Anybody else running an electric front hub?

[5-7HEAVEN]

8)blaze, i installed a CRYSTALYE hub on my my girlie cruiser. with 72vdc, it had speed(23mph), range(50+miles,no pedalling),quietness and vibrationfree. it never pulled out of my front dropouts, but my axle retainer(coaster brake lever)would've prevented that from occurring.

 

[rguy56]

Blaze,

A buddy got me a piece of stainless steel to make a torque arm with. The problem with a given torque arm is that it often has to be custom to the bike, especially with the wide variety of stlye of fork at the dropout end, and with subtly differend rotations to the axle at their fixed point in the fork. It'd be nice if there could be a universal...

Bob

 

[Simon_A]

If I had to choose just one, it would probably be the gas powered bike. When you really look at it, it's just the same reasons nobody drives electric cars.

(shortened quote)

.

Very, very well put. 101% true.

I have an electric and a gasser. I love the electric but it has chronic limitations I just dont have on my HT.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

I gave up on my e-bike and converted it to gas engine, friction drive. It had great power and range, but removing and reinstalling 80 lbs. of batteries for recharge after every one was too overwhelming. Besides, I could feel the frame twist at times from the weight of the e-system. And retrofitting to lighter Li Ion or NimH batteries would be too expensive.

A simple 2.2hp gas engine achieves greater speeds and unlimited range, and will last for years.

 

[ztrope]

Does anybody here have the electric hub kit installed? I bought an electric hub kit from Spookytooth. It's the same type of hub I have seen from companies like Crystalite and Wilderness Energy.

Mine is the 48v 600w brushless motor. The performance specs as advertised are 24mph with a 20 mile range when using 20Ah Sealed Lead-Acid batteries. The range is right where it should be, with the batteries taking me 21 miles without pedaling, even when starting and stopping a lot. The speed, however is only about 17 miles per hour. I was wondering if anybody else had built one of these and gotten it to go any faster. I weigh about 185 pounds, so we can factor that in. I saw one place selling motors saying that they were advertising top speed based on a 140 pound rider.

One thing I am going to try is soldering the main power wires. Just the heavy wires carrying all the amps. That might help, 'cuz the connectors look pretty cheap and they look like they could be a source of high resistance. It seems odd to use such heavy gauge wire and cheap crappy connectors. It could be a voltage bottleneck.

That said, the bike is still pretty fun to ride. This kit makes almost no noise at all and it climbs medium sized hills pretty good.

***** A note on the battery Amp/hour ratings *****

Many makers of quality SLAs (sealed lead acid batteries) will build a good battery, then rate it 15% lower than what it is actually capable of, just so the customers still get the full rated power even after the battery starts to age a bit. This means a good brand like Panasonic or Yuasa will build a battery and label it as a 17Ah battery, even though it really runs at 19-20Ah. Since the good 17Ah batteries really hold nearly 20Ah, the Chinese battery companies have taken to labeling all of their 17Ah batteries as 20Ah, when the real rating might be lower. The basic idea here is that a cheap 20Ah battery has the same or even less power than a good quality 17Ah battery. Don't pass up a good deal on a quality 17Ah battery because you are holding out for a 20Ah battery. The 17Ah battery will be better if it is a reputable brand.

I am a 270 lb rider and i have a wilderness bl36 and installed it with the sla 12v 12ah batteries and I can get up to 22 mph at times without pedaling. I am using a bike computer to verify it. I am going to get gps eventually to verify. But i like this kit I purchased it 9/8/08 for 399.00 and it is real cool. I like electric. I will be experimenting so that i can increase speed and range and of course lose my excess weight.. he he.. I have seen a site that has 72 volts hooked up to an electric motor. It goes 35 mph full bore.. Anyone here experimenting with 72 volt dc and the wilderness system. I would like to know. I want to soup up a electric bike so i can haul butt when i need it. Here in texas they are somewhat not biker friendly that is in Corpus christi. So i need the extra boost to get out of situations. Well anyway nice yaking. Looking to hear from you guys.
ztrope