easy-rolling ebikes when unpowered (what brands)

[Rexlion]

This question is for those of you who have experienced multiple brands of ebikes. Do you find that certain brands stand out in terms of low rolling resistance and ease of pedaling when the ebike is not under motor assist? If so, will you please share which brands you have ridden in this way (perhaps you were experimenting, or perhaps the battery ran out, whatever) and which brands were the better ones?

Years ago, when I owned a cheap bike from WM and happened to ride a rented Trek bike for a couple hours, I was surprised at how much easier the Trek moved. It felt to me like the bearings were better or something, because it rolled more freely and moved (both up hills and on the flats) with less effort. I'm wondering if you folks have noticed a similar situation with your ebikes.

 

[indianajo]

My 2017 yubabikes bodaboda with an added geared hub motor is fine. The knobby tires offer a little resistance, especially the brand that doesn't have a rib down the middle. Same drag essentially as the previous Pacific Quantum MTB it replaced. On the same tires. About the same weight too, since the Pacific was steel framed.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It is any of Specialized SL e-bikes. These (relatively low weight) e-bikes are designed to be ridden as regular bikes with the mid-drive electric motor for extra boost.

• Creo SL: road and gravel e-bikes <-- I have demo ridden the aluminium road version
• Vado SL: fitness e-bikes <-- I own one
• Como SL: city e-bikes
• Levo SL: trail e-MTBs
• Kenevo SL: all-mountain e-MTBs

 

[JES2020]

This question is for those of you who have experienced multiple brands of ebikes. Do you find that certain brands stand out in terms of low rolling resistance and ease of pedaling when the ebike is not under motor assist? If so, will you please share which brands you have ridden in this way (perhaps you were experimenting, or perhaps the battery ran out, whatever) and which brands were the better ones?

Years ago, when I owned a cheap bike from WM and happened to ride a rented Trek bike for a couple hours, I was surprised at how much easier the Trek moved. It felt to me like the bearings were better or something, because it rolled more freely and moved (both up hills and on the flats) with less effort. I'm wondering if you folks have noticed a similar situation with your ebikes.

Any geared hub motor will freewheel. That leaves the bike weight and tire tread and pressure to work on. Obviously street tread and high pressure thin tires will roll the best.

 

[AHicks]

Any geared hub motor will freewheel. That leaves the bike weight and tire tread and pressure to work on. Obviously street tread and high pressure thin tires will roll the best.

I agree, and would add mid drives to that list, or at least the one's I'm familiar with. There's a one-way clutch that uncouples the motor when coasting.

If you're trying to understand rolling resistance, and you leave the potential for dragging brakes and way too tight bearings out of the picture, it's about tire design and tire pressures. That's about it. There nothing in the way of bike design or geometry that might affect it.

There are some newer tire designs that allow for a much fatter tire (related to good ride qualities) without a LOT of extra rolling resistance when compared to cheap skinny high pressure tires. All tires of the same size are NOT created equal!

When it comes to the correct air pressure, screw what it says on the sidewall. That's just there to inform you of the "never exceed". There's no universal answer/tire pressure. It's about what works for you (your priorities when it comes to ride vs. rolling resistance, surfaces most commonly experienced, etc), and the difference IS a big deal. If you want to do a decent job of evaluating rolling resistance between 2 bikes or tire designs, you need to start here. As far as making a buying decision based on rolling resistance, keep in mind a simple tire change can make a world of difference. Personally, I would NOT make a decision based on differences in rolling resistance for that reason. A tire change to suit personal preferences no big deal.

If you want to compare 2 bikes, my "go to" would be low speed handling. How do you like this bike's low speed handling? Does it even allow it, or are you off to speeds in excess of 10-12 mph (in PAS 1) as soon as you start pedaling? How easy is it to keep the bike in the 6-8mph range most commonly seen on multi use trails?

