Most powerful eBike for long uphill journeys?

[IronLung]

Hi all,

I'm new here and looking for advice regarding the purchase of an eBike.

Currently I have made the decision that this is the bike for me, based on research so far:
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/electric-bikes/carrera-vulcan-electric-mountain-bike

However, it seems that some say this bike doesn't actually give out much power for uphill journeys. My MAIN reason for buying an eBike is that it MUST (and I can't stress that enough) be able to let me essentially glide up steep hills with little to no effort.

Can anyone confirm if this bike will indeed be able to get me up a 20% incline with relative ease or are we not yet at that stage for ebikes?

It doesn't need to do 30miles etc.. I'm happy with around 5 miles on full power if it can get me up a 20% incline with little to no effort.

If anyone can help, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks all

 

[Gubbins]

I am a user not an expert, but I have 2 e bikes, both different and both alleged to be the most powerful available (legally) And neither would ride 20% uphill with little or no effort, in fact they wont ride a flat road with no effort! Interestingly Halfords state the maximum speed of this bike to be 15.5MPH which could be a little misleading...

 

[redcup1999]

How much do you weigh?

20% is a tall order for any legal ebike. If you only weigh 30Kgs you may be able to find something that will do it. If you weigh 100Kgs, very unlikely.

 

[tommie]

20% is steep, you`re looking at BBSHD mid-drive motor there

 

[LeighPing]

Reviewers / owners complain of it cutting out. Just like the other Carrera ebike does.

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/electric-bikes/carrera-vulcan-electric-mountain-bike

 

[Trevormonty]

Bosch CX drive should do it, being torque drive you will have to pedal but I'd be surprised if you broke sweat in low gear on turbo mode. Check out Cube and KTM range of ebikes.

Woosh and Whisper do some hubdrive bikes specifically designed for hill climbing but don't expect to do 20% hill without pedalling.

 

[brightonebikes]

A Bafang BBS02B 250W equipped bike could be a very good choice? PAS sensor and throttle override for short boosts should deliver providing the gearing is correct.

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

 

[Gubbins]

A Bafang BBS02B 250W equipped bike could be a very good choice? PAS sensor and throttle override for short boosts should deliver providing the gearing is correct.

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

are throttles still allowed?

 

[brightonebikes]

are throttles still allowed?

Yes.

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[Gubbins]

Yes.

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

I sometimes think one would be handy but for some reason I thought they were banned now. I read a lot but it isn't always remembered corectly

 

[soundwave]

if some one hacked the bosch software the walk button could be made in to a throttle

 

[brightonebikes]

I sometimes think one would be handy but for some reason I thought they were banned now. I read a lot but it isn't always remembered corectly

Can be useful in short bursts at times, by no means a replacement for pedal assist in everyday use.

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

 

[brightonebikes]

if some one hacked the bosch software the walk button could be made in to a throttle

Someone somewhere is probably working on that right now. Very much to Bosch's disapproval!

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[Swinman]

Hi I have found that 250w motor and a 36v battery, is what I needed to get me going without pedal assist, the bigger the AH the better i.e. Less charging, I found that the control unit in the bike can be swapped to give better push i.e. A 12-15a one , so get the bike that fits you and your pocket then just swap the control unit for a stronger one , main thing is the size of the unit and if it needs more than 3 wires, but if you have a read of some of the threads you will get a better idea of what I'm sayin , now please there will be loads of moans from the people on here about doing this with tales of woe and if you don't want to play with your bike then fine but if you do I will help and so will the good people with bikes that cost less than £500 so from a man with a 20" folding bike that cots £65 and a bit of my time I took my 16-1/2 stone up an incline with a throttle no peddling at all it's just a have do attitude you need all the best

 

[soundwave]

they was on the german site just cant get round the bosch system as a dongle is one thing hacking that and selling it well its not going to happen ;(

 

[Woosh]

I'm happy with around 5 miles on full power if it can get me up a 20% incline with little to no effort.

no effort means a full throttle, not fitted to most bikes.
What do you mean by little effort? Most bikes with torque sensors have a maximum assist ratio of 300%, you put in 25% of the required energy, the bike adds 3 times your own effort, 75%.
Bikes with rotational sensor let you put in as much effort as you like, or as little as you like but in this case, you need a powerful motor, controller and battery.
To give an example, let's assume your weight is 80kgs and your bike weighs 20kgs.
To climb a 20% gradient at 9 mph, you need 800W at the wheels.
You can do so with a Bosch CX motor but you need to put in 200W, the motor will add 3 x 200W, so your bike can climb that hill.
200W is roughly the energy needed to cycle unassisted at 15mph.
You can also climb that hill at the same 9mph with a BBS02, this time, on throttle alone because the motor can output 800W on its own.

 

[brightonebikes]

they was on the german site just cant get round the bosch system as a dongle is one thing hacking that and selling it well its not going to happen ;(

Well then I guess some things just aren't meant to be...

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I haven't ridden one, but I heard that the Carreras have a torque sensor. Can someone who has one confirm whether it's a torque multiplier system or whether it's basically a power switch. If a torque multiplier system, I can't see it being suitable for OP.

It's impossible to say what bike would be suitable for anyone without knowing their weight.

 

[IronLung]

Thanks for all the replies. It's really appreciated and very informative.

I currently weigh around 67kg and by "little to no effort", I mean as if the incline hasn't really appeared.

Basic I'm happy pedalling on a flat surface, this is no problem, but due to lung issues and where I am located, I would need to climb a 20% incline, therefore for a bike to be even remotely useful to me, it must be able to get up the incline, without putting in much more input that as if I was in a flat surface.

To be absolutely honest, even if the bike just out in enough power, that it could get me up the hill without me putting in much more effort than flat road pedalling, once I'm at the top, the road is flat again, and I can roll back down. I only really need the torque and power to assist me up a 20% 1 mile ish incline if possible.

thanks again for all,this feed back, it's really really important and useful to me as I don't want to make a poor choice that could end up in wasted money.

Thanks everyone

 

[LeighPing]

You'd just need to learn to drop the gears low and up the power assist levels, appropriate to the need, and let the bike do most of the work for you.