[thingstodo]

Originally Posted by pablitosax

This idea for a hub motor was apparently good because could be adapted to any rear drum brake (plug & play) , but , again the permanent magnets and reluctance have ruined the development:
"hub motors with permanent magnets are not the best technical solution " :

Green Energy Management (GEM) Updates | Middle Tennessee State University

I have read about many hub motors in the past. The hub motors on bicycles and motorcycles seem to be solid. They have bearings on both sides of the hub and this appears to make a difference to reliability. That said, there are not many bicycles or motorcycles with 100,000 miles on them.

So far, all the hub motors that I have read about or seen videos on ... that are supported on one side only ... when you can get details about reliability at all ... seem to experience catastrophic failure before the first set of tires is worn out. Most of the prototypes just seem to disappear and no one wants to talk about them .. or even admit that there was a prototype at all?

The clearances on the motor do not appear to allow for much bearing wear. The wider the motor, the further the rotor is from the bearing. Plus, of course, there is no suspension on the wheel. When the rotating part meets the stationary part ... bad things happen

I'd love to be proven wrong on this one - it's such a practical idea to move the motors out of the vehicle and contain them within the wheels, get rid of the transmission, the extra weight ... there are just so many positives!