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Old 02-17-19, 04:09 AM
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Bonzo Banana
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If I was in a hilly area I'd probably go with a 3 speed hub on the back for extreme reliability and simplicity and a hub motor on the front probably more reliable than the over-complicated wide gear ratio hubs and possibly even cheaper. I wouldn't need a huge battery if I was just boosting up hills. Even Rohloff's can be problematic if you don't give them their yearly oil service. I tend to focus on reliability and simplicity and while you may think a hub motor would be more unreliable the modern brushless designs are very good. Is there a wide ratio hub that has long term reliability that isn't called Rohloff?

I would definitely want to do some research on reliability and expected lifespan of the model you are considering especially the provided warranty. I've seen reports of people barely getting out of warranty before their Nexus 7 failed and while it is expected to get 15-20,000 out of Nexus 8 I've seen reports where people seem to have got very little use like 2,000km. As hubs get more complicated reliability doesn't improve normally. I think they are a niche product for a reason. If I really wanted to go down that road for me it would have to be a Rohloff but if I was spending that sort of money I'd definitely prefer a Nexus 3 and hub motor combination.
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