An axial flux motor has a rotor mounted about an axis of rotation. Permanent magnets are mounted on a first axial face of the rotor and a predetermined encoder pattern is provided on the surface of a second axial face of the rotor. A stator is positioned on one side of the rotor adjacent to the first axial face of the rotor. A sensor is mounted on the other side of the rotor adjacent to the second axial face of the rotor. The sensor outputs signals corresponding to the encoder pattern on the surface of the second axial face of the rotor. A motor control system is coupled to receive the signals from the sensor and calculates a speed of rotation of the rotor based on the signals from the sensor. In addition, the motor control system may calculate rotor position information, relative or absolute, based on the encoder pattern.