The best solution is of course out of budget (way, way, way out).
The main failing of this model is the motor (Bionix yuck!!!)
But the idea could be adapted to another type of cargo trike. And the rider and passenger can communicate more easily.
E-Bike suitable for towing Special Needs Trailer
- Thread starter -Bucks-
- Start date
The main failing of this model is the motor (Bionix yuck!!!)
But the idea could be adapted to another type of cargo trike. And the rider and passenger can communicate more easily.
ezee bikes with front hub motors tow trailers perfectly OK for more than 10 years. The 180mm BPM motors are perhaps not as well built as the Ezee motors but there is not much difference in it on torque.
The Big Bear has also a very potent Lishui 20A controller with 9 FETs, not many hub bikes have 9 FETs. It pulls twice as much as your average bike with 120mm front hub motor at low speed.
Woosh start using a more compact 140mm BPM and reduced the power to 18A sinewave on the rear hub motor Santana2 to avoid breaking spokes.
The Big Bear has also a very potent Lishui 20A controller with 9 FETs, not many hub bikes have 9 FETs. It pulls twice as much as your average bike with 120mm front hub motor at low speed.
Woosh start using a more compact 140mm BPM and reduced the power to 18A sinewave on the rear hub motor Santana2 to avoid breaking spokes.
Off road and up hill in the wet? I contend that you want a well balanced trailer applying at least a little weight on the tow-bar and rear wheel drive in those conditions. I am not questioning the towing power of the models you have cited, just the physics of having the motor in the rear wheel instead of the front on greasy going.
Yes the rider is helping the motor by turning the back wheel and the bike is in essence 2WD but it is at the back wheel you need the most thrust when that is where the weight is. Trust the farmers son's first hand knowledge...
Yes the rider is helping the motor by turning the back wheel and the bike is in essence 2WD but it is at the back wheel you need the most thrust when that is where the weight is. Trust the farmers son's first hand knowledge...
Just found out that there is CubeBikesNortheast about an hour away from us! So we're going to have a look at these two that Soundwave mentioned!
Anyone else have any opinions on this or any other bike? I want to get the most suitable bike for the money witch looks like it's going to have to be getting towards £2k now :-(
Anyone else have any opinions on this or any other bike? I want to get the most suitable bike for the money witch looks like it's going to have to be getting towards £2k now :-(
@-Bucks- where do you live?
you should try an Ezee bike or a BPM bike with full throttle before you buy.
Unless your name is Wiggins, it's not easy to tow a heavy trailer up a steep hill when you don't have a throttle. The throttle allows you to choose power at whatever speed.
You can't do that with SW's bikes.
you should try an Ezee bike or a BPM bike with full throttle before you buy.
Unless your name is Wiggins, it's not easy to tow a heavy trailer up a steep hill when you don't have a throttle. The throttle allows you to choose power at whatever speed.
You can't do that with SW's bikes.
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What is BPM as I can't seem to find the info on them, to be honest I don't really like the look of the Whoosh & Ezee bikes etc, I like the ones that look more like a proper mountain bike, do I really need a full throttle? Up till now I've managed using full pedal power, so I would recon these power assisted would make a big difference if they put in 3-4 times the effort that I do?
I do really appreciate all your advice
The best Chinese hub motors are made by the Suzhou Bafang company and are in many hub motored e-bikes. The BPM is the larger diameter, highest power and torque legal hub motor that they make, the one to choose for hill climbing or heavy towing.
The advantage of a throttle is that you can choose exactly what power you want at any time, regardless of what you are contributing, not having that dictated by a torque sensor. That's handy when you get tired and want to ease up a bit while still keeping going.
.
you've got a 13 year old on tow in a fairly hilly part of the country, it's horses for courses. Even if money is no object, it's down to being practical. It's planning for the worst case scenario. E-bikes extend your space. What happens when you are tired and a long way from home?
SW has already talked about crank driven bikes. The only ready made crank driven bikes with throttle are from woosh. Lots of members have them, you can search the forum for their reviews, I don't have anything new to add.
