callagga
04-04-09, 10:26 PM
front wheel or back wheel - which is better for hub motor???
(I'm considering the Crystalyte 408 series at 36V)
(I'm considering the Crystalyte 408 series at 36V)
Electric Bikes - front wheel or back wheel - which is better for hub motor???
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alfonsopilato
04-05-09, 08:04 AM
If you're going to put your battery in the back, then front hub motor is better.
Why do I say that? Because of experience. My setup is 48v 408 back hub, battery was in the back, bike was unbalanced. I placed the battery in the front, much better.
Also, breaking spokes. You're better off with front hub motor since when you're pedaling you're adding traction to the back. If the back motor is a hubmotor, then the pressures of the hub motor as a weight in the center of the wheel and your drive from the pedalling will add stress to the spokes on the drive side of your wheel which translates to broken spokes on that side.
Also, having front hub means you have two wheel drive, traction in the front and traction in the back when you're pedaling.
Also, front wheel drive is easier to install.
Go with front hub motor if you're likely to place your battery in the back.
Why do I say that? Because of experience. My setup is 48v 408 back hub, battery was in the back, bike was unbalanced. I placed the battery in the front, much better.
Also, breaking spokes. You're better off with front hub motor since when you're pedaling you're adding traction to the back. If the back motor is a hubmotor, then the pressures of the hub motor as a weight in the center of the wheel and your drive from the pedalling will add stress to the spokes on the drive side of your wheel which translates to broken spokes on that side.
Also, having front hub means you have two wheel drive, traction in the front and traction in the back when you're pedaling.
Also, front wheel drive is easier to install.
Go with front hub motor if you're likely to place your battery in the back.
raevyn
04-05-09, 09:31 AM
depends. what kind of bike will you be putting it on? do you have front shocks? of so, dont get a front hub as it can damage the shocks and possibly snap the fork if it is aluminum. if you are getting a front hub, get a rigid chromoly fork. also, if it a cruiser style bike, get a rear drive, as there will not be enough weight on the front to hold the wheel down well enough over bumps and such, causing your tire to spin out. if its a mtb, then it should be fine. if you weigh more than about 180-190, then you should probably go with the rear, because it will put too much of a strain on your forks if you have the front hub.
Iheartbicycles
04-06-09, 01:07 AM
If you're going to put your battery in the back, then front hub motor is better.
Why do I say that? Because of experience. My setup is 48v 408 back hub, battery was in the back, bike was unbalanced. I placed the battery in the front, much better.
Also, breaking spokes. You're better off with front hub motor since when you're pedaling you're adding traction to the back. If the back motor is a hubmotor, then the pressures of the hub motor as a weight in the center of the wheel and your drive from the pedalling will add stress to the spokes on the drive side of your wheel which translates to broken spokes on that side.
Also, having front hub means you have two wheel drive, traction in the front and traction in the back when you're pedaling.
Also, front wheel drive is easier to install.
Go with front hub motor if you're likely to place your battery in the back.
Yea everything this guy said pretty much.:thumb:
Why do I say that? Because of experience. My setup is 48v 408 back hub, battery was in the back, bike was unbalanced. I placed the battery in the front, much better.
Also, breaking spokes. You're better off with front hub motor since when you're pedaling you're adding traction to the back. If the back motor is a hubmotor, then the pressures of the hub motor as a weight in the center of the wheel and your drive from the pedalling will add stress to the spokes on the drive side of your wheel which translates to broken spokes on that side.
Also, having front hub means you have two wheel drive, traction in the front and traction in the back when you're pedaling.
Also, front wheel drive is easier to install.
Go with front hub motor if you're likely to place your battery in the back.
