Originally Posted by
Kapusta
......My understanding is that a hub motor under heavy load for long needs to be going about half max speed (or close to it) or risk overheating. Going half max speed up a 12% grade without a lot of pedal input sounds like a tall order unless it is a very powerful motor. Am I wrong on this?
You are correct. I strongly recommend against a hub motor for your situation.
The common recommendation of a mid-drive is a good one, but probably more than you need.
Based on your description of what you have done with your bikes, you should have no trouble with an ebike conversion.
As an alternative to a mid-drive, you may want to consider one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6KA4KL/?coliid=I37O5ETMIXDPA8&colid=3D7G6CPMWK8AE&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1&psc=1
For your particular application, you may want a larger cog on the rear wheel (and longer chain) to provide more torque, but lower top speed. The freewheel on the motor means that there is almost no drag when you are not using the electric side.
One source for sprockets with more teeth:
https://www.bicycle-engines.com/6-bo...mall-diameter/ there are many, most targeting gas engine conversion.
I recommend a down tube battery to keep the bike better balanced, rear rack battery makes the handling of some bikes very squirrelly.