Help choosing ebike

Electrically assisted bikes, trikes, etc. that are legal in the UK
Bonzo Banana
Posts: 416
Joined: 5 Feb 2017, 11:58am

Re: Help choosing ebike

Post by Bonzo Banana »

squeaker wrote: 15 May 2022, 10:46am
Bonzo Banana wrote: 6 May 2022, 9:54am When you look at the internal of mid-drive motors they are often very complicated and based around a very small motor run at extremely high rpm. There are belts that wear and plastic nylon cogs and all these have to deal with both the power generated by the motor and the cyclists own power which is applied to the drivetrain.
Contrast that to a direct drive hub motor where there are no moving parts at all except the bearings on the axle. If you look at the image below the only moving part you can see is actually the left part, the bearing in the middle and as you can see its a huge bearing that should last many years without issue.
Agreed, but I thought that the majority of rear hub drives sold are geared, not direct, due to their lighter weight, higher torque and better power-off pedaling characteristics? This adds complexity!
Yes I wasn't saying direct drive hub motors are the most popular hub motors just pointing out their simplicity. They make up a fair chunk of ebike kits sold but for pre-built ebikes with hub motors a small percentage I would say. As for where geared motor hubs fit in with regard reliability they are still relatively simple compared to mid-drive but definitely the planetary gears can wear out. I've looked at many threads on forums regarding cheaper hub based ebikes and feels to me that the battery packs or controller fuses are the common failure point rather than motors. Some of these cheaper ebikes don't come with the best cells and because the batteries are often low capacity on these cheap ebikes meaning each cell is discharged at a higher discharge rate battery packs perhaps fail more quickly on some models. I'm not seeing many threads where the planetary gears need replacing although have seen one or two but I think many of these are on the endless sphere forum for hub motors that could be 750W rather than 250W that we have in the UK. Considering hub based ebikes make up over 95% of ebike sales in the world and even in the UK I'm sure by far the vast majority (average price of a bike sold in the UK is £380 including ebikes) then I feel like hub motor reliability is very good even for geared motors. However if you are looking for a ebike with maximum reliability over the long term then direct drive is the winner because of its engineering simplicity, there is only the bearings to wear out. Yes you may have component failure but that is true of any motor including geared hub and mid-drive. Hall sensors come to mind with direct drive motors. However direct drive motors being so large typically displace heat much better which makes the hot/cold cycle of components less which extends their lifespan.
UpWrong
Posts: 2409
Joined: 31 May 2009, 12:16pm
Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire

Re: Help choosing ebike

Post by UpWrong »

kitkat wrote: 4 May 2022, 9:03am Hi. I’m looking to purchase my first electric bike. I will be using it occasionally for leisure on cycle paths, which could consist of road, gravel,grass and possibly dirt tracks. I also live where there are lots of hills so I need something that means I can ride up the hills.
I’m female and want a step through as I find them easier to get on as I’m 5ft4. The problem I’m finding is that I like pretty city bikes. E.g pastel colour Pendleton, pashley etc with a basket, but I can’t seem to find any pretty hybrid bikes, only city bikes.
Also the other half is saying I need suspension, mid motor and disk brakes. All which are making my search even narrower.

Can someone tell me if I really do need a mid motor or will a hub suit my needs?

These are some of the bikes I’ve narrowed my search down to. Would someone be able to let me know if they’re ok? Or if anyone knows of any pretty pastel hybrid bikes. My budget is £2k
Thank you
https://voltbikes.co.uk/e-bikes/classic/burlington
https://www.e-bikesdirect.co.uk/electri ... ah-battery
https://wisperbikes.com/shop/e-bikes/st ... p-through/
https://eskute.co.uk/products/polluno-pro
https://www.leoncycle.co.uk/NCM-Milano-Trekking-E-Bike
https://www.damianharriscycles.co.uk/Ha ... ng-4.0-low
Did you come to a decision? Another noteworthy manufacturer is Juicy:
https://www.juicybike.com/
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