Powabyke X24 Motor Noise

[tony6403]

I am quite pleased with my Powabyke having now made and fitted a retainer to stop the battery jumping off the frame but it does sound like a milk float when under load.
Is there any way of silencing the motor as it is somewhat embarrassing ?

 

[emissions-free]

If it's noisey it's likely to be a geared hub motor. I get the impression the bike is newly purchased. I thought that a slightly noisey hub motor I've used seemed to got a little quieter with some use but maybe just my mind playing tricks as I got used to noise.

These internally geared hub motors can be noisy but do not necessarily need to be excessivley noisey. It is very much model specific and unfortunately if your motor just happens to be rather noisey by design there's not much you can do apart from change it for another type. However if it is excessively noisely I'd recommend you get someone with some experience to have a listen as it could have an issue.

The other thing that may ease your embarassment a little and give you a bit more exercise at the same time, is to use the pedals more to get the bike up to speed along with some motor assistance and then use the motor to maintain. Even noisy hub motors are much quieter when just maintaining a steady speed and you'll go a bit further on the battery too, as an added bonus

 

[flecc]

The Powabyke brush motor is an old design brush motor and it is more noisy than many current designs. There's nothing that can be done to reduce the noise which is intrinsic to the design, but that design makes it superior in one important way to other geared hub motors. The benefit is that it's drag free when freewheeling since all of the internal components are within the freewheel action, only the hub shell turning with the wheel. Virtually all other geared hub motors have the orbital gears permanently engaged with the hub shell so they have to turn all the time when freewheeling, creating drag when freewheeling downhill or when cycling without power on.

As such a long established motor it does also have a very good reliability record so there are considerable upsides to the additional noise it makes. These same things are true of the long established and highly respected Heinzmann hub motors which are similar in design.
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[emissions-free]

Sorry, didn't realise brushed motors were still being used Will try to get my facts right in future. Lucky Flecc is around to put things right

 

[flecc]

Sorry, didn't realise brushed motors were still being used Will try to get my facts right in future. Lucky Flecc is around to put things right

No problem. . There's still the odd few brush motors around, chiefly Powabyke, Heinzmann, Synergie Mistral and some of those supplied by Alien. At one time Alien sent them out randomly, brush or brushless, but in response to customer concern said customers could specify which they got with kits, their brush motor a little more powerful. I don't know what they fit to their complete bikes though.
.

 

[Patrick]

I thought the motor was loud when I first got my Xbyke, but I hardly notice it now, apart from when I'm using it as an audio speedometer (as you go faster the pitch rises ).

Patrick

 

[fcurran]

I am quite pleased with my Powabyke having now made and fitted a retainer to stop the battery jumping off the frame but it does sound like a milk float when under load.
Is there any way of silencing the motor as it is somewhat embarrassing ?

Hi Tony, the motors will get quieter over time once they have been used a bit, but as Flecc says they are brushed motors so will always be noisier than brushless motors.

 

[fcurran]

I thought the motor was loud when I first got my Xbyke, but I hardly notice it now, apart from when I'm using it as an audio speedometer (as you go faster the pitch rises ).

Patrick

Very true! Luckily in Bath there is so much traffic around, the cars drown out the noise from the motor so it doesn't really bother me.