I’m at the other end of the spectrum as the OP as I like lighter ebikes and for the most part ride a bike without a motor. But I find that his original post is well written and states his point of View very well. I don’t know the history but I assume many people flamed him given what he wrote. So given the history I think the post was very mature and respecful.
Thanks, It is hard to write something that is very opinioned and not try to be on my horse looking down at everyone like "I am better then you are". I feel like I make arguments because I can stand behind them and argue them with logic and not emotion. It's hard not to argue from a place of emotion because were human. Every one is so quick to knee jerk their answer without actually thinking about what they are saying or how it sounds. It's MY fault it landed wrong, its MY fault because in too much of a snowflake or have thin skin, its MY fault because I don't agree with them.
My only criticism would be two things. First I agree with Alaskan that if he actually gets into an accident then there could be legal issues. But he wouldn’t be the only one at risk. Likely Bitrix would be at risk if he say rode into someone at speed and significantly injured them. But it sounds like he’s pretty responsible and the likelihood of that happening is pretty low.
So I live in Ontario so other places might be different but I have done research and called police and asked all these questions. I feel quite firm in my stance that just because a bike can go over the speed limit it doe snot automatically make you liable in an accident, its up to the other side to prove I was doing something that broke the law and because of that caused the incident or using the bike in a manor that does not comply with the local highway traffic act. That is almost going to be impossible to prove. Law is about proof not speculation but people always want to put opinion in it and that's no the way the law works. It's about proving beyond a reasonable doubt that what I did or what I had caused the accident. I will die on this hill to be honest but am open for discussion, for me its about just because there is a class 3 sticker on your bike and mine does not have one that it makes me automatically liable just because my bike has the potential to break that class 3 rule. It is my opinion though based on a lot of research into Ontario Law and my local municipality rules and regulations. I advice people to not guess but to actually KNOW what the rules are. And no one should trust my opinion but should do their own research to know because quoting me in an accident will not work LOL.
Second, I think if you need a 1,000 watt motor that unless you’re hauling a lot of cargo and have killer hills that you must not be in very good shape to need that much power. I didn’t see if he had a medical condition, which would obviously change things. But absent a medical condition, then I think the OP must not be very fit and have quite a low VO2 Max, and weak legs.
So after ridding a mid drive 1000w motor for 6 months I can tell you that 1000w is more then I need. Please understand I was coming form a 500w hub motor and had no comparison as to how it would preform different better/worse even with all the forums opinions because some people love pineapple on a pizza some hate it, you have to take it as a lot of opinions and not very many facts. I personally have had 3 collapsed lungs and a stroke at 30 and I do not feel safe pushing myself really hard. It does not mean I wont but its quite scarry and maybe a little PTSD that I could cause something, I'm sure that is not rational but it's how I feel. So I did choose this bike based on that and to be honest I loved my 1000w mid drive other than 2 very important things.
1 the noise is horrible when ridding trails. In the city you can barely hear it on the road and it gets lost in the noise of traffic and the city. But when ridding with friends on mountain bike trails they always laughed that it sounded like an electric can opener was chasing them in the bush. I would agree it was really loud!
2. The weight. My bike was almost 70lbs. Trying to get that thing in to my repair stand for maintenance was an effort. I had to buy a 1UP USA bike carrier for my car just so I could support the weight also. A lot of the weight comes from the battery that you need to power a 1000w motor and a frame that could withstand the high torque that motor could output.
Once I get the insurance money I will be opting for a lighter bike with a smaller 500w mid-drive motor. I don't need the extra power like a lot have commented but Its hard to understand that until you have used it to be honest. I will be giving up the sports car feel and acceleration but I never really needed that anyways it was just fun to blow past my partner on their 500w hub drive when going up hills but to me the weight and noise is not worth that 5% of the time you want this feature.
Thanks for the reply and thank you for being respectful in your comments! Love the discourse !
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