I am thinking of coming over to the dark side.

[midlife]

Silly question, does that ribble in the OP have a motor in the rear hub? I thought it was better to have them in the bottom bracket?

I don't know a lot about electric bikes but at 60 I'm keeping an eye out

 

[RichardB]

Hub motor: advantage - simpler, cheaper, easier on transmission as additional power doesn't go through drivetrain. Disadvantage - doesn't benefit from gearing, i.e. runs at speed of rear wheel, so when going very slowly (up steep hill) can drop out of efficient range and struggle.

Crank motor: advantage - feels more natural (some say), motor turns at speed of pedals, so benefits from gears, i.e. stays in efficient speed range more. Disadvantage: more expensive, less accessible if needing attention/replacement, harder on transmissions as full motor power is going through drivetrain. Clumsy gear changes can sound very noisy and/or expensive.

Mine has a hub motor and I am happy with it. My wife's had a Bosch crank drive and it was OK too. Overall prefer the hub motor, but YMMV.

 

[cougie uk]

I think all of the Ribble bikes have hub motors.

I've seen it said that the frame motors are better but they're more expensive and heavier too.

How far would you ride ? The Ribble has a smaller battery so it's almost indistinguishable from a normal bike but it hasn't the range of some of the more expensive e bikes.

 

[RichardB]

I've seen it said that the frame motors are better but they're more expensive and heavier too.

Define 'better'. There are advantages to both systems IMO.

 

[Pale Rider]

Do i understand correctly that you must keep pedaling as normal or free wheel ie you can't just use the battery ?

That is true for most road legal ebikes.

Bear in mind the motors are not balls of fire anyway, so even if you could just 'use the battery' it wouldn't do a lot more than trundle you along on level ground - provided there was no headwind.

The Ribble bikes use the Ebikemotion motor, which is lighter and weaker than most of the crank drives, such as the Bosch.

This 'light assist' gives better range, but is better suited to fitter and lighter riders who only want a limited amount of assistance.

 

[Dave7]

That is true for most road legal ebikes.

Bear in mind the motors are not balls of fire anyway, so even if you could just 'use the battery' it wouldn't do a lot more than trundle you along on level ground - provided there was no headwind.

The Ribble bikes use the Ebikemotion motor, which is lighter and weaker than most of the crank drives, such as the Bosch.

This 'light assist' gives better range, but is better suited to fitter and lighter riders who only want a limited amount of assistance.

Thank you.
I am 11 stone so reasonably light.
73 but reasonably fit ie before this virus hit I could comfortably ride 30+ miles (only a bad neck caused problems).
So ......
Can I ask, bearing in mind I want as light as reasonably possible + comfort, .....can you suggest any other bikes ??
Thanks again.

 

[Dave7]

I think all of the Ribble bikes have hub motors.

I've seen it said that the frame motors are better but they're more expensive and heavier too.

How far would you ride ? The Ribble has a smaller battery so it's almost indistinguishable from a normal bike but it hasn't the range of some of the more expensive e bikes.

Hi.
If you are asking me......I will be happy with 35 mile but most would be in the 20 mile range. 80-90% road and some trails eg Pennine Way so nothing rough.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I think the best way would be to go ride one/few to see what you think, as a general rule I would have thought one where the battery can be removed from the bike would be a better option, possibly not as neat looking but if the battery fails it can be replaced, it can also be brought inside for winter storage & for charging. I have MTB ebike so can't really comment on road ebikes, I use mine for reconnaissance of new routes, where I'm not sure how I will fair.

 

[gzoom]

Can I ask, bearing in mind I want as light as reasonably possible + comfort, .....can you suggest any other bikes ??
Thanks again.

If you want light weight than Fazua powered bikes is your other option. These are mid drive bikes and gives you a range of anything between 30-100 miles depending on how hard you want to pedal.

My Boardman Fauza hybrid is just under 16kg with pedals, its light by eBike standards but still a very fat/heavy compared to my road bike which is under 8kg.

Interestingly my speed on both my eBike and road bike is very similar and perceived effort levels similar. Though is you really wanted to take it easy, on max boost riding up a 8% incline on the eBike at sub 15mph is like sitting on the sofa watching TV versus hitting max heart rate on my road bike .....However you pay for the assistance with range drops, if all you did was use max boost at sub 15mph on a decent incline you can drain the battery in sub 20 miles.

