GoldenMotor.com Forum
General Category => Reviews => Topic started by: mike662 on May 30, 2010, 01:27:43 AM
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Hi everyone! So I've been looking into getting an ebike kit for some time now and finally decided to get serious about purchasing. After reading through the forums and asking questions about anything that I could see being a potential problem, I figured that the 1000W 48V kit would be good for me and fit my bike. It would substitute the need for a car and allow me to get quick short rides to where I need to go as well as assist in longer rides.
Being a student with tuition and rent to pay (4 years of school, 3 semesters a year = year round school, yay), I needed to confirm with my parents before spending around $1k for the 1000W kit. Not to mention that my credit limit is also just slightly below what I needed to purchase :) So after talking with my dad about it, he was pretty fine with it as long as I could first see the product in real life.
I emailed Gary from GM Canada and after asking a few quesitons, including can I see the product, he agreed to show me his own bike. So off to Mississauga I went and not only did Gary bring one bike, he brought two! Correct me if I'm wrong here Gary, but if I recall correctly, the one bike had a 500W 36 volt rear hub wheel and the other had a 1000W 48V front. We took the bikes to some trails and I started off with the 500W bike.
The 500W was quite powerful. It smoothly accelerated up to its controller-limited speed of around 32kph I think and was able to maintain that on even slightly uphill paths. Going over a whole bunch of bumps with the bike also created no problems. On flat surfaces it took roughly 10 seconds I think before I could no longer feel acceleration coming out of the wheel. Gary was easily able to outrun me on the 1000W bike however, as it was not speed limited. The 500W had a twist throttle, which made it kind of awkward to hold in the full-throttle position without readjusting my grip.
After riding the 500W for a little while, Gary and I switched up and I tried out his 1000W bike. This bike had the thumb-throttle installed and I found it much easier to use. I could instantly feel the greater acceleration of this bike right from the start. Travelling down a flat road, the bike would accelerate quite quickly and then start to accelerate less and less as it went faster. With the 500W motor I could tell that the acceleration stopped once I reached a certain speed (32km/h) but with the 1000W, it kept accelerating until the force of the wind balanced the force from the wheel. I tried making myself more aerodynamic and could feel the speed creep up a little then, which also showed that the motor was not speed limited. At the speed that the 1000W brought me to I felt like it was plenty fast but not at a speed where I would consider a wipeout to be dangerous (ie. more than road rash or a broken arm).
The regenerative braking on both bikes was very good. Most of the time I did not even need to pull the brakes harder to activate the regular brakes. What I like most about the regen braking is not so much that it recharges the battery, but that it saves wear on the regular brakes.
As we rode our bikes along we got a few looks of interest. I like how inconspicuous the entire setup is. People probably didn't realize for a few moments that the bikes were propeled by a motor. If it weren't for the battery hanging off the back then it would be really hard to tell.
All in all the entire kit seems to have a good reputation and the product prooved itself to me today. When I got back home I purchased the 1000W 48V hub motor from goldenmotor.ca with a 12ah 48V battery and a couple other accessories such as the seat-post rack and the gear removal tool. I plan on putting it on my bike that I bought from Costco a few years ago (I’ll include a picture). I’ll update when I get the kit and have it installed. I can’t wait to give it a try and thanks for the demo and all the help Gary!
The picture with the front hub motor is me on Gary’s 1000W bike.
PS: For some reason the pictures aren't showing up when I log out of my account, which means no one else can see them either. As a temporary fix I've uploaded them elsewhere and provided links.
http://picasaweb.google.ca/mike662/Bike#5477158118112277682 (http://picasaweb.google.ca/mike662/Bike#5477158118112277682)
http://picasaweb.google.ca/mike662/Bike#5474263357066330930 (http://picasaweb.google.ca/mike662/Bike#5474263357066330930)
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Wow being graced with a personal visit GM Canada Gary and taken for a joy ride.
Did you show Gary your planed conversion?
Were you elated by the whole experience?
I was astounded by the power and the quietness of the BLDC.
Ive towed some serious weight on a GM HBS36v 500 watt. I just keep loading more and more over a year until I melted the motor.
There is something about the whole setup that when its going to spec seriously kicks like a mule.
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My wife weighs 50 kg and is a small girl.
