Exactly the point. You should never have to push an ebike up a hill. Just buy a bike that can handle you're weight on the steepest streets you plan on riding. Taking underpowered ebikes up long, steep hills puts way too much heat stress on the motor and battery. My bike is rear hub, 7 speed, with 1000 watts. I go up any steep street sitting down with assist. My bike was $1200. You don't need to spend a lot to get a good ebike.
How much "power" do I really need?
- Thread starter HappyNaturalist
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If you are luck both bikes batteries will be interchangeable and very least you can share chargers. They are different lengths but some bikes with 500w have spacer to allow for longer 625w battery. There are also 2 different types of powertube batteries, vertical and horizontal, connectors are different positions. Typically vertical load from top and horizontal from bottom of down tube.Update - a bike shop about 4 hours away got in a Gazelle Ultimate C380 in a small step through frame size! It has a Bosch Performance Line motor (65Nm) and a Gates belt drive + Enviolo hub. I can't test ride it until Saturday but I am feeling pretty confident that's going to be my bike!! (so much so, I put a deposit down on it so they can't sell it to someone else before I get there.Every nearby Gazelle dealer has told me it will be months before they expect to have any of these bikes in stock.)
Also - while out searching for bikes for me, hubby found a fantastic deal on a Bulls Urban EVO 10 Step-Thru that fits him, so we'll be ebiking partners! So excited! (When we were first married one of our dreams was to be able to head out our door and go bike-trekking/camping...family demands kind of interrupted that plan - we may opt for B&Bs over camping now, but it's cool to be reviving that dream!)
If batteries are interchangeable then spare 500wh in future could be used for longer rides.
I know I don't throw the money I spend on my ebikes around. I worked a lot of overtime and it is my second car.
fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
what and get fat and lazy like drivers tend to? no thanks. Plus were would ˆ find the time to ride 9000 miles a year? Plus all the expenses a car entails?
I know you can't touch a quality full suspension emtb for anything close to $1,200
how much money we talking for a good used car?
here a good car would cost you more than that. I'm not talking anything special other than it was inspectable and was reliable.
you mean the cash clunkers SCAM! I live up north so you'd be hard press to find a 2008 in good condition.
Our Lectric XP 2.0st bikes have a hub motor and controller that outputs 48v @ 18a, or about 1hp. Working through the numbers, 1hp will lift bike and rider about two vertical feet per second up a slope. The big thing is to have a low-enough first gear. We swapped the stock 14-28 freewheel for the much-better 11-34 version, and now we not only don't have to pedal like dervishes at 20+mph but also we have a nice low gear when needed. 7 gears is good spacing for our needs.
On our weekly market runs we need to climb a serious slope for maybe 30 seconds. No problem.
Also, many ebikes (perhaps most) are like our Lectrics in that they have a walk mode. If the hill is truly horrible, the bike will walk itself at about 2mph; just walk alongside and keep up.
On our weekly market runs we need to climb a serious slope for maybe 30 seconds. No problem.
Also, many ebikes (perhaps most) are like our Lectrics in that they have a walk mode. If the hill is truly horrible, the bike will walk itself at about 2mph; just walk alongside and keep up.
HappyNaturalist
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Definitely NOT pocket change for us... This is my commuter vehicle. (Hubby and I share one car - a 10-year-old Prius wagon it's the only car we've had for 8 years and will continue to be for the duration of its lifetime.) That, in fact, is one of the reasons that it was so important for me to make a thoughtful purchasing decision. This had to be a bike that I would actually use and for that to be the case it had to 1) fit me well; 2) have the amount of power I need for my most likely use scenarios; and 3) be something I enjoy - otherwise I'd be likely to default back to taking the car/getting a ride - when I truly only need transportation to and from work, about 4-5 miles away. In addition to being more economical (and better for the planet), I also want a commuting option that encourages/forces/allows me to be more active, and gives hubby and I the option to be more active on days off as well. We bike or walk as often as we can for errands and do so together as often as we can. I appreciated the comment about walking not being shameful because, while I have not (yet) had to do that, I was concerned that I might not be able to make it up hills and I appreciated not being made to feel dumb should that need come to pass for me. (I am not athletic and never have been. I'm relatively fit and healthy, though.)