Have fun (making yourself crazy) with your research, and keep asking questions! -Al

 

[mschwett]

…
There are some newer tire designs that allow for a much fatter tire (related to good ride qualities) without a LOT of extra rolling resistance when compared to cheap skinny high pressure tires. All tires of the same size are NOT created equal!

that last sentence is very true. and there is a pretty huge difference between types of tires. for anyone who wants to dive into the rabbit hole on this, check out bicyclerollingresistance.com

the very easiest rolling road tires are around 7-9 watts of resistance per tire. mtb, 13-20. fat bike, 25-35. at 18 mph. less efficient tires in some of these categories are several times worse than the very best referenced above … so you could EASILY have a combined 60 watts of resistance just from your tire selection.

if you want a bike that’s easy to pedal without the motor, this is important!

 

[PSm]

Like others mentioned, there are many choices and factors, but simplifying down to the most basic factors are 1) low weight, 2) low tire rolling resistance.

My ebikes range from 33 lbs to 50 lbs, and each one is fairly easy to ride with good, low resistance tires at higher pressures.

My single speed belt drive ebike was 33 lbs originally, before adding an extender battery, rear rack, saddle bag and food/water. Even now, fully loaded it's 42+ lbs, but is easy to ride motor off on the flats or mild hills. Biggest change for easier riding was going to Continental Grand Prix 5000 tires, and running at 90+ psi.

 

[indianajo]

I agree, and would add mid drives to that list, or at least the one's I'm familiar with. There's a one-way clutch that uncouples the motor when coasting.

The O.P. asked what bikes had least resistance when pedaling without power. Not what had least resistance when coasting. Mid-drives bosch (lower 3 levels), shimano, bafang, others, spin the motor with your feet when pedaling unpowered. Yamaha & brose have a clutch that lets the motor stop when you pedal unpowered. At least by reputation.

 

[PSm]

p.s.- forgot to mention brand/model, but I have the Ride1UP Roadster v2 single speed belt drive. Advertised 20-30 mile range with internal battery only, my longest ride was 60 miles with a lot of unpowered pedaling. With added extended battery advertised 40-60 mile range, my longest ride so far, almost 100 miles with a lot of unpowered pedaling.

p.p.s.- mentioned Specialized especially lightest ones should ride much like a regular non-ebike, with the lower weight. And another would be the Lemond carbon ebikes, very light too.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Specifically, the Specialized SL 1.1 motor (by Mahle) was designed the way it is totally disconnected when not powering the bike.

 

[tomjasz]

Beware of bikes that you might convert to a mid drive with press fit bottom brackets. Or other iterations that are similar. I just helped a fellow with an $1100 Speciazed step through and its a very difficult conversion, period.

 

[kevinmccune]

My experience with wide knobbies is this these things drag especially on a heavy bike, perhaps we need another forum on low-cost bikes( any hope for these budget thingys) The price of better quality bikes will certainly scare the limited income folks off, the low-cost e-bikes can be a "gateway drug.
Yes I plopped my carcass on a Specialized Hybrid or something like that and I was amazed how easy that thing peddled in the grass with the motor off. The pricetag will keep Me forever apart on these nice bikes.Now this is crazy I am going to say it anyway,I tried a Christmas special "Hyper Hybrid" for under $400 on special, 700 TIRES 250-watt motor, the motor actually gave you 250 watts of assist and it was relatively easy to peddle unpowered. This would make a good entry-level bike for an older average weight and height person just to get the feel of an Ebike 7.ah something Ah battery even had a rack already installed at the half-off price point it was really a bargain for someone who lived in a relatively flat area. And there is another way to try E-bikes, you can get an "I Mortor" setup just to give it a try for a little over $400 ( last year) tried that too, couldn't complain for the price.

 

[landonphd]

It is any of Specialized SL e-bikes. These (relatively low weight) e-bikes are designed to be ridden as regular bikes with the mid-drive electric motor for extra boost.

