Hub Drive vs Mid Drive Motor Explained - The Advantages and Disadvantages

Hub drive vs Mid drive, it's a common confusion seen among a lot of riders. But which one is better, and what are their differences? To clear out all that confusion and questions, here we are with a video on eBike Motors Explained: Hub drive vs Mid drive, explaining all the basics you need to know.

Hub Drive vs Mid Drive
0:00 - Introduction
00:42 - Hub-drive Motor

Advantages of Hub Drive
01:17 - Easy maintenance
01:48 - Types of hub drive motors
02:20 - Adds redundancy in case of emergencies
02:45 - Weight management

Disadvantages of Hub Drive
03:14 - Limitations
03:51 - Gearless Hub Drives last longer
04:11 - Simple yet powerful
04:31 - Mid-drive Motor

Advantages of Mid Drive
05:18 - Gear compatibility
05:34 - Lightweight and efficient
05:57 - Mid-drive motors can go unnoticed
06:23 - Easy tire maintenance

Disadvantages of Mid Drive
06:58 - Chain drives tend to snap easily
07:16 - Be cautious when shifting
07:55 - Risky and Costly
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#hubdrive #middrive #drivemotor

[bobpatty]

Please consider (like I did) the third opinion-BOTH! I have a Bafang mid drive running on 72v (Grin), chained to a Qs205 (72200) Sabvoton. The bike is a 29” hard tail and packs 2 72v 35ah triangular batteries. If one system fails, the other gets me home. Final gears are 60/12. The hub set up gets me up to speed and the mid drive helps with little drain on either battery and both can maintain highway speed for miles on Ozark roads.

[pacificostudios]

The chain-snapping issue is why mid-drive bike buyers might like to get an internal gear hub. Many city bike riders like internal gear hubs because they are less subject to weather and weathering. I agree that a mid-drive bike with internal gears and belt drive is a fantastic choice, but that will be expensive. Building the bike yourself by converting a conventional bike might be a good idea.

[michaelrowland]

First of all very interesting points as I have rode a hyb drive for 10 months and yes have had very little problem with it, but have I enjoyed it as in my earlier days I did a lot of cycling I am now 58 with medical condition. My answer is mixed it was good to be on the road again cycling but it didn't feel natural, mine was front wheel hub and felt if someone was pulling me until my peddling took over, very heavy and vibrated a lot when riding over rough uneven road, the motor could be heard and knew when it was on. I brought the hub drive becausde of costs we can only buy what we can afford, but enough is enough and decided to try a mid drive but couldn';t afford a mid drive bike so looked at convertion kits.

So I converted my hub drive with a mid drive and what are the differences it as deleated all the negative points on the hub drive, can't hear the motor many times forget the motor is there its that quiet, certainly less vibration when going over rough roads and cycling feels more natural. I find very little complecations with gear changing as I do have a gear sensor fitted. But I am not going to be giving the cycle lots of rough riding or doing any great speeds, so I do feel how long your chain lasts is if your going to be doing a lot of off roading and excess work your going to be doing on it, if your going to be using your cycle just for everyday commuting going to work, cycling round town and long distance riding can't see chain giving lots of problems as my gears change smoothly.

So yes must admit I prefare the mid drive to the hub drive but the hub drive got me back on the toad again and its what one can afford as mid drives are a lot more expensive then mid drives as you can get a hub drive for £500+ and mid drives are about £1, 200+, my hub drive cost me £650 and to convert it to a mid drive cost £950. So for £300 more well worth it. Mike

[kjeldholm]

Hi "Bike Zone"
I have build approx 5 different ebikes with directdrive-hub-, geared-hub- and middrive-motor. On my 34 kg Strada velomobile (weight without motor, battery, tools, and luggage) I have driven 3—4000 km with a Bafang 250W 80 Nm middrivemotor and even sometimes changed gear without the motor completely switched off. And the same chain have now lasted 20.000 Km (first many km without motor). So I think your opinion “the chain will snap instantly” Is kind of wildly exaturated !
Happy ebiking everyone ;-)

[maquiavelo]

Finaly someone answers to my question of what happens when you run out of battery (or if your motor breaks). On a hub motor you can still pedal your way wherever you are going while on a mid motor you can´t. On a rear hub motor you can also extend your distance by riding on H mode where you use the throttle only when you need assistance.

[michaelrowland]

I don't usually do two reviews on the same video but response to my comment as been very good but feel their as been a mix up of my interpretation what a ebike is, when I was young I would go cycling all over and to me cycling is slow transport where you want to go defently slower then a motor vehicle, but all the power in the bike was done by me. Some days I would avarage about 18mph and some other day maybe 10 mph depending on weather, hill climbing but everything was done by natural strength and I loved it and enjoyed it because if I set out cycling to the sea side it was nice an scenic and the travelling was a part of the day out as in a motor vehicle all the scenary just flashes by and only the seaside then becomes the enjoyment the trip is just long and boring even so its faster. Sadly for me my natural days of cycling is over as time goes by and we get older and obstacles get in the way and we miss what we once had.

An ebike to me as put youth back into my life I don't want a motor vehicle I got one of them and its boring but my wife won't let me get rid of the car, I had motor cycles in my time and they just like cars do all the work for you. I had a hub motor and I liked it and it got my interest in cycling again but I didn't love it, it never felt what I had before when the motor worked it did all the work, when my peddling took over I did all the work it didn't work with me it worked for me, with a mid drive I feel the motor is working with me it feels more natural and put the feel of cycling in my life again more natural. So Mid drive peddle assist does what it says assist as hub motors don't they feel as if they pushing or pulling you until motor cuts out, so for give me if I don't talk about high speeds because that isn't what I got a ebike for, I got it to give me what time as took away the chance to cycle again without feeling tired and worn out just going down the streets, the beauty of cycling isn't cycling to work or the shops but taking little trips in the country side and enjoying the outdoors.

