DaVinci Drives’ Twin-Astro Qulbix Raptor 140
We wrote about the Qulbix Raptor back in the spring of 2014 when we saw a lot of garage builders using this frame-kit. All of the major parts are steel, and although you might think that this makes it heavy, it also means that it is easy to cut and weld onto (as you will see below), and that’s good if you are the type of person who likes to customize your off-road ebike.To get more news about
davincimotor, you can visit davincimotor.com official website.
With the rise in the use of high power-density 18650 cells in 2015, the HUGE battery box of the original Raptor 140 (the “140” means the main part of the frame is 140mm wide , or 5.5 inches…roughly the length of a dollar bill) was heavier than needed for many Raptor enthusiasts, so…Qulbix came out with a narrower and lighter Raptor Q76R. The narrow 76mm wide battery box could hold 18650 cells on their 65mm-long side, and if you filled up the battery box with cells, it could still hold quite a few Watt-Hours (WH) of cells.
Be that as it may, Matt is very experienced, and when he gets started riding, he likes to ride for hours! So…he decided to build up one of the original Raptor-140 frames, so he could fit the maximum battery capacity possible.Most Raptors are built up as a simple rear hub system. Matt wanted a mid-mounted motor to keep the rear wheel as light and nimble as possible. Moving the weight of the drive system to the frame also improves the ebikes balance and feel. Most mid drives take advantage of the bicycle gears to give the motor several gearing options. This build, however…was going to have enough power that it would break bicycle components, so…it would need to be a one-speed that is connected directly to the rear wheel.
Matt Is the owner of DaVinci Drives. He has gotten so busy that he occasionally farms out some of the machining, but he started this business from scratch, and accomplished all the design work and machining by himself. His main focus is producing drive systems from the Astro Flight line of RC motors. These high quality units are made in the USA, and to get their full power, they must be spun-up to ultra-high RPMs. Then, in order to get the power down to wheel-speed, a significant reduction must be designed and added.
The primary reduction between the motor and the rest of the drive system is often a belt, which can run quieter than a chain (at high RPMs). The pic below is one of Matt’s most popular units, a single 3210 motor, with a robust White Industries flanged freewheel that is integrated into an aluminum pulley.Although this prototype was going to be geared for off-road, the size and weight of the significant battery meant that…in order to get the level of performance he wanted, he would have to spec one of his exotic twin-motor drives.
The first order of business was to create a space at the lower corner of the frame for a complex idler and chain-guide system, since the power will be flowing to a rear suspension that cycles up and down. This is the main reason most Raptors use a simple rear hub, but…Matt is not the type to shy away from a complicated challenge.
