A lot of people have been asking me about the MXUS XF40-45H 3000W direct drive hub motor. In general I tend to steer people towards mid-drive systems (see why here). This is mostly because I don’t like the idea of having a 20 lb hub motor in my rear wheel. That being said there is a lot of people who seem to be having a lot of fun with this motor mounted on fat-bikes on youtube. Our friend Barent over at Kinaye Motorsports is selling a complete 3000 watt motor and controller for $849 right here. For a laced motor that can take 6000 Watts peak with a controller it is a deal worth seriously considering. The controller is saying it can take 90v and 30 Amps continuous/60 Amps peak which means 2700 Watts continuous and 5400 Watts peak.

This fatbike kit has everything you’ll need and without having to lace the rim.

If you want to go with a Direct Drive system on a fat-bike and have any fun at all you are going to need to go with something at this power level. I’ve spent a lot of time looking at fat-bike kits and this is the lowest price you’re likely to find for something that can take these kinds of power levels. It even comes complete with a triangle bag.

Kit Includes:
MXUS Direct Drive Hub Motor, 45mm “V2″ Stator, Aluminum with 0.35mm Laminations, 3000W Continuous
26″x3.75” Fat Rim (Tire/Tube not included)
30A Continuous/60A Max. Sine Wave Controller
LCD Display with Mounting Bracket
Throttle with Power Button, & 3-speed switch
Ebrakes
Pedal Assist Sensor (PAS)

Triangle Battery Bag (Battery NOT included)

Features:
56V to 90V Capable (18S-21S Lithium)
Regenerative Braking
Cycle Analyst Connector
Current-Based throttle control for more natural acceleration
170mm between the axle flats and longer overall axle made just for fat bikes.

This updated kit now includes Double-wall Rims (in Black) which are hand-laced by our talented staff in Seattle, WA. Rims are Weinmann 100mm DHL101 Rims or equivalent. Spokes are Sapim 2.3mm Stainless Steel.

Also includes higher-voltage controller for voltages up to 90V.

The MXUS Fat Bike motors come in two-speed options: Fast: 5T (7.15 Kv) and High-Torque: 6T (6.0 Kv)

I’ve used the Weinmann double-walled rims on my FatMac hub builds and found them to be pretty heavy. The entire kit adds around 27.1 lbs to the weight of your bike (before the battery is added). Although this kit looks like it would make sense for a roadbike, my feeling is that it is just too much weight to make a nimble single-track trail bike. If you want a build for the single-track then buy the 6T motor, for the highway get the 5T motor. If you’re using a fat-bike tire for highway speeds I highly recommend going tubeless as at low tire pressures the friction between the tube and the tire is enough to melt the inside of the tire and quickly wear through the tube. Torque arms are mandatory at this power level even with steel frames. I prefer to use Dr Bass’s Torque arms which are far sexier than all the competition.

Bare motor weighs 20.5 lbs.
Laced motor (Hub, spokes &rim) weighs 24 lbs.
Controller kit (controller, throttle, ebrakes, PAS & LCD) weighs 3.1 lbs.

If you have to choose between buying this kit or building this up yourself it’s a no-brainer, you should just buy this kit. Lacing up new hub motors is a royal PITA.

For customers down under (Australia) you can buy this motor from Sam at Ballarat ebikes with this link here for quite a bit cheaper  at $355 without lacing or a controller.  I’ve bought 8 Bafang BBS02 BCD 104 chainring adapters from him (they are the cheapest ones you’re likely to find at only $25) and he stands behind his products. Sam can also lace up the MXUS motor with a fat-bike rim and sell you a decent controller.

Ride On.