Disabled rider ...need more hill climbing power.

[Drahuber]

i have a weak leg after an accident and am an intermediate mountain bike rider. Ebikes have been a life saver for me. For road , I have an easymotion Neo Carbon and for trails a Neo 29er. I have been finding that the 29er just isn't giving me enough power to get up those little steep hills that you come across mtn biking. My bike has a 250w rear hub motor and a 24 v 12 Mah battery giving me 288 whs.
I have recently come across a brand new Raleigh tekoa ie 29'er. It has a 350"w motor with over 70 units of torque and a 48 v 8.7 mah battery for 417 w hrs. It has a Currie mid drive and less gears and the components on it I don't think are quite a good as my neo.
The thing is that it is on sale for 2000$ can which seems like a good deal. Would this bike solve my power problem ?
Thxs
Al

 

[Trail Cruiser]

I got one of those for $1800. Very high torque mid drive, very capable on extreme inclines. The negative thing about the ebike is it has no shift sensor (ahhh, the gear slamming and banging). That was easily remedied by slightly tapping the left brake when shifting. I increased the sensitivity of the brake switch by putting 3 stacks of neodynium magents near the sensor. A very slight tap 1-2 mm to the left brake handle deactivates the motor and made the shifting a breeze. I put street tires on mine and this bike can reach 28 mph without a sweat.

The assist fades away above 90 rpm (similar to yamaha and brose) and that bothers me since I am a high cadence rider 80-110 rpm. On my kind of routine averaging 20 mph, the battery can travel 22-26 miles. At lower speeds, the battery can go as far as the mid to upper 30's.
For that price, the value is unbeatable.

The 2015 model (red color) is class 3, can reach 28 mph.
The 2016 model (gray/silver color) is class 2, power assist stops at 20 mph.

 

[pxpaulx]

A mid drive is the way to go for you. They take advantage of the bikes gearing so you can go very slowly and still receive full assist. Hub motors like to be at their optimum running speed, while a mid drive just needs to be in the right gear for optimum efficiency.

 

[JRA]

A mid drive is the way to go for you. They take advantage of the bikes gearing so you can go very slowly and still receive full assist. Hub motors like to be at their optimum running speed, while a mid drive just needs to be in the right gear for optimum efficiency.

I hear this a lot but my experience seems to be different? I can climb really steep stuff at a slow and steady pace in my lowest gear drawing full wattage or cruise at any wattage I require at the cadence I want varying easily between gears with no stress on the drivetrain. This is with a direct drive motor and a throttle, no PAS, which I found to have the same effect on my desired cadence as Mark.

Raleigh is a good brand backed by the biggest name in the game Accell. They are clearing out their inventory apparently but I would be suspicious of buying an e bike that has been sitting unattended for a long time without the battery being held at proper storage charge. Just make sure it will be covered under warranty.

 

[Trail Cruiser]

I hear this a lot but my experience seems to be different? I can climb really steep stuff at a slow and steady pace in my lowest gear drawing full wattage or cruise at any wattage I require at the cadence I want varying easily between gears with no stress on the drivetrain. This is with a direct drive motor and a throttle, no PAS, which I found to have the same effect on my desired cadence as Mark.

Raleigh is a good brand backed by the biggest name in the game Accell. They are clearing out their inventory apparently but I would be suspicious of buying an e bike that has been sitting unattended for a long time without the battery being held at proper storage charge. Just make sure it will be covered under warranty.

I have both mid drive Tekoa and direct drive Dash (considered a hot rod by many). The direct drive is fine on small hills and is actually very fast. On very steep hills, I tend to lower the assist level and then rely heavily on gearing with high cadence and high effort. I have a feeling that I will overheat the motor at high current/low speed combination if I do it on a prolonged period. On the otherhand, the Tekoa is at home on steep hills. Whenever I ride my Tekoa near my house, I tend to look for the steepest inclines and using the throttle makes the Tekoa leap forward through the climbs. With my dash, I avoid the big hills.

I got a brand new battery when I got the Tekoa. Drahuber, ask for a new battery if you decide to get the ebike.

By the way, the batteries are interchangeable between my Tekoa and Dash. So I don't have range anxiety anymore, whatever bike I use, plus I have an additional third battery.