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Which Chinese brands are good?

Old 05-02-19, 05:14 PM
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adlai
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Which Chinese brands are good?

Looking at first ebike. Mainly for utility. I would build it myself.

I am am thinking I would prefer a front wheel drive system with regenerative braking. I myself drive a hybrid car and regen braking is great. It reduces brake wear by a factor of ten and I image the extra weight of an ebike would be very bad for front brakes.

So so what Chinese brands are best? Green Pedal? bafang?

i May also just go Bionx.
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Old 05-03-19, 12:14 AM
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Bionx is proprietary. You have to use their motor and battery in combination. They also went bankrupt so it could be tricky to even buy one or get parts.

A regenerative direct drive motor on the front wheel puts a lot of stress on the front fork, due to twisting motions in both directions on the axle fasteners on acceleration and braking. A good do-it-yourself guy can handle this. Brake replacement on a bike is pretty simple compared to a car, so I don't think the economics of that is a major savings. You want a direct drive for its simplicity. You may not want it because of the higher weight.

Bafang is the biggest ebike motor maker in the work, shipping probably a million motors annually this year. They make mostly geared motors for hubs and the crank, and I don't believe any of them support regen,
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Old 05-03-19, 05:54 AM
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+1 with DW. Also, most individuals with lots of experience suggest using a rear hub motor unless there is an overriding factor like IGH , belt drive, etc that mandates a front hub conversion. Also, regen is overrated for bikes IMO; don't consider unless you know that it will help your range and you need the extra little it provides.
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Old 05-03-19, 02:56 PM
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You've not quite got the idea of regen. The brakes don't generate any electricity at all.

The hub itself is also a dynamo, and is constantly generating. This is a good thing. But the regen is a gentle and permanent resistance. The brake signal wires simply switch off the acceleration, so your motor doesn't push against your brakes.

I love it, you learn to use it, such as pedalling down hills to keep the charging up.
I use my rear brake lever to switch PAS off, it's long travel, the pads don't touch the disc until the lever is over half pulled, so I don't waste energy binding the brakes. I achieved this simply by releasing some fluid out the nipple until the lever was halfway..

The Chinese are well sorted. Three major manufacturers have nearly the whole market and it's effective stuff. I've had absolute reliability in three years of daily use - my stuff is a mixture of Risunmotor and Hallomotor parts.
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Old 05-03-19, 10:31 PM
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I understand it, just neither need nor want it on my system.
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Old 05-06-19, 01:01 AM
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Originally Posted by 2old
+1 with DW. Also, most individuals with lots of experience suggest using a rear hub motor unless there is an overriding factor like IGH , belt drive, etc that mandates a front hub conversion. Also, regen is overrated for bikes IMO; don't consider unless you know that it will help your range and you need the extra little it provides.
I'm inclined to agree. Just thinking this through I would tend to think that in order for a regen system to be of any practical use it would have to be quite heavy. Even then how much more energy is it going to produce and is it really something that would make a big difference in range? If it only gives you an extra 5 miles I don't think it would be worth paying for. Personally I'm wondering if anyone has yet commercially made a decent sized / weighted fuel cell that could power an ebike motor for extended range.
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Old 05-06-19, 09:18 AM
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For me, it's not the weight, which is because the motor needs to be direct drive, but the affect of transition from propulsion to stop mode on the dropouts. I've been able to use a rear 1000w motor (30 amp controller) at 52V (1.5 kw, 33+ mph) in an aluminum frame (albeit with beefy dropouts for four years without a torque arm because the power delivery is smooth.
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Old 05-06-19, 11:56 AM
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Originally Posted by 01 CAt Man Do
I'm inclined to agree. Just thinking this through I would tend to think that in order for a regen system to be of any practical use it would have to be quite heavy. Even then how much more energy is it going to produce and is it really something that would make a big difference in range? If it only gives you an extra 5 miles I don't think it would be worth paying for. Personally I'm wondering if anyone has yet commercially made a decent sized / weighted fuel cell that could power an ebike motor for extended range.
Justin Le, who own Grin Ebikes, has numbers that show regen gets you 10% more battery in hill country, He is pretty credible. Last year, he competed in a solar bike race where they started in France, crossed the Alps and coasted downhill to China. Regen sounds good til you realize that's 5 miles if you have a relatively robust 50 mile battery. Then again two miles is worth it if you don't have to pedal a heavy unpowered direct drive motor with its magnets dragging.

Some outfit in Europe, might be academic, has a sleek looking fuel cell prototype on a bike. Needs tanks of O2 and H2.

The long range commuter, and the touring biker will have their concerns about battery life. The guy who rides for fun, like me, can either plan his ride for the battery size or carry a spare.

I think the original poster could discuss what kind of bike he wants to build, and what it will be used for. The type of motor is the first thing to sort out. Motors are not too expensive. Good batteries are the biggest expense. If you do a conversion, you can always use that battery on the next one, and then you can try out different motors w/o spending a lot more money.
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Old 05-06-19, 12:29 PM
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Originally Posted by Doc_Wui
Justin Le, who own Grin Ebikes, has numbers that show regen gets you 10% more battery in hill country, He is pretty credible. Last year, he competed in a solar bike race where they started in France, crossed the Alps and coasted downhill to China. Regen sounds good til you realize that's 5 miles if you have a relatively robust 50 mile battery. Then again two miles is worth it if you don't have to pedal a heavy unpowered direct drive motor with its magnets dragging.

