Best place to buy Bafang motors ?

[cirrus18]

Best place to buy Bafang motors ?

Anybody know where I can buy one of these motors inexpensively.

 

[AndyOfTheSouth]

Hi Cirrus

I posted this on a recent thread about sourcing components from China. I've not dealt with him, but others on this forum have:

In case any of it is of any use to anyone, here are the details of Bafang motors from Keywin Ge (ecrazyman@gmail.com).

SWXK motor price is $185 included shipping, the motor and controller are bought together, the total price is $215.

SWXK is the front motor for 26" wheel - Keywin can install disc brake but not a freewheel.

The rear motor model is SWXH – he can install a standard seven speed freewheel and disc brake but not the freewheel.

The price for either is $175 included shipping.

The motor is 36v/250w. If needed he can add pedal sensor feature for the controller.

I have simply taken these details from emails he sent me (very promptly). I have no idea about their value, etc.

PS have just remembered the following suggestion by Daniel on the same thread:

Bafang QSWXK-Front E-Bike DC Brushless Motor 150~250W on eBay (end time 02-Oct-09 01:21:25 BST)

It would be interesting to hear how you get on.

Andy

 

[Fecn]

I haven't tried this place myself, but found a long forum thread somewhere with people trying them with success for getting LiFEPO4 cells. I bookmarked them because of the super-low prices, however, they also appear to sell Bafang hub motors.

BMSBATTERY - The Art Of LiFePO4

 

[cirrus18]

Thanks for your replies but in replies to another posting of mine, where I was looking for a very low drag freewheel motor, it seems that the Tongxin is the one to go for.
In this case where can I buy one of these motors at a good price?

 

[flecc]

Gettig the Tongxins at any price is a bit of a problem, nanomotor.co.uk being hopeless to deal with and Tongxin won't supply direct.

Daniel Weck posted this German site which has some of the Tongxin and Bafang motors and kits at reasonable prices, translation link below:

Das Elektrorad von Frank Scheftlein: Komplette Pedelec- / Elektrofahrrad Umbausätze und Ersatzteile von Bafang, Puma (eZee), Tongxin u.a.

Translation to English
.

 

[Andrew harvey]

Frank has a few in stock but he's moving to China shortly. This should be realy usefull, you will be able to get European service at reduced prices.
Check out his 3 speed cruise control. They are realy good, if you use low power for town and slow speed, and only the medium setting for hills, with the high power setting for cruising, you can extend range and protect your batteries and controller from long high currents. It works with a pedal action sensor so you only get power when the pedals are turning.

 

[AndyOfTheSouth]

Hi Andrew

This looks very promising. Naive question, perhaps: do you deal with Frank in English or German. Also, do your comments relate to a Bafang or Tongxin?

Progress in the hunt for the Holy Grail?!?

Andy

 

[daniel.weck]

I've been negotiating and sorting out technical details with Frank for the past few days. I've ordered 2 motor kits from him (Tongxin and Bafang), I'll be posting my project logs here to share my DIY experience By the way, I intend to purchase a Ping battery (36V 10Ah v2.5 LifePo4), but if you know any better/cheaper please let me know.

Frank is a well-respected supplier on the German Pedelec forum. Like you said though, he is moving to China in October, to develop his business. He knows Keywin Ge very well and the controllers he supplies are indeed eCrazyman ones. Frank speaks good English, but he is overwhelmed with orders at the moment (since he came back from Eurobike '09), in fact he is taking a couple of days off now to have a rest.

Frank's controllers come programmed with custom parameters to match the individual motors requirements. The "3-speed" handlebar switch in indeed a nice feature, it works by specifying 3 distinct "power" thresholds using percentage values. I'm not sure if the Pedal Assist Sensor is used only to prevent the use of throttle-only, or if it adapts the motor speed continuously depending on the rider's pedal input.

For those who like me wish to challenge their DIY skills, you should definitely spend some time on the German Pedelec forum (using Google translate, for example), or better: the English-spoken Endless Sphere forum (lots of great geeky hackers there, brace yourself if you're not into electronics, soldering resistors, etc. ).

Cheers, Daniel

 

[didi28]

Frank's controllers come programmed with custom parameters to match the individual motors requirements. The "3-speed" handlebar switch in indeed a nice feature, it works by specifying 3 distinct "power" thresholds using percentage values. I'm not sure if the Pedal Assist Sensor is used only to prevent the use of throttle-only, or if it adapts the motor speed continuously depending on the rider's pedal input.

The controller wants only to know, whether you pedal or not. In the legal 3-Speed-Mode, the motor will only work, if you pedal. The motorspeed depends only on the manuel 3-Speed-Switch, which can be programmed with custom parameters. For example, ca. 10km/h, 20km/h, 30km/h.

