why do folks want a higher watt motor?

[flymeaway]

What benefit would a higher watt motor be?

I think for the majority of people.....probably not much. If you ask a lot of people who live in the city they might say; "what's the point of owning a car, I do fine without one"? My point, everyone's circumstance is different. If you live in a rural area where distances between destinations is greater, a higher watt motor and a higher overall speed make the ebike a useful tool. If you happen to also live in an area with a lot of fairly long steep grades you may want the higher watt motor for the added torque.

I started out three years ago with two BH Emotion bikes, Carbon and Cross, so my wife and I could do longer rides with less strain....I live in a fairly hilly area. I also wanted to commute to work, a 28 mile round trip with quite a few hills some long and steep. The BH bikes were good but slightly less capbale (under-powered) when climbing long hills, and the 20 MPH restriction meant my commute was about 40-45 minutes. I wanted to climb those hills without a significant reduction in speed and I wanted my one way commute to be around 30-35 minutes. After converting a number of bikes, and learning a lot about various configurations and capabilities I have settled on a configuration that is capable of sustained 28 MPH and allows me to climb any of the hills on my commute. I generally ride the bike at around 25 MPH and it is sufficiently capable to make it a good commuting bike for distance (ie...a useful tool).

However, if I lived in a city or suburban area, I don't think the bike I've settled on would be optimal, the slower less powerful BH bikes would be a better fit.


Court J.

 

[EasyMotion Rider]

I think for the majority of people.....probably not much. If you ask a lot of people who live in the city they might say; "what's the point of owning a car, I do fine without one"? My point, everyone's circumstance is different. If you live in a rural area where distances between destinations is greater, a higher watt motor and a higher overall speed make the ebike a useful tool. If you happen to also live in an area with a lot of fairly long steep grades you may want the higher watt motor for the added torque.

I started out three years ago with two BH Emotion bikes, Carbon and Cross, so my wife and I could do longer rides with less strain....I live in a fairly hilly area. I also wanted to commute to work, a 28 mile round trip with quite a few hills some long and steep. The BH bikes were good but slightly less capbale (under-powered) when climbing long hills, and the 20 MPH restriction meant my commute was about 40-45 minutes. I wanted to climb those hills without a significant reduction in speed and I wanted my one way commute to be around 30-35 minutes. After converting a number of bikes, and learning a lot about various configurations and capabilities I have settled on a configuration that is capable of sustained 28 MPH and allows me to climb any of the hills on my commute. I generally ride the bike at around 25 MPH and it is sufficiently capable to make it a good commuting bike for distance (ie...a useful tool).

However, if I lived in a city or suburban area, I don't think the bike I've settled on would optimal, the slower less powerful BH bikes would be a better fit.


Court J.

i have been riding ebikes for 2.5 years and your experience mirrors my own. i started with a BH evo lite which is a good city bike and have transitioned to a more powerful commuters bike for hills and distance, not too powerful so that i still get my doctors required exercise while i ride. thinking of getting a emtn bike so that i can ride the offroad areas and be able to ride up the hills.

 

[flymeaway]

thinking of getting a emtn bike

Anything specific in mind?

Court J.

 

[EasyMotion Rider]

Anything specific in mind?

Court J.

don't know but i am at least a year out financially, 2 bikes in 2 years is a lot! have to save up for awhile.

 

[SDH]

I live in the Colorado foothills surrounded by endless trails right out my back door. On my 1500w 52v e-mtb, I can cover insane distances in difficult terrain, climb monster hills & still have plenty of stamina left to ride hard for hours after reaching the top. I can explore more terrain in one summer than I could in a lifetime on my standard mtb. I rarely see hikers and bikers where I venture and that is my goal, so I don't have to worry about offending the sensitive delicate types with my awesome toy. When I do cross paths with others, I'm always courteous, always yield to oncoming traffic (since they have to work harder), and even hide my speed & climbing capabilities so as not to offend. Regardless, I still get some nasty looks & even some backhanded comments from the elitest bike snobs. So be it...I'm not giving up my toy and you look like a girl in those bike shorts!

 

[Ann M.]

Lucky you! @SDH, it's awesome to have that freedom to ride the trails. Those nasty looks are probably jealousy and as for the shorts...to each their own.

 

[grench]

I live in the Colorado foothills surrounded by endless trails right out my back door. On my 1500w 52v e-mtb, I can cover insane distances in difficult terrain, climb monster hills & still have plenty of stamina left to ride hard for hours after reaching the top. I can explore more terrain in one summer than I could in a lifetime on my standard mtb. I rarely see hikers and bikers where I venture and that is my goal, so I don't have to worry about offending the sensitive delicate types with my awesome toy. When I do cross paths with others, I'm always courteous, always yield to oncoming traffic (since they have to work harder), and even hide my speed & climbing capabilities so as not to offend. Regardless, I still get some nasty looks & even some backhanded comments from the elitest bike snobs. So be it...I'm not giving up my toy and you look like a girl in those bike shorts!

