headasunder

My partner has finally agreed to buy an e-bike mainly to use on her 10km return commute (with a decent 1.5km hill on the return). I am an experienced road cyclist and have worked on many bikes over the years. I know nothing about e-bikes and am looking for advice on whether to get an front/rear or crank driven model, do they come with internally geared hubs or are derailleurs and cassette the norm( I'm thinking in terms of maintenance regarding the igh) any advice would be appreciated

2old

A mid-drive would be preferred for a long hill IMO. Derailleur or IGH is personal preference although an IGH means you need a front hub or mid-drive (the one exception that I'm aware of is a rear hub with IGH sold by ebikesca). Don't know where you're located, but it would be advisable (and fun) to test ride a few bikes. In general she'll need to travel up the hill at 8-10 mph with a hub motor to prevent too much battery energy being converted to heat.

momsonherbike

How steep is the hill? What is the elevation change over that 1 mile she'll be climbing? That should give the posters here a good idea of what type of ebike she might need, all else being equal, and which ones she might want to test.

headasunder

Its 8% over 1.6km, any reason not to choose a rear drive as opposed to a mid-drive? My partner wants a step thru and rides in an upright position she also wants the option of not having to pedal up the incline on the way home. Looking at this bike https://www.smartmotionbikes.co.nz/sm...rtmotion-ecity would it be suitable

momsonherbike

So that's a rise of about 425' over the span of a mile.

If your partner wants to not pedal up the incline, then she's going to need a substantial motor, and it needs to go on the rear wheel. The bike you picked out has a motor that isn't strong enough to do that incline without her help. If you are in the US, you can buy a 750W rear hub motor with a throttle (or button) that should suit her needs nicely, run up the hill unaided by pedaling, AND is the legal maximum wattage motor allowed for US pubic on-street use. But I think you are outside the US, so you need to check what the maximum wattage you will be allowed to have on a street-legal ebike for your county, and then get that maximum watt hub motor.

Have her try out and select a nice steel woman's hybrid that she feels most comfortable riding, and buy the rear ehub wheel kit for it. Put the two together, and she'll have the bike she likes, and the ehub wheel that will do the job she wants - whether she pedals or not. She'll really enjoy it.

JMHO

2old

+1 that motor will struggle and need to know your country/state to help. Big rear hub motor or mid-drive is necessary for that hill, and may not be legal depending on where you reside.

mobilemail

We just bought my wife an Electra ebike, stepthrough frame with mid-drive motor. We bought it specifically so she could go on bike rides with me and not huff and puff on the hills. (I'm cool with huff and puff...) We have had her bike up several 8-12% hills, and it goes up with no issues.

When we went shopping for the bike, he LBS guy said that hub motors have a more noticeable and always present drag, not so much an issue with the mid-drive. And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that you have a LOT of rotating weight with the hub motor.

My wife's electra rides just like a normal bike then the motor is off, only heavier.

headasunder

Thanks for the replies after talking to various e-bike shops it turns out not pedalling up that hill is not an option I took the above bike for a spin today and it went uphill with next to no effort on the highest pedal assist so it is a possible option there are no mid drive upright ride, step thru's in my city at present so I cant compare the two. Regarding the Electra does that tiny chainring cause any longevity issues

slomoshun

Not always present. Direct-drive hubs drag, geared hubs are different.

A rotating weight is called a flywheel. Internal combustion engines won't idle without rotating weight. On a bicycle, the rotating weight of an electric hub creates inertia which is a good thing.

The major disadvantage of hubs on 'steep' climbs is that they lack the gear reduction range of a mid-drive working through the bike's rear cluster.

chas58

I call BS.

I have no significant drag with my hub motor. Only direct drive motors have drag.
There is very little rotating weight where it counts. All the weight is at the center, which is negligible rotational weight in my case (I have a 4lb motor laced to a light wheel).

the LBS is making general statements that may apply to direct drive motors, but not to the more popular smaller geared hub motor.

My hub motor bikes ride "just like a normal bike then the motor is off, only heavier."
(actually, my e-road bike isn't heavier than your average hybrid or mountain bike.)

350htrr

Cruiser 2000W - Hi-Power Cycles If not pedaling up a hill is what she wants she needs something like this to make that happen...

Robert C

A concern I have with recommending that bike, and why I would not, is that it is probably illegal wherever the OP is. It OP did not give a location; So, I am going to rely on the laws where I am as a guide (remember, the answer to the "whose laws, which laws?" that people like to interject into this forum is "in the jurisdiction where it is applied."). Remember that you would need to check the laws where you are, and the guys at the bike shop are usually not very knowledgeable.

All that being said, the law in the US, and in the states I operate, in say 750W. To get to most out of the power you have available, no matter how much that is, you should go through the gears. I am on a bit of a mid-drive kick and recommend them. The BaFang BBSxx series is very well regarded for its simplicity of installation, performance, and reliability.

