How many gears

[Caroline Huxford]

Hi I am looking at buying an electric bike for use on a gravelly and steep road and to use for cycling on tracks.
Do I need to be looking for 21 plus gears or are the 6 and 7 gear modles ok for this?
I only have about 700 to spend as I want 2. I'm not sure the difference re the gears.
Any advice on what to buy and what difference the gears make would be most welcome.
Thanks.

 

[funkylyn]

Hi Caroline,

Welcome to the forum.

I dont think you need 21 gears, my next bike I am looking into will have 7 hub gears and I think that is more than enough and I ride mostly on tracks etc.
As for advice on what to buy.....try, try and try again is my advice....... a bit of time and effort put into the research will pay dividends when you finally get the bike that suits you.

Good luck

Lynda

 

[JuicyBike]

Hi Caroline and welcome to the forums.

My advice is that you really only need 3 gears for an electric bike ridden on the flat, and 6 in the hills. Others will disagree of course and there are electric bikes with 24 gears out there.

I know your area very well and can confirm that "Winnats Pass" is achievable on our Sport bike with as much effort from the rider as on a traditional bike, ridden on the flat.

Some argue that a chain driven electric bike offers better hill-climbing ability than a hub driven bike (the motor either drives the wheel direct, being in the hub, or drives the chain via an additional sprocket). I prefer the simplicity of the hub driven bike.

On steeper hills the driven wheel is best in the rear rather than the front, but there are plenty of front wheel drive bikes out there too. They tend to slip and slide on gravel and in the wet, but have their fans.

You are most welcome to try any of our bikes from our Buxton shop, Eco Republic. We have some steep hills nearby.

 

[kitchenman]

Welcome Caroline. I agree with FL. If you were buying a non-ebike what would you get do you think? Are you going to be commuting? if so, what distance? Have you tried anything yet?
I've got a Cannondale CX700 hybrid with a front hub "kit" which I use for commuting on roads. I dont do bumpy tracks. I have a Ultra Motor Fast4ward which I have used for commuting and on very bumpy tracks. I would recommend the Fast4ward as one of the bikes on your "try list". Evans Cycles sell them and will get one in store for you. You have to pay a deposit but you can get that back ...

 

[steveindenmark]

Hi Caroline,

I am a rider not a seller of bikes. When it comes to climbing hill threads on here the Tonaro bikes with crank drives always get a mention. All the Tonaro bikes have the same battery and motor and I can say without a doubt that they get up big hills without any problem. They all have 8 gears and are not too far away from your price.

I have the Tonaro Enduro and I use it for a 44km round trip to work each day. The battery has loads of capacity to do this and a lot more on top of that. I have a couple of big hills to climb, both ways in fact and the Enduro makes it so much easier than using my racing bike. It also has a throttle which allows you to move without pedalling, but do remember that these are "Pedal assist bikes". Just using the throttle without pedalling, significantly eats into your battery power.

My partner had the Tonaro Compy and we are often belting through the woods on the bikes on muddy loose tracks, up hill and down dale.

A company called Powerpedals sells then and the owner Phil provides 1st class customer care, wherever you live. I am in Denmark and he has been great with us.

I hope you find what you are looking for, because we did.

Steve

 

[Caroline Huxford]

Thanks for all your advice.
We will be taking the bikes to Italy where we have a small house in the mountains.
We want to go further up into the mountains for leisure rides etc, but also want to be able to go into the nearest town about a mile away down a roughly 1 in 3 hill on a rough road (and back again) to get basic shopping in.
I like the look of all of the bikes recommended but £800 would be the top price I could pay.
Thanks for any more ideas.

PS there are a number of bikes on ebay with rear hub brakes, 21 gears, etc and a seemingly high spec but they don't seem to have a make or model so I am finding it difficult to get reviews. One i have looked at and considered is this 26M03S does anyone know anything? Trying out is also a problem with so few shops locally, but I think we will be on our way to Buxton.
Thanks

 

[kitchenman]

Thanks for all your advice.
We will be taking the bikes to Italy where we have a small house in the mountains.

