Help! Is an Electric Bike Suitable for Long Mountain Rides?

[priyal]

Hello guys...

I am confused and need some advice. Is an electric bike good for long rides in the mountains? I’m planning a trip where I’ll be riding on a mix of paved roads and some off-road trails. I’ve read mixed opinions online — some say e-bikes are great for long distances and climbing, while others mention issues like battery life and handling on tougher terrain.

I'm not a hardcore cyclist, but I enjoy longer rides and want to explore the mountains without worrying too much about the bike's performance or the battery dying halfway. Also, if anyone has any recommendations on the type of electric bike (hub motor vs. mid-drive, battery capacity, etc.) that would be best for this purpose, I’d love to hear them!

I also check this: https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/ebike-to-keep-up-with-road-bike-for-40-milqlik But I have not found any solution. could anyone guide me about this? Any insights or personal experiences would be really helpful.

Thanks!

 

[saneagle]

Hello guys...

I am confused and need some advice. Is an electric bike good for long rides in the mountains? I’m planning a trip where I’ll be riding on a mix of paved roads and some off-road trails. I’ve read mixed opinions online — some say e-bikes are great for long distances and climbing, while others mention issues like battery life and handling on tougher terrain.

I'm not a hardcore cyclist, but I enjoy longer rides and want to explore the mountains without worrying too much about the bike's performance or the battery dying halfway. Also, if anyone has any recommendations on the type of electric bike (hub motor vs. mid-drive, battery capacity, etc.) that would be best for this purpose, I’d love to hear them!

Any insights or personal experiences would be really helpful.

Thanks!

Not all ebikes are the same. Some are designed for commuting, some for city riding, some for touring and some for specific things, like riding off road, mountain climbing, going fast, easy to store, etc. Those things are not mutually exclusive. Every bike can do all of them to a greater or lesser extent.

The next thing to think about is your own characteristics that you want the bike to match. We have a vague impression of what you want the bike to do, but you didn't mention how much you want to spend, how good you are at fixing stuff, how heavy you are (very important), how far you want to travel in a day.

Hub-motors are generally better for touring, but not so good to tour the Swiss Alps for a heavy person. The main noticeable differences are the more frequent gear shifting with the crank motor and the crunchier shifts, crank motors are generally more efficient when climbing steep hills and they make you work a bit harder than a hub-motor, which tires you a bit more on a long journey, but you can go further with the battery.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Hello guys...

I am confused and need some advice. Is an electric bike good for long rides in the mountains? I’m planning a trip where I’ll be riding on a mix of paved roads and some off-road trails. I’ve read mixed opinions online — some say e-bikes are great for long distances and climbing, while others mention issues like battery life and handling on tougher terrain.

I'm not a hardcore cyclist, but I enjoy longer rides and want to explore the mountains without worrying too much about the bike's performance or the battery dying halfway. Also, if anyone has any recommendations on the type of electric bike (hub motor vs. mid-drive, battery capacity, etc.) that would be best for this purpose, I’d love to hear them!

I also check this: https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/ebike-to-keep-up-with-road-bike-for-40-milqlik But I have not found any solution. could anyone guide me about this? Any insights or personal experiences would be really helpful.

Thanks!

Yes, depends a bit on the terrain and the steepness of the hills , the total height climbed, your weight and the size of the battery and how much assist you use and what speed

A lot of the commercial mountain bikes seem to have 400wh or 500wh batteries which might not be enough, depending on the factors above.

I would say roads and light trails a hub drive is the most relaxing, but for slow,steep , technical climbs a mid drive is more suitable.

I have a Bafang mid drive kit and a 960wh battery on a Boardman 29 er pro hard tail. It makes it a bit heavy but I can get just about anywhere and have plenty of battery.

 

[Voltsnamps]

Yes, I love to tour in mountains, multi day especially, I could never do it on analogue bike.
Where is the trip .? ie how far and how high climb a day ?
Range is controlled only by price and weight of battery (or batteries)
Dual suspension to hardtail is chalk and cheese in the rough stuff
Very few “shop” ebikes are intended to tour far, if you intend to build or have built for you, the world is your oyster, starting with good condition but old dually is the way to go imho, Bafang mid motors my choice

 

[gray198]

I have seen this bike which has capability to carry extra batteries. Don't know anything about it but it looks like it could tick a few boxes for you

Fiido Titan Robust Cargo Electric Bike

Explore the Fiido Titan Fat Tire E-Bike: UL Certified, 248 miles, robust cargo capacity. Perfect for all-terrain. Eco-friendly & powerful.

uk.fiido.com

 

[saneagle]

I have seen this bike which has capability to carry extra batteries. Don't know anything about it but it looks like it could tick a few boxes for you

Fiido Titan Robust Cargo Electric Bike

Explore the Fiido Titan Fat Tire E-Bike: UL Certified, 248 miles, robust cargo capacity. Perfect for all-terrain. Eco-friendly & powerful.

uk.fiido.com

The problem is that when you have big batteries and fit or carry a second one, you end up with a moped with slow handling and very difficult to ride without power - if you ever have to. This sort of thing works well for some people, but for others it's not the sort of cycling experience you want.

