Motor vs gears on hills
Posted by jlluh@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 11 comments
I'm nearly ready to pull the trigger on the VVolt alpha 2.1. It's most of what I want in an ebike. Light weight, dutch-style frame, belt drive, only $1500.
However, I have a couple reservations. First, it's single speed, with a rear hub motor that offers "550 peak watts, 45 nm torque." Is this going to be enough for gnarly hills? To be clear, I want to pedal, but I don't want to show up to work all sweaty. How would this sort of set-up compare on a steep hill to an acoustic 21 speed bike?
Second, the bike is only 44ish pounds, aluminum frame. I want to be able to maneuver my bike through my apartment, trains, etc, this is a selling point... but also, has anyone here had an Alpha 2.1? Was it durable? I don't plan to take it mountain biking, but will it hold up to regular riding with a bit of occasional adventurousness?
Ohm_Slaw_@reddit
For 'gnarly hills' you want a mid drive. It is very difficult to pack enough power into a hub motor to pull a tough hill and still stay within legal limits. For a mid-drive, it's no problem. I had a hub motor bike that struggled getting up hills with 1500 watts. A mid drive with 500 watts did fine. The bike you are looking at is 350 watts.
I do not think you will be happy with it.
jlluh@reddit (OP)
Do you think it would just take a bit of sweat to get up steep hills, or do you think an average Joe might end up getting off and waking the bike? (I've done that occasionally on acoustic bikes.)
I should've mentioned that it uses a 'cadence sensor' instead of a torque sensor. Supposedly that helps a bit with hills, at some other costs.
I'd feel more confident if it had a 3-speed internal gear hub, but that takes me up to a whole different price class.
Ohm_Slaw_@reddit
You're definitely walking up those "gnarly" hills. It's single speed, I doubt you'll be able to help much. For hills, you need gears. That's what their for.
Generally I don't favor the combination of a belt drive and an internally geared hub. It does run up the cost. Internally geared hubs are the only way to do gears on a belt drive bike. People seem to be all into belt drives, but I don't see the appeal. Maybe it's because of all the hills.
A torque sensor is good if you come from a cycling background. It feels much more natural. More "bike like." You get a "superman legs" feeling. It encourages you to pedal. Hub drives are more of a motorcycle experience.
jlluh@reddit (OP)
For me a belt drive is non-negotiable because I've found, thru 25 years of bike ownership, that I hate messing with chains and derailleurs.
I don't care how "easy" people who are into biking say the maintenance is. I'm not into bikes, I just like riding them, and I don't want to do any more maintenance than is strictly necessary.
I'm also much more willing to spend on capex than opex.
unseenmover@reddit
id want something with a wider range drivetrain like the ride1up roadster
MaxTrixLe@reddit
45nm torque and single speed will barely get you up a slight incline.
Dapper_Challenge2179@reddit
No it's not going to make you happy on hills at all. Single speed and 45nm torque will make you do a ton of work. Single speed and hills are not usually a great combo as it is. Hub motors are fine on hills as long as it's a good one and you have gears to keep your cadence good. Mid drive is definitely the hill climb winner though.
PickleAlly@reddit
Meh a hub motor can do hills under the right conditions. Mine is 750w with a torque sensor and 7 gears. I regularly got 20 up a hill that I never ride my acoustic bike on. I can’t really qualify for you how steep it is, but I’ll take 20mph all day on that hill.
DonnPT@reddit
This kind of discussion would benefit from numbers. Like %X average grade, for Y feet, is a little more useful than "gnarly".
Worried_Document8668@reddit
along with that motor being quite low powered and the whole thing being a singlespeed hubdrive, dutch style posture with the upright seat and high, swept-back handlebars isn't exactly good for pedaling on the uphill. Just not a good posture to get power to the pedals on anything steep.
so in general, that bike won't be a fun or no-effort climber
Inciteful_Analysis@reddit
No, it won't hold up on gnarly hills.