Rear Hub Motors Demystified
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Most people like the familiar feeling of the rear hub motor driving the bike forward, since most bikes are built to work with the rear wheel pushing the bike forward this way.
Since the majority of the rider’s weight is over the rear wheel there is significantly less tendency for the rear wheel to spin on loose road conditions.
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Because the bike’s frame provides a good structural platform to handle high torque from the rear hub motor, different power options (250-watts to 750-watts and beyond) can be used.
Either throttle and/or cadence or torque sensor pedal assist can be used with rear hub motors.
Some direct drive rear hub motors can also provide regenerative braking when required. |
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Rear hub motors can be more complicated to install or remove because of the gears, chain and derailleur that need to be dealt with.
Rear hub motors have a tendency to “slow down” on long steep climbs similar to front hub motors.
Bikes that have a rear hub motor with a rear rack battery can be rear heavy and can affect the handling of the bike. Rear heavy e-bikes can be more cumbersome to handle or more difficult to lift onto a car rack or to carry upstairs. This weight imbalance can be minimized by removing the battery.
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Higher torque rear hub motors require larger spokes and sturdy rims in order to properly handle the power.
High torque electric motors frequent cause damage to rims (spoke pulls) due to the stress placed on the rim.
Rear hub motors cause faster wearing out of conventional rubber brakes.
Larger rear hub motors are often heavy and the extra weight can be impractical to continue to cycle with once the battery runs out of power.
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