Cyclone 900 or 1200 watt kit

uriahsmw · #1 (**permalink**) 03-26-2009, 04:09 PM

Hello Everyone,
This is my first post so please excuse any mistakes I may do.
With the price of gas and the thought of tinkering with a bike with a motor I am planing on purchasing a electric kit.I plan to use it to ride to work and make store runs.The ride to work is all downhill ( apprx. 3 miles ) which is no problem, but coming home after working all day and peddling up the hills is not my definition of fun.Pushing my old Schwinn varsity up the hills( Im approaching 50 years old) is sort of embarrasing.I have been doing a little research on the web and like the cyclone.Using the gears of a new bike ( Waiting to purchase bike after battery/motor purchase) will I think, help me up the hills, Im not sure if a hub motor would have enough power.
Any way, any thoughts on the cyclone 900 or 1200 watt kits.The price of the new lipo batteries floored me.With such a short trip home from work would I need these new super batteries? I dont understand the difference between the 10 amp verses the 20, Is the different amperages for longer runs with out having to recharge?Any help would be appreciated, as you can already tell I am a newbee
Thanks and have a great day.
Hal

deacon · #2 (**permalink**) 03-26-2009, 04:38 PM

would you post a link to the kit you have in mind. I'm not familiar with it. If you mean the difference between a 10AH. and a 20AH. It is the reading of the storage capacity of the battery. You will be able to ride longer with a twenty amp hour battery.

Can you charge the batteries at work.... If so the sla will work for you. I live in a pretty up and down area. I can do three to five miles on my sla batteries and still not run them completely down. I would thing either of the kits would be enough to climb hills, you might want check with some of the other guys I have a tiny little hub motor myself.

Mr Lithium · #3 (**permalink**) 03-27-2009, 06:05 AM

yes, hub motors are very strong now, you may find the tinkering to attach the cyclone a bit much.
You only need a 10Ah battery
What prices " floored " you on the lithium ?
u can contact falconev for more info

deacon · #4 (**permalink**) 03-27-2009, 07:30 AM

I can not speak for anyone else but I use a 24volt battery pack and I only ride it maybe five miles max per trip. I can do what I need on a 12 hour pack but a double pack is nice to ride with just in case,

I can buy two 24volt 12 hour packs(2@ 12v 12ah) for 100 bucks or so The equivalent lithium pack is several hundred bucks I think. I can build a trailer to haul the sla batteries on for about twenty bucks. It will out last either pack I think. I ride my bike about once a day so it isn't a big deal for me to charge my batteries.

Now one size does not fit all. I say that over and over again just to make sure no one thinks my judgments are universal> They are not. If I commuted every day, my needs in batteries would change drastically but I don't.

I get sticker shock when i look at the cost of batteries, but I expect that those costs will fall as they get higher production numbers and we find ways to adapt the batteries that are bound to come for automobiles in the future. For now I will stay with sla or maybe even junk yard car batteries if my tests on them prove them useful. I try to keep an open mind on new products and I think people should keep an open mind on old technology as well. One size does not fit all....

OzzyU812 · #5 (**permalink**) 03-27-2009, 11:21 AM

The Cyclone is an exellent choice in my book! Why be stuck with one gear hub. 900 or 1200 watt kit depends on your budget. You can skip the LiFePo4's and get SLA's too get your feet wet. They may last you a very long time with light usage and charging them imediately. If they die an early death its time to think about Lithium batties. I'm upgrading my batteries now, about a year overdue.
I sent an email to a guy about the costs of SLA vs Lithium. To save alot of typing I'm just going to copy & paste it. I accually went with Li Ion's. I'm getting 2 of these for a 24V 20AH pack High Tech Bikes. LiFePo4's didn't fit my pack or i would have gotten those.

"Well expense depends on how you look at it. $80 for a set of SLA's that have only been good for 150 cycles vs. $250 for Li Po's that are good for at least 1000 cycles. You would have to buy 6.66 SLA sets at a cost of $533 to last as long as 1 Li Po. I believe I can go as far with one Li Po pack as I can with 2 SLA packs. If so, the cost of the SLA's would double to $1066. In other words it would take $1066 in SLA's to go as far as $250 Li Po's. As as added bonus you get much more consistent power with Li Po's. They don't bog down under constant load unlike SLA's. Plus they are about 1/2 the weight."

grouchyolfart · #6 (**permalink**) 03-27-2009, 02:07 PM

Okay. $250 may be doable. Now, will a 24v 10ah battery run a 24v 450W 12ah motor? I use 2 12v 12ah sla batteries and can get up to 20mph on the flats, no pedaling. Are the numbers just the maximum figures? Like the batteries shouldn't exceed 24v or the 12ah. Is it that I'll get the same performance at a longer duration? I know. Lots of questions.

uriahsmw · #7 (**permalink**) 03-28-2009, 08:14 AM

Hi Everyone,
Can anybody tell me why I keep getting this message in my posts. I thought I was an active member.
" We are sorry but to help combat spam you cannot post links until you become an active member of the forum."
Deacon, the website is " www.cyclone-tiawain"

uriahsmw · #8 (**permalink**) 03-28-2009, 08:31 AM

I have seen the 48 volt for 500 to 800 dollars. Maybe this is not a bad price, but just getting into the world of electric bikes it shocked me.The batteries are the most expensive part of the system which was equally shocking.Beings I know almost nothing about electric motors, amps, controllers, etc. When it says its 48 volts, do you have to use a 48 volt battery ?, sounds like a stupid question I know, but if you used a 36 volt battery would it power the motor at 3/4 power or drop the watts from lets say 1000 to 750? I know I am showing my ignorance here. But I want to be as informed as I can so I make the correct purchase the first time.
Thanks,
Have a great weekend!!
Hal

deacon · #9 (**permalink**) 03-28-2009, 09:58 AM

If its a typical brushed motor it drops the output in ratio to the voltage decrease. I have no idea about any others. I have used 12volts on a 24 volt brushed motor by accident. All it did was to decrease the number of rpms...

cvpsmith · #10 (**permalink**) 03-28-2009, 11:10 AM

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That kit does look like a lot of work though. Also, the chain drive could mean more maintenance in the long run. The Crystalyte is easy-peasy to install (I had to spread the forks a bit, but it wasn't too much trouble).

The price and power of the kit looks good though. I wonder how rain-proof these kits are?