BPM stands for big powerful motors. It's a class of geared hub motors, with a large 180mm core, much bigger, heavier and more powerful than the common e-bike hub motors that have 120mm core. Ezee make their own motors that have similar characteristics compared to the BPM motors that many members consider better than the BPM made by Bafang. Recently, there is a perceptible move toward the middle, 140mm compact BPMs. You see them on bikes made by Volt, Kudos and Oxygen. The smaller 140mm core packs in about 90% of the power of the 180mm BPM but performance at below 4mph is a bit lower.
The problem with all motors is the yield. That's the ratio between what you get out of the motor in term of mechanical power vs what the motor draws from the battery. An efficient motor is worth its money (and weight) if it's much more efficient at the time that you need a lot of assist. Small motors are not made for hills because their yield is abysmal at below 4-5mph. That's why I said horses for courses.
SW has already talked about crank driven bikes. The only ready made crank driven bikes with throttle are from woosh. Lots of members have them, you can search the forum for their reviews, I don't have anything new to add.
BPM stands for big powerful motors. It's a class of geared hub motors, with a large 180mm core, much bigger, heavier and more powerful than the common e-bike hub motors that have 120mm core. Ezee make their own motors that have similar characteristics compared to the BPM motors that many members consider better than the BPM made by Bafang. Recently, there is a perceptible move toward the middle, 140mm compact BPMs. You see them on bikes made by Volt, Kudos and Oxygen. The smaller 140mm core packs in about 90% of the power of the 180mm BPM but performance at below 4mph is a bit lower.
The problem with all motors is the yield. That's the ratio between what you get out of the motor in term of mechanical power vs what the motor draws from the battery. An efficient motor is worth its money (and weight) if it's much more efficient at the time that you need a lot of assist. Small motors are not made for hills because their yield is abysmal at below 4-5mph. That's why I said horses for courses.
THANKS for the info, do you have any recommendations for this type of bike? That looks nice, similar to a mountain bike & is under £2k
Sorry if it seems I'm asking you guys to do all the work! I'm not having a good time at the moment & strugling to get my head round it all.
Obliterate a Bosch CX?? where do you get this info from,have you even tried a Bosch CX ? The bosch Cx will oblitrate the BPM anywhere thats the truth.I have both.Another thing is that the Bpm motor will get hot and damaged very fast if you go to slow.The bosch cx is perfect for the job
No need to apologise Bucks, it's what we're here for and we appreciate how complex this field is.
I've already linked to an Ezee and a Woosh bike earlier but you want mountain bike style.
One e-bike that might suit you is the Kudos Tornado. This has the BPM motor in it's rear wheel CST form, ideal for good traction in poor conditions when towing. At just over £1000 the price is right too. You can view it on this link
.
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I think the Bosch CX would be the best choice,it works so perfectly wou want need a throttle.Its the best legal ebike motor now as far as I know.It gets my 110 kg up steep hills at speed that no legal ebikes have been close to.And I have tried most ebike motors out there.
Bosch warned (source: Bosch Performance bike manual):
A quick search on google reveals that they are strangely absent:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=electric+bike+towing+a+trailer&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X
and as examples for front hub motor pulling a large trailer, there are plenty of examples.
Here is one I picked up at random:
https://www.eta.co.uk/2014/01/28/the-foldavan-bicycle-caravan/
Get real, how many of you use your Bosch bike to tow a heavy trailer?
A quick search on google reveals that they are strangely absent:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=electric+bike+towing+a+trailer&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X
and as examples for front hub motor pulling a large trailer, there are plenty of examples.
Here is one I picked up at random:
https://www.eta.co.uk/2014/01/28/the-foldavan-bicycle-caravan/
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We haven't managed to find the exact manual yet for the Cube Reaction Hybrid HPA Pro 500! But in the sales bumf for it on the official Cube website it States "Oh, and the bicycle trailer bracket mount means you could be dropping your kids off at the nursery on the way to the office (or hauling luggage)" so I assume they are saying that it is suitable for towing!
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