Some outfit in Europe, might be academic, has a sleek looking fuel cell prototype on a bike. Needs tanks of O2 and H2.

The long range commuter, and the touring biker will have their concerns about battery life. The guy who rides for fun, like me, can either plan his ride for the battery size or carry a spare.

I think the original poster could discuss what kind of bike he wants to build, and what it will be used for. The type of motor is the first thing to sort out. Motors are not too expensive. Good batteries are the biggest expense. If you do a conversion, you can always use that battery on the next one, and then you can try out different motors w/o spending a lot more money.
I saw an ebike online that was built around a hydrogen fuel cell. It ran off these hydrogen filled ( screw in ) modules that gave the bike great range. I think they are refillable but then you need a supply of hydrogen which need I say is not going to be available in most places. You can buy the modules already filled but no telling how much that would cost. Anyway, the whole system is too expensive for my tastes.

Currently I'm considering converting my FS MTB with an e-kit. I'm leaning toward something where the motor mounts on the crank/bottom bracket. I want the system to operate as e-assist only, no throttle and only want a battery that might last for 25 miles. Any recommendations would be nice.
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Old 05-06-19, 03:53 PM
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My BBS02-equipped hardtail with 52V, 10 ah battery will easily go 25 miles. The other day I rode 15 miles with a 2000' elevation gain and used only 40% of the battery.
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Old 05-08-19, 04:13 AM
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Originally Posted by 01 CAt Man Do
I'm inclined to agree. Just thinking this through I would tend to think that in order for a regen system to be of any practical use it would have to be quite heavy. Even then how much more energy is it going to produce and is it really something that would make a big difference in range? If it only gives you an extra 5 miles I don't think it would be worth paying for. Personally I'm wondering if anyone has yet commercially made a decent sized / weighted fuel cell that could power an ebike motor for extended range.
Huge difference, especially since I've learnt to squeeze the best out of it, using my rear brake as a two-stage multi-use lever. I can regen whilst still pedalling, and do so even when using it as a slowdown, like engine braking.

I'll be out all day, with my 8yo child on the back, and still get home with 3/4 battery.
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Old 05-20-19, 03:02 PM
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Originally Posted by powell
ADLAI
most of China brand are good sold by eBay, Aliexpress and other vendors.
those 1000W 48V kit can be installed in one hour flat.
the offer one year of warranty , free faulty replacemet parts when something goes wrong.
It is owner fault when motor gets overheat and burns on uphill ride , owner should know the limits and touch motor after going uphill.
I rest my bike on long trips, let the motor and controller coll down, it helps but i'm running 24 amps, 24 volts on a 450 watt motor, hot! a 48 volt system cuts the amps in half and so the heat
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Old 06-29-19, 08:03 PM
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And not busted the **** out of it! well done i'm trying the alum 500 watt thing, wish me luck
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Old 06-30-19, 10:11 AM
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V.1 of my "never plug in" trike went about a thousand miles with no need to plug in (however, on one long steep grade I had to stop for a while). That was using a bafang mid-drive (and some big solar panels). Fir V.2 I am considering the BaFang again (but this time I will add a throttle, the cadence detection can be a big problem when starting on hills). I am also considering the TSDZ2. I have that one on my commuter and so far I am happy with its torque sensitivity.

Really, if you stick to any of the ones being discussed here and at endless sphere then you won't go wrong.
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Old 07-02-19, 03:24 PM
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If you could use a rear motor Grin Tech at ebike.ca has a bafang that is both geared and regen. GMAC motor
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Old 06-24-23, 06:19 AM
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Originally Posted by powell
China brands ebike are durable and they last if treated right.
example?
after climbing steep hill you must stop and touch motor , if hot do not continue riding ,
just wait 1/2 hour, 1 hour so motor can cool down.
also do not ride China brand ebike in rain, never,
to avoid rust do not ride in winter condtions like salty roads.
You should delete this post. Ride by Bafang ebike in the rain all the time. Never had a problem with heat, never had to wait for it to cool, never had to stop at the top of a hill for any reason.
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Old 06-24-23, 07:02 AM
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Originally Posted by Rick
If you could use a rear motor Grin Tech at ebike.ca has a bafang that is both geared and regen. GMAC motor
Yes I've looked at it. The kit costs nearly $2k!
I think it would be perfect for a recumbent build. Since writing this post I have bought a vvolt ebike which has features integrated to it which I would not be able to build myself .I also built a bionx ebike system into a recumbent.

Hub motor on a regular bicycle was awkward because the extra weight on the wheel actually made the bike tiresome to keep balanced. And the weight of the battery on the water bottle mount again made it difficult for balance. Vvolt builds the battery noticable lower in center of gravity which is possible because of the integrated build and not being a hack conversion. For a recumbent, weight and balance don't matter and actually extra weight on the rear wheel helps with traction.


​​​​​
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Old 06-24-23, 07:18 AM
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Originally Posted by Pop N Wood
You should delete this post. Ride by Bafang ebike in the rain all the time. Never had a problem with heat, never had to wait for it to cool, never had to stop at the top of a hill for any reason.
I've ridden my Bafang BBS02 in 100+ degree weather on tortuous uphill steep trails and have had the same response as you; never a problem. This individual has been denigrating Chinese-built products for years probably on his Chinese computer.
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Old 06-24-23, 11:57 AM
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All I know is I've had 10+ Chinese motors over the years and no problems. How well is the company that made your motor doing (Oh! I forgot; they poured millions into the company and it still folded. The individual who started the long thread on the company has a Chinese motor now).
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