What is BPM as I can't seem to find the info on them, to be honest I don't really like the look of the Whoosh & Ezee bikes etc, I like the ones that look more like a proper mountain bike, do I really need a full throttle? Up till now I've managed using full pedal power, so I would recon these power assisted would make a big difference if they put in 3-4 times the effort that I do?

 

The best Chinese hub motors are made by the Suzhou Bafang company and are in many hub motored e-bikes. The BPM is the larger diameter, highest power and torque legal hub motor that they make, the one to choose for hill climbing or heavy towing.

 

The advantage of a throttle is that you can choose exactly what power you want at any time, regardless of what you are contributing, not having that dictated by a torque sensor. That's handy when you get tired and want to ease up a bit while still keeping going.

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you've got a 13 year old on tow in a fairly hilly part of the country, it's horses for courses. Even if money is no object, it's down to being practical. It's planning for the worst case scenario. E-bikes extend your space. What happens when you are tired and a long way from home?

SW has already talked about crank driven bikes. The only ready made crank driven bikes with throttle are from woosh. Lots of members have them, you can search the forum for their reviews, I don't have anything new to add.

BPM stands for big powerful motors. It's a class of geared hub motors, with a large 180mm core, much bigger, heavier and more powerful than the common e-bike hub motors that have 120mm core. Ezee make their own motors that have similar characteristics compared to the BPM motors that many members consider better than the BPM made by Bafang. Recently, there is a perceptible move toward the middle, 140mm compact BPMs. You see them on bikes made by Volt, Kudos and Oxygen. The smaller 140mm core packs in about 90% of the power of the 180mm BPM but performance at below 4mph is a bit lower.

The problem with all motors is the yield. That's the ratio between what you get out of the motor in term of mechanical power vs what the motor draws from the battery. An efficient motor is worth its money (and weight) if it's much more efficient at the time that you need a lot of assist. Small motors are not made for hills because their yield is abysmal at below 4-5mph. That's why I said horses for courses.

The best Chinese hub motors are made by the Suzhou Bafang company and are in many hub motored e-bikes. The BPM is the larger diameter, highest power and torque legal hub motor that they make, the one to choose for hill climbing or heavy towing.

 

The advantage of a throttle is that you can choose exactly what power you want at any time, regardless of what you are contributing, not having that dictated by a torque sensor. That's handy when you get tired and want to ease up a bit while still keeping going.

.

THANKS for the info, do you have any recommendations for this type of bike? That looks nice, similar to a mountain bike & is under £2k

Sorry if it seems I'm asking you guys to do all the work! I'm not having a good time at the moment & strugling to get my head round it all.

SW, granted that hub motors are not made for off-roading but I think the BPM torque will obliterate any Bosch motor, even the CX. Also, for towing a trailer, you can't beat the convenience of a full throttle.

 

Obliterate a Bosch CX?? where do you get this info from,have you even tried a Bosch CX ? The bosch Cx will oblitrate the BPM anywhere thats the truth.I have both.Another thing is that the Bpm motor will get hot and damaged very fast if you go to slow.The bosch cx is perfect for the job

Sorry if it seems I'm asking you guys to do all the work! I'm not having a good time at the moment & strugling to get my head round it all.

 

THANKS for the info, do you have any recommendations for this type of bike? That looks nice, similar to a mountain bike & is under £2k

 

No need to apologise Bucks, it's what we're here for and we appreciate how complex this field is.

 

I've already linked to an Ezee and a Woosh bike earlier but you want mountain bike style.

 

One e-bike that might suit you is the Kudos Tornado. This has the BPM motor in it's rear wheel CST form, ideal for good traction in poor conditions when towing. At just over £1000 the price is right too. You can view it on this link

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Edited March 8, 201610 yr by flecc

Sorry if it seems I'm asking you guys to do all the work! I'm not having a good time at the moment & strugling to get my head round it all.

 

I think the Bosch CX would be the best choice,it works so perfectly wou want need a throttle.Its the best legal ebike motor now as far as I know.It gets my 110 kg up steep hills at speed that no legal ebikes have been close to.And I have tried most ebike motors out there.

Bosch warned (source: Bosch Performance bike manual):

Understand your bike and its intended use by checking

your bicycle owner’s manual. Using your bike the

wrong way and for a purpose for which it was not designed

can result in death or serious injury.

The Bosch Drive System components are intended exclusively

for your eBike and may not be used for other purposes.

Your Bosch Drive unit is not intended for towing another bicycle.

For trailer towing, check your bicycle owner’s manual

and the trailer owner’s manual for towing instructions and

towing compatibility.

 

Get real, how many of you use your Bosch bike to tow a heavy trailer?

 

A quick search on google reveals that they are strangely absent:

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=electric+bike+towing+a+trailer&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X

 

and as examples for front hub motor pulling a large trailer, there are plenty of examples.

 

Here is one I picked up at random:

 

https://www.eta.co.uk/2014/01/28/the-foldavan-bicycle-caravan/

 

Edited March 8, 201610 yr by trex

Bosch warned (source: Bosch Performance bike manual):

 

We haven't managed to find the exact manual yet for the Cube Reaction Hybrid HPA Pro 500! But in the sales bumf for it on the official Cube website it States "Oh, and the bicycle trailer bracket mount means you could be dropping your kids off at the nursery on the way to the office (or hauling luggage)" so I assume they are saying that it is suitable for towing!

