Go electric
From being the new, slightly suspicious kid in town to taking a starring role in almost every bike brand’s catalogue, electric road and gravel bikes have hit the mainstream, and any cyclist looking for a little extra help is better served than ever. Today’s e-bikes are lighter, go further, feel more refined and often have systems so well integrated you’d be forgiven for thinking you were looking at a normal bike.
That said, we at Cyclist appreciate e-bikes aren’t normal bikes and as such they won’t be for everyone. But for every naysayer there is a yay-sayer, which is why we thought it time we took a closer look.
Broadly speaking there are two types of e-bike systems: those that supply pedalling assistance directly to the drivetrain, for example a motor turning the bottom bracket, and those that supply assistance via a hub motor. Bike frames are designed so batteries can be integrated into tubes or placed inside them, and wiring is hidden – hence e-bikes that look like conventional bikes.
To make sense of all this new technology and what it means for riders, we sat down with the experts to understand three of the most popular e-bike motor systems.
