NotTheBus
New Member
on a hub motor bike, max sustainable torque is going to be the same (for the same series of motor) regardless of 20 vs 28mph winding. Whether your battery and controller can handle the amps to create max torque on a faster wound motor may be a question. Max speed is just a matter of voltage, winding, and controller settings. I could easily reprogram my Class II bikes to be Class III, with no loss of starting torque. A mid drive is a different animal potentially, since gearing choice matters.
A mid drive with Nuvinci would absolutely see less starting torque if geared to hit 28mph with assist, vs gearing it to be optimized for 20mph. In my experience max torque matters relatively little unless you are bogging it down on a steep hill; at practical speeds on the near flat you will see the controller going into a power limiting or speed limiting mode (to stay legal or due to battery draw limits) far more often than being torque limited.
With the Edgerunner and 750w of geared hub motor, I am typically above 15mph before I finish an intersection from a stop. With my typical loadout, that is 350 pounds of human and stuff. I experienced similar acceleration trying out a Bosch/Nuvinci cargo bike (The urban arrow). That bike was a class II, but the top gearing made for a lazy cadence at 20mph.
A mid drive with Nuvinci would absolutely see less starting torque if geared to hit 28mph with assist, vs gearing it to be optimized for 20mph. In my experience max torque matters relatively little unless you are bogging it down on a steep hill; at practical speeds on the near flat you will see the controller going into a power limiting or speed limiting mode (to stay legal or due to battery draw limits) far more often than being torque limited.
With the Edgerunner and 750w of geared hub motor, I am typically above 15mph before I finish an intersection from a stop. With my typical loadout, that is 350 pounds of human and stuff. I experienced similar acceleration trying out a Bosch/Nuvinci cargo bike (The urban arrow). That bike was a class II, but the top gearing made for a lazy cadence at 20mph.
