Saturday, December 19, 2009

In search for the perfect e-bike

  • I’m whittling down the options for creating two e-bikes out of two existing mountain bikes I have languishing in my garage. The best so far is from http://www.cyclone-usa.com using a brushless motor that mounts under the main ring gear, thus giving the advantage of using the main gears for hill climbing and cruising
  • The brushless motor includes a “DC motor featuring an integrated planetary gearbox that significantly multiplies the motor torque” combined with 360 or a 500W motors. The 500W looks like the one to go for with speeds up to 26mph on the flat using a 26” rim whilst drawing between 15/20 accelerating and >40amps climbing. The best power to weight battery appears to be the 24V 20Amp/hr Lion (Lithium-ion) giving a range of up to 45 miles on the flat
  • The kit:

  • Fitted:

  • Project – hill climber. 12-18mph >6% incline, with no pedalling!