Front or rear hub ?

[Todd]

Hello all,
could somebody please explain the advantage and disadvantages of a front or rear hub motor

 

[trex]

front: very low risk of broken spokes but low traction.
rear: good traction but high risk of broken spokes. You also have to learn to dish and true your motor wheel.
Crank drive kits are best and easiest to fit.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Don't take any notice of Trex, he's ranting again. I'm not sure why he does that from time to time, but it's very annoying and misleading for guys like you.

There's very little difference between front and rear for lowish powered motors, but as the torque goes higher, a back motor is better.

You should only consider a high-torque motor on the font if you have strong steel rigid forks because of the risk of drop-outs popping. Also big heavy motors in the front dtop the suspension from working properly, so you get a choppy ride.

Front motors will skip and spin on very steep hills because there's not enough weight on the road. It's not unsafe, but it can wear out the tire qute fast.

Rear motors sound quieter because the sound is behind you.

The wheels are pre-dished if you get a quality kit, like Oxydrive or similar, but if you buy a cheap Chinese one there's a fair chance that you might want to re-centralise the rim by dishing. That can equally apply to the front if you have a disc brake.

 

[Alan Quay]

Another advantage of front wheel hub motor is that you can have hub gears in the back. Also, front wheel drive helps to balance the weight if you have a heavy battery at the back, and gives you two wheel drive.

If you want more than 250w then rear is probably better.

 

[Todd]

Thanks all, very helpful !

 

[soundwave]

sod that 5k front and back wheels.

 

[oldtom]

could somebody please explain the advantage and disadvantages of a front or rear hub motor

There are variable elements of truth in the previous responses but as you have asked specifically about hub motors, my experience of two current EAPCs, one rear-driven, the other front-driven, is that there is little to choose between them in leisure cycling on road, towpath, light off-road track and occasional diversions over rougher terrain unkind to any type of bicycle.

My rear-hub motor is more powerful than the front-hub model I ride but both serve their purpose very well, indeed almost equally well on account of a large weight advantage in favour of the lesser-powered model. If the more powerful motor were transplanted to the front wheel, I'm sure the bike would become a little unwieldy at times but in its rear-wheel application, it suits that bike very well. As for spokes breaking, unless you happen to have a badly built wheel, you will probably never encounter that problem with any legally permitted power found on an EAPC from a major player in the UK market.

Neither of the two bikes I mention is equipped with internal gears which I happen to like though they seem better matched to non-sporty, Dutch-style bikes used solely for easy leisure riding.

Generally, front wheels are easier to remove for puncture repair but with the right tyres, that problem is considerably obviated. Having said that, it's not always necessary to remove the wheel for puncture repairs and for my own peace of mind, I did two things when I bought my rear-hub driven bike:

1) I removed the Continental tyres and fitted Schwalbe MPs.

2) I did a couple of dry runs in my back garden to ensure I was au fait with rear wheel removal and had the ability to disconnect the main power connection, essential to the task. I always carry the right tools to ensure I can perform that job out in the sticks although I replace the tube and leave inner tube repair till back at base.

In summary, I would not disregard any EAPC on account of motor position alone. My personal favourite is the centrally driven motor although any silent drive is good in my book as I dislike the noise that emanates from many geared motors.

Tom

 

[Alan Quay]

sod that 5k front and back wheels.

I agree, 10kW split equally between Front/rear is the best setup!

 

[anotherkiwi]

I wanted to buy the cheapest kit available and that is most often than not front wheel hub. I decided that I needed some more serious hill climbing ability in the wet so bit the bullet, went over budget and put in a rear wheel hub.

Like all new wheels I checked the spokes after 50 km and lo and behold three or four spokes were loose. The Chinese kit I have is not perfectly dished and the spokes are massive (not a kiwi wheel so no number eight wire involved but these Chinese guys have thick fencing wire too ).

In my heart I know that I am a mid-motor kind of guy and when the lotto numbers finally fall there will be a Bafang/Rolhoff build in my life.

 

[Nealh]

I have F& R hubs not had a broken spoke yet built my own wheels. As said front may tend to scrabble/spin a bit on wet or loose surfaces, Two front torque arms if using ali forks. Also find front drive great for standing starts coupled with driving through the gears.

 

[trex]

Don't take any notice of Trex, he's ranting again. I'm not sure why he does that from time to time, but it's very annoying and misleading for guys like you.
.

as far back as I can remember, no one has reported broken spokes with crank drive builds, only with rear hub conversions.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

It's been discussed several times while I've been on this forum. If you go on any of the Bike forums, you'll find loads of threads about broken spokes, and they don't even have motors. You're putting two and two together and trying to make five.