Have built 3 rear-hub-drive ebikes......going to try front.

pullin-gs

1 kW
Joined
Jul 31, 2009
Messages
395
Any words of advice?
Motor geared pushing no more than 700 watts. Will have torque arms...one on each fork side.
What difference in riding experience compared to same motor mounted on rear wheel can I expect?
Thanks
P
 
Low speed maneuvering will be more positive with the front wheel pulling in the direction it's steered. Rolling the bike up steps will be easier with a little poke at the throttle causing it to climb up obstacles.

At speed, you probably won't notice a difference versus a rear hub of equal power.
 
A bicycle usually has more weigh on the rear wheel than the front. So with a front wheel drive there is a tendency for the front wheel to spin when you are starting off and have low traction (i.e. wet grass or lose sand/gravel on a hard surface).
 
LewTwo said:
A bicycle usually has more weigh on the rear wheel than the front. So with a front wheel drive there is a tendency for the front wheel to spin when you are starting off and have low traction (i.e. wet grass or lose sand/gravel on a hard surface).

That's true. As a season cyclist but a new e-biker, it spooked me at first. But because a slipping drive wheel still goes where it's pointed, it has never caused me to fall or lose control like a slipping normal front wheel has.
 
Chalo said:
That's true. As a season cyclist but a new e-biker, it spooked me at first. But because a slipping drive wheel still goes where it's pointed, it has never caused me to fall or lose control like a slipping normal front wheel has.

I find a little help from the rider via the pedals can prevent most front wheel spins. However these days my left leg is not always up to that challenge. So on 'bad days' I just let it spin and in two or three feet it is no longer a problem.

By the way, because of my peculiar, obsessive, finicky preference for IGH rear hubs over derailleur systems, I have always built front wheel drive E-Bikes. However I have never had a need or desire for anything over 750 to a 1000 watts peek power.
 
I love riding front hub motor, it cut down on my flat tire and broken spokes situation.
Probably totally atypical of 99.75% of people out there.
More front weight, popping curbs, electrically walking the ebike up a hill, fronts dont bite the ground when your off the bike getting over an obsticle, front hubs on gravel can spin
 
A little throttle control, and you won't spin the front wheel. But I never had much of that, so I did wear the front tires out fairly fast. Faster than on rear motor drive bikes. Only when I got to 4000w pushed into a front wheel did I get spin at 25 mph or more speeds in corners. So you definitely CAN throttle through a corner with front drive, with great confidence. Dirt is another thing, but learning to drift a front drive bike in dirt was fun, though very difficult.

But two things I did love about front drive, using one to commute. I was using Y frame type mtb's, so the battery just about had to be on a rear rack, or in a pannier. Moving 15 pounds of motor weight to the front gave the bike a nice balance. And I got to keep all my rear gears, particularly the highest one at 10 teeth.

Front drive is particularly useful when you must keep the rear gears intact. Shaft drive, coaster brake, belt drive, internal gear hubs, delta trikes, etc.

Not to love, tricky making torque arms fit a suspension fork, and some forks would just lock up when I was on the throttle. So I was always trying to see a pothole in time to let off, and have shocks when I went through the hole.
 
Chalo said:
Low speed maneuvering will be more positive with the front wheel pulling in the direction it's steered.

Is the maneuvering difficult at normal to high speeds ? Is the maneuvering okay for off roads too ?
 
Think you are worrying to much about the handling. Would only worry about having to much power and damaging the front forks.
I'm for front motors if it suits the purpose. Have built two below 1000w with no issues at all. With handling or with the forks.

by afzal » Sep 27 2021 6:08am

Chalo wrote: ↑Sep 26 2021 4:15pm
Low speed maneuvering will be more positive with the front wheel pulling in the direction it's steered.
Is the maneuvering difficult at normal to high speeds ? Is the maneuvering okay for off roads too ?
 
I had a 350w front drive that was perfect (for me, but my daughter absconded with it). It was great for errands and did fine off road too. Ascending fairly steep terrain off road, where it was necessary to put weight on the front wheel to prevent slippage, was particularly fun and challenging. In socal so no wet conditions.
 
afzal said:
Chalo said:
Low speed maneuvering will be more positive with the front wheel pulling in the direction it's steered.

Is the maneuvering difficult at normal to high speeds ? Is the maneuvering okay for off roads too ?

At speed, it handles no differently than a rear drive bike. Maybe someone else can address off-road qualities, because I only ride on surfaces (paved or unpaved) that are intended for wheels.
 
Dirt roads can work fine with front wheel drive. Like I said, it can be fun to learn to power slide the front wheel, though its very difficult. But really steep off road is where you find yourself just pushing the bike up the hill, due to lack of traction, or difficulty popping the front wheel up rock staircases. So steep loose rocks, hard enough with rear drive, get very hard with front drive.

That said, you can still have a great time riding dirt roads and trails not so challenging, like those that have rolling hills where you can take the next roll mostly on momentum. Or those where the difficult bit is short.
 
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