7 gears or direct

[Jon Kling]

I live in Utah and I want to travel My daughter lives 110 miles South of here "Provo" she lives in "Salina" UT. which is about 1100 ft higher
but there are downhill also. So a lot of mountains. My question is would it be worth it to get the 7 gear option? I'm 68 206 lbs.
I will be getting the large Battery with the extra battery is the front basket. They estimate 200 miles.

7 Gears or Direct drive. My last bike was 18-speed {about 40 years ago LOL}

 

[Eric Kuyper]

If your intention is to ride the 110 miles, then absolutely you want the 7 gear option. Even with both batteries, that milage is based on mostly riding in PAS 1. Between the two batteries, you'll have around 30ah. So figure that equates to 1,630wh, which means you could in theory ride the entire way in PAS 2 @ ~12mph average. You'll want the gears to avoid having to increase your battery usage when you can easily downshift. Plus, you can maximize the times where you have a tailwind.

 

[GypsyTreker]

What Eric said. You can of course coast and use your 7 speeds, motor off to extend range. I mentioned somewhere that peddaling only on flat ground is quite easy onna hub drive eBike.

 

[Jon Kling]

If your intention is to ride the 110 miles, then absolutely you want the 7 gear option. Even with both batteries, that milage is based on mostly riding in PAS 1. Between the two batteries, you'll have around 30ah. So figure that equates to 1,630wh, which means you could in theory ride the entire way in PAS 2 @ ~12mph average. You'll want the gears to avoid having to increase your battery usage when you can easily downshift. Plus, you can maximize the times where you have a tailwind.

Thanks that helps a lot. It is what I figured but the math makes sense. the first Battery is 17ah and I'm not sure what the basket battery is.
but suppose to get 200 miles. Almost flat land, I'm here in the mountains.

 

[dmillat74]

I won’t be doing anything close to 100 miles and I live in Michigan. I plan on getting the “up to 100 mile” battery in a model c. For simplicity, I’m thinking of direct and not the 7 speed. Does anyone else have a direct drive unit from EBC and not miss the gears?