Author Topic: Is my bike good enough?  (Read 19817 times)

Offline mike662

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Is my bike good enough?
« on: May 23, 2010, 01:02:58 AM »
Ok so I don't know where my last message went, so here's my question. I've finally decided to buy the 48V 1000W hub kit from goldenmotor.ca but have a few questions before I purchase. First, is this motor reliable for those who have it already? Second, will my aluminum Costco bike support it? Here is a picture of it:


BTW it would have the rear wheel kit. Also, is this decently easy to install by just following the instructions, or do you need to have a pretty good technical background to get this working? I read through the instructions online and they don't seem complicated. Thanks in advance everyone!
« Last Edit: May 23, 2010, 01:57:34 AM by Bikemad »

Offline Leslie

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Re: Is my bike good enough?
« Reply #1 on: May 23, 2010, 02:56:38 AM »
No.  ::)

Sorry just kidding.  :P

It looks awesome.

People say alloy frame can be a problem but I rode alloy with 27kg of lead acid and it was fine.  The hub was a rear hub.

Some more important questions need to be asked.

What is your max rider weight of anyone who may ride this bike?

How fast do you want to go?

What are your ambition for this bike.  Is it a town bike on flat roads?  Or is going off road?

Bring it on

Offline Leslie

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Re: Is my bike good enough?
« Reply #2 on: May 23, 2010, 11:45:45 AM »
As for the other stuff you asked.

The kit is easy to install.

You may want to hold out for the MP2 as the wheel is centred strong good for an aluminium frame.

MP2= very soon

20" MagicPie is under production now and will be available by end of May 2010. You need a special USB interface cable from us to program the controller. It supports reverse and other existing cruise controller functions.




The Magic Pie II.  20" cast rim.



Picture supplied by Yuan Yao (above)






Image and design modifications by Who42 in GM forums.



Yes Who42 was kind enough to offer support to all future customers and GM has taken some great suggestions on-board from all the good members here to make what GM is calling the best all round Ebike hub motor ever to be made..  The Magic Pie 2
« Last Edit: May 23, 2010, 11:58:28 AM by 317537 »

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Offline vapid2323

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Re: Is my bike good enough?
« Reply #3 on: May 23, 2010, 06:36:12 PM »
One minor thing, get a better bike lock! I can break that thing off in 5 seconds..

Plus your going to invest over 500 into this bike your going to want to upgrade that lock....

Outside of that looks like your going to have a great time.

Offline Hardcore

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Re: Is my bike good enough?
« Reply #4 on: May 23, 2010, 09:02:18 PM »
Excactly what he said, get a ART sertified lock or atleast a lock that's heavy duty and can withstand alot!

Offline Leslie

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Re: Is my bike good enough?
« Reply #5 on: May 23, 2010, 11:08:09 PM »
Steel is 3 times stronger than aluminium.  It is also 3 times heavier.

Anything that weighs the same as a steel frame will do it.

Nobody usually hauls the weight I do on my GM.

Lets see.

On an alloy frame much weaker then the above and no rear shockies.  I strap 27kgs of lead to the frame the . Then I place a approx 32kg child on the back rack with a pillow.   Then I place a child 22kg on the front bar on a pillow strapped ontop of the SLAs.  The I put a 5kg trailer onto my bike and a full grown adult of 57kg sits in the trailer..  I ride 16kms without any failure.

Lets see.

My alloy bike weighs 22kg  
Lead acid pack. 27kg
GM hbs hub      5kgs
rack, rubber straps and what not 5kg
first child 37kgs
second child 22kg
Me 70kg.    

Thats 166 kg with out the bike frame. and 188kg with frame

Trailer and passenger 63kgs.

Now we are up into the 250kg limit.  Then ride this bike doing similar stuff around for over a year at speeds exceeding 40kph. Until I melt the poor 36v motor.

Proof of melted motor.








My first 48v SLA build on an alloy frame. I took the crate off and fastened a pillow to the rack and rode 3 children to school and back.





My rear dropout.  Rather small compared to some aluminium frames.





How is his frame going to break in 5 seconds?

Many people have problems with the drop outs with front hubs a alloy forks.

Providing your dropouts are nice and strong don't worry unless you are a very large person.

If anything you may need a stronger rear shock.  Thats all and nothing more.





