Do I need gears on my electric bike
Electric bikes all have gears and this is for a very good reason. You need the ability to vary your pedaling speed, and reduce the effort you are putting into cycling as and when required. This is especially true if you are in a hilly area (or like us you are in London with its many hills) or when there is a headwind. Do I need gears on my electric bike? the answer is yes.
Without gears on an electric bike then you would find riding it too much effort and it wouldn't be fun to ride at all.
So, unless your electric bike is very small (with 20" wheels), then it will probably have gears.
In this article, we will discuss why you need gears on your electric bike.
Why Do My Electric Bikes Need Gears?
Gears are an essential part of your electric bike and their absence would be like replacing the engine on a car with a unicorn farting rainbows. They make it easier to cycle up hills, cycle in headwinds, and cycle at different speeds.
The reason for this is that the electric bike motor is a 250W to 750W machine which is turning at between 2000 and 3000 RPM. This means that you need gears to be able to vary the speed that you are pedaling at without being forced to cycle too slowly or too quickly.
If you don’t have any gears on your bike then it will either be impossible for you to pedal along at a speed that suits your fitness level or it will be too difficult for anyone who isn’t in good shape.
Also, gears can also save the battery life of your e-bike. Although the difference is minor, you can get more power out of an electric motor by cycling at a medium-fast speed rather than slowly or very quickly.
So, that means f you your e-bike does not have gears and you need to cycle up a hill, it will consume more battery life.
However, ACT bikes come with some amazing lithium-ion batteries for your electric bikes.
What Happens If An Electric Bike Does Not Have Gears?
If you don’t have gears then you will find it very difficult to cycle up hills without effort and slow going (or even impossible) on headwind days. You need gears to be able to maintain a steady speed over different terrains.
The Function Of Gears In An Electric Bike
If your electric bike has gears then this is how they work:
- You can pedal faster to go uphill than downhill. This means that when you are climbing a hill, your resistance will be set higher than when you are going downhill and therefore pedaling at the same speed as before. In other words, if your resistance is set at level 8 while cycling uphill, it may feel more like level 9 or 10 while cycling down steep hills. That’s because, in order for your motorized e-bike motor not to do the job for you on steeper inclines, the power output needs to decrease by increasing its RPM (revolutions per minute).
- The torque of your motorized electric bike increases as well when pedaling harder because there isn't much difference between gears 3 through 6 or 7 through 10 in terms of wattage output from an e-bike battery pack; however there's quite an increase between what would normally be considered "low" versus "high" speeds since their torque characteristics differ greatly between each other depending upon how much power one needs out of them at any given moment during normal operation.
Unless your electric bike is a folding electric bike and has very small wheels it will almost certainly have gears.
The maximum speed of an electric motor depends on the voltage and current supplied to the motor by the controller, along with how much power you’re willing to use.
In practice, most motors can only sustain full power for a few minutes before overheating and shutting down (though some people have modified their motors so that they are able to run continuously at full throttle).
Most commercially available e-bikes (e-MTBs) will have top speeds of around 15 miles per hour (25 km/h), though some bikes can achieve higher speeds if they have more powerful motors or if they slow down while climbing hills.
The range of an e-bike depends on several factors including how much aid you are using, whether or not you are riding up steep hills, what kind of terrain (flat roads vs off-road trails), and how fast you go through urban areas with lots of stop lights, etc., wind direction and strength, the temperature outside air temperature, etc.
How To Use The Gears On Your E-bike
Using the gears on your e-bike can help you go faster with less effort, or help you uphill with more control. Here are some tips:
- If you're riding on flat ground, use lower gear to go faster with less effort.
- If you're riding uphill, use a higher gear to have more control and make it easier to pedal.
3) Use the highest gear when going downhill - this will give you more control and make it easier on your brakes.
4) If you're riding into the wind, use lower gear to make pedaling easier.
5) And finally, if it's cold outside, using a higher gear will help warm you up faster.
Conclusion
So, if you were thinking Do I need gears on my electric bike? the answer is yes. It's very rare to find an electric bike which has only one gear and this is because the electric bike motor is a 250W to 750W machine which is turning at between 2000 and 3000 RPM.
This means that you need gears to be able to vary the speed that you are pedalling at without being forced to cycle too slowly or too quickly. Without gears, it simply wouldn't be possible for most people with average fitness levels to cycle up hills or against the wind.
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