She brought this ship into dock single handed.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c251/soulelectronique/Thehose.jpg)
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c251/soulelectronique/Shopping.jpg)
There are 40 litres of potting mix, 20 litres of milk and juice and lots of tins and frozen food in that haul and the 48v SLAs weigh 27kgs. Without going through my whole shopping list yes a lot of weight.
Sadly the next week she finally out did the motor trying to out do the last weeks shop and I could smell melting motor and I hosed it down to cool it. 2 days later the hall sensor blew.
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Hi Mike
Yes you are correct on the motor sizes. I am glad you enjoyed the ride. I am always looking for an excuse to go for a ride so our meetup was fun for me too. I especially liked the look on your face after running the 1000w bike up and street. Also when I asked which bike you would like to ride back to our meeting spot you said "I'll take the 1000w". Thanks for writing about your experience, we take alot of slamming around here sometimes. It is nice to read something positive.
Enjoy the ride! (i guess you did)
Gary
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Wow being graced with a personal visit GM Canada Gary and taken for a joy ride.
lol, very funny Leslie! Im always looking for an excuse to go for a ride. Last night we were out for a long night ride by the lake with 3 ebikes. It sure was fun. When I was leaving with my friends my wife said "didn't you already go for a ride earlier today", I said yes but that was business, this is for pleasure!
Gary
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Wow being graced with a personal visit GM Canada Gary and taken for a joy ride.
Did you show Gary your planed conversion?
Were you elated by the whole experience?
I was astounded by the power and the quietness of the BLDC.
Ive towed some serious weight on a GM HBS36v 500 watt. I just keep loading more and more over a year until I melted the motor.
There is something about the whole setup that when its going to spec seriously kicks like a mule.
Yup I brought the bike that I will convert along with me. The experience was great. I watched a bunch of youtube videos beforehand so I kind of knew what to expect but it was awesome and encouraging to actually try it out in real life.
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Yeah this is the stuff of real people. There is nothing in the natural world like our unique human instinct to help each other out.
Interesting.
This video is the real deal. Chimps have this extrodinary short term memory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX4lV3QC56I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX4lV3QC56I)
This video is an extract from a documentry called Smarter Than Ape. There is a point to this post so read on.
Some scientists were baffeld as to why we humans were the most enterprising species of the primates as our humble chimp demonstrated some awesome smarts.
No human can beat any chimp in the test seen in the above clip. No tricks either.
Why humans prevailed is, that although chimps could almost equal humans in every aspect of mental performance, however we demosntrated a unique ability that they lack.
Where we humans are superior, is vocal communication and the ability to aid and help each other, better commucication was not enough. Chimps could not do anything unless it advantaged themselves, we on the other hand, have the unique instinct to help each other beyond our selfish needs. That is the more evolved humans in this world.
I love this video because it makes me feel stupid but a better person in that I too like to help others. I don't know why though.
I just wanted an excuse to post the video. LOL Its amazing really.
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Just a little more on the chimp thing.
Chimps can aid each other and they demotrated that in the documentry. But always the dominant chimp would get the all rewards and they showed no ability to share. Repeating the combined task test a second time showed the non domiant chimp would not help at all.
Even a 4yo child can point to where something is, a lolly under a cup to its peer so that the peer can get the reward (lolly) but it will cry if you do not share. :'(
a chimp can only show hand signs of wanting and taking. What this has to do with 1000 watt hubs? We wouldnt have any such things if we couldnt share and help each other.
That chimp reminds me of some of the people we all know too well, don't you think? Think politics. ;D
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Leslie, I have to say that is the most off topic reply I have seen in the forum. I think you deserve more then a PHD
Gary
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Do I sense some pun directed at me Les?
LOL ;D
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i'm just sad i'm like 5000miles away from any of you. but guess what? I have the dual drive and non of you have it. (evil grin).
Oh and just to make all of you even more jealous, I have the version II prototype.
WOW, and please... what's fun about a 60V limit when I can do 72? on a DUAL DRIVE. hah!
oh and yeah, I can get it for wholesale price because i'm selling it to myself. and... oh wait, I don't have to pay for it anyway.
oh my, and I glad you guys are jealous.
ok, a few weeks from now i'm supposed to get this scolding from my general manager and i'm going to apologize to all of you here and sooner or later, have to start selling the dual drive. ok...
anyway, I was thinking that what gary did was nice, showing the bike around and stuff. you guys shoulda seen the look on this 200lb dude when he rode the dual drive. he was like "omg and I thought I would never settle for electric".
ok I think I had a little too much to drink. I should be sober in 10 hours and delete this post soon. haha, enjoy your big cup of no-dual-drive jealousy.
