Hello everyone,
TLDR:
I have a Giant bike with Yamaha 250W mid-drive, I love the bike but could really use more power and battery. I understand I cannot upgrade my bike and have to get a new one. I'm looking into Bafang mid-drives. BBSHD has the avantage of possible upgrades but everywhere I look the overall integration is ugly and doesn't look weatherproof. The newer Ultra drive means upgrade issues but I don't think I would ever need more power.
Needs : I ride 99% on roads, need fenders/lights/sturdy rear rack.
A suspended frame would be a nice bonus (or maybe not, what do you think?)
So far the best bang-for-bucks I found were from Frey with the AM1000 (fenders/lights/rack seem hard to add) and HT1000 (so far my best option)
Long story :
18 months ago I switched to ebike for commuting, and it immediatly became my main if not only mean of transportation.
My first and current ebike is a Giant E+1 GTS 2016 (DataSheet), with a 250W Yamaha mid-drive. I lasted 24h before bypassing the speed sensor, thus removing the 25kmh limit. I currently have no hard speed limit, the soft speed limit being cadence and gear ratios along.
I upgraded the default line to a 44T x 11-34 build and gained on top speed. Reaching 40kmh on flat is easy, going faster require long straight roads. But I gained a new problem as the 44T puts much more torque on the chain and it often fall from the front if I push hard on the pedals. I had to adapt a less agressive pedaling style with lots of gear shifting.
Main usage : commuting in a big city, many straight bike lines where most traffic lines can be ignored. Occasional (couple times a week) off city travels with faster roads.
I ride about 150km a week with an average speed of 25kmh door-to-door. As I write this I have put about 10'000 km on this bike.
I very much like the frame and driving position of my bike but I feel I could really use more power and battery life. My current range is about 30km (400Wh battery), where home>work>home is about 25km. I have to plan extra travels and charge up accordingly, sometimes it is not possible.
As far as I know, it is not possible to "upgrade" my bike since the yamaha drive is part of the frame (which is a shame, really)
So I started looking at so-called "speedbikes", with 500W mid-drives and 45kmh limits. (of cours I will not comply with all the limitations the law puts upon us. I am already riding outlaw as it is and I will keep going)
I liked the Haibike Sduro trekking 8.0 (yamaha drive for which you could most likely bypass the speed sensor) but it is 1) expensive and 2) only comes with a 500WH battery.
Then I looked into bafang kits and along the way stumbled upon the new Ultra mid-drive which looks promising.
1000W mid drive should be more than enough for my usage and a 48V / 20Ah battery would be a much-welcomed improvement.
So far I have pre-selected the Frey AM1000 or HT1000.
Why a suspended frame ? Where I live, there is constant road-work everywhere along with many damaged / paved roads, combined with a tendency of mine to jump over stuff. So I am contemplating the idea of a suspended frame, but I would still need a rear rack to fit my ortlieb bag (tools, spare of clothes, laptop, papers, etc.)
Thanks for reading, advices will be warmly welcomed !
TLDR:
I have a Giant bike with Yamaha 250W mid-drive, I love the bike but could really use more power and battery. I understand I cannot upgrade my bike and have to get a new one. I'm looking into Bafang mid-drives. BBSHD has the avantage of possible upgrades but everywhere I look the overall integration is ugly and doesn't look weatherproof. The newer Ultra drive means upgrade issues but I don't think I would ever need more power.
Needs : I ride 99% on roads, need fenders/lights/sturdy rear rack.
A suspended frame would be a nice bonus (or maybe not, what do you think?)
So far the best bang-for-bucks I found were from Frey with the AM1000 (fenders/lights/rack seem hard to add) and HT1000 (so far my best option)
Long story :
18 months ago I switched to ebike for commuting, and it immediatly became my main if not only mean of transportation.
My first and current ebike is a Giant E+1 GTS 2016 (DataSheet), with a 250W Yamaha mid-drive. I lasted 24h before bypassing the speed sensor, thus removing the 25kmh limit. I currently have no hard speed limit, the soft speed limit being cadence and gear ratios along.
I upgraded the default line to a 44T x 11-34 build and gained on top speed. Reaching 40kmh on flat is easy, going faster require long straight roads. But I gained a new problem as the 44T puts much more torque on the chain and it often fall from the front if I push hard on the pedals. I had to adapt a less agressive pedaling style with lots of gear shifting.
Main usage : commuting in a big city, many straight bike lines where most traffic lines can be ignored. Occasional (couple times a week) off city travels with faster roads.
I ride about 150km a week with an average speed of 25kmh door-to-door. As I write this I have put about 10'000 km on this bike.
I very much like the frame and driving position of my bike but I feel I could really use more power and battery life. My current range is about 30km (400Wh battery), where home>work>home is about 25km. I have to plan extra travels and charge up accordingly, sometimes it is not possible.
As far as I know, it is not possible to "upgrade" my bike since the yamaha drive is part of the frame (which is a shame, really)
So I started looking at so-called "speedbikes", with 500W mid-drives and 45kmh limits. (of cours I will not comply with all the limitations the law puts upon us. I am already riding outlaw as it is and I will keep going)
I liked the Haibike Sduro trekking 8.0 (yamaha drive for which you could most likely bypass the speed sensor) but it is 1) expensive and 2) only comes with a 500WH battery.
Then I looked into bafang kits and along the way stumbled upon the new Ultra mid-drive which looks promising.
1000W mid drive should be more than enough for my usage and a 48V / 20Ah battery would be a much-welcomed improvement.
So far I have pre-selected the Frey AM1000 or HT1000.
Why a suspended frame ? Where I live, there is constant road-work everywhere along with many damaged / paved roads, combined with a tendency of mine to jump over stuff. So I am contemplating the idea of a suspended frame, but I would still need a rear rack to fit my ortlieb bag (tools, spare of clothes, laptop, papers, etc.)
Thanks for reading, advices will be warmly welcomed !
