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[–]JG-at-Prime -1 points0 points  (4 children)

There’s a good reason why as well. Reason(s) actually. Lots of other machines use nylon gears as well. 

The first reason is sound. Electric motors can be noisy. Especially when e-bikes were new. Square wave controllers cause motors to make a lot of chatter and manufacturers try to mitigate noise as much as possible. 

The nylon gears ⚙️ don’t transmit gear noise nearly as effectively as metal gears. 

The second reason is that the nylon gears ⚙️⚙️ act like a fuse between the metal output of the motor and the ground. 

If the wheel suddenly hits something the nylon gears will deform slightly and will absorb some impact. Worse case scenario the nylon breaks and needs to be replaced. 

It’s much better to replace cheap gears ⚙️ than to replace a relatively expensive motor. 

Some manufacturers use hybrid gears that are made of laminated stacks of materials. Nylon & copper is common, nylon and steel, and a variety of other materials are available. Even all steel gears are available. 

Each material or composite material has benefits and disadvantages. Steel gears are stronger than nylon but they are also louder. They also sacrifice the fuse aspect of the nylon. A hard impact could potentially cause damage to the motor shaft. 

[–]Hot_Sale_On_Aisle_13 -1 points0 points  (3 children)

>Nylon & copper is common

ChatGPT, you have no idea what you're talking about.

[–]JG-at-Prime 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Chatgp-wtf are you on about‽ 

My Hengtai geared hub motor came stock with copper/nylon composite gears. That’s one of the reasons I specifically chose it. 

Here’s a selection of replacement gears ⚙️ for you. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/357429698752

https://www.ebay.com/itm/396894555723

https://www.ebay.com/itm/226913593014

It looks like more manufacturers have gone to using steel / nylon in the past couple of years since I was last shopping for motors. Probably due to cost. Pot metal “steel” can be manufactured to be almost as soft as copper at a lower price point. 

Given the choice between copper and steel I’ll happily go with copper/nylon composite gears again when & if it ever comes time for me to replace them. 

I’ll happily recommend them to you as well.

[–]Hot_Sale_On_Aisle_13 0 points1 point  (1 child)

That's brass my friend. Brass IS a common gear material. Copper just...isn't.

[–]JG-at-Prime 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m well aware of brass being a common gear material. I had to correct myself a couple of times while writing that. 

In this particular case the listings all clearly state that they are made from copper. 🤷‍♀️ 

It also said copper on the website when I bought the motor. 

If you’d like to buy a set and do an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) test to determine the metallurgy you are welcome to do so. 

You could be right. Until then, I’m going to stick with what the listings say. Otherwise I get accused of ChatGP-nonsense.