front hub kit??

[jtbarnes89]

i hve a specialized 24inch rockhopper and i want to find a front hub motor kit that comes with everything.. i would like to find something that has a top speed of around 30mph with a long range for under 350 bucks.. all these sites are confusing and not very trustworthy.. im wondering wat kind of products u guys have and who u ordered them from.. any suggestions? im not sure wat size to go with either.. im looking at a 48v or 36v... and maybe 500 watt.. not too sure.. this will be my first e-bike build

 

[reb1]

Here is some more info
http://www.electric-bikes.com/bikes/kits.html

 

[wheelbender6]

Cost is exponentialy proportional to speed (or the other way around). If your budget is 350 bucks, you might get a 12 mile range at 12 mph if you shop carefully.

 

[Ypedal]

Voltage = speed

In very " loose terms " 1v in ebike = 1cc in gas.. so to equal a 50cc kit you want a 48v ebike.. ( lots of exceptions here.. but to give you a rough performance idea ) ..

for 30 mph.. forget 36v .. go to 48v and it's all about the battery. 350$ will not get you a 30mph long range ebike.. no way ( Unless you stumble on a good used kit ) .

in the US www.e-bikekit.com and in canada www.ebikes.ca

both have inventory, support, and offer good kits. you can expect to pay as much for a battery ( if you go lithium ) as for the kit..

SLA is very heavy, 12v 12ah are aprox 10 lbs each, so 48v = 40 lbs

equivalent Lipo would weigh 7 lbs !

30mph on a front hub motor setup is dangerous, if you want to go more than 20mph .. get a rear motor.. not a front.

 

[jtbarnes89]

Cost is exponentialy proportional to speed (or the other way around). If your budget is 350 bucks, you might get a 12 mile range at 12 mph if you shop carefully.

umm not so sure about 12mph.. u need to do a bit more research

 

[jtbarnes89]

Voltage = speed

In very " loose terms " 1v in ebike = 1cc in gas.. so to equal a 50cc kit you want a 48v ebike.. ( lots of exceptions here.. but to give you a rough performance idea ) ..

for 30 mph.. forget 36v .. go to 48v and it's all about the battery. 350$ will not get you a 30mph long range ebike.. no way ( Unless you stumble on a good used kit ) .

in the US www.e-bikekit.com and in canada www.ebikes.ca

both have inventory, support, and offer good kits. you can expect to pay as much for a battery ( if you go lithium ) as for the kit..

SLA is very heavy, 12v 12ah are aprox 10 lbs each, so 48v = 40 lbs

equivalent Lipo would weigh 7 lbs !

30mph on a front hub motor setup is dangerous, if you want to go more than 20mph .. get a rear motor.. not a front.

i appreciate the info but please this i not a forum for safety.. theres a section for that

 

[jucasan]

Why is dangerous over 20mph on the front?

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

Well, get a rear mount in addition to it to keep the weight and power balanced.

Honestly I want to do a dual front and back motor, electric in the front on the hub.

I don't know what's up with people saying not to go over 20mph, it's just front wheel drive and electric to boot. I don't see the danger aspect... now, front brakes at 30, that's common sense.

I can understand as far as the weight thing, but as long as you keep your weight low, there's no worries. Especially on a 24 inch wheeled bike.

It's just a weight thing jucasan.

It's just leverage. If you have high weight in the front, you can tip, and even more so when braking. You can't just put a sandbag on the back, cause electric will lag way down with extra weight.

Thats why I say just get either an inframe motor (low weight) or a rack mount (high weight, but rear weight) and go hybrid all wheel drive!! You'll have the electric motor doing assistance no acceleration and your gas motor doing all the torquing, and less stress on distance riding. Your batteries will also last a lot longer and you'll have great fuel economy.

Still, don't entirely disregard what Ypedal is saying. If you would, take 40pounds worth of weight and put it on your handlebars, pedal, hit the brakes. You'll see why he's telling you this. More of a buyer beware thing and less a true "safety" thing, you don't wanna buy it and realize the weight throwing you forward will require a rackmount in addition.

 

[Ypedal]

Well, you don't apreciate safety warnings until you experience a front wheel leaving your bike !!!! *( I have !! )

The thing is that 20mph setups typically run 500w or so.... where 30mph rigs pull 1000w+

Front forks are not all created equal and unless you take measures to bolt on a serious torque arm, expect failures in the form of broken dropouts !

If axle nuts come loose on a rear motor, it's bad, but not too bad.. if that happens on the front forks you go for a superman style face plant !

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

No offense intended, as you've dealt with this personally.

But I find it hard to believe that an electric motor can rip off a dropout.

There's pretty solid ways to keep your axle tight on the forks too...

I dunno, like I said, I haven't had the experience you did, but I think it's pretty crazy to believe that a simple noncommercial grade motor can break the dropout welds...