E-Bikes with 750w+ motors available in Europe

[abishov]

Hi everyone!

I live in Norway and here regulations require bikes running 250w+ engines to be registered as motorcycles. Hence, most bikes on the market are coming with 250w motors, that I feel won't be enough to climb steep hills (and Oslo is full of them). Especially, when paying around $3K for a bike, I would rather buy something that I would truly enjoy.

Some e-bike producers, such Super73, ship their bikes to Europe with a software "downgrade" to 250w, with ability to "unlock" the full potential of the motor through app (up to 2k watts). The problem with Super73s is that they are never in stock and also they don't look like bikes easy to pedal. Thus, I wanted to ask if anyone knows a well known brand (such as Haibike), that would sell an e-bike with a powerful motor in Europe?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

that I feel won't be enough to climb steep hills (and Oslo is full of them)

Your initial perception is misplaced. You should not make decisions based on the advertised numbers.
Those numbers are just for advertisement.

If you are a bicycle rider who enjoys pedaling, you will be fine with any of the Bosch, Yamaha, Shimano motors.
If you are new to the whole bike or E-bike scene, then initially, you will be enamored by the higher power (1kW+ ) motors but soon you will realize the controlled application of power is more important than power output itself.
This video explains how to extract the best performance out of a mid-drive. Note: this is a 6yr old video and the latest motors are a lot more powerful than the one shown here.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@abishov, I recommend watching the Electric Mountain Bike Network on YouTube to understand what the 250 W e-MTB can do.

 

[abishov]

If you are a bicycle rider who enjoys pedaling

I enjoy pedaling from time to time, but when commuting I would rather use a throttle. I have read that bikes with throttles should have at least 500w+ motors to be usable. I understand that the specs can be misleading (nominal vs peak output) + torque makes a difference. In other words, I would love to find a bike that can be equipped with a throttle and would be able to climb hills without me pedaling.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Abishov. You live in Europe, even if Norway is only associated with European Union.
We do not use the throttle in Europe. Bear in mind the 750+ W e-bikes would need to be certified in Europe to become street-legal machines. No Chinese crap will ever be certified as a moped in Europe.

Wake up. Buy yourself a good L1e-B e-bike, register and insure that. Or, buy yourself an e-MTB. Real e-MTB.

P.S. So you say Norway is more steep?

 

[abishov]

Obviously not that steep I should have mentioned in the thread that I am not looking for a mountain bike, but rather a hybrid/commuter style bike.

I also aware that EU regulations forbid throttles, but I find this limitation somewhat artificial. All other electric vehicles, such as scooters, skateboards, etc are allowed to have a throttle. Yes, they're supposed to be capped at 25 km/h top speed, but the motor can deliver significantly higher torque which is useful when going uphill. I have an electric skateboard with motors outputting 2.2k watts in total, and that thing is pure joy to ride (boostedbosrd stealth if you're wondering) Hence, I was looking for something similar in the bike world.

Thanks for the recommendation though!

 

[JRA]

Your best bet is to get ahold of a kit motor system that has the features you require both wattage and throttle and installing it on a bike. I seriously doubt there are any eBikes in the EU that will meet your requirements due to their regulations.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I don't think electric skateboards are allowed by Norwegian law. Buy yourself a Vado 5.0 (or better 6.0) Abishov and save me trouble