XiongDa Two-Speed Motor

[Deleted member 4366]

I started a new thread with a new title so that it'll e easier to find in a search.

The motor weighs 3.283kg. It's the same size as a Bafang QSWXK5, The spoke holes are on the same PCD too of 120mm. Here's a photo of it next to a Q100 that has its spoke holes on a PCD of 108mm:



The thread for the free-wheel is steel. I'm not sure how it comes apart. I can see the join in front of the spoke flange. I guess that it's like the Q100. You have to remove the three screws that hold the clutch to use the holes to turn the side-plate.

It has the standard 9 pin motor connector, which only leaves the ninth white wire to do anything fancy, but when I look in the controller, I can't see where the wire goes. It disappears inside a big glob of hot-melt glue. I don't think it's connected, which would mean that controller changes speed by reversing direction.

It spins much more freely than any other motor that I've had. Even before it's built into a wheel, you can spin it a bit, which you can't do with a Q100.

Here's the controller:





They must know that we want to solder the shunt. It couldn't be positioned more conveniently:

 

[Arbol]

More, more! Thanks.

 

[Kenny]

Looking forward to reading about how this performs.

I'm in the process of replacing my XT drivetrain on my Pro Connect, which isn't cheap . Over 3k miles on it so can't really complain.

I love my bike but the chain/gears definitely take a pounding on Centre drive bikes, that you don't get with Hub motors.

Getting tempted to try a Hub motor some time. Would also give a new lease of life to the 2 unpowered bikes I have gathering dust in my cellar .

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I'm making a it of progress. I managed to get a donor bike for the motor for £5. When I tried to fit the motor, it was a long way out on the width. Approximate measurements showed that it's about 150mm wide with a 7 speed DNP free-wheel. If you zoom in, you can see how far out it is:



A bit of leverage with two pieces of wood and a wedge soon had the frame 150mm wide. Now the motor drops in easily. I had to dish the wheel two complete turns on each nipple to get the rim central.



I might have time tomorrow to finish it, otherwise it'll be Tuesday because It's boat craning in day on Monday, so I''ll be busy with that this weekend.

Here's where we're at:

 

[flapajack]

£5 for that donor bike?! Fantastic!
Can't wait for the next episode.

 

[trex]

where is he going to put the battery?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Success! It works perfectly. It was fun riding round on my £5 bike. The whole bike and electrical kit only cost about £250.

I started with an old 9aH 36v LMC battery with Panasonic cells. In low-speed position, it was able to drag my 100kg up our 14% test hill without pedalling at 8km/hr. It didn't sound too happy at that speed.Once below 10km/hr, it started to male mechanical noise like resonance/dry bearing noise. Power is about the same as a normal 250w motor, but you can get more power out of due to the changing gear. In top gear, it'll pull its full 15 amps at 25km/hr like a 328 rpm Q100.

I then switched to a lipo pack that I haven't touched for about a year. It was averaging about 44v. That immediately transformed it into a really nice motor. It cruised up the 14% hill at 12km/h without the horrible grinding sound, and just felt more comfortable.

I then experimented with the switch positions. Left fixes high speed, right low speed, and middle is auto. It's so clever in auto, where it automatically shifts to low when climbing and high when the speed picks up. Top speed is about 35km/h on the flat without pedalling (5km/h less at 36v). I did about 4 miles without pedalling including up and down some steep hills at full throttle all the time. The motor and controller were barely warm afterwards.

To summarise, it works perfectly, doing everything that I had hoped. I'd be happy to use it as my only motor (at 44v). I'm now going to put it on my main bike to see how it gets on long-term. That'll be with a 36v battery. The only negative point is that it does make a it of mechanical noise - not like the normal geared motor noise.

 

[trex]

Just for comparison, how fast did you go up yout test hill with your CST motor?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

With the 500w one at 30 amps, quite a bit faster, but the XD is maybe about the same as the 350w one at 22 amps. The main point is that it doesn't feel like it's about to stall.

 

[patpatbut]

Thanks for the review. Will you be able to record the noise generated from the motor? Especially when it starts changing the gear...

Pat

 

[Deleted member 4366]

It's totally silent when changing gear. it's just like you let go of the throttle and open it again. The motor stops, and then starts again in the opposite direction, but you wouldn't know it's done that because the drive is still forward. It's just like when you change gear on a crank-drive. It's totally brilliant and certainly trumps anything I've tried so far. I just hope it lasts.

 

[Geebee]

If it didn't need such a wide mount it sounds close to ideal.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

It's no big deal to stretch your frame. Loads of people have the Q100, and that's about 145mm with a seven-speed DNP.

 

[Geebee]

I would not have an issue doing that normally, but I would not consider it on my GLR very short stays even for a 20" wheel, very expensive and critical frame alignment.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I'm not sure the motor would suit a 20" wheel. It might be too slow.

 

[trex]

that £5 bike of yours, can you see it made into a cheapo commuting bike?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Of course! The forks are a bit horrible when you go over a bump, but the rest of it works perfectly adequately. I changed the BB for a Shimano cartridge one because the previous one was knackered, and I changed the brakes to Avid Elixir hydraulics because the previous pads were worn and I think brakes is one thing you don't want to compromise on.

All bikes can be adapted to suit your needs as long as the frame is approximately the right size, except the 1" steerer limits the forks that can be fitted. This one has a steel frame, so is quite heavy, but on the plus side, I didn't have to mess about with torque arms.

 

[shemozzle999]

Good work d8veh, thanks for the write up.

I see they have found an exploded view of the internals on ES, by a UK member, obtained from the patents.

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=58490&p=872847#p872847

Xofo now have a full house of solutions front hub, rear hub and crank drive for the 250W market.

Nice quiet weekend for your launching, my mates Griffon goes in on the next spring tide.

 

[cwah]

please push it to 30mph!!

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I had a nice ride on on it today. I did about 10 miles altogether including lots of 10% hills. I must say that I like this motor. I mentioned the noise before, but I found out that it's only noisy on level 5. It's as quiet as anything when you use the lower levels, but then, off course, power is reduced. I was using 12S lipos at about 46v. This seems to e just about the right power for a heavy-weight like me. Lighter riders should be happy at 36v. I didn't think about what gear it was in, I just selected level s 3 and 4 and got on with riding it like a normal bike, changing down through the gears to climb hills. I didn't have to pedal hard anywhere. It was very enjoyable.