2wd EBikes not just for off road

[to the beach]

After a recent ride following a light rain not had for 2 weeks, I am realizing the benefit of 2wd EBikes. My front-drive bike was getting pretty squirrelly as I took off going up a hill. I realize the roads collect a thin layer of oil on the the surface over the course of sunny, hot days and when it finally begins to rain, a wet tire is the furthest thing from having traction until the enough rain comes down to dilute the oil on the road. You folks with concrete roads don't experience this as much but the smoother concrete is just as slippery, (as in a parking garage). I can thank my experiences from mountain biking in mud and motorcycling in snow for not losing control of my EBike.

 

[davec]

2wd is definitely great - especially if you got both wheels on freewheels
my 2wd is my front 9c and me peddaling.. i look at my CA whenever i hit a hill .my 9c consumption goes upto 1kw and it starts stalling and heating up....than i start peddling consumption drops and the motor start climbing again...it improves torque and climbing abilities
it's a good solution for anyone leaving in a crazy hilly area

 

[to the beach]

True, I forgot to shift into a lower cog before I stopped at this traffic light. I was just running an errand and was ducking between two storms so I was in a hurry. I do have 2 wheels driven when I'm pedalling. Becuase my bike is a cruiser, I don't have enough body weight on the front tire for optimal traction.

 

[RoadWrinkle]

Two hub motors on a street eBike = Cop magnet...battery killer. But you will have a ton of fun :lol:
:lol:

 

[d8veh]

Two hub motors on a street eBike = Cop magnet...battery killer. But you will have a ton of fun :lol:
:lol:

Not necessarily. Two small motors have the same power as one big one, and are much less noticeable like this one I built. Can you see the motors, which are rated at 350w each? I've built a few 2WDs, and didn't see any overall increase in power used over a single larger motor of the same overall power:

 

[RoadWrinkle]

Stealth to the max...where are they? You might need to start a company... :lol:

 

[to the beach]

Very stealth and tidy Giant. What's your top sustainable speed and average range?

 

[Kingfish]

I've logged over 10k electric miles, nearly have of which was 2WD and have never been pulled over.

I have derated the FWD by 20% to prevent the front from slipping on startup.

2WD is better than single in nearly every aspect except economy/cost of consumption, simplicity of maintenance, and cost of purchase. The pair runs cooler than a single wheel.

Here's a thread that discusses at length the pros and cons:

2WD (Two-Wheel Drive) FAQ

Enjoy, KF

 

[dogman dan]

Front hub is two wheel drive. It does help in rain, especially in corners, to be pulling power on both wheels. But in the wet, you do have to feather that front motor on a start. The idea is to grab traction on both wheels, but just the right amount.

With some experience, you can easily get used to some straight line wheel spin till you get going. It's drifiting a front motor at 30mph through a corner that gets really tricky. Fun in the dirt when you get the hang of it, but it's really touchy compared to rear wheel drifting.

Nothing wrong with two motors if you have a good battery. One of the few things I still haven't tried is double motors. I keep thinking a second planetary gearmotor on the front wheel would be ideal for the long haul bike, used just for getting up the worst hills. Ideally with it's own separate battery, but not needed if you are carrying 40 ah for a long cross country ride towing a trailer. Dual motor definitely helps with the steeper hills by splitting the heating into two motors.

Seems like everybody who tries two motors for street loves it. I was going to try it, but then I scored a 5304 that has no problem getting my cargo bike up steep hills. It should, the sucker weighs 25 pounds.

 

[gogo]

+1 for the experience with loose traction gained from an off-road motorcycle/mt. bike. Everybody should seek to have that experience and the reflexes it produces.

As for the oil film turning the street into an ice rink, its 10X worse in Phoenix where it doesn't rain for many months sometimes and the natives don't understand the dynamics of driving on 'ice'.

 

[MadRhino]

Two small motors have the same power as one big one

Not even close, and if they would the front would be very dangerous.

 

[d8veh]

Very stealth and tidy Giant. What's your top sustainable speed and average range?

These are the 328 rpm motors, so It would cruise at about 24 mph without pedalling. The main problem was that anything less than 20mph and both controllers would be drawing 15 amps, which made them get hot in the bag. Hill-climbing was not strong on hills of more than 10%.
It was difficult to ride slow, so didn't really suit my style of riding. If you just want to go fast without too many hills it's perfect.

My other one has twin 201 rpm Q100s. It's much better for off-road. It climbs like a goat and is much more efficient. If you could gey 250 rpm versions or run 201 rpm ones with 12S lipos, you would get a very good all-round bike.