Lovely bike. As a fellow fan of hub gears I wonder why you went for the 11 speed with crank motor combination rather than rear hub gears front hub motor or fewer hub gears? I'd been reading that the 11 speed wasn't the most robust of hub gears so might wear sooner with the extra stress of a mid motor but perhaps that is unsubstantiated hearsay. Frankly I can't understand why so few prebuilt ebikes seem to come with hub gears in this country.
Thankyou, it is a lovely bike to ride. As for the reasons you ask about the hub gear, well I wanted to replace my original 21 speed derailleur gears for something to match the gear range & the 11 speed hub gear does this. Also the hub gear was on offer for less than a hub gear with less gears, so was a win win! I've been riding the bike with this hub gear whilst waiting to have the funds to buy the conversion kit which is almost 2yrs & is very good, hassle free & not an issue with it. I've heard about the 'issues' other have had but a group of us all bought these hubs that were on offer & none of us over the past 3 years have had any issues with them between us.
As for the stress load from the mid drive motor, well that is why I fitted the gear sensor which pauses the motor as the hub gear changes gear & is smooth as it has been & the sensor is recommended if the bike has a hub gear. I did think of front wheel motor as it is cheaper/lighter option but looking into the pro's & con's they are less efficient & can easily lose control on slippery surfaces, I know that one as have experience of front motors on previous ebike. How it goes, only time will tell & learn from it for my next build of an ebike.
I do think ebikes with hub gears are getting more available, all depends where you look. Possibly retailers who sell the more Dutch Style bikes as they know better.
