dogman dan
1 PW
You don't have to stay away from hubmotors. You just have to not expect mountain performance from the ones engineered for riding around the valley in town. You need the right motor. One or more of the three strategies. It won't work to go climb steep hills with a typical 500w kit in it's stock form. They will climb moderate stuff, up to 10% grade.
Cellman has the slow speed Mac, which others report works well off road. Only limitation is hucking big drops can damage them.
But yes, it's true, a good mid drive can be expensive and or complicated. A mid drive will handle more like normal than a heavy hubmotor on the rear wheel.
But my bike rides ok enough for me, and didn't cost that much. Couple hundred for the motor, couple more for the controller, then some more for a cycleanalyst. Call it about $500 US. Then the battery can be more like a question of how much you got? I think mine, 72v 10 ah, cost about $550, and another two for charging and wiring stuff. Still under $1500 easy, for a ride that goes straight up mountains for a short time. Putting it all on a better bike though, can cost anything you have. But the motor and stuff is cheap compared to good DH bikes.
Cellman has the slow speed Mac, which others report works well off road. Only limitation is hucking big drops can damage them.
But yes, it's true, a good mid drive can be expensive and or complicated. A mid drive will handle more like normal than a heavy hubmotor on the rear wheel.
But my bike rides ok enough for me, and didn't cost that much. Couple hundred for the motor, couple more for the controller, then some more for a cycleanalyst. Call it about $500 US. Then the battery can be more like a question of how much you got? I think mine, 72v 10 ah, cost about $550, and another two for charging and wiring stuff. Still under $1500 easy, for a ride that goes straight up mountains for a short time. Putting it all on a better bike though, can cost anything you have. But the motor and stuff is cheap compared to good DH bikes.