Ive been looking for a good kit & it turns out there is a great supplier here in canada!
S.

Ping say's "Chargers for SLA batteries are compatible with LiFePO4."
You have got to be kidding.!
Oh, well, you get what you pay for
If you cant afford the good stuff, buy the cheap stuff and dont complain when it aint perfect

Hey Karma! How's it going? I'm eagerly anticipating the arrival of my brushless motor 36v 500w.

So lets say I take everything out of the box and want to immediately get to work on making the motor, controller hub etc all as efficient as possible.
You have listed some great(and confusing stuff) and I'm no electrician, could you give me easy steps to follow to improve the quality of my electric bike experience?
If not I can always look at your old posts and google all the words I don't understand and piece it together. One thing that would be cool is a list of all the things i should buy to solder or modify the kit.
Thanks for any help man

Thanks for the info Karma! How did you order your new controller? Did you simply fill out an order request? How much was it including shipping? (in USD)

Oh man am I excited! I've got it all running now my noob bike problems arise :( I can't get the wheel in the fork snug enough. The washers are tight but if I try to move the wheel it will wobble back and fourth. (Sorry that's probably a question to ask in a different discussion) but overall I'm extremely happy! I bought 3 12v lead batteries for $95 I'll get used to the weight and the motor really pulls! I can't stop smiling! If only that tire didn't wobble :( any luck buying those controllers in bulk? I'll buy one from ya :-D later Karma!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjsbZsZ3oi8
(I made a little video of my wheel I'm so pumped about it!)

That is a very good idea I will look into a torque arm for sure. yeah def not safe, I was apparently too tired working on it last night I hadn't tightened the bolt on the wired side(thought it was stationary for some reason) So the tire does not wobble anymore(left to right at least) the spokes need to be trued for sure which I'm not exactly sure how to do but I'll figure it out I have a spoke wrench :) there is a squeak from the hub which I'm not sure about but it might be from the lack of tightness in the spokes. Hmmm and yes that cheap Chinese tire came with the bike, any suggestions on a good tire to replace it with? lol
well I posted a full video this time so here it is :) thanks for all the help Karma
(and I actually went farther than just bungeeing the batteries, I clamped them down with 2 heavy duty brackets)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NixURYDbWjo

I'm getting some Maxxis Holy Rollers in the mail shortly! So excited about those, also waiting on a universal spoke wrench(the round metal thing with the different sizes) turns out my regular spoke wrench can't fit around the industrial size spokes on my motor hub spokes. I am also waiting for a new battery charger... ugh waiting for shipments is frustrating. I want to cruise! lol OH But I did set up a sweet bike stand to work on my bike! Cost about $40 made it out of Black Plumbing Pipe! I love it
So I'll get the new tires on there, Charge the batteries, true the wheels with my new spoke wrench while it's on my new bike stand! sweet! I don't know why I'm so happy, I have a stats final in 10 hours.

Is cheaper really better ? everyone is salivating over the price..
ok, how about the $350 Forsen motor setup from FalconEV ?
better check the amp rating of the controller before you buy..
nobody ever thought of that did you ???

the green hornet looks cool... Too bad I've already purchased my kit. Do you sell any components separately Falconev? Like a 36v controller for a 500w goldenmotor? I was going to ask why there's no checkout/shopping option on your page, but when it comes to motors and e-bike stuff, it is probably best to email you before buying something. And how do you check amp rating?

i have the same problems even with the smaller packs. feels like walking a big cc dirtbike. im giving
lifepo4 a try.

fixed my 36volt controller bad solder. but i did find a problem that could shorten the life of the included controller and would explain there high Failure rate. there is no heatzinc past on the bar the mossfets are screwed to and the heat willnot transfer to the case. easy fix take the side screws out slide the board out add heat zinc compound slap it back together. it will prolong the life of your investment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlM06GYv69o

cheers

Is this heatzinc compound the same as Thermal Compound that is used on CPUs? I have extra Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound sitting around so if its the same stuff I can save alittle money:)

there's a 48v 1000w controller at electricscooterparts.com that I'm looking at is that the same as yours Karma?

