What's the answer?

[guerney]

old touring bike with powered front wheel

What's the answer?

To be, or not to be... front motored? When I tried cycling my normally responsive and agile bike with a circa 2kg front steel mesh basket attached, it was magically transformed into unbearably sluggish - perhaps a rear or mid-motor would go some way toward forming part of the answer?

 

[lenny]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alomejor-Brushless-Outrunner-Controller-Skateboard/dp/B07Q75BCQJ

 

[lenny]

 

[Sturmey]

Does adding weight really slow down a bike that much or is it that the bike feels slower?
In theory, for example, it would appear that if say a 85KG rider with a 15Kg bike, (total 100KG) adds say a freewheeling geared motor and battery (5kg) to their bike, then the most speed they should loose is about 5% when bike is unpowered compared to the bike before it was converted. However most riders complain of a significant loss of speed.
An interesting experiment I would suggest would be to time your favorite ride circuit before conversion. Then after conversion, time the same ride with the bike power off in similar conditions. Anyhow, just a thought.

The Actual Effect of Weight on Cycling Speed – Ride Far

ridefar.info

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[guerney]

Does adding weight really slow down a bike that much or is it that the bike feels slower?

With a 2kg steel front basket, it felt sluggish steering, and even more sluggish steering with 10kg of water inside the front basket... but acceleration was stil fast, unaffected. Voltage sag didn't affect acceleration because of the 19.2Ah battery, I'd zip up though the gears just as fast, the bike was just as responsive, even with the same 10kg weight on the panneier rack instead of up front - that was with the controller at 15A, and now that I've increased controller amperage limit to 18A, my 36A BBS01B 20" wheeled conversion is limited by the 25kph cutoff on most small hills, with even faster acceleration.

An interesting experiment I would suggest would be to time your favorite ride circuit before conversion. Then after conversion, time the same ride with the bike power off in similar conditions.

It's like cycling through diluted treacle with the BBS10B unpowered. Totally different to unconverted along the same route.