I just got back from testing my bike now. My bike is a 26 inch rear conversion 48v 1000w 20ah battery from Golden Motor. I got to a speed of 40km/h to 50km/h, a bit scary for the first time, especially with ice patches on the road, but everything went better than planned. I just want to thank you for answering my question and thanks for the video (:
I just watched all your ebike vids to your final setup up. I've been doing some research on other conversion kits and this one seems like the only one that does not die in two months or being overpriced. I'm planning on buying the same kit as you show in this vid from GM. My one question is there a advantage having the motor in the rear wheel instead of the front?
@Urlte Thanks for watching! I tried to document stuff that I thought would be helpful if someone had to go through the same build. To answer your question, there is only one advantage that I can think of for having a front wheel motor instead of rear and that is simplicity of installation and removal. Other than that, you want to have a rear wheel motor if at all possible. 1: It won't slip when you need torque, ie. when going uphill. 2: Front forks are very weak and can break from all of the
@Urlte motor's torque. If you lose your rear wheel, you will still live. If you lose your front, not so good... Also, most front forks are made of aluminum. If that's your case, then forget about a front motor. Even steel forks give out eventually, but at least the failure is gradual and you can catch it with regular inspections. 3. Less distance for the battery/controller connections (assuming you use original kit's rack and controller box) 4. this one is debatable but you get better weight
@Urlte distribution and therefore it's easier to control the bike. I think there were a few more reasons why rear is better than forward but that's all I can remember at the moment. It's discussed quite a bit in the ebike world so you might be able to find more info. Best of luck with your build!
The suspension works really well actually. I used to go past 60km/h on some downhills before I put on the motor and one time I hit a huge pothole and it went over it smoothly so I knew this bike would handle higher speeds just fine. The only thing I worry about is snapping spokes.
Glad to see things are still going strong and the bike still looks great! One thing you forgot to mention was you bought it from Golden Motor Canada :)
My bad for forgetting to mention that in the video, I just kind of blabbed away without really thinking as is evident by all the "ah's" and "uhm's" :P I did have a link to your site in the description but I've also added it in that I bought it from Golden Motor Canada at the top there.
I had one of the original GM motors when they first came out. The motors themselves were good, but everything else was junk. The throttle broke and the rim was nowhere near strong enough to handle the weight and speed of everything. Mine Tacoed within a month of riding it. It looks like they have improved the kits since then
@juamiso Thanks for the kind comment! If the price difference between 750W and 1000W is huge, then go for the 750W. Sometimes I wish my 1000W could go faster, but for most of my uses even 500W would be fine. Especially if you have no hills to worry about, a lower-powered motor will keep you going fast and you most likely won't have to worry about dropout failure from too much torque, even on aluminum dropouts. However, if you want to get to work and back fast and money is not a factor, go for
@mike66266 Hi, I bought an almost exact kit and am having a bit of trouble. Do you mind taking a look at the pm I sent you? It has a link of the video showing what's weird.
@juamiso the 1000W, as long as you are sure your dropouts can handle the torque. But honestly, no matter which motor you choose, as time goes by you'll always be wanting more speed. Having a lower-powered bike will force you to ride safer, as anything past 500W is powerful enough to cause you great bodily harm unless you have motorcycle-type safety gear. Best of luck on your build!
@openmindedproduction Total time was about a week, with a few hours a day. It would have been much faster had it not been for one washer that was slightly too big and was rubbing on the gear cluster. It took me a while to figure out that was the problem. If I were to build one now, it would probably just take a few hours. I don't really use reverse much, but it is useful at times such as when riding up to an intersection that has the sensors for cars to turn the light green, and if there are no
@openmindedproduction cars then I ride up the sidewalk to press the pedestrian crossing button, and sometimes it's awkard step onto the ground and walk backwards from the pole with the button, so I just flick on reverse to help me out. It's also useful if you park your bike downhill into a bike rack and want to pull it back out without struggling.
@openmindedproduction Forgot to mention the cost. The kit came to just over $1000 with taxes and shipping, and it included a bunch of stuff including 2 sets of throttles, 6 speed gear cluster and removal tool, and a whole bunch of extras. You can get away with just a wheel, battery, controller, and throttle though.
I just got back from testing my bike now. My bike is a 26 inch rear conversion 48v 1000w 20ah battery from Golden Motor. I got to a speed of 40km/h to 50km/h, a bit scary for the first time, especially with ice patches on the road, but everything went better than planned. I just want to thank you for answering my question and thanks for the video (:
Urlte 18 hours ago
I just watched all your ebike vids to your final setup up. I've been doing some research on other conversion kits and this one seems like the only one that does not die in two months or being overpriced. I'm planning on buying the same kit as you show in this vid from GM. My one question is there a advantage having the motor in the rear wheel instead of the front?