I'm a newbie out here.. I'm looking at the same $285 kit I've seen on line.. I'm not so concerned with speed but I have alot of hills. What kind of benefits to you get when you upgrade the controller? I don't plan on riding around without adding some pedal power but I am concerned that I might overheat something and loose my investment..

darn they are a reputable seller too :( well I guess I'll be contacting goldenmotor and waiting a month to hear back from them. Bummer
Their California distributor(perfecteam) said he won't have them in stock until later this summer and they are around $98 w/o shipping.
thought I'd pass that along

so do you think it's okay to have a 48v controller on a 36v hub? or is there a controller spec citing amp outputs and that should be under 30? sorry more noob questions :P

Cool thanks for the info Karma you're awesome! Hope the move went/ or is going well :)
My bike is running great! installed new shifters, and some bike componenets, and will probably upgrade my controller and battery set up to 48v by the end of May or June.

Hey guys, I just ordered the 500 watt motor and will be getting a ping battery. arni0202, are you just using the stock controller? Seems to work well in your vids.

Oh, and I am a complete noob too. Am i going to have to check the polarity before I do anything or should I just go ahead and switch the wires over. From what i have been reading the green is positive and red is ground. Apparently, that's how things are wired over there in asia. I hope i don't run into any problems. These kits sound great, but are really confusing lol

arg! I gotta spend more money? ok ok, I took a look at some multimeters on ebay, and it seams that some read polarity and some don't. Am I right, or do is that standard and some don't bother mentioning it?
Got the final bid on my battery last night! check it out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=220230410522&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=012

I was just going to get the 10ah, but the price went way to high:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=220229641409&ssPageName=STRK:MEDW:IT&ih=012

Everyone wants these things right now. So, since I need a battery asap I went on to the 20ah which was ending 10 minutes later. I'm happy! :) the 20ah is a steal compared to the 10ah. It's hurting my wallet but it'll work out in the long run.

So, Karma, I'm not worried so much about the wiring of the battery. I think ping knows what's up. It's the controller I'm worried about. Do I need to connect it to check the polarity? Wouldn't it be to late then? Was it your charger from ping that was wired like that?

One more thing. Does anyone know if crystalite's controllers work with these? I'm not getting one right now, but in the future I might if they are.

I can't wait to get this started, but I am not going to touch a thing till I know what I am doing! lol

Gotta wait for it all to get to me anyway.

ok, pardon my ignorance, but how do you check polarity before connecting power?

no problem. set your voltmeter to dc, plug in your charger even without load on the charger the voltmeter should show polarity. my voltmeter show's a simple dash beside the reading when it's backwards.

I'm sorry if I seem dense, but why do you keep talking about the charger? I thought the charger from ping would be fine, and it was the controllers wiring. I guess it doesn't matter does it? still works the same way right? So, I would be ok with a $10 ebay multimeter then.

ok, I found one for around 6 bucks :) should I wire in a fuse anywhere with any of the connections?

yes between the battery and the controller.i use a 40amp fuse

Should I use the same? I am going to attempt to use the stock controller.

Looks great karma! After reading through your advice I've bought the kit from Smart Bike Canada (emailed Brandon from SBC last night - May 8 - back and forth asking questions and he seemed great to deal with). I got the rear hub kit.

Anyways, I'm planning out my battery box and whatnot and wondering the dimensions of the controller and charger. Can't find this info.

I noticed you mentioned Hamilton; I'm from Stoney Creek. Currently in Yellowknife, NT. Good luck on the move and can't wait to hear how your Crystalyte kit works out!

sweet my order from ebikes.ca came in. but i cant test it till i move :(

So, you're going with a new solution..the Crystalyte package?

Previously, you were using the Golden Motor package?

