steve mercier
Well-Known Member
has anyone ridden a bike with dual hub motors like this? If so , what are your impressions of it?https://motorino.ca/motorino-mtgx2
ALL WHEEL DRIVE?
- Thread starter steve mercier
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harryS
Well-Known Member
I built a 2WD fatbike in winter of 2016. 500W front motor. 750W rear motor. Two batteries. Two controllers. Two throttles. Both systems separate. I rode it with pedal assist running rear wheel and throttle to control front wheel. Probably spent $1500 on it.
Good traction in the snow. Had some fun, but I'm a solo rider and it didn't seem smart to go off alone on a forest path, and maybe fall or break down. I also would get covered in snow and come home soaked. Needed a snow suit. I lost interest in it. Now I prefer my fatbike with quiet smooth tread summer tires, and only the rear motor.
Good traction in the snow. Had some fun, but I'm a solo rider and it didn't seem smart to go off alone on a forest path, and maybe fall or break down. I also would get covered in snow and come home soaked. Needed a snow suit. I lost interest in it. Now I prefer my fatbike with quiet smooth tread summer tires, and only the rear motor.
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steve mercier
Well-Known Member
wow 2 throttles... that seems tricky but interesting ! How did the double batteries and motors affect your range?
Stromer2work
Active Member
yes, I have the emotion big bud pro. I did a write up of it in the evo forum. What do you want to know? I haven't tested it on snow or ice yet.
harryS
Well-Known Member
Yes, it took a while to get used to it. I used the same style of throttle so levers rotated in opposite directions. Best to run pedal assist on rear and feather the throttle on the front. On RWD only, rear tire wanted to slide out on ice and snow. Would use throttle for front motor to pull the bike forward.
Two motors use more energy, but will propel a bike faster than one. I believe the energy ised is less than the sum of running the same distance on each motor separately.
I have thought about doing a summer bike with 2WD. but I don't ride fast enough where it would be a benefit.
JRA
Well-Known Member
I guess that just hasn't been my experience
Not that is snows much where I live and is a focus but riding on sand is at this time and I find the combination of front hub and rear human pedaling to be beneficial for sure, even with narrower tires. Here is a pic of a track from a recent ride
I have done some experimenting with varying the degree of power to the motor and relying more on the rear and vice versa but the best combination is to work the two together so that neither is supplying more than the other. It gets a little squirrelly sometimes and not always a straight shot to the hard sand but if you keep up the momentum it seems to work ok.
As far as climbing loose/slippery terrain I also try and keep the power levels front and rear consistent. My front hub bikes are throttle only also so it is easy for me to balance this over using a PAS system I feel. On the steepest terrain I do get a little front motor slip at the top and bottom of the pedal stroke but keeping pedaling and my body weight positioned for optimum traction seems to work for me.
At the end of the ride it is whatever works for the rider and so YMMV of course.
I had an Easy Motion Big Bud Pro for a couple of years with hub motors in each wheel with actual limited slip action with the slipping wheel cutting power to keep traction. It was fun but heavy and slow steering (think truck-like compared to sports car) compared to "normal" bikes (front hub motors make front ends VERY heavy) and we just dont get enough snow (any more) to justify it. Was a lot of fun when there was enough snow but not enough power to 'break trail' in more than a few inches. it would climb very steep climbs matching my mid drive Haibike.
6zfshdb
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Northeast Pennsylvania
I test rode a Pedego Stretch dual motor cargo bike this past summer. It uses a single throttle for both 500W hub motors.
https://www.pedegoelectricbikes.com/product/stretch-dual-drive-edition/
Same top speed as the single motor version but it got you there quicker. No snow or steep hills to try but it handled well on wet leaves that would have been cause for concern with a single motor bike. The steering was a bit sluggish due to the front motor though. The estimated range was surprisingly close to it's single motor counterpart. The things I noticed most were the increased torque and acceleration but there was also a distinct loss of agility .
https://www.pedegoelectricbikes.com/product/stretch-dual-drive-edition/
Same top speed as the single motor version but it got you there quicker. No snow or steep hills to try but it handled well on wet leaves that would have been cause for concern with a single motor bike. The steering was a bit sluggish due to the front motor though. The estimated range was surprisingly close to it's single motor counterpart. The things I noticed most were the increased torque and acceleration but there was also a distinct loss of agility .
ebikemom
Well-Known Member
I tried the regular Stretch and I found it too heavy for my application (urban/suburban riding where I need to lift my bike (the rear wheel) sometimes to get a good angle to cross the street on crowded sidewalks) and that I was not strong enough to manage the bike with another adult riding on the rear (which is why I was interested in it--I thought maybe having a cargo bike instead of a regular ebike would help me to replace even more car trips.)
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