mol3earth
1 mW
hi all,
I bought a Taga 2.0 without a motor to scoot around on in the city with my kids. Living in San Francisco, this 3 geared trike does not go up most of the hills i encounter. I can get the thing up most of the hills if the kids arent in it, for reference on how much pedal power i can give it, if that helps.
I have been researching a bit on what to buy, and I am getting quite confused by the various opinions, and tools.
Many people here and most people elsewhere (e.g. reddit) suggest a mid drive for sustained hills.
Some people here suggest a direct drive hub for hills if you have a 20" wheel and can set it to SLOW. But it's not clear exactly what that means, is that something i can do with the software of a hub motor controller? or is that something that is in the design of the internals?
I see loads of families in SF with cargo bikes and it appears most are mid drive, with some hubs, and Ive seen them handling the hills ok. but perhaps the extreme wear is shortening the life of their motors, so this anecdotal evidence is misleading?
In trying to determine if a motor could handle an outing that i would like to take with my kids, I tried using the ebike tools.
For example. Here is a Trip simulator (hope the link works) through San Francisco that shows most motors failing for this route. However, the BBS02 & BBSHD handle it seemingly ok?
However, if i use the motor simulator to see how quickly the two Bafang mid drives handle a 20% grade they show overheating in a few minutes.
Is the trip simulator accurate in this scenario? I guess the >20% graded sections along the route are very short, so overheating theoretically never occurs?
So, to sum up, what is the best setup for me here. I don't care about going to fast, there are bike lanes in most places in SF. I just want to get around with my kids and up these hills reliably and for a long time to come.
Details asked for in the sticky
Desired max speed on level ground: <20 mph
Desired max range at what cruising speed: 10 miles (should cover most round trips in the city)
Wheel size: 20"
Brake type of motor wheel: disc on front, drum on back
Rider weight. 175 lbs. two kids: 60 lbs and growing
Terrain: very hilly in SF. 20% grade not uncommon.
Budget: <1000$
I bought a Taga 2.0 without a motor to scoot around on in the city with my kids. Living in San Francisco, this 3 geared trike does not go up most of the hills i encounter. I can get the thing up most of the hills if the kids arent in it, for reference on how much pedal power i can give it, if that helps.
I have been researching a bit on what to buy, and I am getting quite confused by the various opinions, and tools.
Many people here and most people elsewhere (e.g. reddit) suggest a mid drive for sustained hills.
Some people here suggest a direct drive hub for hills if you have a 20" wheel and can set it to SLOW. But it's not clear exactly what that means, is that something i can do with the software of a hub motor controller? or is that something that is in the design of the internals?
I see loads of families in SF with cargo bikes and it appears most are mid drive, with some hubs, and Ive seen them handling the hills ok. but perhaps the extreme wear is shortening the life of their motors, so this anecdotal evidence is misleading?
In trying to determine if a motor could handle an outing that i would like to take with my kids, I tried using the ebike tools.
For example. Here is a Trip simulator (hope the link works) through San Francisco that shows most motors failing for this route. However, the BBS02 & BBSHD handle it seemingly ok?
However, if i use the motor simulator to see how quickly the two Bafang mid drives handle a 20% grade they show overheating in a few minutes.
Is the trip simulator accurate in this scenario? I guess the >20% graded sections along the route are very short, so overheating theoretically never occurs?
So, to sum up, what is the best setup for me here. I don't care about going to fast, there are bike lanes in most places in SF. I just want to get around with my kids and up these hills reliably and for a long time to come.
Details asked for in the sticky
Desired max speed on level ground: <20 mph
Desired max range at what cruising speed: 10 miles (should cover most round trips in the city)
Wheel size: 20"
Brake type of motor wheel: disc on front, drum on back
Rider weight. 175 lbs. two kids: 60 lbs and growing
Terrain: very hilly in SF. 20% grade not uncommon.
Budget: <1000$