Which kit should I go with?
 

Seems to me that the amped bike kit is the best bang for the buck? The Our 3rd GenerationFront/Rear Gear Kits is only 350-450 watts but all of the other kits (like the phoneix ones) are so much more expensive. The amped bike kit claims 20mph, which I suppose is good, I'd like to go faster but don't want to spend $1,000 on a kit (not including battery).

I noticed amped bikes sells two kits, direct and geared motors. With the geared motor, can I pedal normally when the motor is off? Will I even be able to tell that the motor is there? How does the direct kit differ?

Also, I have a 24 speed bike (3x8 gears), can the rear amped bit fit with that set up? And how does a geared motor work with 3x8 gears? Can I still change gears with the motor on?

The only draw back of the amped kits is they do not warranty if you use a 48v battery. If you want more speed you have to go to a higher battery voltage. I would go with the ebikekit which is set up for 48v out of the box.

http://www.e-bikekit.com/shop/index....d=110&parent=4

The geared motors have a free wheel, so you can pedal without any drag. There is a little drag in the direct drive motors.

To fit the larger cassettes you might have to spread the drop outs a little. That can be a problem if you have aluminum drop outs.

Depending on how long your planning on riding your bike or how many miles. The geared motors tend to not last as long. A direct drive motor can last many years without the gears wearing out.

If I lived in town a 36V geared hub setup would have more appeal for me. I went with a E-bikekit.com rear direct drive setup as the majority of my riding is rural. The higher speeds possible of direct drive was the deciding factor.

All the rear kits I've seen require a freewheel. A cassette won't fit. I bought a 7speed freewheel. It was wasted money. I leave the front chainring on the 48 tooth sprocket and only need 6th and 7th on the rear. I may eventually go with a 60 tooth single front sprocket as my cadence gets up to 100 at about 60% power.

yes, you can still change gears. The easiest to install is the front hub since you don't have to mess with the back gears at all. If you install a front hub, you need either a chromoly or steel bike because it has to be strong to handle the motor. I think you can use an aluminum bike if you install a rear hub motor but I'm not sure about that.

With a direct drive, there is some resistance but I'm still able to pedal mine. I can pedal my forsen hub motor at 18 mph with the motor turned off. I would say the difference between pedaling a regular bike without a motor at all and pedaling a direct drive is like the difference between pedaling on pavement and pedaling in the grass.

The cheapest way to get a really fast bike in my opinion is to find someone on the endless-sphere forum who has a controller that allows up to 100v of power and then get some lipo and use it on almost any motor except a geared one. Using that kind of power is only for direct drives. I'm not sure how much a 100v controller goes for these days.

The E-Bikekit geared motor runs at 15 mph.. Its an off the shelf Bafang Europe model from what i have read. I ride my amped kit at 48V thanks to ping. There is a thread on a guy running teir geared kit at 60V at 8,000 miles so far. Amped has a liability insurance unlike most companies and it only covers legal speed limits 36V. But they run at 30 at 48V and about 36 or 38 at 60V.

I have both geared kits.

Isn't the amped controller a 14 amp unit? Good on battery range, but tough to get higher speeds. You need 25-30 amps to get to 30mph and above.

I would say the controller being limited to 14 amps is probably correct. On my bike with the stock Amped controller and large diameter tires (26" Big Apples) and a large payload (me at 250) and one direct drive Amped hub motor I can only get up to 12 mph on the flat with no pedaling but it feels like the controller is speed limited too. At 12 mph I usually take over and pedal to go faster.

I was still happy with that because I could accelerate from stops faster and climb the hills around my house more easily.

The kits I use and sell are limited to 17 amps, which allow for a top speed of 19-21mph on a 36v battery.
On 36v 15ah battery you can get 20 miles at 19mph..
Front motor kit.
I use it EVERY DAY for a 19mile at 19mph trip to work, where I charge it for 3 hours and I'm good to go for another 19miles

My vote for "best bang for the buck" goes to the ebike.ca's 9 continent motor kits. Why? They bundle it with a cycle analyst, and the service is very responsive and helpful.

It's a direct drive motor, so it will add some drag, but has a higher top speed, lower price, and longer effective lifespan than the geared hubs. Direct drive hubs also offer regenerative braking, essentially extending your range a small bit as well as reducing the wear on your brake pads.

They offer it with up to an 8 speed freewheel, so assuming your dropouts are steel, you could spread the frame a bit. If not, then your still in luck, as your chain will work on 5-6-7-8 speed rear clusters. (Unless it's been on there a long time, then I'd suggest just buying a new one). Worst change would be swapping your shifters.

http://www.ebikes.ca/store/store_nc.php

Do they have an option to put the 9C motor into a 24" rim?
I noticed only 20" and 26"

I'm guessing "by request" means costs extra.

I would imagine anyone wanting a 24" wheel may have other special requests like rim width, dishing,lacing ect...

The amped Gear motor runs at 20 mph unless you have the euro plugs connected. Also they upgraded me to the 22A controller w my geared motor for $20 plus the old controller. It is now a billygoat!!!! the torque is amazing. If you are running under 20 mph you need to re read the manual and disconnect the euro plugs

Is that in their online manual? I will definitely check on that. Thanks!

It does look like they changed controllers since I got mine. It does say 20-25amps. But what's not clear to me is 36v x 20 amps = 720 watts. But the geared motor is only rate 350-450 watts. That would only be about 12 amps.?

Not trying to dis on amped, it's a perfectly fine kit, I started with an amped geared kit, but the 9c are just as good.