« Last Edit: May 23, 2010, 11:34:30 PM by 317537 »

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Offline mike662

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Re: Is my bike good enough?
« Reply #6 on: May 24, 2010, 01:15:57 AM »
Thanks for all the replies. So I guess I'll go ahead and get the 1000W kit. It seems that the older stuff breaks less than the MP. I'm 165lbs and I've been biking only few km trips that have small inclines but I can't be showing up all sweaty wherever I go so I need something fast. Also, my bike lock is 1/2" steel but I figured it could be easily broken if there is someone who has the tools. Where can I get a solid bike lock and what is the price of one?

Offline vapid2323

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Re: Is my bike good enough?
« Reply #7 on: May 24, 2010, 01:28:07 AM »
I would tell you to get a kryptonite, $50+ US
https://www.kryptonitelock.com/products/ProductDetail.aspx?cid=1001&scid=1000&pid=1100

Or get the one I got, each link in the chain is longer than my middle finger. (Dont get this unless your really worried lol):

https://www.kryptonitelock.com/OutletProducts/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?cid=1001&scid=1002&pid=1168

Offline mike662

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Re: Is my bike good enough?
« Reply #8 on: May 25, 2010, 03:12:02 AM »
Where can I buy such a lock in Toronto?

Offline vapid2323

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Re: Is my bike good enough?
« Reply #9 on: May 25, 2010, 05:42:29 AM »
Most Bike shops are going to have that brand I did a quick search and the guys below have what your looking for:

http://www.ucycle.com/products/accessories/kryptonite-evolution-mini
180 John St.
Toronto | Ontario | Canada
M5T 1X5
416 979 9733

Offline mike662

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Re: Is my bike good enough?
« Reply #10 on: May 27, 2010, 01:40:42 PM »
I just have a few more questions sorry! Will the torque at full throttle mess up my bike since it's made of aluminum? Is it possible to to put a bigger gear on my wheel to go faster? My gear shifter is not the grip-shift style or the other older style. It's the kind where you use your thumb to push on the buttom to go up to a higher gear, and click with your index finger to go down a gear. This shifter is attached to the brake handles. Is it possible to attach these shifters to the brake handles on the GM controller? And finally, does anyone have a GM motor fitted bike in the Markham/Thornhill area that they could demo? I'd like to see the thing in real life before spending $1k on everything. Thanks for all the help so far everyone!

Offline Leslie

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Re: Is my bike good enough?
« Reply #11 on: May 27, 2010, 03:31:44 PM »
How much weight do you plan on pulling?

If you're are worried about the torque on the aluminium dropouts you can make up a torque arm just to be 100% sure...  Do your nuts up really tight but not so you pry your dropout appart,


The GM axle is thicker than a normal axle and it has machined flat edge on opposite sides so it fits snug into your dropouts.  This also avoids axle spin and bird nesting your wires,

Interesting story about aluminium dropouts

Some "nice" person tampered with my ride when my wife was out doing some shopping at night. . The loosened all four axle nuts front and rear, undone the handle bars and unbolted one brake calliper hinge allen bolt until almost falling out.  Packed a trialer full of stuff and rode it some distance.

She called me up on the mobile telling me there was something seriously up with the bike after she left outside the mall. The rear hub in an aluminium dropout survived all this without a hitch. A feat no one would normally tempt.

I think your dropouts should be fine.  The shifter will do fine as long as it is a shifter that can do the your gears and not a hub gear.

If your install goes well you will be elated with the MP regardless of it costing you 1k. cross fingers.  Gm are good on replacements if your hub doesnt work as expected but there is a due process to fault finding before you can get returns which some find frustrating.
« Last Edit: May 27, 2010, 03:34:34 PM by 317537 »

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Offline mike662

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Re: Is my bike good enough?
« Reply #12 on: May 27, 2010, 04:01:13 PM »
Sounds good. I'm not putting any weight on it except my 170lb self, so all should be good hopefully. Now I just need to wait to see one of these in real life and for the canadian dollar to go up a little!

Offline vapid2323

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Re: Is my bike good enough?
« Reply #13 on: May 29, 2010, 02:47:51 AM »
I am 265lbs an I get up to 25~30 mph with little effort, I still understand your concern it is a lot of cash.

Can you go to a bike shop and demo a bike there? It will most likely be 250w but at least you can get a idea... A 1000w bike kicks ass.

Offline mike662

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Re: Is my bike good enough?
« Reply #14 on: May 30, 2010, 08:14:46 PM »
I got a demo from Gary from goldenmotor.ca yesterday. Review can be found here: http://goldenmotor.com/SMF/index.php?topic=2206.0