You might light to note that the Tonaro is an Italian design! .. It also may be built there? ... not sure .. be interesting to know how many Italians have one ...

 

[Scottyf]

Hello all,
You don't really need the same range of gears on an electric bike as you do a normal unassisted bike. Due to the fact the motor takes some of the pressure of when dealing with inclines.

When using electric I usually use about 3/4 gears in the highest range (Higher top speed) of the 7 speed cassette on my Marin bike.

However I have a triple chain wheel that has 21 gears which is useful for if there is no power or im riding unassisted.


Your best bet is to try a few bikes out. Theres nothing on a bike you can't modify or get a LBS to change for you if you find the right bike but it doesn't have the range of gears you want.


You can also get cassettes that have larger ranges on the back sprocket to suit your riding. Ie the highest cassette sprocket might have 13 teeth while the lowest gear may have 28 teeth giving a huge range of gearing from just 1 cassette.

 

[timidtom]

Hi, Caroline;
We live in Cheshire and manage very well using only the top 3 of the 7 gears we have available. I would think that you possibly would perhaps need the full range, depending on your physical condition. Joyce and I are in our 70s, with a bit of an alphabet of health conditions.
Try a selection of bikes and if possible visit Juicy Bikes in Buxton.
Happy ebiking!
Tom

 

[steveindenmark]

Caroline,

I have sent you a personal message.

Just as an add on to it. The advice is the same whichever bikes you buy.
Steve

 

[Kudoscycles]

Caroline,
I wish I could specify only 3 gears for all bikes for 90% of the time that is all you need,unless you are intending to do a lot of unassisted riding. The 21 gears and 24 gears on our more performance models are really what purchasers of those type of bikes expect to get-I am specifying a German spec bike which will have the Shimano XT 27 speeds,totally not necessary with an e-bike but that is what the German market insists upon.
For hilly areas then 6 speed gives a good range without big steps. My personal all round favourite is the Nexus 8 for internal hubs and the high quality Deore 9 for deraillieur. Having said all that I set off in top gear most of the time on the flat.
Dave
KudosCycles

 

[Orraman]

Greetings Caroline,

In post # 6 you specify your intended hill as 1 in 3 and I doubt if any normal hub motored bike could manage this without a rider who is also capable of riding this hill unaided.

I have a 3 speed hub geared Guitane with a Panasonic motor that drives through the gears in a similar manner to the Tonaro with it's derailleur gears.
Three years ago I rode up a short hill with the steepest part measured as 1 in 3.7 and I am long past my sell by date.

As bikes with Panasonic motors will also work with LiFeo4 and lead acid batteries they could be worth buying secondhand.
I also have a Cyclone powered bike also working through the gears which is just as capable as the Panasonic. The Cyclone is available as a kit which is well within your budget and will also work with lead acid batteries

Dave

 

[Alan B]

Caroline,
I wish I could specify only 3 gears for all bikes for 90% of the time that is all you need,unless you are intending to do a lot of unassisted riding. The 21 gears and 24 gears on our more performance models are really what purchasers of those type of bikes expect to get-I am specifying a German spec bike which will have the Shimano XT 27 speeds,totally not necessary with an e-bike but that is what the German market insists upon.
For hilly areas then 6 speed gives a good range without big steps. My personal all round favourite is the Nexus 8 for internal hubs and the high quality Deore 9 for deraillieur. Having said all that I set off in top gear most of the time on the flat.
Dave
KudosCycles

