I have heard from an ebike enthusiast that the hub motor is inherently less efficient than a mid drive motor. we're talking maybe 10 more lbs on the hub motor, with 1/2 the range (which bewilders me because I didn't know that electric motors could have a <50% efficiency; maybe it was a battery issue). anyhow, I have not ridden e bikes extensively enough to verify this; I only work on them. But I'm curious what people think.. To me, it's obvious that if there's any loss of efficiency in the hub motor, it is in the electric motor itself, and not in the arrangement of the drive train. I want to know why the mid drive is "more efficient" than a hub motor.

Anyone here have the knowledge I'm looking for?

here's a video of a hub motor opened up.