I have an old Trek 850 (circa '84) steel bike that's been sitting around. I want to give electrifying a go. Are there other preferred solutions other than Golden Motors & Crystalyte? I'm in S. California, so I need the ability to ship to USA.

[QUOTE=karma;6669904]give this guy a try->http://www.falconev.com/
/QUOTE]

I would have prolly bought from falconev, but the motors aren't sealed. I need to ride my bike rain or shine. :)

My latest ebike struggle has arisen. Most of which are the result of cumbersome battery weight. Biking to work as usual my supposedly trusty bike rack which has a carry limit of 50lbs, bends at its wheel hub connection. Literally bends and one side snaps. PingPing might be getting my business sooner than I thought! 36v 15ah at 11lbs versus my 36v 10.5ah at 22.2lbs of very dense weight of SLAs.
Anybody want to buy 36 volts of SLA? cheap! (not including shipping LOL) a side struggle includes losing air through a spoke nipple.
I doubt the chinese steel wheel on the motor hub was very well taped anyways. hmmm it's always something :) but I love biking!!! So I'll deal with it. But it's been a long day. Why am I posting this? I don't know(sorry venting I guess), but I think that an ebike is a worth the effort and troubleshooting to enjoy the commute to wherever. For now I'll replace the rack, hope I can save money quick enough to buy lighter batteries and avoid breaking more racks.
Note:the costs $$ add up over time, I've put $1000+ into my electric bike project and not I'll be spending hundreds more for better batteries. Not to mention I'm a full time student who works 1 day a week :( so I have no money to burn. I'm desperately trying to thwart gas prices!

Why can't anything be easy?

Note:the costs $$ add up over time, I've put $1000+ into my electric bike project and not I'll be spending hundreds more for better batteries.

I here ya! I spent about $1200 just for the motor, bike from ebay, and battery. I soon after realized I will need to spend at least $200 dollars more for all the little things needed to maintain and complete the bike.

Hey! I wanna order a set of new tires right now but I haven't gotten my motor yet. What size is the rim?

not sealed..?
what are you talking about ?
have you ever seen a motor that was NOT sealed ?
All are, especially mine
My controllers are also sealed, unlike others, u must be confusing mine with someone else
FalconEV

not sealed..?
what are you talking about ?
have you ever seen a motor that was NOT sealed ?
All are, especially mine
My controllers are also sealed, unlike others, u must be confusing mine with someone else
FalconEV

Well then, I wish I had known that. From the pictures on the site it looks like there are air vents. I guess those are just sample images then? You should prolly put pics up on the site of the actual motor. That way ppl know what they are going to get.

air vents ???
no, those are actually phaser beam ports...
hooked directly to the flux capacitor
pics are a from a artificial motor, not a real motor...

lol Falconev you always sound so snappy, relax buddy. Btw wouldn't back to the future have been sweet if they had an Ebike time machine!?
Anyways I took my rack back to my local bike shop and got a new one, same model but I picked up a saddle/pannier bag that I think will work well for the batteries lower to the ground too so less shakiness and better weight distrubution. Soldered the connctions nicely, new tire tube and rim tape and I'm back up and running. Hope to see your crystalyte video soon Karma!
BTW the rims that come with the kits, do you toss those out right away or have you tried to true them?? I have trouble keeping mine trued. what length spokes do you use to lace the new rim if you do swap it out?

I have been looking into ebikes ever since I saw a video of them on youtube. I would like to commute to work which is ~30mi oneway. I would have no problem pedaling with the bike. I would assume the LiFePo4 batteries are the best and that I should get them from this pingping guy on eBay. Now, I have no knowledge of bicycle maintenance in anyway except for how to put air in the tires how hard would it be for me to attach a hub kit? And what kit would anyone recommend for me? I was thinking about the one at ampedbikes.com. Does anyone else have this? My budget is about $700. Thanks

