8 things must know before buying ebike

8 , Service level

this is for those who can't DIY ,such as don't know how to repair a flat tire ,  change parts ... if you search the supplier online , they always dragging and not handling the problem , you may need to consider to change another supplier .

7 , Aftermarket parts

some bikes are using brand parts such as  bafang  tektro shimano sram  , so you can found any parts online easily , but the other unknow cheap ebikes are using some unusual parts that you can't find onilne . if that parts broke ,  you can just connect to the supplier you bought , if you are bad luck , the supplier is gone , you may pay a lot extra money to change , so , be careful with those ebikes looks fashionalble ,you should think whether you can found those parts for replacement .

6 , Throttle

some ebikes don't have it , because it's illegal in some regions . i recommend to buy ebikes with both ,so you can feel the difference . if it's not allowed in your country , you can tear it down .

5 , PAS (Pedal Assist Sensor)

every ebike on the market have PAS , pedal assist sensor . but there are also differences , rotation sensor and torque sensor . rotation sensor can found on most cheap ebikes , it just know whether you are pedaling and how fast you pedaling ,but it didn't know how hard you are pedaling . torque sensor can found in expensive ebikes , it can feel how hard you are pedaling , the harder you pedaling the more the motor helps . it let you feel more natural like riding bikes .

4 , motor power

this might be the first thing many people considering before buying an ebike ,there are many options of power , common options are 250 350 500 750 1000 1500 2000 3000 5000 watts ; 250 watts is the only one allowed in europe , it can reach about 18mph on flat terrain . 750 watts is the MAX legal power in United states . something should attention , a 750 watts motor may not equal to a 750 watts motor , because some motor's rated power is 750 watts and the other's peak power is 750 watts .

3 , motor type

let’s look at motor type ,  this is geared hub motor . when i said geared hub motor i am not means this gear , i am talking about the internal gears inside the motor . for example this motor have 4 to 1 gear reduction ,this means every 4 ratation the inside motor , the wheel rotate for 1 circle . the inside motor is in high rpm , and it can give you more torque . the other thing you need to know is all geared hub motor have a one way bear inside ,like the clutch in cars . when you are pedaling the bike and not use the motor , you will not get any resistence from the motor , you not having to turn the motor when pedaling , more efficience . but this cause a down side that you can't regenerate power from the motor

this is direct drive hub motor , it look similar to the geared motor , but you can see the outer diameter is larger , and this type motor have to be larger due to its physical design , it need to get enough torque . this type motor doesn't have internal gear , one cycle the motor one cycle the wheel . also it doesn't have a one way bear inside , the motor will rotate with wheel permanently . the good way is you can use the motor reducing speed and regenerate power to feed back into the battery . the down side is magnetic drag , though it's not too big , but if you have a long way to go and your battery is dead , you need to pedal the bike , that might be tiring .

this is mid drive motor , as you can see , the motor is installed at mid of frame , it turn the chainwheel , through the chain , to your freewheel . that means you can let the mid motor use your gears to get higher torque through the low gear and get higher speed through the high gear . physically , mid drive motor is a geared motor , it has a clutch inside so it has no resistant while pedaling . the only down side i think is the price .

that's three typies of motor . if you want know more about motor types , subscrible me to get it . if you want reliable and suitable for most terrains , i would recommend the geared motor .  The direct drive motor is also reliable , but they are heavier  and better for some more powerful usage .  The mid drive is my favorite , it can give you more torque or speed through your transmission system . the down side is more wear on chain and free wheel , but i don't care , what i want is ride at will . Let's take one step back , if you don't have the mid drive motor , yourself also need to go through the transmission system , the time you pedal , the wear on transmission system . so don't be so serious .

2 , battery quality

battery is a integral part of ebike , also an expensive part . you should make sure your battery has high quality cells inside , we can't know what cells inside by looking at the case . almost all ebike battery use the 18650 lithium battery cell inside . brands like samsumg LG panasonic sony is good choice . keep away from no name brand cells and old technology batteries .

1 range claims

this doesn't matter , yes ,doesn't matter . what you need to care is the battery capacity , it's measured by amphours or watthours , the bigger value is the further you can get . difficult to understand ?  voltage times amphour equal watthour . according to my test , it will takes 8.5 to 11 Wh per kilometer (13.6~17.6Wh/mile) in pure electric mode . you can use this value to estimate mileage . Aslo , i had test the mileage of some common options of battery , you can click the links below to see the test videos and blogs .