hi all, noob with a open revolt question

[daveyjones97]

Ive been a long time on off lurker, i get very little free time. For a few years now i have wanted to knock up an electric bike but every time i have been about to start something, something else more important has come along and wiped my funds out!
I have basic electronics knowledge but dont know anything about code. My fabrication is quite good.

So, what i want to know is how long it takes to build an open revolt dc controller, how long has it taken others? What parts would i need in the power section if i only wanted <5000 watts? I have read some of the threads on this but i reckon it would take me 40 years to get through all of the threads on this!
Just to make life hard im in england too. I have very basic soldering skills and have built several tamiya rc kits.

Opinions on wether open revolt would be for me please guys and how many hours roughly to build. Thanks

[Ryland]

For a bicycle? unless there is a small, low power version out there that I don't know about it seems like expensive over kill.

The E-bike I just sold my neighbor can haul a 250 pound rider up hill at 15-20mph with a 36v 40 amp speed controller, that's less then 1,500 watts and you can buy a Kelly speed controller for an Ebike for $140 that will put out 2,000 watts and a 4,500 watt speed controller for $250 while last I checked an Open Revolt is around $500 in parts.

[daveyjones97]

Kinda what i wondered. I originally (3 years ago!) Considered building my own controller then the learning curve got steep. I like paul and the revolt project, but i guess it only scales down so far. Thanks

[Ryland]

If you want a really cheap speed controller for a bike that has a DC motor, go to a golf cart shop and get one that has a 0-5K throttle that is for a series wound motor, don't pay more then $150 for it if it's used, $100 is good, they tend to be 36v or 48v 200 to 250 amp speed controllers, plenty of power for a bike! with the low power you are drawing it will never wear out or cut back it's output.