falconev.com has some good motor kits, and lifepo4 batteries(although expensive). Also, I've only heard good things about ping's batteries and will be getting a pack from him soon. There's a sticky thread for good ebike links I would recommend you check out.
I have the ampedbike.com kit which is good but I would shop around more. My kit came with some cheap components i.e. the brake levers are flimsy, the throttle is cheap plastic and the controller isn't the greatest. For around $300 it's a good deal.
Check out goldenmotor.com I don't know how easy it would be to get a kit directly from them(in china) but they have thumb throttles that look nice, regen-controllers and other options you can choose from. The thing to note about batteries too is that users sometimes rate their capacity(unscientifically) by how long they last without pedaling. I always pedal so my weak 10.5ah SLAs do get me pretty far.
A
s far as how easy the kits are to put on, just get familiar with how to take out your front tire. 1) unhook the front brakes 2) unhinge the quick release or unbolt your front tire 3) slide the electric wheel in. and from there you just Zip-Tie the wires from their to the back where your controller is and you're about done. Replacing your brake is easy too (look up bike videos on Youtube they are gold!) that's about all you need to change on the bike. I changed the front tire because the one that came in the kit was cheap, I kept it as a spare.
Definitely do your homework before jumping in :)
and personally I like having a kit on a mountain bike and not buying a bike with an integrated motor. Just my opinion though if I ever out grow my motor I can just remove it.

Ok I got my motor kit today and already I am having issues. I am completely lost. What is the deal with this little aluminum tube that came with it? It looks like it's supposed to go on the axle that the wires go through. the axle isn't threaded for the first few inches from the motor so it looks like it would just sit in the dropouts. The rest of the kit is completely assembled though. Why would this piece not be in it's place? I would have to cut the connectors off to get it on there anyway.
Next, I got the batteries from ping I expected 2 wires. There is a positive for both the charger and for the motor. Am I to get some sort of single line connector for all three?

ok, I got it all figured out except for the polarity and a few mystery wires that weren't connected to anything and that tube. What are these for? http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b96/reptedjess/bike%20stuff/P1040906.jpghttp://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b96/reptedjess/bike%20stuff/P1040905.jpg

My multitester doesn't give me a - without power, but the connector to the battery from the charger has a green/yellow wire and a red wire. The red one has a fuse with a "fuse +" sticker on it. Fuses are always on the positive current right? So, I figure I can connect it the way it's wired but I'm still scared I'll blow something.

So, those are for a different set of brakes? There is already volt meter and brake lever connection hooked up to each of those.

ok, now the controller came with a 3 pin house shaped port and plug. They have "240v 10amp" on them. Would using those be ok, or do I need something else. I figure they would be fine, but I just thought I would ask before I try. I can't find anything any better and cant find any local help either lol

Got my kit on and it's working like a charm! No problems at all except trying to find a proper plug :/
I took the tube and tire off the kit wheel. Using the ones from my original wheel. I also doubled the tape on the kit wheel with the tape off mine. Just gotta get that wheel trued and I'm good to go.
I am a little disappointed in the speed though. I can actually push it faster with pedaling. Then again, I have no idea how fast I am going either lol
It gets me going quick and takes hills down like nobody's business, which is really cool.
Got a lot of extra wire. I think I'm gonna snip um down a little so they aren't so obvious. Prolly get rid of most of the connectors too. Don't plan on disconnection most of um so they are not needed. I'll take a guess and say the whole bike now weighs about 75 pounds. I think that's pretty good compared to most ppl's, right? I'll post pictures and a vid link as soon as I get it all done.
Oh, also, I think I should have picked up a full suspension bike instead of a hardback

Sweet! Actually, I took it for a real ride for the first time last night and discovered the setup is perfect! I still get plenty of exercise, and can keep a really fast speed. I don't think I would want a completely motor dependent vehicle. I'm very happy!

I have one question, my tire is rated or 35-80psi. Which is better, higher or lower psi? I figured with all the extra weight I would risk blowing out my tube on bad bumps, so I pumped it to 60psi. Seems to be fine, but I wonder if I could put more into it.

