Hi folks, wonderful website here! In the short time I've visited EBR, I haven't seen a pro-con on hub drives vs. mid-drives? I'm wanting to put the ebike that I haven't bot yet on a bike rack behind my travel trailer. Will remove the battery though. Speaking of which, hope the industry might start using a standardized interchangeable battery to make replacements more certain and cheaper. Does every brand have its own unique battery pack now? Thanks for your advice.
New member needs ebike advice!
- Thread starter TumaloTed
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indianajo
Well-Known Member
There is an extensive discussion of mid drives vs hub drives thread under general discussion. Search for it.
If you're never going to ride without power, mid drives with torque sensing controller offer a natural feel. These are not cheap.
If you wish to build up or maintain fitness, geared hub drives allow one to pedal as if the motor wasn't there, except for the 10 lb weight. DD hub drives are cheaper and allow higher speeds, but drag a bit unpowered, about like riding in two sprockets higher than you really are. I went to power for my 30 mile commute when the winds of November started happening in September. 27 miles at 5.5 mph at 94 degrees F is an ordeal I don't wish to repeat. If the wind is okay, I pedal my normal route.
If you buy and install a kit, you get a generic battery with a generic motor that fits the standard width dropouts on normal bicycles. If a component fails you buy another component. You'll see the aluminum frame I built for my battery in the picture left. The controller is hung under the seat with aluminum brackets. With a complete bike, if a component like a battery fails, you buy another from the vendor of the bike, assuming they are still in business. Like the custom earphones on Apple products there is big money in patented single source repair parts. Batteries in slick custom mounts are no different.
The companies that refurbish batteries are in LA, LV, Ohio & Florida. You have to drive your old battery there, you are not allowed to ship it. You are not a certified haz-mat packer or shipper.
If you're never going to ride without power, mid drives with torque sensing controller offer a natural feel. These are not cheap.
If you wish to build up or maintain fitness, geared hub drives allow one to pedal as if the motor wasn't there, except for the 10 lb weight. DD hub drives are cheaper and allow higher speeds, but drag a bit unpowered, about like riding in two sprockets higher than you really are. I went to power for my 30 mile commute when the winds of November started happening in September. 27 miles at 5.5 mph at 94 degrees F is an ordeal I don't wish to repeat. If the wind is okay, I pedal my normal route.
If you buy and install a kit, you get a generic battery with a generic motor that fits the standard width dropouts on normal bicycles. If a component fails you buy another component. You'll see the aluminum frame I built for my battery in the picture left. The controller is hung under the seat with aluminum brackets. With a complete bike, if a component like a battery fails, you buy another from the vendor of the bike, assuming they are still in business. Like the custom earphones on Apple products there is big money in patented single source repair parts. Batteries in slick custom mounts are no different.
The companies that refurbish batteries are in LA, LV, Ohio & Florida. You have to drive your old battery there, you are not allowed to ship it. You are not a certified haz-mat packer or shipper.
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Rodolfo
Member
First, TT: all ebikes are easy to pedal; indeed, that is their prime logic. I ride a 6-year-old hub-drive Easy Motion, I'm thankfully into my 8th decade, and mine pedals so smilingly-easy that anything easier would have to be laughably-so. Any ebike should make you smile on your first pedal, and I would suggest, as with any bike, select one that fits you well. I will add that WEIGHT is very important for easy pedaling, starting with our own weights, but secondly with that of our bikes. E-bikes' heavy weights are their most common characteristic, at least until the very latest and still-rare generation: I'd recommend choosing the lightest among those that fit best, even if it's only a few to several pounds of difference. Enjoy the shopping, the smiles, and your eventual choice.
As for standardizing batteries, it is much too early in the history of integrated e-bikes to think about agreeing and settling on much, including batteries. Fortunately, many companies are striving to improve designs in various ways, and I would hope that we're still a ways from arriving at a standard, maybe especially in the weight, size, and related capacity of batteries.
As for standardizing batteries, it is much too early in the history of integrated e-bikes to think about agreeing and settling on much, including batteries. Fortunately, many companies are striving to improve designs in various ways, and I would hope that we're still a ways from arriving at a standard, maybe especially in the weight, size, and related capacity of batteries.
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