I am aligned!!

 

[Nutella]

I live in the Colorado foothills surrounded by endless trails right out my back door. On my 1500w 52v e-mtb, I can cover insane distances in difficult terrain, climb monster hills & still have plenty of stamina left to ride hard for hours after reaching the top. I can explore more terrain in one summer than I could in a lifetime on my standard mtb. I rarely see hikers and bikers where I venture and that is my goal, so I don't have to worry about offending the sensitive delicate types with my awesome toy. When I do cross paths with others, I'm always courteous, always yield to oncoming traffic (since they have to work harder), and even hide my speed & climbing capabilities so as not to offend. Regardless, I still get some nasty looks & even some backhanded comments from the elitest bike snobs. So be it...I'm not giving up my toy and you look like a girl in those bike shorts!

Nice! Where do you live? I travel in Colorado a lot.

 

[TheHunt]

I live in the Colorado foothills surrounded by endless trails right out my back door. On my 1500w 52v e-mtb, I can cover insane distances in difficult terrain, climb monster hills & still have plenty of stamina left to ride hard for hours after reaching the top. I can explore more terrain in one summer than I could in a lifetime on my standard mtb. I rarely see hikers and bikers where I venture and that is my goal, so I don't have to worry about offending the sensitive delicate types with my awesome toy. When I do cross paths with others, I'm always courteous, always yield to oncoming traffic (since they have to work harder), and even hide my speed & climbing capabilities so as not to offend. Regardless, I still get some nasty looks & even some backhanded comments from the elitest bike snobs. So be it...I'm not giving up my toy and you look like a girl in those bike shorts!

What do you use? I live in Washington State and opportunities as well. What setup do you have? You posted 1500W and 52V battery. Is this something you setup yourself?

 

[Bike_On]

I'm a MTB and think eBikes and eMTB especially European mid drive ones are brilliant. The MTBer that oppose eMTBs seems strange coming a group of people that rely in latest technology to make their sport fun. If they were riding 1980s hard tails I might understand, but a lot are on high tech full suspension bikes that cost considerably more than a good ebike.

In 5-10yrs most of these fanatics will be riding eMTBs, especially if they don't want to be left behind.

Great insights.

 

[Bike_On]

C

I think for the majority of people.....probably not much. If you ask a lot of people who live in the city they might say; "what's the point of owning a car, I do fine without one"? My point, everyone's circumstance is different. If you live in a rural area where distances between destinations is greater, a higher watt motor and a higher overall speed make the ebike a useful tool. If you happen to also live in an area with a lot of fairly long steep grades you may want the higher watt motor for the added torque.

I started out three years ago with two BH Emotion bikes, Carbon and Cross, so my wife and I could do longer rides with less strain....I live in a fairly hilly area. I also wanted to commute to work, a 28 mile round trip with quite a few hills some long and steep. The BH bikes were good but slightly less capbale (under-powered) when climbing long hills, and the 20 MPH restriction meant my commute was about 40-45 minutes. I wanted to climb those hills without a significant reduction in speed and I wanted my one way commute to be around 30-35 minutes. After converting a number of bikes, and learning a lot about various configurations and capabilities I have settled on a configuration that is capable of sustained 28 MPH and allows me to climb any of the hills on my commute. I generally ride the bike at around 25 MPH and it is sufficiently capable to make it a good commuting bike for distance (ie...a useful tool).

However, if I lived in a city or suburban area, I don't think the bike I've settled on would be optimal, the slower less powerful BH bikes would be a better fit.


Court J.

Court,

I echo those spec requirements for commuting, as did EM rider. I have 8 years of commuting experience. Being able to hit 28-30 with assist and hold it via motor wattage + pedaling is nice to have. Likewise, typical 25mph seems to be a safe, but efficient speed against wind without the need to tuck and get fancy. The tradeoff then becomes battery size => range, or less for less weight and more bike feel.

I would not want a 20mph limited ebike for any commuting location. I usually limit speed by the assist level, and it's nice to have the capability if needed.

 

[fotokot2]

lost my pass to (fotokot) sorry. Created new fotokot2 accnt. China battery 36 v 20ah runs well on my bafang 8fun mid-drive 500w motor - since May 2016. I set it to 4/6 level by the controller. May be 350w real power. 2300 km so far - since May 2016