• Creo SL: road and gravel e-bikes <-- I have demo ridden the aluminium road version
• Vado SL: fitness e-bikes <-- I own one
• Como SL: city e-bikes
• Levo SL: trail e-MTBs
• Kenevo SL: all-mountain e-MTBs

I have a heavier Specialized Turbo Como 5 that is meant to be ridden as a powered bike. I have ridden it as an analogue bike (both with battery attached and without battery attached) on occasion. As you might expect, I sacrificed cadence, speed, and ride duration because I'm not a particularly strong rider. However, while it wasn't as fun to ride, it was not a major problem for me to ride it in this conformation and might not affect a stronger rider at all. I can't address rolling resistance on hills because I ride on a flat trail. My perception is that, on the flat, the bike rolls to a stop in the same distance and rate with or without the battery; although I haven't measured that. During my pre-purchase research, an independent review of the Turbo Como 5 stated that the high build quality of the bike meant that it could be ridden without battery power if necessary, which was an important point in my choosing the bike.

 

[tomjasz]

Keep your acoustic bike. Add an eBike.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I have a heavier Specialized Turbo Como 5 that is meant to be ridden as a powered bike. I have ridden it as an analogue bike (both with battery attached and without battery attached) on occasion. As you might expect, I sacrificed cadence, speed, and ride duration because I'm not a particularly strong rider. However, while it wasn't as fun to ride, it was not a major problem for me to ride it in this conformation and might not affect a stronger rider at all. I can't address rolling resistance on hills because I ride on a flat trail. My perception is that, on the flat, the bike rolls to a stop in the same distance and rate with or without the battery; although I haven't measured that. During my pre-purchase research, an independent review of the Turbo Como 5 stated that the high build quality of the bike meant that it could be ridden without battery power if necessary, which was an important point in my choosing the bike.

I think the "easy-rolling" in the Original Post was rather how the e-bike would accelerate when unpowered. My Specialized Turbo Vado 5.0 allows me to ride unpowered at ridiculous 14 km/h, while the lightweight Turbo Vado SL allows me the unpowered ride at 18 km/h (with my bad legs). Quite a difference!

 

[pmcdonald]

I ride a bit unpowered when riding with friends on bikes without motors. The Yamaha motor is quite easy to ride when off. It takes a bit to get it rolling but once up at speed I have no issue keeping up with the friends.

I definitely appreciate more gears in this context. Powered I really just use a low and high gear, unpowered I use most of the range on both front cogs.

As others have said tyres can have a huge impact too. Light, fast rolling and no wider than I absolutely need are my go to now.

 

[Marcela]

I believe any of the Specialized with the Brose motor. I pedal quite a bit unassisted on a Vado and Como.

 

[retiredNH]

Because I'm a recreational rider who rides for fun and exercise, a good portion of my rides are unpowered, on a Trek Allant+ 8S. Even for me, a 73 year old guy on chemotherapy, it's not hard to keep up a 12 mph speed on level ground unpowered. What I could do with an acoustic bike IDK, been several years since I've ridden.

 

[Rossterman]

Any geared hub motor will freewheel. That leaves the bike weight and tire tread and pressure to work on. Obviously street tread and high pressure thin tires will roll the best.

This!

 

[Catalyzt]

Because I'm a recreational rider who rides for fun and exercise, a good portion of my rides are unpowered, on a Trek Allant+ 8S. Even for me, a 73 year old guy on chemotherapy, it's not hard to keep up a 12 mph speed on level ground unpowered. What I could do with an acoustic bike IDK, been several years since I've ridden.

Same. The Shimano E5000 on my Motobecane is not powerful on steep hills, and on a 60-minute, 9-mile ride with 1,000 feet of vertical on an evening when it's 68 degrees, I'll sweat through my base shirt and sweatshirt, even the lining of my jacket.

But I do often find on flat terrain, I find myself thinking, "Shut off the motor!" and... it's already off.

Starting down a steep hill, the rolling resistance is so low that it feels like the motor's on when it's not. And if the motor IS on when I start a downhill run, it feels like I'm riding a motorcycle.