Powabyke 6 or 24 - any difference?

[Sarge]

Still not made the plunge - still looking and comparing electric bikes.
Apart from 6 gears and 24 gears (and a hundred pounds) what is the benefit of the extra gears on the 24?
I've noticed in other reviews that members say they stay in one gear the whole time.
I've got 18 gears on my MTB but only use about 5 of them - then maybe things aren't so straighforward with a leccy bike.

 

[flecc]

The 6 gear one can leave you spinning the pedals quite fast at speed since the gear range is restricted. Although nothing like 24 gears are necessary, it does give a good range from low enough for any hills to high enough to be able to pedal at a reasonable rate when at speed.
.

 

[AndyOfTheSouth]

Hi Sarge

For what it's worth, I tried the X bike at Presteigne and my reaction was that it would be good when they finish it. The first one (which I think is the current model) had a noisy motor and a three second or so delay before the motor responded to the throttle. When I returned it, I was offered a different model, which I think is not yet available, which was quieter and did not have a throttle delay. In both cases the battery casing looked like it had been made in a shed.

However, if they do get it right, they will have a nice bike at a very good price.

To answer your specific question, I would have thought that the extra gearing would be worthwhile if you lived in a hilly area.

 

[pl1974]

Sarge,

I found the X6 to be ample, only thing I would have liked would have been a 'higher' top gear as I found I got into sixth and stayed there quite a lot. I really liked the bike, it was just that the range was too short for my 18mile commute.

I'll be selling mine shortly if you're interested..

Paul

 

[Mike63]

Hi Sarge...in my experience, the lowest gear on the X6 is not low enough to handle the bike when cornering at walking speed.

...selling mine too if you are interested :

I would suggest that given the opportunity you buy your first e bike second hand at half price....likes and dislikes will quickly become apparent and you will lose little on any re-sale.

.....Mike

 

[Alex728]

I saw an X series (not sure if it was 6 or 24) parked on the bike racks in Ipswich in April.

By a strange co-incidence it was when I was on my normal unpowered bike which is a Raleigh Pioneer - apparently the X series is based on this.

As mine was parked right next to the Powabye I looked at them both and would agree with this assement to an extent, its a similar frame but I read on here the X series has some extra brazed on bits to hold the electric parts.

Unforunately I didn't meet its owner, but it had a child or dog trailer on the back so it must have been powerful enough to shift the owner and the baby or dog. TBH it didn't look that bad but like others have said the range on that small battery and the other quirks mentioned might be an issue...

 

[Patrick]

I've done well over 1000 miles commuting on my X6 and found that the 6 gears are enough. I use 4th gear by default; 5th and 6th for pushing by bike up to 20mph+ (the motor stops helping at around 16mph); 3rd and 4th plus full throttle gets me up most hills, switching down to 2nd towards the top of the killer hill on my commute; and hill starts require 2nd or 3rd gear. When I started commuting by bike I needed 1st gear to get me up the killer hill, but I only call on it on a bad day now that I'm quite a bit fitter.

For the most part having the motor negates the need for the extra bottom gears on the X24. The extra top gears would let you pedal well above 20mph, which would be useful for pedaling downhill or high speed unassisted cruising on the flat.

If you're a strong cyclist who's used to fast unassisted riding then you would probably find the top gear of the X6 a bit low. However there's always the option of fitting a bigger chainring and shifting all six gears up a notch.

For me the X6 has two big advantages, the gear system is easier to maintain because theres less to go wrong, and it's simpler to operate (so I don't end up stopped in the wrong gear quite as often).

 

[Rad]

Yeah, I have to say I agree with Patrick. I also find myself mainly in 4th when cruising but I always use the whole range. 5th and 6th downhilling, or on those rare headwind free days. 1st for pulling away, 2nd-3rd for hill climbing. I went from a 21 speed hybrid down to the 6 speed X6 after having been assured by various members here that a 3 cog front gear wouldn't be necessary on an e-bike. They were right. The 6 speed is perfectly adequate for my commute.

 

[Mussels]

Generally you need less gears on an electric bike but only if those gears cover the range you need, a big number is not as important as a big range however the two normally go together.
I find the megarange gears (14-34 teeth) don't provide enough range for a commute with steep hills but would be ample for a fairly flat ride.

 

[pedestrian]

I've got the X6. I had to return the first battery, which wouldn't do much more than five miles, but replacement was OK. The electrics have now packed up and I'm trying to arrange to get it fixed under warranty (see my other thread on warranty issues).

As far as the gears are concerned, I think the 6 are enough. Sometimes I could pedal faster if 6th cog was bigger, but I can't honestly say it ever bothers me.