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HappyNaturalist
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Same Here.
harryS
Well-Known Member
Glad to know your Valentine's day bike from 2022 is still working out for you.
Successful_Beira
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Recently I'm pretty interested in Roll Road Emma3.0. It has a 1500w powerful Bafang motor. Since I living in hilly area so the motor is the first I would consider.
I have 1000 watts, and it gets over some super steep streets. With me helping of course. That extra power is so nice if you live in a hilly area. At my age, 75, I'm having lots of fun not stressing the hills or the range. I carry a second battery on the back. Just know, anything over 750 watts is no longer a bike and needs to be registered as a scooter where I live. Probably the same where you are. Just be careful around others. Good luck.
spokewrench
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In 2020 I bought a Radrunner after studying an EBR video that showed its performance. Mine was disappointing. I checked the specs: 750 W and 80 Nm. On a 10% grade I found that I was getting 2/3 of that torque. On a 6% grade I found I was getting 2/3 of that power. What's more, when I studied the video again, I calculated that they were getting much more torque and power than specified.
They claimed 750W and 80Nm because that's what Bafang specified for the motor output. Bafang must have specified a 25 amp controller. Radpower must have used 16 amp controllers for OE and 35 amp controllers for their demovid. With the OE controller, I would have had to push the bike up anything steeper than 10%. A 35 amp controller gave me ample torque and power.
That was a geared motor. I've also had three direct-drive bikes. The 750 and one of the 500s came with plenty of torque. The other 500 was from Radpower. I found that it was producing only 350 watts. As with the Radrunner, the OE controller was too small for the advertised mechanical output. A 25 A controller gave me more than 700 W output on a hill. For my purposes, the torque and power were as good as what I got from the 35 A Radrunner.
Air drag becomes significant at 15 mph and increases with the cube of speed. I don't go much over 20 on the level and am usually not over 15. I guess that's why if a motor can put out 700 watts, that's plenty, provided it can produce enough torque. Adding poles can increase the torque of a direct drive motor.
They claimed 750W and 80Nm because that's what Bafang specified for the motor output. Bafang must have specified a 25 amp controller. Radpower must have used 16 amp controllers for OE and 35 amp controllers for their demovid. With the OE controller, I would have had to push the bike up anything steeper than 10%. A 35 amp controller gave me ample torque and power.
That was a geared motor. I've also had three direct-drive bikes. The 750 and one of the 500s came with plenty of torque. The other 500 was from Radpower. I found that it was producing only 350 watts. As with the Radrunner, the OE controller was too small for the advertised mechanical output. A 25 A controller gave me more than 700 W output on a hill. For my purposes, the torque and power were as good as what I got from the 35 A Radrunner.
Air drag becomes significant at 15 mph and increases with the cube of speed. I don't go much over 20 on the level and am usually not over 15. I guess that's why if a motor can put out 700 watts, that's plenty, provided it can produce enough torque. Adding poles can increase the torque of a direct drive motor.
Yes. 20 is fast enough on the flats for sure. It's those big ass hills that get in the way. Lol
I only use 25 mph where the pavement is superb & there is no water or ice at the bottom. On average, I ride 8-10 mph. I'd have to have a suspension to enjoy going faster than 10 on our typical pavement, and suspensions are not compatible with carrying groceries to my summer camp.
I only use 25 mph where the pavement is superb & there is no water or ice at the bottom. On average, I ride 8-10 mph. I'd have to have a suspension to enjoy going faster than 10 on our typical pavement, and suspensions are not compatible with carrying groceries to my summer camp.
