Powerpedals tonaro compy

[hoppy]

Just bought new bike! Silent motor drives pedal spindle through transfer gears then to rear wheel via 8 spd derailleur-works a treat-full throttle control and 3 level pedelec-excellent disc brakes-i love it. Better than 20 other bikes ridden! 36v 10ah ae

 

[flecc]

This looks like the old Yamaha bevel drive unit that they stopped marketing a few years ago. It was fitted to their PAS model, photo below.

A to B magazine say this was a bit moped like, but for anyone who likes that power on demand character, it can be a good choice.

 

[hoppy]

Thanks Flecc. Could be similar to the Yamaha motor design. Beautiful quality engineering. Completely silent. Made by China National Aero-technology Guangzhou Company Ltd. Just ridden up 1 in 6 hill with no pedalling.100 inch top gear.Bottom runs to 8 mph

 

[flecc]

I'm sure it is the Yamaha unit, and that performance seems to confirm it. They have probably bought the rights from Yamaha now they aren't using it. No bad thing though, it was used for several years in various models and was popular, especially on the continent. Powerful and very reliable.

There's a review of another Tonaro model in this forum, linked to below:

Tonaro BigHit review

 

[indalo]

Before reading this thread, I'd never heard of a Tonaro Compy and if pressed, I'd probably have guessed it was an exotic, Italianesque ice cream.

Determined to find out more, I checked out their website and was surprised, (I don't know why) to discover they're a British outfit operating out of Devon or somewhere a long way west of London. I have to say, the website was easy to use and I was actually quite impressed by the apparent quality of the machines at their respective price points. Now, I know things can look very different in the flesh, so to speak, and the only reports I've read so far are from owners. There may be independent test reviews somewhere that I haven't come across yet but even if the company is using old technology, they're one I hadn't heard of before today and, on the face of it, they are offering modern, attractive-looking bikes at pretty competitive prices.

I stand to be corrected by those who may know more of this company and their products but right now, I have positive feelings with regard to what I think the company wishes to offer and what they seek to achieve.

If you're reading this Mr Powerpedals Tonaro Compy, please message me before writing my commission cheque and I'll provide my a/c details.

Indalo

 

[hoppy]

Thanks.Yes,what positive reviews.Deserves to be better known.Certainly there's plenty of power.Top gear is 11 tooth, bottom 32 tooth.Pulls 8,10,12,13,15 mph in lowest 5 gears.Great fun to ride.Phil Hughes the importer is an engineer himself.Good stuff.

 

[vhfman]

Here is a bit more information on the Tonaro.
Powerpedals is the UK distributer for the Tonaro but of course they are made in China. The Tonaro site is being upgraded and is offline, so may be some new models coming? The parent company is the niftily named: China National Aero-Technology Guangzhou Company Limited.



A diagram of the Tonaro drive system.

I recently found another Chinese company called Eastsunworld, they have put together a central drive system kit. Unfortunately their site appears to be down at the moment. There are some Youtube videos of the assembly process of their system showing the mounting of the motor on a special bracket attached to the frame on the Bottom Bracket. It looks very cheap and cheerful; using the same motor as the Tonaro Bighit, but has a chain drive onto the front chain ring of the crank rather than the geared system used on the Tonaro.

Here is copy of an email from Eastunworld re: the central drive kit, with their spelling and grammar:-

Thank you for your interest. You can check the fitting process from this link then you will know on our pedelec kit.

YouTube - ebike e-bike electric bike video on conversion kit

It is easy to fit within half an hour.

The specification id the list of all inclued parts on our conversion kit. All our parts are chosen the No.1 on China or all the world.

The price on our pedelec kit within battery is US $ 870 per set. We don't sell seperate. So we don't sell without battery.


There is some points on our special and unique supplier which are different from other suppliers:

1.We had INTERNATIONAL PATENT on our PEDELEC KIT.

2.Our Pedelec kit is the No.1 Central Drive System conversion kits for normal bike.

3.Our Central Drive Technology which apart from YAMAHA, has gained the support of SANYO, PANASONIC and many other manufacturers. Our biggest advantage on our central drive technology:1. High torque. 2 Low and central weight point.3. Resistant Force.(The details on advantage you can check the attachment)

4.We have the patent of the central-drive system and the EN15194:2009 certifications

5.Our Electric Vehicle is the technology founder in China, after 5 years of R&D and 4-year market test, our system has become the most mature Central Drive System in China.

6.Thei PEDELEC KIT is our new product.We take research on it more than 10 years.Itis the most potential products nowdays.

7.All our equipment and fitting on conversion kit and e-bike are according the Europe standard.(You can check the fitting in conversion kit on attachment).We have CE certification on our conversion kit.

8.Best battery.Our battery comes with a 36v 10ah (360wh) lithium battery. It is Li-Polymer (10AH36V).

9.Unique motor. ES electric bikes have a unique mid mounted motor. This clever design allows us to achieve more climbing power with lower battery use. It also allows the full use of the gears under power which is a great advantage over other hub driven electric bikes. The power is controlled by using the twist throttle.

10.patent crank drive system. ES electric bicycles has a patented crank drive system that produces up to 90Nm of torque whereas most common hub drives would struggle to produce more than 40Nm. This gives East Sun electric bicycles a big advantage when climbing hills, making it perfect for the local terrain.

11.ES electric bicycles are manufactured an ISO 9001:2008 quality system, ensuring consistently good products built to our demanding standards. We have CE and EN15194 certified.East to import under legal.

If any question, please feel free to contact us.

