Stary was the first with geared-hub-motors. They use a planetary gear for a 3:1 reduction, but it has some draw-backs. Are there any good alternatives?
What do you think, would a gear like this do work for hub-motors, it’s very compact and has a high (maybe too high) reduction ratio:
It’s a lot of complexity to build into a hub motor. I’ve seen the stary hybrid hub motor perform really well with this gear reduction, but i’ve not seen anyone else incorporate a similar solution into theirs. (trademarked maybe?)
Otherwise you don’t gear hub motors… hubs are a “stealth” solution, otherwise i typically prefer a standard geared satelite motor like most kits from DIYes/Enertion/ and others.
As i really don’t want a cheap hub motor, and trust some of the folks here who make them w/ a focus on quality vs cost/profit - i’m curious if they have tried any gear/hybrid setups and how much does this impact reliability and cost?
Why use a hub motor? Because of the 1:1 ratio, high torque, silence, low resistance and part wear.
Adding gears helps weaker motors perform better. Starry uses an inrunner and the motor is so loud (louder than a Yuneec with a bad belt).
Starry killed the silence, low wear, and low mechanical resistance with the design. Why bother with that when you can get more from a belt drive thats more quiet?
To be honest, I sell hub motors. They are great. The experience from riding them is awesome but at the end of the day. Belt drives are more reliable and dependable vs hub motors anyday of the week for real rigorous riding and riding long distance.
There’s not too much you can do with getting rid of the heat issue after a 10 mile ride it just won’t be as good as a belt drive setup. Sure, the hub motor can go up some pretty steep hills but HOW MANY?. Your belt drive setup can do 10x that and/or non-stop hills. You might be able to limit the amps and drive it less hard but what’s the fun in that.
I’d only consider a hub motor setup for 5-8 mile maybe 10 mile ride that’s without any crazy steep hills. Anyone trying to go over that and you’ll have reliability issues.
From testing so many setups… By far… the most reliable and dependable setup.
10S/12S with Single or Dual 6355. Dual recommended for hills. 10S/12S with Dual Hub Motor for limited distance/inclines < 8 miles.
I see too many people going with the smaller and less adequate components (because of cost) and expecting to climb mount everest. You’ll eventually get hurt and you’ll be out of pocket when you should of just went correct the first time around. You end up spending twice as much in the long run.
At the end of the day, production boards besides Evolve/Boosted. Most are inadequate for real rigorous riding and climbing uphill.
The difference IMO is how many times can you climb that 25% incline. 1 times, 5 times or 10 times. Sure if your riding on flat ground and not pushing it… Then it doesn’t matter so much.
So unless your going 8 miles or less distance wise. I prefer belt drive. But hub motor is awesome… if it was more reliable.
Of course, many of the issues could be fixed in the long run.
I honestly don’t know how people are going top 25% hills. That is insane steep. I’ve gone up 15% hills and that seems really steep to me. Maybe I’m just too worried about pushing my setup too hard.
