I live in a bike friendly and hilly town (ashland OR) and am thinking about adding a cargo bike to the fleet. Primary use would be delivering my 3 & 5 year old kids to school and fetching groceries. I'm sold on the edgerunner with its 20" rear wheel and lower rear center of gravity. The question is do I go for the current bionx wheel drive bike or wait until spring for the edgerunner with Bosch mid drive system?
I've been told mid drives are much stronger/w more torque for loads in hilly areas. I was looking at stoke monkey and Urban commuter store mid drives myself. How much will the Bosch run?
Hub motors are going to be more reliable than a mid drive unit but a mid drive allows you to turn a one speed motor into a multispeed motor.
I have several E-bikes that I use in our electric assist bicycle touring business and I use the Baffang 500 and 750 watt mid drive units that retrofit to most existing bikes.
On the Wattwagon we developed we use a 1000 watt 16 inch hub motor and it climbs very well and has great top end. In fact I now prefer the hub motor (direct drive unit) for it's quietness, torque, speed, simplicity and reliability.
I would think with the extracycle if you are using a 20 inch rear wheel that the torque and power of a direct drive hub motor should fit your needs and save you a bundle of money.
The Bosch system is only 350 watts and requires a dedicated bottom bracket assembly. The Bionix is pricey and uses a lot of proprietary stuff.
The Baffang mid drive will retrofit to most bikes that have a 68 or 73 mm bottom bracket shell.
Direct drive hub motors are readily available, but I would stay away from those with internal controllers.
I don't understand the StokeMonkey- you have to hold the throttle down with your thumb the whole time? Why would I add 30-40 lbs of StokeMonkey to a Big Dummy that I already have two kids on, just to only use it when my thumb is holding it down?
@richwolf, the bafang may have the power but the lack of sophistication (ie torque sensor) and real warranty knocks it out of contention for me. FYI the bosch is rated at 350, but can provide bursts of 500 watts.
Martinizer I'm facing the same dilemma, have you made a decision? I emailed Xtracycle and their rep said that the 10E should be available in early May '15 and go for $5300. I do appreciate the purported quietness & greater stealth of the Bionx, but early reviews of the 10E seem really stellar and I continue to entertain waiting for its release to either see it or at least get some more real user opinions by which to make a decision. Appreciate richwolf's input as to reliability of the direct drives.
I've decided to not decide until spring. $5k is more than I want to spend to haul the kids around. So i'll likely get a non-e edgerunner and add an aftermarket hub drive.
I am a Bosch, Currie, and BionX Certified Tech and I am the GM of a family owned bike shop here in West Seattle. Climate and terrain here dictates a robust and dependable E bike system . I have ridden most manufacturers bikes months before they are available to the public. I sell them, I fix them , and I own and ride them. I currently do not own an Cargo E bike, but have several models in our shop. The BionX powered Edgerunner Xtracycle is a good solution that is powerful, dependable , and high mid range in price and available now. The Bosch powered version is due out in April and will not be much more than the BionX powered version. Another surprise from Yuba and Currie Technologies is the Spicy Currie. They have put a Currie Tech mid drive system to compete with the Bosch bikes, and has a 20" rear wheel for stability and lower center of gravity- MSRP $4500 and available in June. Until I had driven a mid drive bike I was a 100% BionX guy. After riding the Bosch powered bikes I purchased 2! With consistent good gear shifting I am able to get 90 plus miles range out of one charge on moderate terrain on my Felt 29E. The most range I have ever got from a BionX bike is 45 miles. Thats on a D motor 500 W/ 48 V bike. The BionX powered bikes will win the sprint- but the Bosch bikes will win the endurance contest.
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