An alternative is to go in the opposite direction with a lightweight efficient bike. Obviously that's not so good if you're loaded up with 30kg of luggage, nor if you weigh 120kg, where the weight of the bike becomes irrelevant.

 

[chris_n]

As I actually live and ride in the Alps maybe I am best placed to answer your question.
Firstly no one here rides hub motored bikes, all are Bosch / Yamaha or Shimano torque sensing mid motors.
Secondly the answer above that says most have 400 or 500Wh is a few years out of date, the most common sizes are now 625 or 750Wh.
I regularly ride around 100km with about 1500m of climbing using about 3/4 of my 750Wh battery. I could use more if I went faster or less if I went slower. I have done longer distances, I have done more climbing but not at the same time.
Best thing to do is hire a few bikes to get an idea of what suits you.

 

[matthewslack]

You must try before you buy, especially if you are tempted to go the hub drive route.

Mid-drive can do anything you want it to, just needs a big enough battery and low enough gears.

On technical terrain, it has to be torque sensor. Nothing else is sensitive enough.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

On technical terrain, it has to be torque sensor. Nothing else is sensitive enough.

I have experienced that with by BBS02, gingerly negotiating a narrow ridge and the cadence sensor kicks the motor in and unleashes a huge amount of power. Fortunately I just traversed that ridge a lot quicker than I was expecting and I turn the pas level right down (or even off) before I attempt anything like that - but a torque sensor would be safer and simpler

 

[Voltsnamps]

Opposite for me, my mid baf has throttle controlled pas, so setting is really low —100w until I push throttle, totally linear increase in pas. Torque sensitive to my thumb, controllable in proper rough, no weird kicks.
I’ve been riding a Bosch a lot in recent weeks, I don’t hate it but if you forget to press buttons and lower power after a climb it is viscous.
Negotiating pedestrian chicanes at top of hill nearly bit me !
Give me linear controlled pas over button pushing any day

re battery range, we’re not all the same, my wife and I started with 720w/hr each (same baf motor). I can go a lot farther than her even though I go faster.
All power to Chis R but no way can she climb 1500 m on 720, actually I’m pushing to do that. Our normal lunch run is just over 600m (over 300 twice) in 65km and that about her lot. I have climbed 1500m on that battery but also been on days when I climbed a lot more and used a lot more.
Range costs me about 4.5Kg per Kw/hr, I can deal with that, YMMV

 

[guerney]

I hardly ever go offroad, but despite assistance level set to maximum - with start current at 10%, and rapid ceasing of pedal assist in BBS01B firmware, I didn't shoot off into empty air and down a ravine. Quite controllable.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

I've seen information in the past where people have exhausted their battery packs in a surprisingly short time using mid-drive e-mountain bikes to tackle very steep ascents. I'm guessing that is on maximum power. I think in as short a time as 40 minutes. However that is not light off-roading that is serious climbing challenges. Trails vary a lot in their difficulty and the first two types pretty much any ebike can cope with but as they get harder you really need to go the mid-drive route I feel. However I've seen junk mid-drive ebikes outclassed by fairly well spec'd hub motor e-mountain bikes but as a general rule mid-drive is the better option for serious off-road trails in my opinion. I'm saying that as someone who much prefers hub motors for general use, road, light off-road (gravel type surfaces) etc but a combination of a high torque mid-drive motor and low gearing can massively help with more difficult trails. I saw a video where someone took a Carrera Suntour HESC hub motor e-mountain bike around a trail and it did fairly well. It can probably compete quite well with lower power hardtail mid-drive motor e-mountain bikes with a similar low end Suntour front shock like some of the more basic Haibike models but would be a poor off-road choice compared to many models. There are some serious e-mountain bike discounts about at the moment, end of season etc. There is a surprisingly good e-mountain bike for £2k on hotukdeals, Bosch motor, dual suspension with decent mid-level components I would say. A bargain if you need a proper off-road ebike I personally don't. If you don't want high maintenance suspension consider a mid-drive fat bike those fat tyres can do a decent job of replacing normal suspension although you certainly won't save any weight though. Those are good enough for blue trails I would say.

