Shimeng-FL freewheel? Usable?

[bonzobanana]

I bought an ebike kit from amazon marketplace which is great, very pleased with it although not fitted it yet but it came with a Shimeng freewheel clearly designed to mimic the appearance of a Shimano freewheel. Examination shows it looks ok, no different to a Shimano at face value but are they actually any good?

Just wondered if anyone had used such a freewheel and what were their experiences?

On a hub motor ebike the motor assists going up hill and the motor is independent of the drivetrain so can take a lot of force away from the drivetrain components but still my instincts are saying replace it with something else i.e. a Shimano model.

Here it is on 'Made in China' and has the amazing price of $1.50 per unit which likely could be negotiated down a little bit knowing the way Chinese business works.

https://xtqitai.en.made-in-china.co...le-Spare-Parts-Freewheel-Shimeng-7-Speed.html

 

[raleighnut]

I bought an ebike kit from amazon marketplace which is great, very pleased with it although not fitted it yet but it came with a Shimeng freewheel clearly designed to mimic the appearance of a Shimano freewheel. Examination shows it looks ok, no different to a Shimano at face value but are they actually any good?

Just wondered if anyone had used such a freewheel and what were their experiences?

On a hub motor ebike the motor assists going up hill and the motor is independent of the drivetrain so can take a lot of force away from the drivetrain components but still my instincts are saying replace it with something else i.e. a Shimano model.

Here it is on 'Made in China' and has the amazing price of $1.50 per unit which likely could be negotiated down a little bit knowing the way Chinese business works.

https://xtqitai.en.made-in-china.co...le-Spare-Parts-Freewheel-Shimeng-7-Speed.html

It could be made of cheaper metal but then again any Shimano freewheel is likely to be made in China too these days (old technology)

Just fit it with plenty of 'antiseize' compound (Copaslip) and realise that it is a 'consumable' product that will need replacing in a few years depending on your chain maintainance regime.

 

[I like Skol]

Before you screw it on just make sure there is a tool to remove it!

Total counterfeit rip-off 😆

 

[I like Skol]

I bought an ebike kit from ****** marketplace which is great, very pleased with it although not fitted it yet

Not sure how you have passed judgement on the kit when you haven't fitted/used it yet? I suspect the value and quality will be similar to the bargain basement freewheel included in the kit?

 

[Cycleops]

Suck it and see.

 

[raleighnut]

Before you screw it on just make sure there is a tool to remove it!

Total counterfeit rip-off 😆

Good point about the removal tool.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Why are you very pleased with something you haven’t yet used? It may be crap.

 

[bonzobanana]

Not sure how you have passed judgement on the kit when you haven't fitted/used it yet? I suspect the value and quality will be similar to the bargain basement freewheel included in the kit?

It's a fair point but there is a warranty of course and Amazon are very good but on visual inspection I should say it seems very good but the freewheel not so impressive. It's by a company called Changzhou Feifan and this is it. I paid about £88 on Amazon warehouse for the kit so I guess you have to put price into the perspective. I'm used to the Voilamart type ebike kits and this seems better but the Voilamart kits work well and of course I don't actually know if this works at this point. It's got a display that the Voilamart kits don't. Just got to find a reasonable 48V battery now.

Amazon product ASIN B09B1N4N15View: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09B1N4N15/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[bonzobanana]

This is the bike I plan to use. A cheap folding bike that I bought at Tesco Direct which I think ended up costing £40. So I should have a built price around £130 plus the battery so possibly under £250 in total depending on how much the battery costs. I'll only be running the motor in pedelec 250W mode with the 15.5mph limit. I'm only looking for a lowish 48V battery maybe 7-9Ah and will just buy a battery pack rather than fully cased battery.

 

[Jenkins]

It's a fair point but there is a warranty of course and Amazon are very good but on visual inspection I should say it seems very good but the freewheel not so impressive. It's by a company called Changzhou Feifan and this is it. I paid about £88 on Amazon warehouse for the kit so I guess you have to put price into the perspective. I'm used to the Voilamart type ebike kits and this seems better but the Voilamart kits work well and of course I don't actually know if this works at this point. It's got a display that the Voilamart kits don't. Just got to find a reasonable 48V battery now.

Amazon product ASIN B09B1N4N15View: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09B1N4N15/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There may be a warranty but it won't be with Amazon, it'll be with the China based seller of the kit so good luck if it goes wrong . Although the one you've linked to is out of stock, I'd lay odds on the vendor being in China and using the Fulfilled by Amazon scheme whereby they ship a load of products to an Amazon warehouse and Amazon just post it out to you when the order is placed.

I looked over some mountain bikes fitted with Shimeng gears & derailleurs for work a couple of weeks ago - horrible, flimsy stuff and only fit for the skip (which is where the bikes were destined).

 

[bonzobanana]

There may be a warranty but it won't be with Amazon, it'll be with the China based seller of the kit so good luck if it goes wrong . Although the one you've linked to is out of stock, I'd lay odds on the vendor being in China and using the Fulfilled by Amazon scheme whereby they ship a load of products to an Amazon warehouse and Amazon just post it out to you when the order is placed.

I looked over some mountain bikes fitted with Shimeng gears & derailleurs for work a couple of weeks ago - horrible, flimsy stuff and only fit for the skip (which is where the bikes were destined).

Yes its out of stock because I bought it from Amazon warehouse and that was the only stock of it presumably older stock although there seems similar on Amazon under other pages. There will be a guarantee with Amazon and also my credit card company who are very good about faulty products even sub £100 but I really don't think there will be an issue with the ebike kit. However the Shimeng freewheel is another matter I compared it to a Shimano freewheel and to be honest I couldn't see any real difference and both felt equally strong but I just don't trust it because of that stupid branding mainly. It could well be inside the bearings are far superior on the Shimano freewheel or they could be identical who knows. Maybe there is an issue with the pawls as I said though on a hub drive ebike the freewheel gets a much easier time so perhaps these cheaper freewheels actually give good service on a hub motor ebike. I shall be using the genuine Shimano 6 speed freewheel that came on the folding bike though rather than this 7 speed Shimeng freewheel.

This appears to be the same one, its the 48V 500W option with 20" wheel. Actually just realised that is the front wheel version not rear but apart from that looks identical.

Amazon product ASIN B09T5GFN2YView: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Conversion-Electric-Bicycle-System-20in-36V/dp/B09T5GFN2Y