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Dudes... on second thought, I was wondering why I posted that..?
oh yeah and hey what's up? I sense that leslie is referring to me as a chimp? maybe not, probably not lol. you know why? COS I"M THE ADMIN AND I'M SO DRUNK WITH MY internet POWERS... hahaha
ok what is going on here? is everyone else drunnk on long island tea?
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Geez Yao where have you been under a rock?
You just replied to an email today after 2 weeks lol everything has already been sorted. Haha made me laugh
Anyway Yao we understand you need dual drive now to carry the extra weight of your big head ;)
hehe
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haha, enjoy your big cup of no-dual-drive jealousy.
I hate to burst your bubble (actually it's fun!) but I have had at least one customer build his own Dual Drive. I can't recall his name but he did figure out how to wire it up by posting in the forum somewhere. Maybe he will read this and jump in.
Gary
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oh no... I was way too wasted yesterday...
it's all the bar's fault for letting me use that computer.
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Leslie, I have to say that is the most off topic reply I have seen in the forum. I think you deserve more then a PHD
Gary
Sorry nobody here is a chimp or has been refered to as a chimp. Quite the opposite.
LOL, I was just stating that the added help Gary was extending to his customers by taking Mike for a test ride and what not, was indeed a very human thing. Unlike that we see in the animal world.
I did get a little emotional due to all the comradery going on in at the forums at the time. I was totaly straight too. I guess this type of emotion doesnt come through my font like I thought and there is my disability to consider in this. I have Aspergers logic and OCD subtypes.
Aspergers.Logic (http://life.familyeducation.com/aspergers/behavior/40203.html)
Aspergers. Predominately OCD (http://life.familyeducation.com/aspergers/behavior/40204.html?page=3)
OCD may explain my deep focus on somethings. Like my obsesive posting on the forums. I am trying to controll it but I'm not too doing well.
A little off topic but not really.
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oh no... I was way too wasted yesterday...
it's all the bar's fault for letting me use that computer.
Yuan.
You speak both chinese and English fluently?
Is well educated?
If I drink, I am a big problem to society, on the road, and on the internet. So I just don't do it anymore, ever. That sh!t is poison to your brains man and you being multilingual and intellegent like you, I feel the need to tell you to avoid the drink. Its legal I know and youre old enough, but, hmmm.
Doesnt matter.
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anyway, I was thinking that what gary did was nice, showing the bike around and stuff.
I was actually thinking about have a free test ride day. Every wednesday I ride though a mall parking lot where hundreds of people bring there antique or souped up Cars and Motorcycles. When I go through there if I stop I am flocked by people interested in my bike. Might be a good place to bring three or four bikes for people to have a test Zip!
Gary
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Yeah as long as your bike is the fastest..
You wouldnt want some one to take it for an endless test run ::). You could program the test bikes to be a 5kph slower.
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Yeah as long as your bike is the fastest..
You wouldnt want some one to take it for an endless test run ::). You could program the test bikes to be a 5kph slower.
HAHA funny, I was thinking that could be an issue. Maybe I'll only let people test them if I can have the keys to their Hotrod!
Gary
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Yeah as long as your bike is the fastest..
You wouldnt want some one to take it for an endless test run ::). You could program the test bikes to be a 5kph slower.
HAHA funny, I was thinking that could be an issue. Maybe I'll only let people test them if I can have the keys to their Hotrod!
Gary
Yeah its a bit like that. For me atleast. A total strangers approached me and asked me for a ride and his child around the car park. Im like, thats my wheels dude, he then said cummon, only around the car park, and I said, as long as I can take your car for a spin while you have fun on my erm erm 1000 watt toy. He then scoffs and starts to make fun of me and my bike when seconds before he was begging me for a go.
Some of the USA citizens like to have things sorted in a civil suit, so much so they have been known to take a fall.
One things is being helpfull and another thing is who actually needs it.
Maybe organise a GM CA riders group with your local customers. This way people can see all the kits you sell and newbies can get on and try another persons bike unrelated to your business.
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Yuan.
You speak both chinese and English fluently?
Is well educated?
If I drink, I am a big problem to society, on the road, and on the internet. So I just don't do it anymore, ever. That sh!t is poison to your brains man and you being multilingual and intellegent like you, I feel the need to tell you to avoid the drink. Its legal I know and youre old enough, but, hmmm.