As an owner of a Kudos King one of the reasons I chose it was because it was 24 speed. I ride it like a normal bike and always select the appropriate gear for whatever speed I'm travelling, so when you include hills, or busy spots where you need to go slower, I've used most of the top 16 gears. I haven't used the granny gear yet but if I have to climb a really steep hill and/or if the battery runs out I guess I'll use there as well.
I actually find the gearing is a little low and spend a lot of time in 23 and 24 gears and can't pedal down hill because my legs don't go that fast (25mph+), so might change that in the future.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Alan>
Clearly the 24 gears on the Kudos King model are providing the riding style that suits you-I have no intention of changing the spec of that bike. This justifies having so many different models in the range,what everyone wants out of their bike varies so much-originally some of my staff criticised the number of bike styles but not one of those styles is redundant and in fact customer requests will extend the range for 2012.
Dave
KudosCycles

 

[Graeme]

Alan>
Clearly the 24 gears on the Kudos King model are providing the riding style that suits you-I have no intention of changing the spec of that bike. This justifies having so many different models in the range,what everyone wants out of their bike varies so much-originally some of my staff criticised the number of bike styles but not one of those styles is redundant and in fact customer requests will extend the range for 2012.
Dave
KudosCycles

Dave
Good to hear that your business is doing well.
A crank drive with nexus hub gears throttle and 26 inch wheels, would be a welcome addition to your range, any leaning in that direction?

 

[Jimod]

I'll jump into this thread if I may. I have the Kudos Tourer with 9 gears, I've used them all at one time or another. I think it needs 9 gears where I live, especially as I flattened the battery 2 miles from home with some long hills to get up. I never got out of the saddle once. On normal runs though I find I'm in the middle 4 gears when going up hills. I have a hilly stretch to get home which sees me in all of those 4 gears to keep me comfortable. I wouldn't fancy only having 3 gears, I think the ratios would be too wide apart for me.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Jim & Alan> All useful input,thanks
Dave
KudosCycles

 

[Kudoscycles]

Graeme>
Not wishing to fuel the sometimes heated debate between crank and hub drive,I agree that potentially the crank drive should be the superior system but the hub drive has been a development over principles-the current situation,in my opinion,is that the old level of crank drives are at best similar performance and often inferior to hub drives,however the new systems from the likes of Bosch would seem to offer more but at a punitive price level.
For a small company such as Kudos to develop our own crank drive would require considerable investment and be very risky-some companies have produced a crude crank drive but to move into bulk production quite frankly they are not reliable. There is a rumour that Bosch-China are to manufacture their own e-bike using their system,it would make some sense but as to pricing,I am sure they would not wish to undercut the price points set by the volume 'high end' German producers. It appears to me that,currently, to buy a crank drive high spec bike Bosch have a monopoly and expect to spend £1800 plus.
Most riders are very pleased with hub drive,it does what they want and it can be offered with good spec for less than £1000,that is somewhat an important threshold point and no longer because of the limit of the Cycle to Work scheme,it's just what most want to spend.
So to answer your question directly Kudos have no current designs to include a crank drive-the King bike does go up hills very well and is respected as such. Our ideas for 2012 are niche products,some way from the type of bike I think you are considering.
Dave
KudosCycles

 

[Graeme]

Dave.
Thanks for taking the time to answer, it certainly helps me to make sense of the lack of 'affordable' (relative term) crank drive bikes on the market.

 

[Chainring]

I've now covered nearly 1400 miles on my Woosh Santana. If I had had a demo ride before purchase, I do not think I would have established that three gears would be best for my situation. The bike does all I need, but three hub gears would be ideal for me. It's not always possible to see ahead, and know which gear to be in, so the benefit of being able to select the right gear while at rest would be a real bonus. Cyclezee is the only site on which I have found a three-speed step-through model. I thought I could perhaps modify my bike in the future, but the rear stays are too far apart, I think. I can see the point of more gears for hilly areas. As an aside, I recently hired a car for a short time, which gave me a chance to see how much of a benefit a bike is with all the traffic on the road. I also climbed out after every trip, feeling very stiff. I realise it's my age, but I think cycling is better for my body!