Higher pressure will give you more efficiency and speed as less surface area is actually in contact with the ground, therefore there is less friction and resistance. However, if you are going over rougher terrain (gravel or rough asphalt) then I wouldn't put the tires at their highest level so your bike won't shake apart and your tires will be able to take a bit more abuse.

If you are only expecting to be on the road and expect minimal roughness, then I'd put them right to full pressure. You will feel more bumps at higher pressure as your ride will be 'stiffer', but you will get better performance out of your bike. I've heard of some people that actually overpressure their tires on their car to gain better gas mileage performance.. don't recommend though.

Hey karma, I have another question about the golden motor kit (you seem to be very well informed about that kit :)). I am still awaiting mine but I'm getting everything ready to go. Have the battery box made up and I'm collecting the electrical components I need for the bike (switches, wires, etc)

I'm wondering about what circuit breaker protection there is standard with the kit and what extra breakers you might suggest. I'm going to run it at 36V to start and possibly bump it up to 48V when I become more informed and familiar with the kit. Any suggestions?

Here's my contraption so far, awaiting the kit.

Thanks. Not hiding the fact that it's an electric bike with that box :)

Here's my contraption so far, awaiting the kit.

That looks like it would be extremely uncomfortable to pedal or stand over. Don't your legs rub on it?

Actually, I took it for a test ride last night and also tried going up a few hills (standing up) and my legs don't rub. I'm 6' and I can stand over the bike without the box putting any pressure on my legs; just touching. It's a small frame with the seat not set at it's proper height in the picture, so it looks deceiving.

It's actually more comfortable than I thought, luckily. :) The box is 6 1/4 inches wide so it's not overly obtrusive, but of course it's not ideal. Someone shorter or who pedals with their knees closer together might have problems, but it's tailor made for me so it works.

Of course, it's not ideal, but the only other option was putting 40 lbs of batteries on the back rack and that wasn't going to happen. Hoping to get custom-sized LiFePo4 batteries in the future and I'll be slimming the box to fit those.

Just finished installing by Ampedbikes.com kit (golden 500w brushless). Aside from the decrepit batteries I am sorting through to find ones that charge properly, I like the kit a lot. The shop owner was very responsive to pre and post sales questions. I received the kit on time.

A couple notes on the kit:
- My bike (circa-late 80s GT AllTerra) forks required cutting washers to fill the gap between the forks teeth and the hub motor's large washers (This was indicated in the included instruction sheet) I didn't want to grind the teeth of the fork. I also had to widen, with a rotary tool grinder, the bolt gap in the fork by about a millimeter to accommodate the bolt on the hub motor.
- The tube in the fully assembled tire, tube, wheel and motor required replacing as the fitting was not a presta or schrader. No idea what they call it in China.
- MANY of the spokes required tightening.
- also added a second layer of rubber stripping between the tube and rim per comments from other threads on sharp edges on the factory spoke nuts.
- Should this rig pay for itself in a couple months of gas savings, I will be replacing the bag with a good pannier saddle bag and hopefully a LiFePo4 pack.

Hey Karma got a link for your page for the controllers?

Hey, can anyone clue me in on the width of the stock rims. I can't find my calipers anywhere and don't want to order tires that are to small.

Hey Karma got a link for your page for the controllers?


heh internet at work, webpage is down all the servers are packed. im moving in the morning should be selling controllers in 3 weeks.

cheers:p

Alright, I'll pitch mine now ok ?
now that everyone else has promoted the other suppliers...
Amped says brushless are 30% more efficient..?
brushless are about 87% max. so brushed is 57% ? hmmm
2nd - what amp rating is the controller ? no mention of that small
little important detail...
$325 is the cheapest price i have ever seen. So it wins in that catagory.
But for those wanting a "ferrari vs a pinto"
look at falconev.com
yes price is higher, so all you walmarters dont freak out
Not everybody buys the cheapest things they can find
cheap clothes, cheap cars, cheap food, ...