Doesnt matter.
oh my, I don't drink alot. I kinda buy the theory of evolution. when the lions attack, only the strongest antelopes survive, hence the antelopes get stronger as years pass by. hence, when the alcohol apotosizes ur brain cells, only the strongest survive, and the stupid brain cells that actually told me to drink will apotosize. lol. ok I think i'm getting dumber.
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i was trying to make apoptosis a verb... apoptosize? apoptosied? haha
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i was trying to make apoptosis a verb... apoptosize? apoptosied? haha
(http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/photos/mraz/antelope-impala-05a21056.jpg)
^^^
This one believes there is safety in numbers...
Maybe the smart antelope hide behind the stupid antelope and strength had nothing to do with evolution.
I guess antelope are stronger than they are smart and thats why they still make a good meal to the hungry lion.
We do have a good Admin here at GM. This much is true. A lot worse things could happen to the ship when the captain is drunk.
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We do have a good Admin here at GM. This much is true. A lot worse things could happen to the ship when the captain is drunk.
yeah I agree, this admin rocks!
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We do have a good Admin here at GM. This much is true. A lot worse things could happen to the ship when the captain is drunk.
yeah I agree, this admin rocks!
I concur. I enjoy real people. I also enjoy an occasional drink. Moderation is the key to life itself.
You can legally buy a gun that only shoots in the direction of the person pulling the trigger, but it doesn't mean it's a good idea. :)
Can't wait for my pie. This thread has me grinning from ear to ear. Now to start pestering Gary, Did it ship yet, did it ship yet?? LOL
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We do have a good Admin here at GM. This much is true. A lot worse things could happen to the ship when the captain is drunk.
yeah I agree, this admin rocks!
I concur. I enjoy real people. I also enjoy an occasional drink. Moderation is the key to life itself.
You can legally buy a gun that only shoots in the direction of the person pulling the trigger, but it doesn't mean it's a good idea. :)
Can't wait for my pie. This thread has me grinning from ear to ear. Now to start pestering Gary, Did it ship yet, did it ship yet?? LOL
You just need to watch out for those who buy a big bottle of alcohol and a gun. It wont matter which direction the gun is pointing, intentional or not they see two targets after the alcohol takes effect.
LOL Me and the wife took out our first ever ebikes on a much needed night out, we were drinking that absinthe alcohol, I think it's artificial.
They were 24v and could to go just over 18kph. We brought a New Zealand Maori home and he rode one bike home and I doubled my wife home. And raced our new Maori friend all the way home at 18kph. OMG it is so much fun riding a really slow ebikes rotton drunk at night.
PFT. We must of fell off the thing about three times as we raced our new friend home. The wife I and was laughing the whole time. Its really hard to double people when you're toasted. I slid out in front of a taxi driving down a wet patch of the road, and picked myself up. Blinded by the headlights as he slowed, I called out, "man these things are dangerous mwahaha". I didn't feel a thing until the next day. :-\ :-[
We got home ok, and stayed up till early hours making recipe illusions. I had a few minor scrapes all over me, and after we downed several Illusions I couldnt pour straight anymore I had pineapple juice and grog running all over my 3 or 4 feet. I lost count.
I tried to play guitar and sing. Twang labrurlablah. 8) 8) 8) ??? ??? ???
That was about 2 years ago and we haven't let our hair down like that since.
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We do have a good Admin here at GM. This much is true. A lot worse things could happen to the ship when the captain is drunk.
yeah I agree, this admin rocks!
Would be good if the admin made more of an appearance on the forums. Would definitely help with confidence in those thinking of purchasing the products.
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Would be good if the admin made more of an appearance on the forums. Would definitely help with confidence in those thinking of purchasing the products.
Im usually wandering around here somewhere. It is difficult to keep up with all the posts made in the forum though. Especially the technical ones that make my head spin. Bruno (GM Brazil) is also a regular poster in the forum. Yao Yaun (GM China) is here ocasionally and once in a while you will see a few posts from Tom (GM China). More representaion from Tom would be great as he is our official tech support guy.
Gary
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Understood and appreciated, it was aimed rather at the Mods from the company that make the Magic Pie's...... A little unfair to leave it totally up to the distributors.
This is why I now order from yourself as you have a forum presence here....speaking of which....I'll PM you details.