Yea everything this guy said pretty much.:thumb:
callagga
04-06-09, 04:32 AM
depends. what kind of bike will you be putting it on?Will be a MTB
if you weigh more than about 180-190, then you should probably go with the rear, because it will put too much of a strain on your forks if you have the front hub.I'm actually around the 182 pounds...
if you weigh more than about 180-190, then you should probably go with the rear, because it will put too much of a strain on your forks if you have the front hub.I'm actually around the 182 pounds...
kbdog
04-06-09, 07:20 AM
If you could have pedal assist, a rear mounted battery and a front hub motor - that would be perfection!
cerewa
04-06-09, 10:12 AM
If balance is your primary consideration, you should avoid having battery and motor both on the rear, and avoid having battery and motor both on the front.
If you are completely sure that balancing a bike with a lot of weight on the rear is no problem for you, you could choose put the battery and motor on the rear because that will improve traction during braking. (when you hit the brakes hard the weight will be distributed between front and rear, instead of a normal weighted bike which will shift almost all its weight on to the front wheel when braking)
If drive wheel traction is your main concern (this should only matter if you are riding offroad or riding on snow/ice) then you are most likely better off with the motor on the rear, because a bike's normal weight distribution puts the majority of the weight on the rear, plus you normally won't fall if the power causes the rear wheel to slip. If you put the motor on the front, it is likely that when you are going uphill your front wheel will be providing the majority of the power rather than your legs, meanwhile because the bike is tilted back and normally has more weight on the back, most of the weight will be on the rear wheel.
If you are completely sure that balancing a bike with a lot of weight on the rear is no problem for you, you could choose put the battery and motor on the rear because that will improve traction during braking. (when you hit the brakes hard the weight will be distributed between front and rear, instead of a normal weighted bike which will shift almost all its weight on to the front wheel when braking)
If drive wheel traction is your main concern (this should only matter if you are riding offroad or riding on snow/ice) then you are most likely better off with the motor on the rear, because a bike's normal weight distribution puts the majority of the weight on the rear, plus you normally won't fall if the power causes the rear wheel to slip. If you put the motor on the front, it is likely that when you are going uphill your front wheel will be providing the majority of the power rather than your legs, meanwhile because the bike is tilted back and normally has more weight on the back, most of the weight will be on the rear wheel.
FollowYourHeart
04-06-09, 12:29 PM
If you're going to put your battery in the back, then front hub motor is better.
Why do I say that? Because of experience. My setup is 48v 408 back hub, battery was in the back, bike was unbalanced. I placed the battery in the front, much better.
I agree, balance is much better with a front hub AND it's easier to remove.
Also, breaking spokes. You're better off with front hub motor since when you're pedaling you're adding traction to the back. If the back motor is a hubmotor, then the pressures of the hub motor as a weight in the center of the wheel and your drive from the pedalling will add stress to the spokes on the drive side of your wheel which translates to broken spokes on that side.
This is an excellent point and one that may be overlooked. Spokes are put under LOTS of stress during accelerating! (Think about the design of the hub motor and how it spins the wheel, the spokes are greatly affected!)
If your hub is on the rear and you use both human+electric power to accelerate your bike, it may be even more stressful.
No matter if you choose front or rear, I recommend you do not press full throttle from a dead stop. It's much better for your spokes to accelerate with your leg power and SOME electric assistance then after you're going 5-8mph then u can mash the full throttle.
And the last thing Cerewa said about the balance of the bike is very important. Whenever you have to lift your bike up or if you have to park it on a hill, having a balanced bike makes your experience a lot better. If there is a ton of weight on the rear, it can very suddenly fall down if it gets moved or something.
Overall great question and discussion!!!
Why do I say that? Because of experience. My setup is 48v 408 back hub, battery was in the back, bike was unbalanced. I placed the battery in the front, much better.
I agree, balance is much better with a front hub AND it's easier to remove.
Also, breaking spokes. You're better off with front hub motor since when you're pedaling you're adding traction to the back. If the back motor is a hubmotor, then the pressures of the hub motor as a weight in the center of the wheel and your drive from the pedalling will add stress to the spokes on the drive side of your wheel which translates to broken spokes on that side.
This is an excellent point and one that may be overlooked. Spokes are put under LOTS of stress during accelerating! (Think about the design of the hub motor and how it spins the wheel, the spokes are greatly affected!)
