e-bikes for mountains

[LeighPing]

Pretty designed stylish bkes don't always mean their the best just the most expensive or otherwise a marketing ploy to grab as much money as they can.

So true. Click here to see the votes.

 

[Danidl]

Hi thanks to dv8vh for that informative and worrying image. Obviously the specs for the engineering design of these battery packs does not include waterproofing. If tins of sardines can hold the contents in brine for decades, it is not a technical problem just an engineering decision. I f there is a profit to be made, someone will sell robust housings for off road use.

 

[Timbo47]

I'm more confused now than before I posted! I thought that spending over £2k would get me a bike that goes up hills with relative ease (in pedal assist mode) and also one that won't fall apart! £2k is a lot of money for a bike, can anyone suggest a manufacturer or two who makes bikes that don't fall apart and don't look like something from the 60's? £2,300 is my max budget. I don't really need full suspension as I won't be riding on what you might call extreme terrain, or doing fast down-hill runs etc, just leisure use with hills and sometimes a little rougher than your average cycle path.

 

[LeighPing]

I'm more confused now than before I posted! I thought that spending over £2k would get me a bike that goes up hills with relative ease (in pedal assist mode) and also one that won't fall apart! £2k is a lot of money for a bike, can anyone suggest a manufacturer or two who makes bikes that don't fall apart and don't look like something from the 60's? £2,300 is my max budget. I don't really need full suspension as I won't be riding on what you might call extreme terrain, or doing fast down-hill runs etc, just leisure use with hills and sometimes a little rougher than your average cycle path.

I have no first hand experience of this bike and I'm not a trader. However, if it were me, well within your budget, I'd be checking out this bike, because it appeals to me and I ride them like I've stole them.

Good luck in making your final decision.

Click to view.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The above Bosch bike cannot give power without pedalling. It's not suitable if you have any health problems that prevent you from pedalling.

To go up steep hills, you need torque, not power. A 250w motor is more than adequate to make enough torque as long as you don't mind low speed. The average 250w hub-motor in a 26" or bigger wheel becomes very inefficient below about 7 mph, so are not much good for steep hills, but put the same motor in a 16" or 20" wheel and it won't have any problem. It's simple gearing. You get 60% more torque in a 16" wheel compared to the same motor in a 26" one.

Often the motors for small wheels have different windings inside, so they soin faster. They only lose a bit of torque for that, so you get good torque at low speed and they can still run up to 15 mph when you want.

You can get crank-drive motors with throttles, so you get the best of everything. They can use the bikes gears to get the torque for steep hills and, in a high gear, get speed as well.

The 500w geared hub motors (not the big cheap direct drive ones) can produce massive torque for getting up very steep hills. Most of the 1000w hub motors are designed for speed rather than torque, so hill climbing is not as good as it could be, and much worse than a 500w geared hub-motor.

Waterproofing is always a bit of a problem. If you have a removable battery, it's difficult to stop water from reaching the terminals. It's not a problem with rainwater because it's hardly conductive, so doesn't cause any problem while you wait for it to dry, but salt water is very conductive. It would make your battery burn.

Fun as it might seem, it's not a good idea to take any bike on wet sand by the sea. You can never clean out all the salt water. It sits in crevices where it does rapid corrosion. Even after it's dry, the remaining salt crystals are hygroscopic, so, as soon as there's any humidity, they reabsorb water and start their rapid corrosion again, which causes all sorts of damage. Even on the most expensive bikes, the components are not designed to have the necessary corrosion resistance for salt water, like they would be on a motorbike or car.

 

[EddiePJ]

The above Bosch bike cannot give power without pedalling. It's not suitable if you have any health problems that prevent you from pedalling.

I agree, except that Timbo47 has stated pedal assist mode.

I'm more confused now than before I posted! I thought that spending over £2k would get me a bike that goes up hills with relative ease (in pedal assist mode)

.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Yes, It's not clear what he wants. In post #17 he mentioned going up steep hills without pedalling.

 

[anotherkiwi]

How did this happen? Battery get wet inside? I thought those things were sealed... or did sand somehow cause this but, if you shouldn't run an ebike on the beach, why do they make fatbikes and advertise them specifically for use on sand dunes, snow and mud?

For money?

 

[anotherkiwi]

I guess what I am asking here is are 250w bikes capable of pulling up a steep hill without pedalling if it becomes necessary (I have a knee that sometimes fails without warning).

I have the same knee(s), rugby? When they are like that it is going to be very cold and I don't ride my bike.

Basically, is it worth spending the extra £500 for a Bosch/Yamaha crank motor setup over the cheaper hub types?

Yes. Yamaha has the advantage of twin chainrings, see above. If your knee fails you can have a granny chainring to get you home.

 

[anotherkiwi]

I'm more confused now than before I posted! I thought that spending over £2k would get me a bike that goes up hills with relative ease (in pedal assist mode) and also one that won't fall apart! £2k is a lot of money for a bike, can anyone suggest a manufacturer or two who makes bikes that don't fall apart and don't look like something from the 60's? £2,300 is my max budget.

d8veh makes bikes that don't fall apart and so do I. Do it yourself!
The UK is the 1960's read the Brexit thread! I can build my own bike for £2,300 that will beat any brand built bike on specs, maybe on looks too and d8veh can build one even better!!!