If you are convinced on a hub motor, and there are arguments for them, you still should stick with the rear wheel unless you have a very specific reason for not doing so. There several rear wheel conversion kits, there is even one that features an internal gearing hub.

Yes, I am pointing at kits. I recommend getting a bike she likes, and then adding a motor to it. First, it may be cheaper (depending on DIY and shop rates). More importantly, you are more likely to get a better base bike. There are very good, ready to ride, e-bikes on the market however, they tend to be expensive. The lower priced e-bikes are generally built on a poor quality bicycle.

Use the bike linked to in the quote on this post as an example, It has brakes that I would not consider for an e-bike. With the increased speed the e-bike is frequently going to be used at, disc brakes, or name brand drum brakes, are a necessity. Some will say that rim brakes are fine; yes, immediately after leaving the shop they may work reasonable well. However, for most riders they do not offer consistent, reliable, stopping power.

Second the fork is of noticeably poor quality, remember, on an e-bike you are going to be pounding the parts harder. I could keep going; but the point is there, many manufacturers of low price e-bikes use very poor quality bikes as the basis of the product. They then try to mask the poor quality of the basic bike by using an illegally oversized motor.

Yes, there are exceptions to the comments I made above; but if you are just starting out, you are unlikely to find those exceptions (and I cannot think of any that are step through models, that is why I am not point you at any of the exceptional products). Start with a good bike, then have it converted, you will have a better quality, and lower priced bike when you are done.

350htrr

Yea, there's not many step through bikes that also have quality parts... But then again how rough of a use is it going to get, it's a step through... As for the over powered motor, I'm pretty sure you can adjust the levels for legal or off road.

headasunder

thanks for all the info, here in NZ a 300w motor is the maximum over that requires registration and an initial warrant of fitness. Her indoors has now accepted the fact that she will have to turn the pedals to get up the hill so the 'no pedalling' is no longer a requirement.

momsonherbike

Yeah, but a nice little 300w motor can really rocket along on the flat, and if she plans it right (and has the runway to do it) she can wind that bike up to 35km/hr by the time she hits the bottom of that hill, which will buy her a lot of power and momentum and speed to get up that slope, probably a lot faster than you can on your road bike. <grin> You can tell her from me that once she adds her own wattage, she'll be happy she gets to add her bit to the equation.

BTW - on a flat paved road my own little 250w front hub can get me up to 23mph (38km/h) within 45 seconds, unassisted by me, from a dead standstill. These motors are very fast and very efficient.

I'm with Robert C and all those who suggest she find a nice woman's bike - hybrid (which is what I have) or cruiser - that suits her, and add either a simple hub motor (front or rear) or a mid-drive. The kits are fairly easy to install , the front hubs are the easiest and are also removable at will. I put on my kit all by myself and it took only minutes to do. And I'm neither a mechanic nor an electrician. It was that easy with the hub motor.

You know, once she gets that ebike you're going to have all kinds of fun trying to keep up with her.

Lin_Latte

Here's an awesome mid drive bike that will climb hills easily. Price is very reasonable and affordable.

Summit 36V LiPo4 Mid Motor Electric Mountain Bicycle | electro bike world

Ray_R

See if you can find an ebike shop in your area that has a bike with the Shimano STEPS system with the Alfine IGH. It can be configured to shift manual or automatic. My wife just tested one in the states, and after trying MANY others, she's in love with this configuration. The brand she found is Wallerang, but I don't think it's sold in NZ yet. The damn Aussies have it though. ;~)

ivanky.li

I live in NZ too and have been dealing with electric bikes, so here's my 2c worth: (Adding to Robert's reply)

In terms of stability, adding a mid drive motor and bottle holder mounted battery puts the extra weight at the center of the bike. Whereas adding a hub motor tends to disperse the weight towards the front or rear, making it slightly harder to handle when turning. I did notice some difference when I tried them out. Not sure how it would handle in wet ground though.

In terms of ability to fit, most bikes can fit a hub motor because sizes are standardised around the fork and rear hub. However, you'll need to be careful of how much weight and force you're adding. The front fork is structurally weaker than the rear, and adding extra weight becomes extra force on the fork when going over bumps on the road. Depending on what the road quality is like, it may be a good idea to add a torque arm as support to avoid damaging the frame.

On the other hand, mid drive motor takes advantage of the bike's gearing (better for up hills with 300W), but this could produce more wear and tear on the drive train. Installation is more difficult as well, as most kits require special tools to remove the bottom derailleur to mount the motor kit. In NZ (where I live too), you can get that done for around $70 ~ $100 from BikeBarn / T7.

In terms of torque, the BAFANG BBS01 (mid drive) states >= 80Nm max torque, whereas the BionX system (hub motor) states maximum 50Nm. Not sure if this is general difference but don't forget the mid drive still has the gearing to amplify the torque.

I'm going to be fitting a BAFANG BBS01 onto my Merida Ride 100. If you're interested to take a look, feel free to PM me.

Hope this helps! And good on ya for cycling in NZ.