If your hub is on the rear and you use both human+electric power to accelerate your bike, it may be even more stressful.
No matter if you choose front or rear, I recommend you do not press full throttle from a dead stop. It's much better for your spokes to accelerate with your leg power and SOME electric assistance then after you're going 5-8mph then u can mash the full throttle.
And the last thing Cerewa said about the balance of the bike is very important. Whenever you have to lift your bike up or if you have to park it on a hill, having a balanced bike makes your experience a lot better. If there is a ton of weight on the rear, it can very suddenly fall down if it gets moved or something.
Overall great question and discussion!!!
adamtki
04-06-09, 01:55 PM
If you could have pedal assist, a rear mounted battery and a front hub motor - that would be perfection!
I always wished Bionx would sell a two wheel set. The front wheel would house the motor, while the real wheel would house the strain gauge. It's certainly within their reach to do something like this.
Three other points about front wheels.
- It would seem that the ride would be smoother over large bumps when the motor is engaged because the wheel is climbing over the bump instead of riding into it. I haven't tested this though.
- Better traction for braking since the front wheel is heavier. Most of the braking should be in the front.
- It's easier to take the motor wheel off if it's in the front. You don't have to deal with the chains and gears. Plus the remaining bike is much lighter. This is good for several situations:
---- Fixing flats
---- Swapping in a regular wheel to make it a normal light weight bike
---- Putting the bike in/on a car
I always wished Bionx would sell a two wheel set. The front wheel would house the motor, while the real wheel would house the strain gauge. It's certainly within their reach to do something like this.
Three other points about front wheels.
- It would seem that the ride would be smoother over large bumps when the motor is engaged because the wheel is climbing over the bump instead of riding into it. I haven't tested this though.
- Better traction for braking since the front wheel is heavier. Most of the braking should be in the front.
- It's easier to take the motor wheel off if it's in the front. You don't have to deal with the chains and gears. Plus the remaining bike is much lighter. This is good for several situations:
---- Fixing flats
---- Swapping in a regular wheel to make it a normal light weight bike
---- Putting the bike in/on a car
RustyBarnacle
04-06-09, 02:02 PM
ebikes.ca has some info on this as well:
http://www.ebikes.ca/store/store_motors.php
I'm going rear wheel for the discreet looks and I'm going with a 36V 35A 5304 which makes a lot of torque and the rear drop outs are stronger.
http://www.ebikes.ca/store/store_motors.php
I'm going rear wheel for the discreet looks and I'm going with a 36V 35A 5304 which makes a lot of torque and the rear drop outs are stronger.
cerewa
04-06-09, 03:32 PM
This is an excellent point and one that may be overlooked. Spokes are put under LOTS of stress during accelerating! (Think about the design of the hub motor and how it spins the wheel, the spokes are greatly affected!)
The accelerating stress will be no more than the stress you'd put on your spokes if you use a disc or drum brake on the front. But if you're already a heavy person, adding weight from a hub motor and a battery will put a lot of stress on your tire/rim/spokes every time you go over a bump.
The accelerating stress will be no more than the stress you'd put on your spokes if you use a disc or drum brake on the front. But if you're already a heavy person, adding weight from a hub motor and a battery will put a lot of stress on your tire/rim/spokes every time you go over a bump.
JinbaIttai
04-07-09, 12:32 AM
I don't understand all the hype about thinking the rear hub is so much more difficult to remove. Nothing else is really different, other than possibly having to unplug the cable coming out of the wheel. Dealing with the gears and chain is no more difficult than dealing with the gears and chain on a non-ebike.
Also, if you want to be able to maneuver the bike around on one wheel, a rear-battery, rear-hub setup is the best for this.
Now as to which setup is less dangerous if the dropouts break, a rear hub is obviously the safer choice.
Also, if you want to be able to maneuver the bike around on one wheel, a rear-battery, rear-hub setup is the best for this.
Now as to which setup is less dangerous if the dropouts break, a rear hub is obviously the safer choice.