arms though. If you don't, its not a matter of if your dropouts will fail, but when!

Hey everyone,

Surprised at the amount of replies received already!

I haven't got torque arms, will have to look into sorting some ASAP if this is the case, thanks for letting me know!

On the legality side of things; I was aware of the law with e bikes before purchasing my set up, however the road to my town is a solely quiet back roads, can't remember the last time I saw police use it, and as said above, I won't be riding like a dick and will slow down if I see police. Will ride sensibly in town etc.

Hope not to offend anyone here by not having a legal set up, but 15mph and 250w just doesn't appeal to me at all, can cycle faster than that lol

Cheers all for your replies!

I don't see any mirrors on your bike. That's the first thing I'd get.

Torque arms are absolutely necessary for it - even more so if you use the regen. Fit one on each side to stop the axle from twisting.

That battery looks very appealing to me 20ah, that would allow me to get to work a lot quicker

Really ? so you currently have to stop to recharge your battery on the way to work?

No, but I cant run the bike anything like on full whack unless i want to drain it.

Ah I see what you mean now, It must be a long commute, Whoosh would say you can go 120 miles or so on 20ah.

15 miles, I can do it in about 50 minutes at the moment, but thats pushing the battery range just a bit. I have ran out of juice a couple of times. so tend to be a bit more conservative with the power now just to be safe.

ooh that is slow my weedy Bosch does this

ooh that is slow my weedy Bosch does this

[ATTACH=full]17437[/ATTACH]

You must be blasting some of the roadies strava records away

I don't see any mirrors on your bike. That's the first thing I'd get.

 

Torque arms are absolutely necessary for it - even more so if you use the regen. Fit one on each side to stop the axle from twisting.

Ah that's just reminded me about mirrors, it's on the list - thanks for that!

Do you/anyone else here know where's best to order some torque arms from?

That battery looks very appealing to me 20ah, that would allow me to get to work a lot quicker

Yeah the battery seems pretty decent, and is lighter than I was expecting too. The bag didn't take long to rip though as it's quite thin

You must be blasting some of the roadies strava records away

I used to, although I only ever borrowed them for a few hours, these days I often don't even bother looking and just list as e-bike now. KOM's on the flat take some beating on a hybrid.

Ah I see what you mean now, It must be a long commute, Whoosh would say you can go 120 miles or so on 20ah.

Yes if you weighed 6 stone and it was dead flat maybe!

Hey everyone,

Surprised at the amount of replies received already!

 

I haven't got torque arms, will have to look into sorting some ASAP if this is the case, thanks for letting me know!

 

On the legality side of things; I was aware of the law with e bikes before purchasing my set up, however the road to my town is a solely quiet back roads, can't remember the last time I saw police use it, and as said above, I won't be riding like a dick and will slow down if I see police. Will ride sensibly in town etc.

Hope not to offend anyone here by not having a legal set up, but 15mph and 250w just doesn't appeal to me at all, can cycle faster than that lol

 

Cheers all for your replies!

I agree 15 mph/250 watt don't know what they based their facts on but I weigh 90kg and if I hadn't de-restriced mine it would struggle to achieve that

Do you/anyone else here know where's best to order some torque arms from?

I rate these:

http://cyclezee.com/cyclezee-torque-arms.html

in fact the bike with the red forks is my first conversion(how did that happen?)

As for mirrors, these are great:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mirrycle-Generic-Mountain-Bike-Mirror/dp/B00JQN3J50

Folds flat on friction pivots, gives a good field of view with minimum vibration.

Ah that's just reminded me about mirrors, it's on the list - thanks for that!

 

Do you/anyone else here know where's best to order some torque arms from?

This mirror is really good:

http://www.acycles.co.uk/zefal-cyclop-bike-handlebar-mirror-690.html?gclid=CjwKEAiA2abEBRCdx7PqqunM1CYSJABf3qvaN3uPjRkhi5D17nwGFxcwykalaHiYk8671FIhnW28yxoCOVPw_wcB

I'm having some electrical trouble with the bike.

Obviously it cut out on first test drive; I inspected and wriggled the wiring around in the bag and that brought the power back on fine.

Then as I wheeled it out the door, as the back wheel dropped off the step to the ground, something in the control box bag sent out some amber sparks and power went out again. Worried, I checked over as much wiring as I could do make sure nothing was bare/exposed and earthing to the bike frame or whatever. All seems fine, and power ok again.

Just been out for another test ride and before I'd even got off the drive I heard sparking again and that's it, can't get the power to come back on again at all now. Worried I've buggered it somehow!

Not sure what to do as I'm certainly no electrician :/

Are you using the frame for an earth connection? If so, not good practice, especially without knowing that all your electronics are fully isolated.

My first thought is that the spark is from your main power connection. Check it out for any loose connections/terminals.

Secondly, what type of fuse are you using? If it is the 12V automotive blade type, they're crap and the sparks could be coming from a dodgy fuse holder.