Which Hubs and transmissions are best?

[Intex]

For an ebike that may be used in hilly terrain, which is the best gear setup: Regullar Derraileur with 3 gears up front and 8 in back, or the newer Nexus 7 speed enclosed hub with planetary gears?

Also while on the subject, is there any performance advantages uses a solid drive shaft, like in the Schwinn, as opposed to the chain drive ?

Thank you, I am still learning

 

[flecc]

Both gear setups are good. Hub gears aren't new but were in fact the original gears for bikes, derailleurs invented years later. Both types of gear are suitable for hilly areas.

The hub gear has the advantages of being enclosed and needing almost no maintenance, and being able to change gear at a standstill. It has the disadvantages of slower gearchanging and a lower efficiency.

Derailleur gears have the advantage of higher efficiency and quicker gear changing. They have the disadvantages of needing much more maintenance and not being able to change gear at a standstill. Electric assist bikes generally do not need lots of gears, and having 3 front chainrings and 8 sprockets at the back is completely unnecessary, most derailleur equipped e-bikes having a single front chainring.

In general, hub gears are most suitable for utility bikes that work for a living in commuting, shopping etc.

Deraileur gears are best on sports bikes, and they were invented for those.

However, many people use them differently according to personal preferences.

There are no performance advantages of shaft drive as I've already answered on your other thread. They are much less efficient than chain drive, just easier to keep clean.
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[Intex]

Thank you for the complete information

 

[jonouk]

EAD systems

Sorry to kind of butt in here, I can't seem to start a thread at all for some reason, so I looked for a thread that has some sort of relevance. I am questioning the benefits and operation of, I believe they are called EAD systems. which compose of the crank and pedal system enclosed and powered to further assist the cadence of the rider based on torque sensors. Are these set ups beneficial? I see they are fitted to some models but are not too common overall, so either they are poor in benefits or relatively new on the market? And how do they actually work/what do they actually do?
I hope this is complimentary to the thread, the original post did ask for "which hubs are best" so perhaps some additional information can be gleaned from this topic by viewing members as I assume these EAD units are working in conjunction to the efficiency of the hubs.

BTW do I need to contribute to other posts before I can post a thread myself or something? I did send an e mail to the admin, but they might be on hols at this time of year. Thanks to all,

JonO

 

[flecc]

Hello JonO. You should see a blue "New Thread" rectangular button at the top left of the threads page that you can click to start a new thread.

I don't recognise the term EAD, but the current dominant crank torque sensing motor unit is the Panasonic one. This was designed at the start of the millennium and sold successfully on Panasonic bikes in Japan and the Giant Lafree Lite series through the rest of the world, with BikeTech of Switzerland also producing some bikes using it.

It's an excellent system, and the reason why others don't design them is probably the high development and production costs compared to wheel hub motors. With the Panasonic system recognised as being so good of it's type, competing would be very expensive, so an e-bike manufacturer will usually prefer to either buy the Panasonic unit or use one of the many hub motors available.

I have three articles on my website and in here explaining everything you need to know about the Panasonic unit:

Technical description and how the torque sensing system works.

The operation of the Panasonic system as it relates to the law.

The disadvantages of drive through the gear systems on e-bikes.
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[jonouk]

That is great Flecc, thanks very much, I will be much better informed once I digest the information you have provided. I have figured out the posting prob as well, I have had a mail from Russell who stated it was all operational now and I can post away to my heart's desire! OK thanks again,

JonO