Invicta Ebikes Simple guide to ebike parts:
Motors:
When it comes to ebikes there are 3 main types of motors. These types are Geared hub motors, Direct drive hub motors, and Mid-drive systems. All three of these options have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to performance:
Geared Hub Motors:
Geared motors are small, light motors which have internal gearing (planetary gears and a clutch) which deliver good torque, but have poor heat dissipation abilities. This means that they are ideal for low powered setups that require good torque. These are used in our lower powered ebike conversions and should not be pushed over 2000w.
Direct Drive Hub Motors:
Direct drive motors are larger, heavier motors which have no gears or moving parts. These motors have less torque off the line but can handle significantly more power than geared motors. They are more efficient at high speed and in-general, they have a longer lifespan than geared motors. These are used in all of our high powered ebikes.
Mid-Drive Motors:
Mid-drive motors are motors connected to the pedal assembly, which delivers power to the rear wheel through the chain. These motors are ideal for those who ride off-road and require tons of torque. Generally speaking, these motors are more expensive and require more maintenance than hub motors, but allow you to utilize all of your bikes gears.
Batteries:
The 3 important things to consider when looking at a battery:
Voltage:
The voltage of a battery is proportional to the top speed your ebike can go. If you have 2 identical ebikes, one with a 36v battery and one with a 48v battery, the one with the 48v battery will have a 33% higher top speed.
Amp-Hours:
The amp-hours of a battery literally represents the ‘amps it can deliver for an hour’. This means a 15AH battery, fully charged, can deliver 15 amps constantly for 1 hour. This can be broken up into any timeframe, meaning you can get 7.5 amps for 2 hours, 5 amps for 3 hours, etc. It is the amount of ENERGY stored in the battery.
Discharge Rate:
Not all batteries are capable of powering all ebikes. Generally speaking, the max discharge rate of a battery is 3x its capacity, or 3x its Amp-hours. If you have a 15AH battery, you can expect to be able to pull 45 amps MAX.
A high AH and high discharge rate is a good indicator that a battery uses quality cells. NEVER trust the battery specs listed by ebay, amazon, or craigslist sellers. The battery is the most important part of an ebike so don’t cheap out on it!
Controllers:
Controllers are the systems that act as intermediates between your battery and your motor. Controllers connect to your throttle, LCD screen, battery, and motor, and manage how much power is going from the battery to the motor. These are essential, because ebike motors use pulses of AC current which travels through 3 phase wires, where your battery delivers DC current through 2 wires. The controllers job is to convert this DC current into AC current to be consumed by the motor.
The peak power of your ebike is determined by the controller. Multiply your voltage by the peak current rating of the controller to get watts. For example, if you have a 48 volt and 20 amp controller, your peak power will be:
48 volts x 20 amps = 960 watts
Our higher end controller models have special features such as regenerative braking and flux weakening. If you’re interested in having any of these features or learning how they work, contact us and we’d be happy to explain.