Sixteen cents a watt is a difficult number to fight against. That is precisely the price to power ratio of the Lidhujnk 48V 1500W rear hub conversion kit, and for many people creating a fat tire snow bike or a commuter on a budget, the price to power ratio is the whole story. I am being completely honest upfront, there are only three reviews on Amazon at four stars for this kit. That is a very thin sample, and you should take any hype with a grain of salt. However, it is the power to price calculation that draws most builders in, and the fat tire rear wheel provides it a home in the snow, sand, and beach crowd that most conversion kits never reach.
Specifications and Build Quality
The core of this kit is a brushless, gearless hub motor that is rated at 1500 watts and operates on a 48-volt platform. Gearless, direct-drive is an entirely new animal compared to the geared hubs used in less expensive kits. Since there are no planetary gears spinning within the motor, it is much quieter and has fewer moving parts that could potentially fail. Both of these characteristics matter significantly when the motor will reside in a rear wheel filled with snow, sand and grime. The trade-off is weight and some drag when pedaling using the motor alone. Most riders do not mind either condition because they realize that the benefits of reduced noise and extended lifespan outweigh them on their fat-tire builds.
Using a 48-volt setup is a practical compromise for this level of power. It allows for relatively high current flow while maintaining sufficient torque to propel the rear wheel. When combined with a large contact patch provided by a wide, knobby tire, the motor provides traction on loose surfaces (e.g., snow) rather than slipping or spinning out. As stated in the listing, the maximum speeds attainable using this configuration would likely fall in the 58 to 60 km/h range, which translates to approximately 36 to 37 mph based on a good battery under load. While this represents an optimal estimate of achievable speed, actual top-end speed will depend on rider weight, tire inflation pressure, voltage sag from the battery and terrain conditions.
The builder has included water-resistant motor cables. This may seem trivial unless you experience riding through heavy precipitation and your motor continues to pull rather than shorting. Riders in wet weather will appreciate the feature. The motor is also indicated as being quiet, which is consistent with its gearless design. The kit includes five adjustable speed settings available from the controller so users can customize how quickly the power develops rather than receiving full torque immediately upon application.
The kit converts your bike into a dual-power system. Rather than competing with each other for control, your pedal power and electric assistance can operate cooperatively. A pedal-assist system detects when you apply force to your pedals and adjusts the electric-assistance accordingly to provide coordinated movement. Compared to throttle-only operation, this offers significant improvements to overall performance and usability. You can use throttle input during periods when you prefer cruising at moderate speeds, but use pedal assist to enable additional effort when desired. Although the controller included in this kit performs all necessary functions, it is essentially a black-box unit (as opposed to one aesthetically pleasing unit).
Installation and What's In the Box
Prior to placing an order, you must consider one important aspect of this product: wheel size. The fat tire rear wheel supplied with this kit is not intended for standard 26-inch or 29-inch wheels commonly found on road bikes. If your bicycle features wide rear drop-outs compatible with a fat tire wheel, then you're ready to go! If you attempt to install this kit directly onto a narrow drop-out style road bike rear end, you'll likely encounter issues with fitment immediately after unpackaging. Before purchasing this product, ensure your rear drop-outs possess adequate space for the fat tire rear wheel and verify that your bicycle possesses adequate tire clearance.
When you unbox this product you'll receive all the standard conversion kit components. The primary component, the motor wheel, consists of a fully-laced and trued hub assembly containing the brushless gearless hub motor. Therefore, you won't have to deal with building or replacing spokes or addressing a bare hub. Additionally, you'll receive: controller, wiring harness, throttle, PAS sensor, display, brake levers. Please note that this kit doesn't ship with a battery. So prior to operating your electric bike, you must acquire a separate 48-volts battery pack.
Assembly typically requires an average amount of mechanical aptitude. If you've successfully installed a hub-based conversion kit in the past, you should be able to accomplish similar results with this kit in roughly half-a-day (approximately six hours). Beginners may require considerably longer amounts of time, possibly even multiple days, depending on their previous experience with electrical systems associated with ebike conversions. Regardless of your skill-level, watching several youtube tutorials related specifically to converting bicycles into ebikes will greatly increase your chances of success.