We've been & had a go of a Cube Reaction Hybrid HPA Pro 500 today

It looks & feels like a very nice bike, but we didn't expect less from German Enginering!!! We are very tempted :-)

you can tow almost anything on flat roads, even with a light assist bike like the Gtech. I am a long time fan of crank drives, you can check my posts over the last 4-5 years, but I tell you why most people use a hub motor to haul trailers.

The drive components (chain wheel, chain, rear sprocket) are designed to have around 4-5 times the output of a normal rider and will pull easily a person weighing 110kgs. Add a trailer with your child to it, your chain and sprocket will work twice as hard. That's not the case of a hub motor bike. The trailer loads the motor, not the chain and sprockets.

I have been towing our daughter (plus everyone else's belongings) around forest tracks including up & down hills etc with no asitance for the past few years with my wife & other daughter still lagging behind lol, so I think something like this Cube Reaction Hybrid HPA Pro 500 would make a big difference & make it a lot less effort when needed :-)

I hoping I'm making the right decision in thinking I don't need the full throttle (plus my wife keeps banging on about there going to become illegal in the uk soon) plus it looks like these sort of bikes & the BPMs are quite a lot heavier than these Cube bikes!

the cube will be fine as some in germany toe half there house round with them lol.

http://www.pedelecforum.de/forum/index.php?threads/eq-haie-in-freier-wildbahn-der-haibike-bilderthread.15306/page-114

 

plus if you want to got out on ur own can dongle it a fly round at 30mph

Throttles will be illegal in the future but if you buy now you should be able to claim grandfather's rights.

I hoping I'm making the right decision in thinking I don't need the full throttle (plus my wife keeps banging on about there going to become illegal in the uk soon)

 

E-bikes with full throttles bought after 1st January 2018 will need to be type approved for use in the UK.

 

Those bought before that date have "grandfather rights" and can be legally used for the duration of their life. As with most changes in law, this one is not retrospective.

.

Thanks Guys, we are still humming & haring over the Cube Reaction Hybrid HPA Pro 500 as it looks & feels like a realy nice bike :-)

Thanks Guys, we are still humming & haring over the Cube Reaction Hybrid HPA Pro 500 as it looks & feels like a realy nice bike

 

It is a nice bike and the motor has very high torque for towing. The only thing against a crank drive e-bike is the high wear and tear on chain and sprockets.

 

These are designed for a rider's circa 200 watts of average effort, so when an e-bike motor rated at 500 watts plus maximum also drives the chain and sprockets, they are subjected to up to four times the wear rate.

 

That just means more frequent need for replacement of the chain and front and rear sprocket sets. Obviously that doesn't apply to hub motors which transmit their drive directly down onto the road.

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I think his heart is already set on this beauty:

 

http://www.tweekscycles.com/oncirrus/3/image/product/enlarge/0123456789/2UI9lNuB6L/cub765201-zoom.jpg

Who would blame him! Are the front and rear cogs steel on these Bosch bikes?

It is a nice bike and the motor has very high torque for towing. The only thing against a crank drive e-bike is the high wear and tear on chain and sprockets.

 

These are designed for a rider's circa 200 watts of average effort, so when an e-bike motor rated at 500 watts plus maximum also drives the chain and sprockets, they are subjected to up to four times the wear rate.

 

That just means more frequent need for replacement of the chain and front and rear sprocket sets. Obviously that doesn't apply to hub motors which transmit their drive directly down onto the road.

.

Are the chain & sprockets expensive to replace?

I don't really understand why they would ware anymore than it would now with me doing all the peddling?

That just means more frequent need for replacement of the chain and front and rear sprocket sets.

 

only be about 40-50 quid every 1000 miles and yes they are steel.

 

front sprocket only be 10 quid rear 10 spd 30 and 10 for a chain.

 

my bike tho way much more 100 for rear and 85 for haibike sprocket and 30 for a chain.

I think his heart is already set on this beauty:

 

http://www.tweekscycles.com/oncirrus/3/image/product/enlarge/0123456789/2UI9lNuB6L/cub765201-zoom.jpg

Nah my heart is set on the black & white version lol, it's my wife who loves this black & red one :-)

Ps I don't know how to post photos otherwise I would have posted the black & white :-)

That just means more frequent need for replacement of the chain and front and rear sprocket sets.

 

only be about 40-50 quid every 1000 miles and yes they are steel.

 

front sprocket only be 10 quid rear 10 spd 30 and 10 for a chain.

 

my bike tho way much more 100 for rear and 85 for haibike sprocket and 30 for a chain.

Is it the sort of job a novice could do to change them? Probably would take a year or few to do 1000miles anyway :-)

you will need a crank puller and the spanner to remove to lock ring on the front sprocket 10 min job.

 

same with the rear cassette just need the tool to remove it from the wheel.

 

prob want to cahnge the chain every 500 miles and thats it.

 

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk37/necromunger666/765250_light.jpg

 

i think the front sprocket is only 14t on that so might want to up it to 16-18t but ask them to change it when you buy as only 10 quid. the spanner cost more lol.

 

id also go tubeless and up the back and front rotor size for better braking, im just fussy tho

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk37/necromunger666/DSC_0090_01.jpg

 

 

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk37/necromunger666/DSC_0091_01.jpg

 

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk37/necromunger666/DSC_0092_01.jpg

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk37/necromunger666/DSC_0220_1.jpg

 

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk37/necromunger666/DSC_0221_1.jpg

 

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk37/necromunger666/DSC_0222_1.jpg

 

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk37/necromunger666/DSC_0223_1.jpg