Looking for a super light ebike for hilly commute

C

charly

New Member
Hi everyone,

I currently have a Riese Muller Roadster HS (350W, 65Nm, 20T / 9sp 11-32), which weighs 23kg. Sometimes I have the feeling I use the engine only to compensate for that weight! Also I made a mistake and got a size too big (too used to the road bike position), now my saddle is super low and I have to lean the bike when I stop else my crotch gets smashed on the top tube.

I am looking at changing...

I am relatively fit as I regularly train with a road bike so I don't mind pushing the pedals a bit. But I would like to enjoy a sweat free commute as much as possible.

So: Is there a lightweight ebike around which would allow me the following:
- Safely climb 15% hills with 200m climb over 3-4km, this is my daily commute!
- Lightweight so I can actually lift it up a flight of stairs or hang it on the wall without breaking my back
- Looking good and not like a motorcycle
- Allowing me to ride at 30-35 kmh on the flat without oo much effort. I don't need 45kmh, but would appreciate the assistance as high as possible
- Commute 20k a day (with that 3km 15% hill)
- Price range 3000$+

The bikes I found are mostly hub motors, can those hub motors climb?

Also what about the gearing, most have mid-size cranks (38 or 40T), which is not ideal even if I change the cassette for an 11-36, unless I am mistaken?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
You are different than most ebike buyers.. You dont need a lot of help, and that help is only for a very short distance over a steep hill.

If i were you I'd get a kit with a geared hub motor, small controller and 48v 10 amp hour battery.

Install that kit on an upright commuter bike. Or if you have a road bike hanging around (who doesn't?), convert it to a commuter bike with bull handlebars, wider tires and a comfy seat.

The advantage of a geared hub is low resistance when you are pedaling, and its light.

Here's a website for kits, but there are plenty in your country, which is were I'd buy.

The nice thing about a kit is that you can choose a winding that is good for steep hills, rather than top end...

The whole rig should add less than 20 lbs to a standard 30 lbs bike.. total would be 23 kg.

Should cost around $1200 plus the donor bike.


https://em3ev.com/shop/upgrade-mac-...y-option-and-black-case-controller-2000w-max/
 
There does seem to be an emerging category of e-bikes, at least in Europe, that come close to fitting your requirements:

CUBE Agree C:62 SLT Disc

Since it is euro spec the assist will top out at 25kph, but damn is that bike light (12.8 kg). And you can remove the battery and motor and make the bike lighter still.
 
These mini motors have a following at a couple of the DYI forums
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
 
Have you tried taking off the battery and taking a second trip for it? It would make your bike 3 or so kilos lighter. As far as power goes there are options for more that cover the extra system weight. If you need lower gearing you can retro a cassette with more teeth or a chainring with less to compensate for that easily.
 
Get an aluminum hybrid bike with fixed forks: 22 lbs ($1100)
BBS02 mid-drive kit without battery ~8.3 lbs ($450) - LunaCycles
Luna 6.6 ah mini battery ~3.3 lbs (total range 15 miles or 24 km) ($300)
(hangs under the seat in a small bag. I have one and its very light)
Total weight: 34.1 lbs . (roughly 15-16 kg)

I have a similar setup at home. With the BBS02, you should be able to climb any hill with little effort.
 
Last edited:
Oh! I didn't expect so many answers in such a short time, thank you all so much!!

There are some great ideas there!
Regarding carrying the bike, indeed at my place I can take the battery off, but in my city there are a few shortcuts which involve going up a long flight of stairs, and leaving either the battery or the bike is not an option ;-)
An ideal bike would be sub 15Kg (33 lbs), I am spoiled and really used to my road bike which is around 7Kg... (15 lbs).

Indeed I agree, as I researched, there seems to be a new category of road bikes which are close to what I am looking for, but are way too expensive (Pinarello, Cube Agree...). Also, while I appreciate the drops (much safer on descents), the aggressive road bike position is really not safe while commuting, where it's better to be on the lookout for incoming, swerving, braking, lane-crossing drivers.

I found a couple of bikes which are close in specs to what I'm looking for.

AMPLER CURT: https://amplerbikes.com/en/e-bikes/curt
Pro: Looks great, 14Kg, carbon fork (great for vibration dampening), ~3000$ with 10sp and lights. I could probably get the weight even further down by changing the front wheel. The support/sales are nice, and very responsive.
Cons: Gearing: 40T at the front, cassette can be changed to a compatible 11-36, but that's a limited range overall for climbing super steep hills with 14Kg, unless I'm mistaken? (ok, I can contribute an additional 100W pushing mildly, and 200W pushing harder but then I'll start sweating). See comparison:
http://www.gear-calculator.com/?GR=...RZ2=11,12,13,14,16,18,20,22,25,28,32&UF2=2220
The price seems also a bit high (as with all e-bikes) for these pretty standard (and cheap) components.
Also, the frame can't accept a double chainring.

ORBEA GAIN D20 (road/gravel) / F20 (fitness/city)
https://www.orbea.com/ch-en/ebikes/gain-d20
https://www.orbea.com/nl-en/ebikes/gain-f20
Pro: 13Kg, ~3300$, well-known brand with serious dealer network, full Shimano 105 compact groupset (i.e. can be easily upgraded/changed to my liking) on the F20, SRAM Rival 1x on the D20.

Here are a few bikes I discarded:
HAIBIKE XDURO: 19Kg a bit on the heavy side, and too expensive
GIANT ROAD E+: 19Kg, same story
COBOC SEVEN: limited gear range and too expensive
KETTLER 2° STREET: can't find much information on this one

Then there's this one, which is über-beautiful, has a very interesting pinion gearbox (although 15Kg with the 1.9CX version), but unfortunately, at 6000$, is completely out of my budget (the engine is the same as for the Orbea bikes).
DESIKNIO PINION URBAN: http://desiknio.com/pinionurban/


I will definitely look into the cost and effort of making my own build, I like the idea of having a fully customised bike, and compare with the above. Thank you very much for the recommendations, it's very helpful!
 
