Tongxin v. Bafang v. cyclone v. wisper 905e noise levels

[1967geezer]

I'm investigating the possibility of replacing my 2007 wisper 905e (tired battery & mechanics) with a home-made kit.

I have a million questions, so there might be a few more threads from me over the coming months, but I have to start somewhere, so I'll start with noise levels.

What I'd like to hear about is the comparison of various noise levels of the following with my current wisper bike.

• Tongxin
• Bafang
• Cyclone

I don't mind a little electrical whine, as I have at the moment with my wisper, but nothing much louder. What I don't want is to be scaring pedestrians out of their wits as I hurtle past at 100 decibels...

Any information is most welcome, thank you in advance.

Chris.

 

[themutiny]

I'm not familiar with the Wisper, but I do have both a Bafang and a Tonxgin.

The Bafang whines a bit whilst you get it up to speed or under load, but at optimum speed is silent. The Tonxgin on the other hand is near silent when working, even under load, but they can be a bit noisy on the over run, ie when NOT working. Noisy in this context is of course subjective.

regards

nick

 

[flecc]

Your Bafang motor is in the middle, the Tongxin is the quietest under load of any hub motor, while the Cyclone is quite noisy and very obvious.

To hear a Cyclone if you have Real Player, use the link below and on that page, scroll down to "The Beast of Park Street" photo and click on the words below, "Real Video - needs Real Player":

Cyclone UK
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[Orraman]

Have to agree with flecc on that, that is what you will hear if you ride with your ear down level with your bottom bracket.

However, I have a Cyclone on a recumbent and most times the sound of the wind through my hair is much louder than the Cyclone.

Dave

 

[flecc]

Have to agree with flecc on that, that is what you will hear if you ride with your ear down level with your bottom bracket.

Dave

True David, but I use that example since most videos of the Cyclone tend to be designed to mask it's noise. It's directly comparable with the noise the Currie motor makes and is a lot more than the norm for e-bikes these days.

Pedestrians who don't have wind rushing past their ears certainly hear a Cyclone coming, where a Bafang can be missed and the Tongxin Nano isn't noticed at all.
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[fishingpaul]

Did you know the wisper probably has a bafang motor.

 

[Orraman]

flecc,

Agreed again but I don't find the sound of the motor in any way annoying.

Perhaps it is not a bad thing to have pedestrians aware of one's approach, with the Panasonic motor there is a distinct feeling of sneaking up on the unsuspecting. That daft little 'pinger' exercises the thumb quite a bit for each encounter and gets a lot of use on the Gitane.

Where have those beautiful big double domed melodious ringers gone?

Dave

 

[flecc]

Where have those beautiful big double domed melodious ringers gone?

Dave

Yes, they do seem to have vanished, the fashion more for discreet miniature bells it seems. Maybe the Dutch have a better range, since bell use is part of their cycling etiquette.

Likewise the motor noise we've been discussing, the current fashion very much for silence in recent designs, Tongxin Nano, new Panasonic unit, Sparta direct drive motor etc all very quiet and Suzhou reducing their noise on the latest version.
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[1967geezer]

Thanks for the replies, interesting stuff.

So does the cyclone noise come from the motor itself, or is it chain noise?

If my current 2007 wisper does have a bafang in it then I could easily live with one of the newer ones, I've read they are quieter than the older ones.

Tongxin does sound best, but I must have disc brakes. I would have no trouble making any kind of bracket to enable me to mount the disc to the hub, but I can't really tell from online sources if this is feasible. Is there physically just not enough room to fit one between the motor and fork, or is the motor housing not man enough to take it, or is there another reason that eludes me.

Chris.

 

[flecc]

Most of the Cyclone noise is from the motor and it's integral gear reduction, and it's the uneven nature rather than the absolute level that's noticeable,the sound fluctuating up and down all the time, especially under high load as in hill climbing.

I doubt the Tongxin design could take a disc brake forces, the spindle is in two parts and the internal integrity of the roller drive track is crucial.

The Bafangs are all reasonable for noise as you know from your Wisper. eZee used to use them and still do on the Quando, but they have their own variant now which seems to be well rated by users, and it's also marketed as a kit which includes the disc brake:

eZee kit motor
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[fishingpaul]

The newer ezee motor as in the torq 2 and kits is good but not very discreet in size or voice, mine is much louder and bigger than my wisper 905e bafang motor.

 

[flecc]

Thanks for that information Paul, I'd wondered about the noise aspect of the new eZee motor since no-one has mentioned it before. I think they had an eye on the more important to them US market than ours with the design, making it more capable at higher powers.
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[daniel.weck]

The recording is not great, but here are videos of the Tongxin and Bafang motors running unloaded:

YouTube - Tongxin hub motor testing

YouTube - Bafang hub motor testing

 

[Straylight]

The Bafang, though being louder, certainly seems smoother, so to me would be a noise that's easier to ignore.

 

[flecc]

The Bafang, though being louder, certainly seems smoother, so to me would be a noise that's easier to ignore.

I'm afraid those tests are a bit misleading, neither is under load as they would be on the road. There the position changes since the Tongxin then loses that uneven sound. It's the drive method that causes this, the Suzhou Bafang's nylon gears have enough drag to apply a small load which makes the sound even, while the very free running roller drive of the Tongxin allows it to fluctuate it's speed at full revs with no load to hold it steady.

The only time the Tongxin produces any sound like that on the road is on the overrun, on drive it's quieter than the Suzhou and what little sound it produces then is stable.
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[jerrysimon]

Although somewhat misleading those test to me still show the Tongxin is quieter.

I have to say that after owning both the Tongxin and the Bafang I much prefer the Tongxin.

In the 250watt range if you want a subtle quiet small motor the Tongxin is the one to go for. If you want raw torque power and are happier with a slightly larger motor then the Bafang is your choice.

That said there are other motors in this category as well that I have not yet tried or seen.

Regards

Jerry

 

[flecc]

Fully agree Jerry, it's most evident when accelerating from low speeds when the Suzhou Bafang design can be very noisy with a combination of a growling whining sound. If moderately geared the Bafang can be very quiet at maximum speed on the flat, but at the slightest increase in load as on a slight upslope, the noise immediately increases.
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[1967geezer]

I had a little look at the motor on my wisper 905e today. I remembered it had a sticker on it somewhere, I also remembered that the sticker was black ink printed on transparent plastic, stuck to a black hub...

I peeled the sticker off, and in amongst all the Chinese characters I saw "8FUN", so I guess it is a bafang. I also saw '05 in there, I guess this means the year of manufacture.

I'm reasonably happy with the noise levels of the wisper, so if (as I understand it) the newer bafangs are at worst not noisier than the older ones I'll be quite happy with one of them.

Chris.

 

[flecc]

I peeled the sticker off, and in amongst all the Chinese characters I saw "8FUN", so I guess it is a bafang. I also saw '05 in there, I guess this means the year of manufacture.

Yes, it is a Suzhou manufactured motor Chris, Bafang (8fun) being the Chinese model name.
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