Castle Creations tap in the electric bike market?

[mistercrash]

Who else thinks it would be cool if Castle Creations tapped into the electric bike market? I think it would. Not a complete bike but a complete kit to install on a bike of your choice.

[JERRY2KONE]

I agree with you. The market really needs a reasonable kit that would help any of us convert our mountain bikes into a viable solution for getting to and from work and reducing weekly gas costs.

Plus I would love to see CC expand the business foorprint and manufacture Lipo cells and packs that would provide the same level of quality that their motors and ESC's do for us now.

All around CC has become a solid choice for our R/C needs who provide us with quality electronics at a reasonable price and yet are still making marginal profits. A perfect model of others considering starting up a new company IMHO.

[scarletboa]

i am a huge fan of castlecreations motors and escs and i would love to see a system for mountain bikes. if it is as good as the current stuff that castle makes, i would buy it for sure.

[mistercrash]

So three people are interested

I thought of this because this weekend, I cleaned up my car really well and put it for sale because I want to replace it with an electric bike to go to work. I did a lot of research on the subject and pretty much know what I'm going to get. Today I just thought that it would be cool if CC had an electric bike kit, I would have been extremely interested in that.

[JERRY2KONE]

http://www.yescomusa.com/product.php...&cat=91&page=1

http://www.ev-power.eu/?p=productsMo...20ahb-12v-20ah

http://www.a123rc.com/goods-468-Exci...TIC+CELLS.html

http://www.a123rc.com/goods-389-48V+...it+-+Reay.html

Yes there are a couple of ways to go for a reasonable E-Bike, but the real cost now is in the battery system used to power it. Most will go cheaply with some R/C Lipos just because it will save money up front. I am looking at the Prismatic cells, but for a 48volt setup that will be about $1000 just for the battery cells.

[_paralyzed_]

Originally Posted by JERRY2KONE

Most will go cheaply with some R/C Lipos just because it will save money up front. I am looking at the Prismatic cells, but for a 48volt setup that will be about $1000 just for the battery cells.

lipos are cheaper and lighter, I don't see why anyone would use anything else.

I've been toying with the idea of using two hub motors on my manual wheelchair. That'd be fun at the Mall of America

[Metallover]

Harold do it! Maybe a motor like this? - http://endless-sphere.com/forums/vie...hp?f=3&t=13998

As for Castle coming into the e-bike market, I think it would be great. They could design a small line of motors and highly-programmable controllers. They would be a lot more expensive then mostly everything out there now because ATM almost everything comes from china. Castle could really add some performance and innovation to the e-bike marker with all of their smarts.

However, I don't see it happening because that isn't what Castle was established to do. It's kind of like Boeing making cars. They could design and really nice car that is really light and gets amazing gas mileage, but it would be a huge change for the company; almost too much to be worthwhile.

[snellemin]

The HV Castle stuff is allready being used in the Ebike community.

[mistercrash]

Originally Posted by Metallover

They would be a lot more expensive then mostly everything out there now because ATM almost everything comes from china.

I think they could come up with a system that would be in the middle of the price range of other systems out there. I have seen very cheap systems without the battery for under $300 and other highly sophisticated systems with pedal assist, regenerative breaking including their own Lithium battery for $2200. I have seen complete E-bikes ranging from cheap $600 ones up to high end $12 000 ones. There are companies working on releasing new E-bikes that could sell for even more then that.

I would like a system that could offer 4 levels of pedal assist and the option of either a twist handle or push button to be able to cruise along on E power alone without pedaling, regenerative breaking, water and dust proof and could be used in winter weather, a top speed of 35 mph or even more if you help the system by pedaling while on pedal assist mode. A small control center in the form of a touch screen on the handle bar. The option of removing the battery pack in less then 10 seconds to bring inside for recharging. All of that in a system that would cost around $1200. Am I asking for too much?

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by snellemin

The HV Castle stuff is allready being used in the Ebike community.

Yeah, but it sure would be nice to have a Castle-designed hub motor line with "real" power ratings from 250w minimum for the slower/lighter more pedal assisted setups, to ~3000w for full e-power for heavier people and 45mph+ setups, to ~20000w for full-fledged e-motorcycle setups. For now, I'd "settle" for the ~3000w setup.

Those hub motors really take the mechanical complexity out of the equation. Then, it's just a matter of hooking up a few wires.

Since we are talking wish-list here, some HV ESCs (~75v) with regen braking and sensored input would be nice. Adding built-in current/voltage sensors (like the ICE line) with a serial tether to go to an optional information display (min/max V/A/P, mAh, etc) would be icing on the cake.

[snellemin]

I aint spending 12G on an Ebike unless it's this. 14k, small tax break, 100mph+, 100mile range taken that you can control your throttle happy hand. Brammo also sells smaller models in the $7-8G range.

[Metallover]

A current mid-range brushless e-bike controller is <$150, 72v+ (up to 100v), 45a continuous, fairly waterproof, speed switches, programmable, regen-capable, and very modifiable. You can get an option cycle analyst to hook up the the controller. They are surprisingly good and surprisingly cheap for what you get. controller

To beat that Castle would need to bring something new to the table (some are far-off)
-better programmability
-more power/reliability
-smaller size
-100% waterproof
-attractive display for handlebars
-data logging
-adjustable dc voltage (run 36v off 72v battery with flip of switch)
-gps
-temperature monitoring/cutoff (controller and motor)
-on-the-fly current/speed adjustment
-built in switch/pre-charge circuit
-voltage sources for lights, etc.
-vivid flames and raunchy green monsters

[crazyjr]

Originally Posted by Metallover

A current mid-range brushless e-bike controller is <$150, 72v+ (up to 100v), 45a continuous, fairly waterproof, speed switches, programmable, regen-capable, and very modifiable. You can get an option cycle analyst to hook up the the controller. They are surprisingly good and surprisingly cheap for what you get. controller

To beat that Castle would need to bring something new to the table (some are far-off)
-better programmability
-more power/reliability
-smaller size
-100% waterproof
-attractive display for handlebars
-data logging
-adjustable dc voltage (run 36v off 72v battery with flip of switch)
-gps
-temperature monitoring/cutoff (controller and motor)
-on-the-fly current/speed adjustment
-built in switch/pre-charge circuit
-voltage sources for lights, etc.
-vivid flames and raunchy green monsters

you forgot updatable as programming improves

[Desert Rc]

I would support a castle E-bike complete ready to bolt-on kit.

[snellemin]

Metallover pretty much listed everything Castle would need to accomplish to be competitive in the current market. The Chinese own this market as they are the number one consumer of Ebikes by a large margin.

My cheap Ebay kit, is waterproof, has overvoltage protection, voltage cutoff. For $239 shipped, I got a hub motor with tire and wheel, controller, brakes with switches, a bag, rear rack and throttle. I'm 190lbs and on 14s lipo, go 27mph(last Saturday speed). With headwind 23mph. Castle will have a winner, if they can beat that performance and pricetag.