Less is MOAR. power that is.

I am here to argue for less power. In my instance, they say 1200 watts. Some would dream of 50amp controller mods or 3000 watt motors and controllers. I say, that is foolhardy. The drivetrain is not meant for that. The bike is too heavy when equipped for speed, to handle.

My bike is 42lbs with 14.5 AH batt. And that is borderline too heavy. I wish I could bring that down ten lbs. In the dirt, I can do 30mph, which is too fast. So in my mind, anything over 1200ish watts, is just weighing it down.

A FAST, electric motorcycle would be fun. But a bike aint that.

So in closing, I know there are some speed demons here, and they would argue for keeping up with cars, due to rural routes, as a safety issue, but barring that, My bike still handles like a bicycle. No strange weight concentrations.

I would HATE the twenty or at least fifteen pounds that would add. And that is JUSt to up speed to 32. The fast bikes, USUALLY get close to a ton, in café terms.

Now before you call me a luddite, my R1 has 75 lbs removed, and twenty horses more. Two up on rear sprocket. IT is BUILT for that kind of usage.

My Ebike, stays close enough to stock parameters, for longevity. And fun. Much more power, and you have a tim the tool man contraption. Not a balanced vehicle.

Bike drive trains of reasonable quality can handle 1-2 kw burst of human power from athletes sprinting, and I've been running 3kw through mine long enough to know nothing on the bike will explode from this - if the bike is of reasonable quality to start with. It wears quicker but hey these parts don't have to be expensive. Still, 30-40 mph on a MTB with studded/spiked tires is not a very relaxed experience so I generally don't..

I have a 3kw hub and a 3kw mid drive.

On my daily commute I use low power, I found some kind of sweet spot at around 700-800w where I don't get home faster due to other factors on the road. Often I dial it down to 400w or so and put in a little effort myself, just to get some light daily exercise (but some days I just want to play and use all my power).
On the trails I push the bike much harder climbing stuff or plowing through deep mud, never dial the power down for that bike.

I greatly prefer commuting by hub and trails by mid drive. I've tried both, but I think commuting is just better with magnetic braking, silent vibration free motor, not having to change gears all. the. time. and a reasonable level of chain maintenance. Easily worth the difference in handling from a heavy rear wheel/bike for me.

Robocog said:

I am here to argue for less power. In my instance, they say 1200 watts...

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I will not argue with YOUR power. Everyone rides what he likes, according to his own requirements, building and riding preferences.

69 lbs 200A is just fine for mine in the summer. 8)

Now that snow has arrived, I have to ride lower power and some extra weight.

Different tools for different jobs. You gotta have multiple bikes to enjoy the best e bike for every ride.

Lighter is always better in general, but build a bike to carry 300 pounds of cargo and rider, and it doesn't handle that bad for 3000w system weight aboard. Including up to 30 pounds of battery.

I would love to have your ride, but not for every ride. Right now, I'm down to just three operational bikes. One a heavy longtail that runs 2000w, one a heavy dirt bike that runs 2000w, and another a fairly light dirt bike that runs 1200w. I need to upgrade that one though, to a mid drive. I could run 4000w, but find 2000w plenty for my level of physical ability left.

All three are very often run at just 200 to 400w. Because pedaling is healthy, and part of my maintenance of recovering from post viral fatigue. Pedaling at 50w helps me build stamina, without using it up. And 15 mph means I can enjoy the view.

But at the same time, when I had my 90 mph gas scooter, I found a ride to the mountain roads quite a workout too! Great for my core strength, which I also need to maintain.

Horses for courses.