A little e-assist for my wife

A few years ago I asked for advice about what kind of ebike my wife could get for a little assist so that we could ride together on rides that were too hilly or difficult for her. I am 75 yo now and she is 73. Our typical rides were 30 to 50 miles, often in hilly areas. But we are much stronger cyclists than you would expect for our age.

I finally got her a throttle-controlled MAC 350w front hub motor with a 36v 450 wh battery. It works beautifully and she loves it. On most of the ride she does not use the motor at all. She just pedals. Normally, she only uses the motor on big hills or toward the end of the ride if she gets tired. Using the motor that way, the range should be at least 60 and probably over 100 miles on a charge. We can’t be sure because she has never exhausted the battery. I have also checked the motor for over-heating after a climb. It hardly gets warm at all.

The results are fantastic. I can push as hard as I am able to and she can easily keep up. Our average speed on a hilly ride will be 14 to 15 mph. I can get as hard a workout as I am capable of, with no worries about her falling behind or the ride being too difficult for her. On a big climb I will reach a point absolute maximum exertion going 6 to 7 mph and she will pass me going 16 to 18 mph. At the top I will be too tired to even pedal at my normal speed, but she will have no trouble pedaling vigorously and will keep pulling further ahead. I do get a little envious.

For us, her ebike is the perfect. We can ride together and I am pushed to ride as hard as I possibly can, getting a terrific workout. She can ride without getting too exhausted or frustrated.

That sounds great. I'm almost done building my girlfriend a simple Q128 hub motor bike. If she enjoys it half as much as your wife does, I'll be pleased.

The MAC is a lovely motor, but I can't but feel that its overkill for that application. A lighter motor like the Q100 and a modern light-weight battery would give a much lighter and more manageable bike. The lighter the bike, the better it is for riding without power. These small motors are not only very cheap, but they're extremely reliable if you stick within normal power parameters, say 700w from the battery. That's a lot more power than what the average half-fit cyclist needs.

I now have one of these Xiongda YTW-06 motors in my bike. It's about 1/3 of the weight of a MAC. The all-up weight of the bike and electrical stuff is 13kg and it has easily enough power for my hilly rides:

Small geared motor and a throttle perfect for that kind of use, run the motor only on the hill.

Others really like a good well tuned PAS, for light assist all the ride and no need to fiddle with throttles. Throttle there if you come to a short steep hill good to still have though.

dogman dan said:

Small geared motor and a throttle perfect for that kind of use, run the motor only on the hill.

Others really like a good well tuned PAS, for light assist all the ride and no need to fiddle with throttles. Throttle there if you come to a short steep hill good to still have though.

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+1 a good pedal assist gives you a ride fit to your needs.

d8veh said:

The MAC is a lovely motor, but I can't but feel that its overkill for that application.

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I agree. The MAC 350w is definitely overkill. The speed at which she passes me going up a big hill is positively mind-boggling to me as I struggle up on my pedal bike. By the time I get to the top she's out-of-sight. A smaller motor would have been adequate and a lot lighter. Nevertheless, the MAC 350w does what we wanted it to do - make it comfortable for her to climb hills and not end up being left far behind and exhausted.

E-assist for your wife, sounds like something else...

Sorry for that. Sometimes what first come to mind just has to get out.