P2 MOTOR : only available as rear motors for the time being (front motors are presently made too wide for most front forks maybe possible at later time to get some made to suit 10.5cm dropout width between front forks but presently they are made to suit 12.5cm dropout width as used on chinese style ebikes).
A Geared Motor (planetary type) good for Hill Climbing and not going too fast, top speed about 23-25km/hr.
(Replacing Motor P1 made by Tongxin motor company: why? because Tongxin ripped me off big time! they cost me more money than I would care to admit to replace all the incorrect type controllers they sent out, and I still have a backlog of people waiting for new controllers because of them........arrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhh )
I've come across (after quite a long time searching) a suitable replacement motor for P1. This motor uses a planetary gear mechanism which makes it very suitable for hill climbing with low top speeds (approximately 25km/hr). At the moment I can sell two different motors:
1. 24volts with freewheel mechanism not laced into a rim (good for lightweight applications) (motor P2a).
2. 48volts with no freewheel: good for hill climbs with option of a regenerative braking controller to go with it (motor P2b).
Motor P2a : 24volts version: $250aud (4 weeks delivery time by sea mail have to charge an extra $30aud if you want air mail which is one week delivery time)
I want to keep one motor as cheap as possible so that theres something affordable for the budget back yard tinkerers (like me!) but of good quality (for example the Heinzman motor made in germany is a geared motor with nylon gears and would cost near 3 or 4 times the price of this motor).
The 24volt version will come not laced into a rim so you'll have to spoke it in yourself or get a bike shop to do it. Instructions on how to lace a hub motor into a rim can be seen here.
It has inner planetary gears so its very good for hill climbing but top speed is about 23-25km/hr. They come with motors of differing maximum rpm inside the hub depending on what size rim you have to use it in. So a motor for a 20" rim will have a higher rpm then a motor for a 26" rim, the gear ratio inside the motor remains the same about 6:1.
The 24volt version has 3 inner planetary gears, two are made from nylon to
reduce noise and one is made from metal to get a long lifespan of the gears as
shown below.
The freewheel mechanism seems quite a robust design. It allows the motor
to push you along but when there is no motor power applied the wheel can rotate
freely without the motor being engaged. It means the wheel can spin like a
normal bike wheel when coasting or if pedalling with no motor power on. (see pic
below)(note that the sun ring is joined to the outer plate via the freewheel
mechanism).
Kit comes with motor/ spokes to suit your rim size/ throttle/ controller and
brake handles with cut off switches.
Motor P2B 48volts version: $350aud (4 weeks delivery time by sea freight, if you want faster I will have to charge another $40 for air freight which is 7 days)
There are some differences in the structure of this motor compared to motor
P2a as it is used at a higher voltage and there is quite a bit more
power/torque available for hill climbing. It also means a few differences in the
motor structure to accomodate this extra power.
I've decided to go with the version that has no freewheel mechanism. One reason being this motor has a fairly low resistance even without a freewheel mechanism (it doesn't use helical gears but the straight type of gear cut - sorry dont know the correct name for it). The other reason is that not having a freewheel mechanism means that its possible to use a regenerative breaking type controller with this motor.
Also having a geared motor running at 48volts means there is alot of
torque produced and I believe that the freewheel mechanism will most likely be
the first part to wear out, so not having it will extend the life of the motor.
A geared motor is going to have a shorter lifespan than a non-geared motor
simply because it has gears and gears do wear down over time. Depending on
frequency and type of use I would expect this motor to last between 3 to 5 years
before the gears would need replacement. They can be replaced!!! Life of
the motor will also depend on how frequently the gears are greased, probably
once every 3 to 6 months would be suitable depending on use. Also this motor is
extremely easy to take apart, the whole motor and gear mechanism simply comes
out as a unit once you take off the hub plate cover.
Also the bearings are very easy to get to if they ever need replacing.
This motor can come with nylon or metal gears. Nylon gears are used to reduce noise, but I've decided to go with all metal gears, so the motor does have some noise, but its life expectancy should be increased by having all metal gears. Nylon gears ,suprisingly, are very durable and are used in some other well known hub motors such as the Heinzmann motors from Germany. But alas another difficult decision, but I think having a motor that is the longest lasting as possible is the better choice..
If you want a regenerative type controller I'll have to add another $40aud.as regenerative type controllers are not so common, in fact quite hard to find at a reasonable price and of good reliable quality. But the regenerative controller is quite a bit of engineering (see controller section link here). There are other regenerative controllers available such as that made by 4QD (www.4qd.co.uk) in England but they are very expensive indeed.
Presently I can only sell the motor kit not laced into a rim, I'm hoping that soon I'll be able to offer with already laced into a rim. But at the moment not enough time to organise getting motors laced into a rim, but should be able to do that at some stage in the future.
(shall update with some pics of insides of P2b motor as time permits)
sorry haven't recieved torque graphs as yet for these motors.