 

[Mike_P]

Good point re one with a removable battery, if the ebike will be housed in an unheated outbuilding then the battery will be affected by the cold so as I found out; would be almost flat first thing in the morning but without being charged was well charged come midday, so best the take the battery indoors

 

[Drago]

Silly question, does that ribble in the OP have a motor in the rear hub? I thought it was better to have them in the bottom bracket?

I don't know a lot about electric bikes but at 60 I'm keeping an eye out

On a bike intended for tarmac use it matters not one jot if its mid or rear drive.

 

[Pale Rider]

Thank you.
I am 11 stone so reasonably light.
73 but reasonably fit ie before this virus hit I could comfortably ride 30+ miles (only a bad neck caused problems).
So ......
Can I ask, bearing in mind I want as light as reasonably possible + comfort, .....can you suggest any other bikes ??
Thanks again.

Seems likely a light assist bike would suit you.

As @gzoom says, your other option is a Fazua mid drive which will offer a similar level of assist and range to the Ebikemotion motor on the Ribble.

Fazua bikes were dearer until Halfords came along and knocked about a grand off the price being asked by other makers for a Fazua.

The way the assist is delivered is more sophisticated on the Fazua, making it feel more like ordinary cycling.

Driving through the gears makes it a better prospect on steep hills.

A hub drive motor can stall, or even burn out, if you can't keep the bike (and motor) up to a reasonable climbing speed.

That cannot really happen with a mid drive because the motor would be driving through first gear, enabling the motor to keep whirring away.

I thrashed my Bosch mid drive up a long and steep in places climb in the Yorkshire Dales.

The motor casing wasn't even warm at the top, although there was some detectable warmth in the battery due to the high current draw.

I've not tried an Ebikemotion on anything really steep, but if it's properly designed it will have cut out protection, so the motor would stop before it lunched itself or the controller.

It's also unlikely you will encounter stall conditions in Cheshire.

 

[Dave7]

Seems likely a light assist bike would suit you.

As @gzoom says, your other option is a Fazua mid drive which will offer a similar level of assist and range to the Ebikemotion motor on the Ribble.

Fazua bikes were dearer until Halfords came along and knocked about a grand off the price being asked by other makers for a Fazua.

The way the assist is delivered is more sophisticated on the Fazua, making it feel more like ordinary cycling.

Driving through the gears makes it a better prospect on steep hills.

A hub drive motor can stall, or even burn out, if you can't keep the bike (and motor) up to a reasonable climbing speed.

That cannot really happen with a mid drive because the motor would be driving through first gear, enabling the motor to keep whirring away.

I thrashed my Bosch mid drive up a long and steep in places climb in the Yorkshire Dales.

The motor casing wasn't even warm at the top, although there was some detectable warmth in the battery due to the high current draw.

I've not tried an Ebikemotion on anything really steep, but if it's properly designed it will have cut out protection, so the motor would stop before it lunched itself or the controller.

It's also unlikely you will encounter stall conditions in Cheshire.

Many thanks. Your advice (along with others) is much appreciated.
If you have any other thoughts feel free to tell me.

 

[gzoom]

Just to add even a 250watt motor bike is more than powerful enough.

To win the Tour de France this year 'just' 370watts was needed as a sustained effort over the stage 10 time trial.

https://cyclingtips.com/2020/10/roglics-power-numbers-from-tour-tt-and-several-key-climbs-revealed/

My Fazua puts out a genuine 200watt+, when you add in even just 100watts of your own power you are basically at pro athlete power levels. Ofcourse having a heavier bike and less aero means you are still slower, but non of these eBike motors are under powered. I hit average power ratings of near 300watts when pushing on with the eBike, and trust me sadly there is no way am within 70watts of the Tour de France winner using just my own legs

One thing that may change things is I understand hub motors don't offer you the gearing choice mid motors have, the Woosh website seems to suggest this. So one advantage of mid drive bikes is access to gearing allowing for more flexibility for work load distribution between rider and motor.

https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?motorcharts

 

[midlife]

Quick question, if you are doing 28 kph won't the motor have cut out so you are getting no assist at all.?