Best regards,

Yuki

I don’t know if the site is down because they are working on it or the company has folded?

Their website was HERE so I will keep an eye on it to see if it comes back online.
http://www.eastsunworld.com


There is also a French importer of the Tonaro system; they seem to have developed other models based on the drive system with the latest range just being released in June. They seem to be a higher spec bike than the Chinese version, at least one with Rolhoff hub gears.

Here is a link to the Google translate of the French Electric'Bike site.

Chris

 

[kitchenman]

good investigative work Chris. Its what I originally thought I needed on my SM. I should stick to that and stop messing about thinking out hub motors ...

 

[hoppy]

Thanks for posting all that vhfman.The system certainly works well. It's worth a trip down to South Molton to try one like I did last week. Phil Hughes came with me on a Bighit. He's got a good hill nearby.Spares are reasonably priced too.Needs publicity!

 

[funkylyn]

This looks like the old Yamaha bevel drive unit that they stopped marketing a few years ago. It was fitted to their PAS model, photo below.

A to B magazine say this was a bit moped like, but for anyone who likes that power on demand character, it can be a good choice.

Have just been on their site and there is a new step thru coming soon.....the ESPRIT.......before I get TOO excited....is this really a crank drive WITH throttle ?????? ...... am I getting confused ?.......or have I possibly finally found my new bike ????????

Its looking good but wish the battery was bigger.......anyone know if bigger ones are available ?

Lynda

 

[hoppy]

Quite right,funkylyn, it's a crank drive with a throttle; that's what attracted me too. As far as I know, it's the only one on the UK market as a complete bike. There are some kits,of course. 36v10ah battery is big enough I think.Should do 30 miles or so

 

[funkylyn]

Any idea if they are open today hoppy ?
cant reach them by phone....dont suppose you have a mobile for them ?
Lynda

 

[allen-uk]

Hoppy:

Could you tell me how the throttle/pedelec works? I've had a look at their web site, and it's a bit confusing - it seems you have to SWITCH between throttle operation and pedal-assisted operation. Is that the way it works?

Thanks.

Allen

 

[hoppy]

funkylyn, I've sent you a private message re phone no. allen, the throttle simply overrides the pedal assist The left thumb switch selects power assist level. The right hand one is on or off for the motor.Simple in use!.

 

[flecc]

This Yamaha bevel drive system lost out to the Panasonic powered Giant Lafree Twist series at the start of the last decade, partly on price and partly because the cycling bias of the Giant was preferred at that time. The three Yamaha models were more motor power biased.

Judging by the interest in this thread, maybe the system was a decade too early!

Oddly enough, Giant also made a motor-biased bevel drive Lafree first, but dropped it in 2001in favour of the Panasonic system. And now to complete the reversals, Yamaha having dropped the bevel drive now make a system that closely copies the Panasonic one.

 

[funkylyn]

This Yamaha bevel drive system lost out to the Panasonic powered Giant Lafree Twist series at the start of the last decade, partly on price and partly because the cycling bias of the Giant was preferred at that time. The three Yamaha models were more motor power biased.

Judging by the interest in this thread, maybe the system was a decade too early!

Oddly enough, Giant also made a motor-biased bevel drive Lafree first, but dropped it in 2001in favour of the Panasonic system. And now to complete the reversals, Yamaha having dropped the bevel drive now make a system that closely copies the Panasonic one.

Flecc..........what is a bevel drive....how does it differ from the panasonic system ?

Lynda

 

[TylerD]

What a nice looking bike, Hoppy. I'm on the lookout just now and the combination of the silent drive drive and throttle sounds just the thing. The range would be a problem for me though, I wonder if there 's any possibility of a bigger battery becoming available soon or if it would be feasible for a 2nd battery battery to be hooked uo to take over or to share the load?

I see that there's a stepthrough coming out but the bar on the Compy looks fairly low too. Hoppy, if you have time I wonder if you could possibly let me know the distance from the ground on the Compy, in other words how high do you have to lift your leg to get on? (sorry, couldn't think of any other way of putting that!)
If you could that would be very much appreciated.

My other question is aftersales. I wonder anyone has any advice on how specialised a job it would be service and repair this system, as it doesn't seem to be in general use. For example , should a dealer who services Panasonic bikes be able to deal with the Compy?

 

[flecc]

Flecc..........what is a bevel drive....how does it differ from the panasonic system ?

Lynda

The motor is in line with the frame, so the drive has to go through right angle gears called bevel gears due to their 45 degree tooth face angles. This is a little less efficient than having the motor gear in the same plane as the rest of the bike's transmission. The Panasonic motor sits across the frame so it's shaft is able to drive a gearwheel and the bike's chain directly.

 

[hoppy]

Tyler, the frame is 19 inches above ground. The battery has a rack on it so you might be able to mount another on top. Any ebike shop should be able to service it. Maintenance requirements are minimal.

 

[shep]

I have a Tonaro Bighit which has the same drive system as the compy, my wife will be getting a compy shortly. These bikes are remarkable, i have just been out for a 50 mile ride, on a 10ah battery. When i left the battery was fully charged when i returned it had just gone from 2 green lights to 1, that is out of 4 green lights. That is fantastic efficiency as the bike was on MAXIMUM ASSIST for the whole ride. The skill seems to be to match the gears against the motor torque. It is very, very powerful and will go up most hills in 3rd gear and will climb up the side of a house in 1st or 2nd gear. These bikes are also very well made all i have changed is the saddle for a gel comfort saddle. Highly recommended and great value for money.