justinschulz9

Aloha Yall!
running a rental company out on maui and im noticing a few customers coming in with complaints on their electric bikes with noises coming from their hub motor that i can only say would sound like the motor is tired.
under pressure it makes a small reving sound and im not understanding what the process would be to relieve the motor of that kind of stress or sound. most are coming from RadPower bikes, others are coming from bikes like reenton. is this just a replacement scenario or is there something i can actually do?

MNebiker

Gear drive or direct drive motors? Mechanical or electric (whir, hum, etc.) noise?
Gear drive units will make more noise under load, but direct drives tend to be quieter. My gear motor will "snarl" a bit under heavy load.
The reduction gears in a gear motor can wear and make noise. Depending on the brand, replacement gear assemblies may be available. Cleaning and lube may also help.
I have seen reports that there have been instances of magnets in direct drive motors coming loose and causing noise.

2old

Seems like Maui has some hilly topography (but I've only been to Oahu) which could be a problem. A geared motor shouldn't be operated at less than about half of its top speed or too much electrical energy is transferred into heat possibly damaging the engine. If that's the problem, some of the motors may be toast, but if you can locate the manufacturer, you may be able to repair or insert a new motor core. If hills are a potential problem you might consider bikes with large direct drive motors at 52V and have them restricted to 15 or 20 mph in order to prevent or lessen damage.

chas58

Are they hard to take apart? It sounds to me like your gears are wearing. That "shouldn't" be too hard or expensive to change - if parts are available. Sometimes you can upgrade the plastic gears to metal ones, but that is going to make the motor (gear whine) louder. Keeping them under powered is another solution.

justinschulz9

direct drive motors? which company should i look into for this? asking for later purchases.
we have taken hub motors apart and have found nothing but dead ends. there needs to be easier ebikes to work on

2old

I've had good luck with ebikeling (1200w system) and YESCOM (1000w system); this isn't surprising since direct drive (DD) motors have only one moving part (if you discount bearings/bushings; read the tutorials at ebikesca). Perhaps you could purchase a system and add to your existing bikes. Also, many companies, including Radpower, use DD motors in their bikes. The best DD bikes IMO are Pedego's, but they're expensive. Perhaps you could become a dealer and start selling/renting them as many shops in socal do.

chas58

Well, in theory you could just replace the current wheel with a wheel containing a direct drive motor - assuming the wiring (phase wires) match up, and that the new wheel turned at the same RPM as the current one (at a specific voltage).

Doc_Wui

I suppose you have Radpower fat tire bikes, 20" and 26" bikes with geared motors. They also sell a Radcity model, which is direct drive, but more suited for flat streets. DOn't know about Rentons or Reentons.

Last time I looked, Radpower used a different connector on the rear motor, different from everyone else. Forces you to buy their motor, unless one is willing to rewire/splice, which is hardly a good thing for a rental outfit.

Rental customers will beat the heck out of anything you give them. Even fat tire bikes on a flat salt water beach can't be good. I only rode mine once in winter, and the road salt we use here attacked the frame, and I believe it corroded the speed sensor in my motor. That's how I know that bare 500-760 fat tire motors are about $175. I'll have to spoke it myself.