Nihola cargo trike, Bafang or Sunstar?

gpg

Finding my (electric) wheels
Apr 25, 2015
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Again, what a great community. Thanks a lot for the help so far. I will try and update the thread with some pics and my experience once everything has been ordered and I get on with the retrofit!
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
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Still not sure if we can use the Bafang 46 tooth chain ring in place of the current 38 tooth, and just go for highest possible tooth count rear sprocket i can find.
The largest rear sprocket for hub gears is 24 teeth, SRAM and Shimano sprockest are compatible. One company launched a hub gear centre spider to which chainrings could be fitted for larger sprocket needs, but I can no longer find any trace of it.

There is a dodge you might be able to use for a smaller chainring on the Bafang though, bolt a chainring with the same number of spoke arms alongside with spacers. There's an illustration below from A to B magazine of a Powabyke adapted that way, in that case with a larger chainring. Chains can be run a bit out of line with almost no efficiency loss. Also the rear sprocket can be the dished kind fitted in some cases with the dishing outwards or inwards to suit.

Extra chainring.jpg
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Deleted member 4366

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Hub gears are not good with any Bafang or similar crank-drive because the motor runs on a bit after you stop pedalling, so you have to wait a bit before you can change gear. It's OK going downhill, but no good doing that up a steep hill.

A 500w crank-drive will break your hub-gears. A 250w one probably would too. It would just take a bit longer. The gears are only designed for human power.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
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A 500w crank-drive will break your hub-gears. A 250w one probably would too. It would just take a bit longer. The gears are only designed for human power.
Yes, took me four years but the SRAM P5 hub gear broke in the end with the Panasonic unit shifting loads.

York Couriers business use the SRAM S7 that the OP has on their heavy cargo trikes and consider that much tougher than the P5 I broke.

Another point is that the repair is dead simple on the SRAM gears, just swap in the whole insert from a new one into the wheel's shell, cost me just £89 on the P5, not bad after four years of very hard load work.
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anotherkiwi

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Jan 26, 2015
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I was just about to quote you on the 250W reprogrammed to 18amp part. This sounds a bit above my skills, would it just allow the motor to draw more power from the battery?
It gives you 350W (the difference between the two motors is the controller amperage). It will use the battery quicker.

As d8veh says, you need to stop the motor before changing gears (downshifting) and the easiest way is to install the supplied brake lever and just touch the rear brake before changing down when going up hill.
 
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Deleted member 4366

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Is anyone making a smaller chainring for the Bafang BBS02 kit, I need to drive the motor into 34 tooth or soemthing around that.
Any advice appreciated !
Is that for towing, otherwise why?
 

malkie0831

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anotherkiwi

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