Anyone Using An Electric Assist Rear Wheel

[Ralph]

There are several currently in production. My wife has RA affecting her knees, and while she has workd up to riding 10-12 miles on local MUT's, that's about it. One of these E wheels, where the TQ you get increases with the pressure one puts on the pedals, seems ideally suited for her needs. Even the lowest power ones, where speeds are limited to under 20 MPH would be fine. Her hybrid Cannondale is a 3X9 speed, with 135 MM drop outs, and some of the wheels fit right in the dropouts, allowing the use of all the gears as well.

What am I missing here? For someone looking for some "assist". Who maybe commute, want the exercise, but not sweat so much, etc, or handicapped folks like my wife?

[Pelican]

Hey Ralph,

As one of the few ebike guys on here, I'd have to say your wife's riding would be well suited to an ebike. The problem with wheel hub motors is the frame usually requires some reinforcement at the dropouts. Otherwise you should be able to find a good kit at a reasonable price.

Not to be promotional, but we just launched our Kickstarter campaign (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hongquan/the-kben-a-modern-electric-bike-for-the-human-race) today. Have her take a look and let me know what you think!

Cheers,
Hong

[Ralph]

Hey Ralph,

As one of the few ebike guys on here, I'd have to say your wife's riding would be well suited to an ebike. The problem with wheel hub motors is the frame usually requires some reinforcement at the dropouts. Otherwise you should be able to find a good kit at a reasonable price.

Not to be promotional, but we just launched our Kickstarter campaign (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hongquan/the-kben-a-modern-electric-bike-for-the-human-race) today. Have her take a look and let me know what you think!

Cheers,
Hong

Very nice bike. Disk brakes a nice touch. It's way more than I'm looking for, and I've done a lot more research (Googling) about rear assist wheels than I have complete bikes. But the Koben looks to be well done, with nice features, and will appeal to riders not hung up on tradition. I'm guessing your potential market is not on here. To me....it's the first real improvement in bikes, that actually makes a big difference, in over 100 years. You still pedal, still get the benefit of exercise, can haul more, but go faster and further.

[buddybikes]

Market has started now that us baby boomers bodies are breaking down and plenty of "us" have cash to burn rather than leave to kids. 6K for Specialized...

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/ebike/turbo

[thirdgenbird]

I've got a rigid 26in mountain bike that's begging for a second motorized wheelset with slicks and a road cassette.

Moped for sweat free commutes. Mountain bike for the trails. Only a quick wheelset change.

[Veloo]

My friend bought one of these BionX conversion kits a few years ago. He was really happy with it. I tried it out at the shop and was quite impressed with the torque. And it was a very clean system.

http://ridebionx.com/