Transportation plays a vital role in our everyday life. It cost us money to reach a destination just to be quick or not to be late at work or whatever agendas we may have. One that has the world-changing potential in gearing to a quick, hassle-free, and efficient modern way of transportation is the Electric Bikes. Electric Bike is a regular bike that has an integrated hub motor to help anyone effortlessly surpass even the steepest mountain without giving all energy out.
The regular bicycle is the conventional way of transportation and a means of exercise which requires you to pedal with all your strength which led you to get tired easily, on the other hand, the Electric Bikes make it easier to maintain a constant speed and get back up to speed after stopping, which may cut down your journey time. Each Electric Bikes are integrated with different Hub Motor wattage.
But how do you distinguish what Motor Wattage best suits you? This is the mainstream question for anyone getting into Electric Bikes. Know your laws first and identify your purpose in having an Electric Bike.
If you are getting an e-bike for your body grind or exercises, then power doesn’t matter all that much. In accordance with government regulations in the United States just about all electric bikes go 20mph. The wattage and voltage numbers only impact acceleration, mountain hill climbing, and the bike's ability to power over dirt, sand, and snow.
So if you want a bike for hobby rides on the road, while doing some light pedaling, a 24v 250-watt system will suit just fine. It is a moderate speed and is comfortable and easy to control. The bikes within this voltage are normally affordable and a safe way to start your e-bike experience.
With 250W of power, you’re specifically looking at a flat land cruising e-bike. Most 250 W e-bikes will have a difficulty to climb hills without any user-added pedaling effort, though mid-drive e-bikes will offer better hill-climbing performance than hub motors at these low power levels due to their ability to achieve higher torque through downshifting the bike’s gears.
Moving forward, if you want an e-bike for daily means of transportation, you are going to need the ability to zip in and out of the busy road. When commuting through the city you are going to have to deal with cars, motorcycles, and having more motor power makes this much easier. If you need to cross a street with oncoming traffic, you want to be sure your bike has enough power to get you across before that driver checking Instagram and drinking a Starbucks gets anywhere near you. Power can get you out of danger if used responsibly.
The most important thing that needs to be considered for daily commuting is battery capacity and range. While 250W e-bikes are sluggish and struggling to accelerate, bikes that reach closer to 500W will pull much faster off the line. It should also be kept in mind that 500W is usually the minimum power necessary for an e-bike to surpass 32 km/h (20 mph) of speed.
You know you’re dealing with an actual power once it is already 750W. The 750W will give a much more exciting acceleration off the road. This motor range level will also start to offer good hill-climbing performance. It is when a flat surface performance starts to become more enjoyable, adventures are best and hills become consistently possible. Speeds of 28 mph are increasingly normal with 750W e-bikes. On the other hand, with 1,000W of power, most heavy riders or off road racers will be more pleased with the performance of the e-bike.
At 1,500 W, you’re starting to leave typical bicycle norms and begin reaching upon light electric motorcycle range. Keep in mind though that mid-drive motors at such high power levels require special chains, sprockets and other parts to keep from destroying themselves in the long run.
Don’t obsess over specifications, get a bike that fits your use, you like the looks of, is well-reviewed, and uses the power you need!