 

[saneagle]

I've seen information in the past where people have exhausted their battery packs in a surprisingly short time using mid-drive e-mountain bikes to tackle very steep ascents. I'm guessing that is on maximum power. I think in as short a time as 40 minutes. However that is not light off-roading that is serious climbing challenges. Trails vary a lot in their difficulty and the first two types pretty much any ebike can cope with but as they get harder you really need to go the mid-drive route I feel. However I've seen junk mid-drive ebikes outclassed by fairly well spec'd hub motor e-mountain bikes but as a general rule mid-drive is the better option for serious off-road trails in my opinion. I'm saying that as someone who much prefers hub motors for general use, road, light off-road (gravel type surfaces) etc but a combination of a high torque mid-drive motor and low gearing can massively help with more difficult trails. I saw a video where someone took a Carrera Suntour HESC hub motor e-mountain bike around a trail and it did fairly well. It can probably compete quite well with lower power hardtail mid-drive motor e-mountain bikes with a similar low end Suntour front shock like some of the more basic Haibike models but would be a poor off-road choice compared to many models. There are some serious e-mountain bike discounts about at the moment, end of season etc. There is a surprisingly good e-mountain bike for £2k on hotukdeals, Bosch motor, dual suspension with decent mid-level components I would say. A bargain if you need a proper off-road ebike I personally don't. If you don't want high maintenance suspension consider a mid-drive fat bike those fat tyres can do a decent job of replacing normal suspension although you certainly won't save any weight though. Those are good enough for blue trails I would say.

All good points. You also have to take into account the characteristics of the rider. A 50kg rider only needs approximately half the torque to get up the same hill as a 100kg rider. Some riders are very strong and fit, so they only want a minimal amount of assistance just to help them with the worst climbs.

Critics of hub-motors still don't seem to get that they're not all the same. It's true that the off the shelf standard kits and bikes all have similar motors to optimise the speed and power at 15 mph, but you can also get hub-motors that are optimised for any speed, and some are optimised for climbing and towing heavy loads. The difference is that you can't have both high speed cruising and low speed torque with a hub-motor except with a battery switching system or a gearbox of some sort in the motor.

 

[Az.]

If you don't want high maintenance suspension consider a mid-drive fat bike those fat tyres can do a decent job of replacing normal suspension although you certainly won't save any weight though. Those are good enough for blue trails I would say.

Fat bike for a woman and a beginner? Bonzo, have mercy.

 

[Voltsnamps]

Fat bike for a woman and a beginner? Bonzo, have mercy.

Yes and trail parks have about as much in common with long distance mountain rides as a velodrome. The op has unsurprisingly left the room.

 

[Voltsnamps]

All good points. You also have to take into account the characteristics of the rider. A 50kg rider only needs approximately half the torque to get up the same hill as a 100kg rider. Some riders are very strong and fit, so they only want a minimal amount of assistance just to help them with the worst climbs.

The difference is that you can't have both high speed cruising and low speed torque with a hub-motor except with a battery switching system or a gearbox of some sort in the motor.

so perfectly well explained
long mountain rides tend to have flat bits on the ridges and in the valleys, some steep climbs , some long gentle ones, some tight single trail, some wide open bits etc etc etc
The need for gears becomes obvious, a motor that can do it all is essential

Yes a mid motor costs a bit more (for op)

 

[Az.]

Yes a mid motor costs a bit more (for op)

Not necessarily. Prices of mid drives (and batteries) went down last year. Mid motors are much more accessible now.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Fat bike for a woman and a beginner? Bonzo, have mercy.

I didn't realise women were not suitable for fat e-bikes I'd not read that anywhere before. In fact I'm sure I saw a woman review a fat e-bike in the USA and gave it a glowing review.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Yes and trail parks have about as much in common with long distance mountain rides as a velodrome. The op has unsurprisingly left the room.

Hence the chart I gave where the first two trails are super easy and comparable to a long distance off-road mountain bike ride. However if she was planning to do more technical riding then possibly other parts of the chart would apply. 'Some off-road trails' is only a vague description.

 

[Oldie]

I do forest trails most weekends. Ebay bike with front suspension and a suspension seat post. Bafang 36v 250W mid drive with a 540Wh battery. Gets me anywhere I choose without draining the battery (I weigh 70kg) and I love this bike. The only change that I made was to adjust the controller to up the amps a bit for really steep climbs, but that was easy using advice on here. Bike plus motor etc came to circa £600.

Keep it simple for your first bike and see how you get on. Don't overthink the options, that can come later.