Got a few things wrong in the specs:
- The Ampler has a 42T crank, on the pro side, you can up the power to 350W / 35kmh (illegal where I live!)
- The Orbea Gain weights 11.3Kg... (!)
 
I ordered a Trek Verve+ @$2,200 and if I remember 36 or so pounds without the battery; though I do hear you about not being able to leave the battery in the city; I figure if I don't like it it is cheap enough that I can sell it. Keep us posted!
 
Unfortunately the Trek Verve+ is not available in my country.
I am increasingly interested in the Orbea Gain, I found a shop which has them as of end of May - they seem to be in high demand and limited production! Really need to try that one out. I'll post pics if I get my hands on one.
I also just discovered that my Riese and Muller, being registered (with licence plate), cannot be modified in my country! Which means I can't even change the fork or the groupset if I would want to. One more reason to change... :)
 
I have a cube touring hybrid Exc 500 with a Bosch Cx 500 watt battery Diore xt plus 11 speed. I changed out the front 15 tooth sprocket for a 17 tooth, and changed out the original 11-42 cassette for a 11-46 . Out of the box weight is 23.6kg, made heavier by locks, tire kits, water bottle, etc. It is speed limited at 32 kmph but climbs up the hill to our house like a mountain goat and only goes into the 11 tooth gear at 42 kmph going down hill.

I think your lightweight requirement is in conflict with an ebike that has enough torque to climb steep hill and is built strongly enough to support and stand up to both the speed and torque over the long term and give the knid of stable , safe ride you want at those speeds.

Speed - Strength - Light-Weight...you can have any two but not all three.
 
The bike you're describing sounds very similar to the one I am riding lol, minus the nicer groupset on yours :)
I do climb these 15% hills at 20+ kph (with some effort), where on pure muscle I would hardly be at 10kph and stalling.
On the flats and the downhill I am seriously hindered by aerodynamics and can hardly go over 50kph.

My theory is the weight of the bike is a hinderance overall (although it is incredibly stabilising at high speed on downhills or in strong wind), even more so on climbs, and you don't need a powerful motor if you can contribute a bit.
On my regular bike, I can push out 240W climbing with a 200W FTP overall, which is pretty average tbh.
Maybe you're right and I am wrong, but I feel you can get speed, strength and lightweight all together, if your physical condition contributes to one of these :)
 
That Alpenchallenge bike is a beauty. I've got to say that I question the use of carbon fiber for an ebike frame. Due to the extra power given by the motor, ebike frames are subjected to more stress than regular bikes. Carbon fiber is tough, and it would work just fine -- until it didn't. Steel and aluminum can flex and even crack some without catastrophic outcomes. When carbon fiber gives in, it doesn't crack, it disintegrates.

It's also curious to me that they don't give an overall weight. They talk about frame, fork and seatpost weights, but what about drivetrain, wheels, fenders, etc.? It seems like reduced weight would be the selling point for a carbon fiber ebike. Odd.
 
I've seen a video in which they claim a bike weight of 13 or 14Kg, which seems ok but a bit on the heavy side for a full carbon frame. My gut feeling is it is lighter than that. I agree it's odd the weight it not really mentioned or put forward more.

I wouldn't worry about the carbon frame, pro cyclist push out way more power and can average 350W over longer periods of time (with peaks during sprints way over 800W) on even lighter pure carbon frames. I would say these guys and girls are pretty good at stressing bike frames and I haven't seen one break on a sprint or in a velodrome yet ;-) Actually, carbon is incredibly rigid, much more than aluminium, therefore in the end a much better choice.

The reason why carbon is not so popular with city bikes is the price, and fragility (can't really bend it back straight once broken lol)
 
There is little you can do adding an e system to a bike to reduce the weight of it other than downsizing watts and wh'rs. This is because copper, magnets and the housing material weight etc. weigh the same for everyone. So in the end the lightest e bike will have the least power and range which for 99% of the cycling population makes little sense.

So even with reducing the size and weight of the e system you would have to put it on a bike that has the lightest frame and components and these days it seems Carbon Fiber is the go to material. But it you want more available power and range, adding weight of a larger e system to the bike, the actual weight of the bike becomes less important because it is supported by the former. With the extra power and weight the bike itself should by nature be more substantial.

But you also can get to be too heavy. Not a knock against Stromer but those bikes have some heft far and above, by 20lbs., of what I am used to riding my bikes that have similar size power systems. But in the end their extra weight doesn't really mean much when aided by e assist obviously as they are a popular brand.
 
Well JRA, that is one of the points of this post actually and I couldn't agree more. Although while the extra power will compensate the extra weight, in terms of overall output of rider+motor, and overall power2weight ratio, it might be more efficient to have a lighter bike and a smaller engine (my theory). Also, a lighter bike is more agile, will start faster, and be more "carryable"
I'm eager to try honestly and I'll make sure to report back ;-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

N
Petite rider ISO basic, lightweight ride
2
Replies
24
Views
3K
mschwett
mschwett
BMWzenRider
Shopping for a new Full-Suspension Step-Thru E-Bike w/Throttle -- Best Brand/Model?
2
Replies
39
Views
5K
Nvreloader
N
I
Bafang M510 Wide Range Gearing
Replies
2
Views
753
kevinmccune
kevinmccune
P
2023 Prodigy ST
Replies
5
Views
2K
Sefutau2020
Sefutau2020
J
Looking for recommendations: commuter ebike for 1 mile 10% grade
2 3
Replies
41
Views
5K
dodgeman
dodgeman
Back