Mongo, 48v 1000w 'Magic Pie' ehub on a Mongoose 'Snarl'

[Cobb]

Id considered getting 1 to add as a helping motor to my geo metro or Insight, then later considered getting 2 of them to mount to a trailer and maybe use said trailer tocarry the batteries. I was looking at 2 of the1000 watt 48 volt ones, I think they would deliver 45mph, however not sure how the tires would fair if the vehicle they are attached to went to 60 or so.

Do you think from your experience one of those motors would make any change on a vehicles fuel economy using it to use or pull a car?

[BarelyAWake]

Originally Posted by ecomodded

Love your eMTB, looks like a pleasure to ride and by the sounds of your long tests it is.
You mentioned corrosion issues with it which made me think of the corrosion issues boats have and that their sacrificially zinc Anodes could protect your bike,from corroding as well.

Thanks, it is very much a pleasure to ride - more than a little bit to my surprise actually... I had no idea, in fact I was convinced that compared to gas engines the "lackluster preformance" of a relatively low powered ebike would leave me underwhelmed, even disappointed, that it would prove to be no more than a novelty, a toy in comparison to my needs...

I was wrong

It is slower than my gasbikes - but the silence more than makes up for it and I think that's what I didn't anticipate & it's something that's a touch difficult to explain... it's like all the fun of perpetually going downhill on a bicycle but w/o the fuss & muss of a gas engine *shrug* a bit odd coming from a born motorhead, but there it is lol

The sacrificial zinc anode is a good thought & thank you, unfortunately for them to work properly they need be immersed/buried in the grounding field (such as underwater or underground) so it can become the point of lowest resistance. If it's isolated from the ground the electrons can't be discharged through it and a rubber tired vehicle is fairly well isolated... I'd need a grounding strap & drag it along behind me - which is potentially viable, but somewhat impractical.

Originally Posted by Cobb

Id considered getting 1 to add as a helping motor to my geo metro or Insight, then later considered getting 2 of them to mount to a trailer and maybe use said trailer tocarry the batteries. I was looking at 2 of the1000 watt 48 volt ones, I think they would deliver 45mph, however not sure how the tires would fair if the vehicle they are attached to went to 60 or so.

Do you think from your experience one of those motors would make any change on a vehicles fuel economy using it to use or pull a car?

The hub I'm using? Well, if this wasn't the ecomodder forum I'd say no, it'd not make a difference... but here it's well understood that every tiny little bit helps so I'll rephrase that to it'd not make a positive change worth the effort and expense lol

It's just not enough for significant automotive scale assistance, nor are they nearly durable enough for an automotive application even with as small & light a car as a Metro or Insight. 1000 watts is a mere 1.34hp & worse yet, most electric motors are somewhat self-limiting - as in they'll only reach a given RPM at their rated input. This particular hub motor reaches it's maximum at just over 25mph (also dictated by wheel diameter, in this instance it's a 26"), beyond that such as going downhill or w/e it simply increases drag... and adding drag is ofc not desired when trying to achieve a better fuel economy.

It's an issue I've worried about with even a smaller scale project, my http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ole-18414.html - while the electric will help to reduce fuel consumption during acceleration & thus contribute to fuel economy with "around town" stop and go traffic, as the cruise speed of the four stroke is in excess of the electric drive - will I have worsened fuel economy during prolonged "high speed" cruising due to this added drag? More than likely that's the case, the question unanswered yet is if it's enough to be a problem... in which case a clutched/freewheeled mid-drive may be a solution - but I've not gotten that far yet lol

Anyway, all is not lost - they make drives far more suitable for your interests and may well prove less expensive than doubling up these bicycle hub motors. Check out the 'Electric/Hybrid Car Conversion Kit' on goldenmotor.com for some examples. I can't outright recommend these motors as I've not used them ofc, but a 10kw (13.4hp) motor is $765 & a 5kw (6.7hp) a mere $446 (almost the same price as the 1kw bicycle conversion kit) and they've controllers designed for the needs & speeds of electric or electric assisted cars & motorcycles, I'd assume they're far more an economical choice in both investment and results

[Cobb]

Thanks, Ill look those up. I dont know how much my ac uses, but it can cost me 15mpg. I bet one of those hub wheel motor in its place could give me a +7?

[Grant-53]

Since the snow is falling here I suggest you take a peek at my coroplast fairing in the bike pic thread. Very cheap and easy way to gain 4 mph and keep the rain or snow off.

[BarelyAWake]

Mongo's first snow play day BTW;



& so it begins...

[radioranger]

Just wondering how much it all cost for everything and is there any commercially made bike you would recommend

[BarelyAWake]

Well this setup was a conversion kit, $400 for the kit itself & another $600 for the 15ah LiFePO4 battery pack (not including the bike ofc)... but to be honest I'm not well versed enough to "recommend" any particular kit over another, or even a complete pre-built commercially made bike save to say that a conversion is often more economical & is very, very easy as with a hub motor, it's just a wheel swap and adding a rack & controls.

There's such a diversity in possible alternatives and applications, it's tough to say which is "best" - much depends on what you may want...

[radioranger]

Thanks for the info and great job on documenting your bike.

[justme1969]

very cool. yes indeed cool we all should have one.

[BarelyAWake]

Thanks guys

hmm... I should prolly clarify that the "$400 for the kit" is an adjusted price, while it's more than I paid - that's for the new, updated GM MP3 which reportedly has better connectors & wiring (I've the old MP2) & the S&H is far less than it used to be, for w/e reason lol


There are ofc less costly alternates & as I "stole" the MP2 from my taddy project I figured I'd try a different one to replace it - here's an excerpt from the thread: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ole-18414.html as an example;

So I decided to experiment some more, to take a chance with a ever so slightly more powerful hub motor, yet one that doesn't have all the bells'n whistles... or reputation for customer support as it's a "generic" no name knock-off... but w/e lol, I s'pose we'll see *shrug*

It's from a fleabay merchant, so the listings expire and as I've not tested it yet I can't recommend it.... but it seems to have some potential, it's rather drab name is: 'Rear Hub Motor Kit with 26" Rim, 7 Speed Gears Flywheel and Brake Disk' which supposedly is capable of up to 1200w from;

items in moreBatteryStore store on eBay!



...for a mere $250, I'm willing enough to give the kit a shot, but ofc that doesn't include the pesky batteries - the real cost of an electric setup.

...not particularly surprising, there were some issues - they sent me the incorrect controller (36 instead 0f 48v) & there was a small amount of damage to the rim - both of which they offered to make good on via a warranty return, which I didn't bother with as I've decided to use the 36v and I upgrade rims in any case lol

I've tested it (stationary run-up) & it seems to function fine, can't really tell much more at this stage as it's off getting a new rim laced on. It is about a 1/2" wider that the typical multi-speed chainstay width so some spreading is in order... but I figured I'd mention it anyway as it does seem a good deal