If you plug in the throttle, you can drive without pedaling, which is, at least in Germany, illegal. You can legalise it for example by using the "throttle-free-switch" of Kwasy wheels: Home.
Now you can also get a new 3-Switch-Display from Das Elektrorad von Frank Scheftlein: Komplette Pedelec- / Elektrofahrrad Umbausätze und Ersatzteile von Bafang, Puma (eZee), Tongxin u.a., which makes out of every primitive Controller (Pedaling=MotorON / Not Pedaling=MotorOFF) a 3-Switch-Controller or out of the 3-Switch-Controller 9 switches.

http://www.das-elektrorad.de/Bilder/display.JPG

For those who like me wish to challenge their DIY skills, you should definitely spend some time on the German Pedelec forum (using Google translate, for example),

As a moderator of the Pedelec-Forum I say: Thank you for the recommendation ! But this forum here is nice, too !

 

[monster]

i heard the tongxin motors were plagued with problems and not to tough them with a barge-pole. Bafang, at only a kg heavier, seems like the way to go. probably there wont be any difference in free wheeling ability between the two. surely they either do it of don't.

 

[didi28]

i heard the tongxin motors were plagued with problems and not to tough them with a barge-pole. Bafang, at only a kg heavier, seems like the way to go. probably there wont be any difference in free wheeling ability between the two. surely they either do it of don't.

I drive a Mini-FWF, which is a clone of Tongxin:

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/59501-post28.html

I drove lots of pedelecs and motors. My point of view:

Tongxin/FWF is the weakest, but therefore the smallest, lightest and most noiseless motor I know. It is not a motor for very steep and long mountain-trips or very heavy persons, but a motor for people who want motor-support but also keep the character of a bicycle. It is not only lightweight, which makes it easy to drive without motor-support, but also the small diameter which reduces the force to accelerate it.

I think the bad image comes from the people who drive with too much voltage or ampere and e-bike drivers, who don`t want to pedal.

Tongxin/FWF is build for normal pedelec usage with a 10Amax controller at 36V and a 15Amax controller at 24V, 360W in both cases.

If you want more, take the Bafang. If you wan`t much more, take the Puma .

I love my Mini-FWF because no one sees or hears it and I still have a good motor-support and a far operating range because of low energy usage.

 

[flecc]

probably there wont be any difference in free wheeling ability between the two. surely they either do it of don't.

The gears in these hub motors drive the hub shell rack so are engaged all the time, the freewheel being between the motor and the gears. Therefore in freewheeling the orbital gears still have to be spun by the wheel all the time. The orbital gears mounting frame has to be fixed to the spindle to get any drive and cannot be freewheeled. So there's a big difference between the drag of the nylon toothed orbital gears in the Bafang motor and the smooth orbital roller drive of the Tongxin. Here's the Bafang final drive:

 

[HarryB]

I drive a Mini-FWF, which is a clone of Tongxin:

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/59501-post28.html

I drove lots of pedelecs and motors. My point of view:

Tongxin/FWF is the weakest, but therefore the smallest, lightest and most noiseless motor I know. It is not a motor for very steep and long mountain-trips or very heavy persons, but a motor for people who want motor-support but also keep the character of a bicycle. It is not only lightweight, which makes it easy to drive without motor-support, but also the small diameter which reduces the force to accelerate it.

I think the bad image comes from the people who drive with too much voltage or ampere and e-bike drivers, who don`t want to pedal.

Tongxin/FWF is build for normal pedelec usage with a 10Amax controller at 36V and a 15Amax controller at 24V, 360W in both cases.

If you want more, take the Bafang. If you wan`t much more, take the Puma .

I love my Mini-FWF because no one sees or hears it and I still have a good motor-support and a far operating range because of low energy usage.

Have you any pictures or information about the Mini-FWF? Where did you buy it and how much did it cost etc?

 

[didi28]

Have you any pictures or information about the Mini-FWF? Where did you buy it and how much did it cost etc?

I got it from Das Elektrorad von Frank Scheftlein: Komplette Pedelec- / Elektrofahrrad Umbausätze und Ersatzteile von Bafang, Puma (eZee), Tongxin u.a.. The whole kit with the programmable 3-Speed-Controller from ecrazyman costs EUR 260,00.

I already posted pictures here: http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/59501-post28.html

 

[AndyOfTheSouth]

Hi Didi - thanks for some great ideas - it's going to be very interesting to hear what's available in Germany. Also - your bike looks good!

 

[daniel.weck]

Latest Bafang / 8-Fun rear-hub motor kit, from Germany:

Bafang Hinterrad Fahrradmotor für Elekrofahrrad Pedelec on eBay (end time 09-Oct-09 11:35:27 BST)

Cheers, Daniel