Real-World Performance
At 1500-watts, a gearless hub motor on a fat tire rear wheel will deliver ample low-speed torque making this kit enjoyable. Directly driven motors produce tremendous amounts of torque near zero rpm providing rapid acceleration off-the-line and sustained climbability due to the fat tire keeping the power connected to the surface rather than losing it to slip or skidding. Of course, low-end torque is traded for upper-end velocity potential but for snow-bike enthusiasts and beach-cruiser fans willing to sacrifice slight top-end velocity for low-end grunt, that is fine.
Range-wise, this is where reality sets in. Anytime you aggressively ride an aggressive 1500-watt motor such as this one, it tends to devour batteries rapidly. Even if you opt for larger batteries suitable for your frame's capacity constraints, don't expect excessive range out-of-the-gate assuming constant high-throttle usage throughout your entire trip. The five-speed gears will allow you to extend its range by reducing output levels during flat sections of travel while allowing you to utilize pedal assist during areas where you wish to engage your own efforts rather than relying solely on throttle input.
Waterproof cables & low noise
You'd think that waterproof cables were a minor detail but trust me on this one... Until you ride through torrential rains and your motor continues producing torque rather than short-circuiting. All riders experiencing wet weather will love this feature. The motor itself is said to produce "low" noise levels. Again, we believe this aligns with its gearless design. Users receive five speed-adjustable assist modes via controller inputs allowing users to adjust how quickly assistive power applies as opposed to obtaining full assistive torque immediately upon initiating.
Who Is This Kit For
Builders looking for real power without sacrificing a great deal of money to obtain it are ideal candidates for this conversion kit. If you are constructing a fat tire snow-bike, beach cruiser or off-road machine and place emphasis on achieving maximum watts for your dollars spent, then lidhujnk presents a compelling case. As mentioned earlier, the price-to-power ratio at roughly sixteen cents per watt is arguably the main selling point of this kit. Additionally, the fat tire rear wheel enables capabilities not possible with standard road wheel kits on loose terrain.
This kit isn't for everybody. If your frame has narrow rear spacing that doesn't support a fat-tire rear wheel you will need to modify your frame or perform extensive creative adjustments before installing this kit. Furthermore, if you are seeking numerous options in terms of aftermarket parts and/or hundreds of reviews before feeling confident about purchasing an unknown brand (like lidhujnk), the three reviews currently present will surely dissuade you from doing business with lidhujnk. Given that purchasing from an unknown brand inherently carries greater risks than buying from known brands, reviewing your choices carefully before selecting an unknown brand is always prudent. However, if you know what kind of build you are undertaking. Measure your frame dimensions accurately. Are comfortable accepting trade-offs inherent in newer brands. The lidhujnk's value proposition becomes very difficult to ignore.
To see how this kit compares to others presently available and which batteries are best suited for pairing with a 1500-watt build please reference our ebike conversion kits comparison table and our blog section for general build guidance and battery recommendations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does lidhujnk's kit come equipped with a battery?
No. The lidhujnk kit contains everything except a 48-volts ebike battery required prior to running.
What type of frame will fit lidhujnk's fat tire rear wheel?
The fat tire rear wheel will only fit frames having wide rear drop outs with adequate tire clearance. It will not be readily accepted as a replacement wheel for most stock road bike rear ends (with narrower spacing). Verify your rear spacing and clearance prior to purchase.
How fast can a 48-volts 1500-watts hub motor run?
As stated in lidhujnk's listing, maximum speeds achievable using this configuration would likely fall in the range of 58-60 km/hour, translating to roughly 36-37 miles/hour at optimal conditions (on good battery w/assisted load). As previously noted actual top-speed achievable will ultimately be determined by rider weight. Tire pressure. Voltage sag from battery. Terrain conditions etc...
How difficult is building this kit?
Moderately challenged. If you've successfully mounted wheels. Routed cables. Followed colored-coded connectors. You should be able to build/install lidhujnk's kit within an average timeframe (approximate 6-hours). Builders without prior ebike-related experience may require substantially longer (even multiple days) dependent on complexity involved in handling electrical aspects of their build.
Is this kit street legal?
Yes/no, this will depend upon location. Due to its rating (1500 watts), lidhujnk's kit exceeds u.s.-based class ii & iii limits (typically ~750 watts). Therefore it may be classified as moped/motor vehicle dependent upon jurisdictional regulations/rules regarding registration.
Why are there only a few reviews available for this kit?
There are only three reviews currently posted for lidhujnk. Therefore this constitutes a relatively limited review sample. At four-stars those three reviews represent an extremely thin margin of confidence relative to determining whether lidhujnk's product meets expectations based on user experiences thus far.