leisesturm
100 W
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2014
- Messages
- 205
Greetings- I am new to this site. I've heard of it of course and my research has led me here before. I'm mainly a geek who likes to know a little bit about everythihng. Now I have an actual need for an e-assist and a budget amount to complete it. We are a car free couple who must use tandems as our commute and grocery/cargo biking needs because one of us is blind. The tandem most likely to be the platform for the e-assist is the lower quality of the two. We have been using it for six years in Hillsboro to pull a Bob Yak which can easily carry 100lb and larger loads despite its modest 70lb manufactures rating.
We recently moved to S.E. Portland and the hills up Hawthorne and Holgate as well as the bridge approaches are daunting. We are fit but some days and some occasions (date night) you just don't want to give your all on every trip on the bike. I hope someone knowledgeable will help me organize my energies and help me make wise decisions and purchases. I will look at the FAQs but I have some offbeat questions that I have never seen tackled by the mainstream sources of information, to wit:
Two motors. Why or why not. I think it would be a good way to get the torque we need from simpler to install hub motors. I could do a mid-drive but tandems are not the easiest platform. The Eco-speed will do a tandem but they are $3,000 and I'm not even certain if that includes the battery. I've recently (very recently) learned of the 2-speed hub motors available. I think one motor in each hub driven off a common battery with either one or two controllers managed by a pedal sensor or throttle would be better than one huge motor (1,000W) in the very thin and cheap dropouts of our grocery getter tandem.
Any thoughts anyone?? TIA
H
We recently moved to S.E. Portland and the hills up Hawthorne and Holgate as well as the bridge approaches are daunting. We are fit but some days and some occasions (date night) you just don't want to give your all on every trip on the bike. I hope someone knowledgeable will help me organize my energies and help me make wise decisions and purchases. I will look at the FAQs but I have some offbeat questions that I have never seen tackled by the mainstream sources of information, to wit:
Two motors. Why or why not. I think it would be a good way to get the torque we need from simpler to install hub motors. I could do a mid-drive but tandems are not the easiest platform. The Eco-speed will do a tandem but they are $3,000 and I'm not even certain if that includes the battery. I've recently (very recently) learned of the 2-speed hub motors available. I think one motor in each hub driven off a common battery with either one or two controllers managed by a pedal sensor or throttle would be better than one huge motor (1,000W) in the very thin and cheap dropouts of our grocery getter tandem.
Any thoughts anyone?? TIA
H