Powabyke x24 spares problem

johnc461165

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 19, 2011
546
22
WN6
A friend of mine has a motor that has shed teeth on the nylon gears inside the motor.
The bike is only 2 years old, I contacted Powabyke regarding obtaining new gears or a replacement wheel and price.

Their reply was quick and directed me to their motor expert, I phoned and enquired about the parts or a new wheel, I was offered a wheel that was not likely to have the wires intact for £60. I spoke to my mate and he decided to contact the Electric bike shop, we sent photos of the bike, and the connector plug to the wheel, only to be told that a replacement was not available. We have decided to buy the wireless wheel and hopefully fit the gears to the old wheel to get him back on the road.

So we have a seller who directs us to second hand faulty spares and does not even offer a price for a new wheel, is this the way to build confidence in e bikes or Powabyke in particular, personally I think not, I consider this to be abysmal service. :mad::mad:
 

shemozzle999

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 28, 2009
2,826
686
Hi John,

The motor looks Bafangy to me.
Do you know how many teeth and the O/D of the gear?
Any chance of a photo of the gear wheels/freewheel assembly and the cable connector?
 
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johnc461165

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 19, 2011
546
22
WN6
001.jpg006.jpgbafang gear.jpg
013.jpg
The gears are 38mm dia with 36 teeth. I have tracked some down from Greenbikekit in China which are for the Bafang motors same dimensions and the same bearing number. The free wheel assy is identical to the Bafang one I will do a photo of that later
 
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flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,765
30,351
Agree with Frank, the hubshell gear rack will need to be changed as well, it usually suffers just as much from the damage.

One problem with spares for the X24 motors is that the motor was changed at least once and possibly twice. The model was introduced with their old brush motor originally but that was then changed to a brushless one from another supplier. If your one is anything to go by, it seems they may have made a further change to Suzhou Bafang motors, and these changes all in a short space of time.
 

johnc461165

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 19, 2011
546
22
WN6
Thank's for your comments unfortunately the wheel has been ordered by my friend so we shall have to see how things go, I didn't see any gear rack damage but it's something to be checked in detail.
 
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shemozzle999

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 28, 2009
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686
Hi John,

Was the ring gear nylon, all my Bafangs are steel?

Your photo shows the gear wheel still attached to the stub axle, this is normally a press fit into the freewheel unit and the gear wheel is held in place by a circlip.

Maybe it worked loose causing the teeth to mis-mesh hence their failure.
 

johnc461165

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 19, 2011
546
22
WN6
Hi shemozzle999, that photo was a photo I picked up off the net for info only and the stub is secure with no movement at all, yes the ring gear is steel with obviously no signs of damage.

Looking at the motor stickers on it say 36v 20" if that means that the motor is intended for a 20" wheel then it has been overloaded from day one.
 

johnc461165

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 19, 2011
546
22
WN6
Well, the wheel arrived from The Powabyke wheel man, very happy the wheel it was brand new but the cable was cut off flush with the axle which was quoted at the time. Transferred the free wheel and planetary gear assy to the old motor wheel and all is well. So I must say thank you for getting something that exceeded my expectations and my friend is now back on the road. Does anyone know where the multi core cable used on this bike may be available. Thanks John.
 

shemozzle999

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 28, 2009
2,826
686
Well, the wheel arrived from The Powabyke wheel man, very happy the wheel it was brand new but the cable was cut off flush with the axle which was quoted at the time. Transferred the free wheel and planetary gear assy to the old motor wheel and all is well. So I must say thank you for getting something that exceeded my expectations and my friend is now back on the road. Does anyone know where the multi core cable used on this bike may be available. Thanks John.
I have a 9 pin cable (3 phase wires + 6 control wires) with the new weatherproof connector available John but it is not compatible with the Bafang connector shown so the mating half would need to be replaced and terminated with connectors matching the existing ones at the controller end:

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/classifieds/10407-replacement-motor-cables.html#post124530
 
D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
Looking at the motor stickers on it say 36v 20" if that means that the motor is intended for a 20" wheel then it has been overloaded from day one.
Motors for a 20" wheel have a higher winding speed so that they can spin faster and give you a higher top speed. There's no difference in the gears, axle or any other parts, so no chance that mechanical parts can be over-stressed. There is, however, a chance that you could burn out the motor if you make it labour up long hills. You should be able to get speeds of well over 20mph with the controller's speed limit released.

Nearly all motors are standard fitting. If your motor packs up for whatever reason, you can use the opportunity to upgrade to a better one ( quieter, more torque, faster, etc). You don't have to get one from the original supplier.

Many different motors share components. Xiongfeng make some Bafang clone motors, branded Xofo. Parts like the castings, clutch and gears will normally come from the same source as the the motor they've cloned, but someone might come up with a cheaper alternative part, or they might still be able to buy old parts at a knock-down price that were modified by the original manufacturer. The material for the gears has been upgraded several times even though they look the same. There's no way to determine which ones you've got. Often OEMs have then without the branding,so it's not easy to identify the actual manufacturer of the motor on your bike, but their identity is often encoded in the long number stamped on the side (the first two letters).
 

shemozzle999

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 28, 2009
2,826
686
Our new Chinese member mwmotor (Jane) might be able to source an original Bafang cable for you - try PM'ing her.
 

johnc461165

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 19, 2011
546
22
WN6
Our new Chinese member mwmotor (Jane) might be able to source an original Bafang cable for you - try PM'ing her.
Thanks for that shem, also your cable option looks good.

The ring gear on this motor is also a steel one so they be more common than suggested earlier.
 
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shemozzle999

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 28, 2009
2,826
686
Hi John,

Were there any clues as to why the gears failed?

I can only think that either the motor over heated softening the nylon teeth ( should be some evidence of bending before shearing) or it was a case of the nylon going brittle with age ( straight line shearing).
 

johnc461165

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 19, 2011
546
22
WN6
I think it was an age thing fail but now the bike has new gears and free wheel, the bike has covered about 3000 mls in 2 years. I think he is looking at the Kudos king to replace it if there are any more problems.
 
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shemozzle999

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 28, 2009
2,826
686
Now you have repaired it for him, well done by the way, it would be nice to think he would continue to use it, should be good for another 3000 miles, but now it is working it has some value as a secondhand bike so he could be tempted to trade up.;)

Not all ebikers are financially loaded, so £60 for a fast turnaround seems like a good deal especially if it is going to be required for regular commuting.
 
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jackhandy

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 20, 2012
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the Cornish Alps
AFAIK the king is no longer available unless you find old stock somewhere.

The Kudos Tornado is a better bike for about the same price.