People looking for a light motor and battery are not necessarily looking for the cheapest system.

Don't get me wrong, I love the less is more idea... There have been a few time I have been accused of being E-Bike unfriendly... Because I said something to the effect that anything over 350 watts and a throttle is basically a moped. :innocent: I guess what I was trying to say was, a Lbs or two heavier battery, or carrying an extra battery would be sssoo much more useful, I guess the word "practical" comes to mind for me. JMO

Most systems like Leeds, Dillinger, Hill Topper, all allow you to upsize batteries on the same motor later if you need to. The only reason to not start "small" if you care about weight, is the added cost. That's maybe not a problem if you see the second larger battery as coming at the end of the useful life of the first or if you want the combined range.

350htrr, I understand your point of view. Practical can be defined by the intended application. This bike is intentionally ridden nearly every mile as a plain pedal bike, so I didn't want to mess it up with a lot of add-on weight. As “linberl” said, there are larger battery options to extend the range of this hub if I need to go there. As posted a few months back, my other Trek is used as a cargo bike and has a CR 350-watt hub with a considerably larger battery. Both bikes do what they do very well. For me, this blue 250w is more fun to ride because it is less encumbered. Its stealth, with no visible battery pack, has been fun, too.

I noticed the words "friction drive" pop up in this thread. Dont bother. The dont work worth a darn and wear out tires much too fast.

-SP

Have you actually used a shareroller or an add-e?