Thanks for the video,
Richard
Urlte 1 month ago
@Urlte Thanks for watching! I tried to document stuff that I thought would be helpful if someone had to go through the same build. To answer your question, there is only one advantage that I can think of for having a front wheel motor instead of rear and that is simplicity of installation and removal. Other than that, you want to have a rear wheel motor if at all possible. 1: It won't slip when you need torque, ie. when going uphill. 2: Front forks are very weak and can break from all of the
mike66266 1 month ago
@Urlte motor's torque. If you lose your rear wheel, you will still live. If you lose your front, not so good... Also, most front forks are made of aluminum. If that's your case, then forget about a front motor. Even steel forks give out eventually, but at least the failure is gradual and you can catch it with regular inspections. 3. Less distance for the battery/controller connections (assuming you use original kit's rack and controller box) 4. this one is debatable but you get better weight
mike66266 1 month ago
@Urlte distribution and therefore it's easier to control the bike. I think there were a few more reasons why rear is better than forward but that's all I can remember at the moment. It's discussed quite a bit in the ebike world so you might be able to find more info. Best of luck with your build!
mike66266 1 month ago
Cool bike!
How is the suspension holding up at high speeds?
FullFledged2010 1 month ago
@FullFledged2010 Thanks!
The suspension works really well actually. I used to go past 60km/h on some downhills before I put on the motor and one time I hit a huge pothole and it went over it smoothly so I knew this bike would handle higher speeds just fine. The only thing I worry about is snapping spokes.
mike66266 1 month ago
Hi Mike!
Glad to see things are still going strong and the bike still looks great! One thing you forgot to mention was you bought it from Golden Motor Canada :)
Gary
GoldenMotorCanada 7 months ago
@GoldenMotorCanada Hi Gary,
My bad for forgetting to mention that in the video, I just kind of blabbed away without really thinking as is evident by all the "ah's" and "uhm's" :P I did have a link to your site in the description but I've also added it in that I bought it from Golden Motor Canada at the top there.
mike66266 7 months ago
I had one of the original GM motors when they first came out. The motors themselves were good, but everything else was junk. The throttle broke and the rim was nowhere near strong enough to handle the weight and speed of everything. Mine Tacoed within a month of riding it. It looks like they have improved the kits since then
reptedjess 7 months ago
One of the best videos about ebikes conversion that I have seen. Thanks for it!
Question: Do you think 750W is enough or should I go 1000W? I just want it to commute to work. (no hills, just straight 15km x2).
Cheers
juamiso 7 months ago
@juamiso Thanks for the kind comment! If the price difference between 750W and 1000W is huge, then go for the 750W. Sometimes I wish my 1000W could go faster, but for most of my uses even 500W would be fine. Especially if you have no hills to worry about, a lower-powered motor will keep you going fast and you most likely won't have to worry about dropout failure from too much torque, even on aluminum dropouts. However, if you want to get to work and back fast and money is not a factor, go for
mike66266 7 months ago
@mike66266 Hi, I bought an almost exact kit and am having a bit of trouble. Do you mind taking a look at the pm I sent you? It has a link of the video showing what's weird.
staver76 7 months ago
@juamiso the 1000W, as long as you are sure your dropouts can handle the torque. But honestly, no matter which motor you choose, as time goes by you'll always be wanting more speed. Having a lower-powered bike will force you to ride safer, as anything past 500W is powerful enough to cause you great bodily harm unless you have motorcycle-type safety gear. Best of luck on your build!
mike66266 7 months ago
Comment removed
juamiso 7 months ago
nice bike...wondering about how much time spent putting it together and total cost for the project? also, why would you want to reverse?
openmindedproduction 8 months ago
@openmindedproduction Total time was about a week, with a few hours a day. It would have been much faster had it not been for one washer that was slightly too big and was rubbing on the gear cluster. It took me a while to figure out that was the problem. If I were to build one now, it would probably just take a few hours. I don't really use reverse much, but it is useful at times such as when riding up to an intersection that has the sensors for cars to turn the light green, and if there are no
mike66266 8 months ago
@openmindedproduction cars then I ride up the sidewalk to press the pedestrian crossing button, and sometimes it's awkard step onto the ground and walk backwards from the pole with the button, so I just flick on reverse to help me out. It's also useful if you park your bike downhill into a bike rack and want to pull it back out without struggling.
mike66266 8 months ago
@openmindedproduction Forgot to mention the cost. The kit came to just over $1000 with taxes and shipping, and it included a bunch of stuff including 2 sets of throttles, 6 speed gear cluster and removal tool, and a whole bunch of extras. You can get away with just a wheel, battery, controller, and throttle though.
mike66266 8 months ago