It was geared, 500W.
Off-road hill climbing ability mid-drive vs rear hub
- Thread starter Little Bear
- Start date
It was geared, 500W.
eBike Generation
New Member
Last month I published an article that spoke specifically to hunters on which ebikes to look at and the difference between rear hub and mid drive, specifically fo rthe application of hunting/offroad. You should find some value in there: https://ebikegeneration.com/blogs/news/top-7-electric-hunting-bikes-for-2019
First Light
Member
Chopperbill
Active Member
I live in Florida and just got a Radcity and like it a lot for the cost. I am 72+ and have had motorcycles , street bicycles , and MT bicycles. I like the rear hub better than mid-drive the chain upkeep would be more and if when shifting gear with the mid-drive got stuck between the gears on the cassette gears under power you have a mess. Plus with the small chain(to motorcycle chain and sprocket) and with chain stretch you need to replace chain and sprockets at the same time or the worn sprocket will cause chain stretch again and faster. But if you don't mind the chain and sprocket up keep you can get more pull with the lower gear and move up to a higher gear and I do like speed just got a ticket for only doing 93 in my little Miata but it will only do about 130 tops. That is why I got a electric bicycle because in Florida they will take your drivers license away if you get caught doing 20+ over the speed limit. Just my 2 cents worth.
Johnny McCown
Johnny McCown
I really thought I was keeping up with chain maintenance on my mid-drive bike (cleaning and lubing about every 75 miles with Boeshield T9), but yesterday the chain broke during a shift and jammed in the derailleur. The derailleur then got twisted into a nice pretzel shape.
Aside from the obvious damage, LBS said the rear cassette and front cog were heavily worn and needed replacement. This is with 1500 miles on the bike, during which time I'd already replaced the chain once.
It's clear to me I need to improve my chain maintenance regimen. Starting with going back to my tried-and-true oil-based chain lube (Dumonde Tech).
Pragmatic
Member
eBike Generation / Berry good points in your blog post re. an e-FTB for hunting being comforting to the spouse/family of the hunter for safety reasons is something I didn't think of but it's an excellent point. Covering the benefits of mid-drive vs. rear hub motor is good too, the benefits flip in the case of a broken chain... while the nod goes to the mid-drive, the rear hub motor being able to function (have power available) with a broken chain or a bent/destroyed derailleur is a plus... Thank you. ...Ride On!
Dumonde Tech worked pretty well on my MTB and hub drive e-bike. On those bikes it lasted a long time although it tended to gunk up the drive train. I haven't tried it on my mid drive yet, because I decided to try Finish Line E-bike Chain Lube. Still under evaluation!
It's wet, but it's does not get sticky/gummy like some wet lubes I've used (Dumonde Tech in particular). The Seattle area is not very dusty and more amenable to wet lube than the Southwest!
Feliz
Well-Known Member
I agree, I use DuPont Chain Saver which sounds the same as what you're using, basically a dry Teflon lube and it works great, I get long chain and sprocket life.
Pragmatic
Member
I have not kept up with the latest Bike Chain lube tech/formulations, but I am concerned about chain life/protecting drive chains with cleaning and lubrication particularly for mid-drive e-Bikes
Summarizing the ad hoc chain lube sub-thread that has evolved here, we have the following:
1. Product use or recommendations of: Boeshield T9, Dumonde Tech (original), DuPont Chain Saver, Finish Line Dry Lubricant, and I assume traditional Park Tool CL-1 Synthetic Blend Chain Lube? In another EBR thread a member mentioned B'laster Dry Lube and some WD40 Specialist Dry Lube products both available at home centers.
2. Two noted environmental considerations a) DRY/DUSTY conditions of the desert southwest - arguing for dry lubes, and b) the WET conditions of say the Pacific Northwest/other wet places - arguing for waxy/oily/clingy water-resistant lubes.
Any further thoughts?
==================
Below related subjects may be of interest...
