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Do 20" bikes pull better than bigger bikes?

Kudoscycles

Kudoscycles

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Apr 15, 2011
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One of my guys does a lot of off road racing(non assisted) including 'technicals'.....euphemistic term for dangerous!!!
He chooses between 26" and 29" wheels dependant upon the conditions and the nature of the track,27.5" is also becoming a popular compromise. But I think he would win every race on 20" because all the other competitors would die laughing!!! My comments about hillclimbing was on metalled roads not off road,20" on the slippy stuff would have little traction.
KudosDAve
 
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superDove

Pedelecer
Oct 24, 2011
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Cheshunt, Herts. UK
Surface makes a big difference for me. On the towpath i ride 1.5mph slower on my 16 inch (18inch) wheeled brompton compared to 26 inch mtb. On the road i don't notice the speed difference.
Last week on cycling over a field on the B I lost traction but managed four pedal revolutions without actually moving before I lost balance. The guys on their MTBs behind me also fell off but only becuase they were laughing so hard. They said they only reason I was still upright was because I'd made such a groove in the mud it was acting like a bike stand.
Other factors affect 'pulling' power.
Wide enough gearing to climb hills and maintain a decent speed on the flat is a big enough challenge for small wheeled bikes let alone ebikes.
Wide range derailleurs (spell check!) Are close to the floor and pick up more dirt plus more revolutions per pedal stroke means more wear. Wide range hubs are affordable and inefficient or expensive, efficient and reliable.
Small wheel bikes play a balancing game between comfort and efficiency. You can have bigger tyres for comfort but are less efficient or have high pressure tyres and then front and rear suspension like the Moulton.
Am still waiting for a comfortable 18/20 inch wheeled ebike that can carry 30 litres luggage, 40-50 mile range and folds like a ninja.
 
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trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
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The Zephyr CDN is comfortable (full suspension), has large wheel base, powerful crank drive, hub gear, good traction (puncture resist 20 x 2.1 tyres), hidden battery and neat wiring. There is simply no better folding bike for under £1000. It does not fold like a ninja though, but the next Woosh folding bike will (one second fold).
 
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trex

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May 15, 2011
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No. That one is ugly. The new Woosh Gallego is one step up from the Zephyr CDN, I saw the graphics, black & orange (I wonder where they got the clue from). Folding mechanism, pedalling speed (Nexus-3) and range are key features.
 
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trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
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you're right, I like it.

 
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derf

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 4, 2014
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shemozzle999 said:
Like this one?

http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/20inch-New-Folding-ebike_1825403395.html
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and all for five hundred dollars...very nice. I tried the kalkhoff

Jonah said:
20" bikes like the Kalkhoff Sahel Compact and the similar AVE (MH7 I think) make great all-round bikes - very stable, comfortable and great hill climbers. They are are nothing like many cheap 20" folders (powered or unpowered) that ride a bit like toy bikes (to my thinking). They are proper bikes with excellent ride quality. KTM and R&M also do similar bikes.
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I thought the sahel was a case of "form over function" (too much design) until I tried one a few weeks ago - one thing that hasn't been said is that small wheels accelerate better - much faster with the same crank drive as say a 28 wheeled tasman. and it has a kind of unbreakable quality, which helps.
 
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GloveMakingMan

GloveMakingMan

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Mar 31, 2014
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trex said:
The Zephyr CDN has Nexus-3 hub gear, you have to listen carefully to hear the gear shift. It's not louder than turning the ignition key. It has only 3 gears but you usually only need 2: 1 (steep hill) and 3. 2 is a bit redundant to be honest. If you see a big hill, switch over to 1, you can climb any hill at up to about 13mph, no great loss against the 15mph legal limit. If you change from 3 to 1 directly on a steep hill without blipping the brake, you can hear it crunch, not as bad as with derailleur because only the gearbox suffers, the chain stays put, but you wouldn't do that normally anyway. Blipping the brake avoids the crunch altogether.
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Where i live in North Devon it's all up hill and down dale, one after another, wherever i go. I have not yet come to a hill that my Zephyr CDN will not climb. Ok, the steeper ones such as 1 in 4 do require a bit of pedal assist which i can manage and i'm no youngster and not very strong in the legs, also have breathing problems!!!! I find going down hill is harder than going up, i'm on the brakes all the way down!
 
GloveMakingMan

GloveMakingMan

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Jonah said:
20" bikes like the Kalkhoff Sahel Compact and the similar AVE (MH7 I think) make great all-round bikes - very stable, comfortable and great hill climbers. They are are nothing like many cheap 20" folders (powered or unpowered) that ride a bit like toy bikes (to my thinking). They are proper bikes with excellent ride quality. KTM and R&M also do similar bikes.
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Am i riding around North Devon on a toy bike??? I must come and try one of your real ones to compare, you are only down the road from me!!!
 
Jonah

Jonah

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Aug 23, 2010
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GloveMakingMan said:
PS. but i don't think any ebike is worth paying any more than £1000 for so my £699 CDN is not a cheap bike to me!
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Well I think that's a perfectly reasonable opinion although whatever figure you choose is obviously an arbitrary limit. Why £1000 instead of £500 or £1500? As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. If you're happy with what you have, then that's what matters. If you want the best (I accept 'best' is subjective in part) that usually costs.

If you want to try out some other bikes, including the Kalkhoff Sahel Compact, you would be most welcome. Just give me a call or send me a message / email. You can find my contact details at http://www.bikehigher.co.uk/contact. I would quite like a go on your bike too.
 
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trex

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May 15, 2011
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I reckon that Hatti would be delighted if Jonah becomes a partner.
 
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JohnCade

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May 16, 2014
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I hope you take him up on his offer and also do a write up comparing the bikes. Then he can ride yours too, and either of you might be in for a surprise.
 
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GloveMakingMan

GloveMakingMan

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The question is - Do 20" bikes pull better than bigger bikes? I think they probably do so if they are both fitted with legal size motors. The difference i would say is in the 'handling' of the bike. It took me several weeks before i was confident that i could ride in a straight line, i was forever correcting and leaning. It was not the experience i remembered from my youth on a full size bike. I remember i could quite easily ride without even holding the handlebars but on this 20" just taking one hand off to do signals gets me all wobbly :)
 
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