BTW this is an interesting read on bike chains on Sheldon Brown's website is here. Mentions the superiority of bushingless chains and their greater ease of lubrication. I believe widely used KMC chains remain bushingless, fewer parts, easier to lube and quieter.
Another interesting read on chainwear is on Sheldon Brown's website is here.
This is a Park Tools video on measuring chain wear, along with some replacement guidelines (replacing chains is cheaper than replacing worn sprockets caused by delaying replacement of worn chains).
Summarizing the ad hoc chain lube sub-thread that has evolved here, we have the following:
1. Product use or recommendations of: Boeshield T9, Dumonde Tech (original), DuPont Chain Saver, Finish Line Dry Lubricant, and I assume traditional Park Tool CL-1 Synthetic Blend Chain Lube? In another EBR thread a member mentioned B'laster Dry Lube and some WD40 Specialist Dry Lube products both available at home centers.
2. Two noted environmental considerations a) DRY/DUSTY conditions of the desert southwest - arguing for dry lubes, and b) the WET conditions of say the Pacific Northwest/other wet places - arguing for waxy/oily/clingy water-resistant lubes.
Any further thoughts?
==================
Below related subjects may be of interest...
BTW this is an interesting read on bike chains on Sheldon Brown's website is here. Mentions the superiority of bushingless chains and their greater ease of lubrication. I believe widely used KMC chains remain bushingless, fewer parts, easier to lube and quieter.
Another interesting read on chainwear is on Sheldon Brown's website is here.
This is a Park Tools video on measuring chain wear, along with some replacement guidelines (replacing chains is cheaper than replacing worn sprockets caused by delaying replacement of worn chains).
bamabradt77
New Member
- Region
- USA
I will say I am a new e-bike rider. I just bought a Freesky Alaska, which they "claim" is a Mountain Bike. It has the rear hub motor and the bike weighs 90+lbs with both batteries. The pros with this bike are the amazing range (can get over 70+ miles, even using Pedal Assist 3 of 5 for the predominant portion of the ride) and it is very fast with 33mph steady at Pedal Assist 5. It handles grass fields, hard-pack trails and paved hill climbs very weel. I live at the base of a mountain and the paved roads up the side of the mountain are long and steep and in Pedal Assist 5, it will get me up to the top.
Where it is lacking is in rugged trail rides with hill climbs. It has both front and rear suspension, but it has 26" fat tires and the ground clearance is not stellar. A 90+lb e-bike climbing a steep rugged trail is a lot to ask. The steeps really require you to be in higher Pedal Assist modes and that is difficult to achieve on rugged trails. Part of the issue is that I am not as experienced, but even with more experience, lugging a heavy bike up steep dirt trails is not its forte. That is why it comes with a walking mode where it will give you a steady 1.5mph to walk the bike up those sections you can't traverse....
I would love to be able to use it on some of the difficult single-track trails built into the mountain in my sub-division, but most are just too challenging for this e-bike. I use it to cruise the paved bike path that goes for miles right out of my development and that leads to a nature preserve with some flatter trails, grassy fields and paved bike paths. It absolutely shines in that environment.
Where it is lacking is in rugged trail rides with hill climbs. It has both front and rear suspension, but it has 26" fat tires and the ground clearance is not stellar. A 90+lb e-bike climbing a steep rugged trail is a lot to ask. The steeps really require you to be in higher Pedal Assist modes and that is difficult to achieve on rugged trails. Part of the issue is that I am not as experienced, but even with more experience, lugging a heavy bike up steep dirt trails is not its forte. That is why it comes with a walking mode where it will give you a steady 1.5mph to walk the bike up those sections you can't traverse....
I would love to be able to use it on some of the difficult single-track trails built into the mountain in my sub-division, but most are just too challenging for this e-bike. I use it to cruise the paved bike path that goes for miles right out of my development and that leads to a nature preserve with some flatter trails, grassy fields and paved bike paths. It absolutely shines in that environment.
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