To me the mid drive is more like cycling then a hub drive but the hub still provides a good ebike, a twin tub will still wash and spin your cloths as a automatic does but you don't have to empty the washing machine to fill the spinner the automatic does it without that. A mid drive really is like naturally riding a cycle and I only know its me not doing all the work when I turn the motor off and then it comes evident, if you want to do great speeds then a motorcycle is the answer but if you want to cycle when your old or overweight and have health problems then the ebike is your answere and if you choose a hub drive its better then nothing but mid drives give the more natural cycling feeling. For chains snapping and a hub drive getting you home when did a normal cycle get you home when the chain snapped? If your worried about the chain put one in your saddle bag I always carry a spare innertube which your more likely to have a puncture then chain snapping.

Benefits of the mid drive to the hub drive,
1. More natural cycling feeling,
2. Better avarage speed because can use cycles gears and not stuck in one gear,
3. Motor working alongside your peddling until restricted speed is reached,
4. Better when going over uneven and rougher service because there is no heavy wheel,
5. less chance of a puncture because weight isn't on your tyre
6 .Finally does more miles per charge with Hub I avaraged about 20 to 24 miles to a charge, Mid Drive I have done 36 miles to this charge and is just hitting last bar.

Benifits of hub drive
1, Purchase price
2. Chance of chain snapping on mid drive which if you have a spare chain with you takes just as long as if you had to mend a puncture.

Hope this helps. thanks Mike

[completesalvation]

Very nice and balanced explanation. In my opinion the hub drive is a better option for now unless you have plenty of money and access to a dealership for repairs. This is a big drawback presently. I think owning an Ebike for the average person would require some knowledge and maintenance skills due to the lack of available repair options. There just aren’t any local mechanics similar to car repair shops. Additionally a front hub motor is a terrible idea because the front fork is not designed to be used to pull an Ebike. There’s a good chance that the front fork and wheel will break off eventually.

[kiefershanks]

That was useful. I bought a mid-drive. I don't mind more maintenance with the performance and handling benefit of mid-drives. I have a hub drive scooter and that rear hub motor has a ton of inertia when it gets going. Not super great for handling but yeah, definitely pretty bulletproof. I've had my hub drive scooter for years and it's still going strong. I don't think you can kill hub drives.

[kevintraynor]

If your changing gear on a mid drive you just have to ease of on the peddling slightly so as not to damage to change and cogs. Some mid drivdz have shift detection

[johnw]

Great explanation, thanks! Question... Will a hub-drive work with a mid-drive on the same bike with dual throttles? What I'd like to do is put the 750W hub motor on the front of a BeeCool Challenger, then put a mid-drive on the back wheel, Giving me both options plus AWD. Another thought, Is it possible to use a CVT on a mid-drive ebike? Chains are loud and they break. Transmissions are mechanical, heavy and expensive. CVT's are lightweight, cheap, quiet and seem like the perfect solution...?

[ashcat]

Thanks for adding to the confusion of which one to choose.

[locker]

Great summary of e bike drives. I found it very valuable

[_petar]

I had bafang mid-drive conversion few years back with shifting sensors etc - well it was powerful but it was not a bicycle anymore it became an electric motor, very heavy too also it eats aluminium chanrings and puts massive stress over whole drivesystem so I recommend change everything there to steel ebike specific components. Now I have sub 20kg rear hub cheap ebike because I wanted a bicycle that simply helps me a bit on climbs and does not break the bank.

[DriverJ-N]

From what I’m seeing hub drive especially geared hub drives are best if u don’t have a lot of hills or do mt biking… and mid is good if you are doing those activities..so both are good in their own way I think for a majority of people it’s best to go with a geared hub on a bike mainly used to travel on flat roads from paint a to b…🤷‍♂️ I have never had an issue with hills on a 750w hub drive but I hear complaints on the ones that are less powerful more power seems to fix most of the drawbacks of hub drives… my next bike is going to be 1000w geared hub with torque sensor and hopefully weighs under 60lbs

[rogercarroll]

You missed the fact that there is a shift sensor which shuts off the motor during shifting. A mid-drive is better on very steep hills. You need a really large hub drive in comparison to a mid drive.

[MHH]

Hub motors are not lower maintenance. They place a great deal more stress on the axles and bearings that are little to nothing more than a traditional bike hub. The spokes are shorter and lower cross so they tend to loosen. Most of your weight, the weight of most things you carry and the heavy heavy motor are all resting on these short, near radial spokes.

Mid-drives are no more likely to break a chain than a traditional bike. Mid-drives that are legal do not exert as much torque as even one human arm. You will get the same mileage out of a mid-drive chain as a traditional, you will just reach it a lot sooner.

You forgot to mention that mid-drives climb hills much, much easier and faster than hub drives. Hub drives drive only the hub and you can only help it by pedaling. A mid-drive uses your transmission, so you can down shift and often even increase power and speed climbing hills. A great example would be my friend's 1500 watt peak, geared hub drive that won't climb an on-ramp near as quickly as a 250 watt mid-drive in my shop. When you consider that most of my mid-drives are 500-750 watts and 80-160nm's of torque, that is quite aignificant.

[jontukagam]

Ive have hub drive for my electric scooter n bikes i been using it for almost 3 years n they r great

[polska]

The chain doesn't snap instantly when you shift on motor power, I have 5500km on my chain and it hasn't snapped yet and as for weight management with hub motors, you have to take rotational mass into account too...

[theot]

Very well done -- Thank You 'Bike Zone'

[surfyogi]

Hub drives can be a drag; the motor makes the back end heavy; if you have a hard tail; then the bike hurts if you go over a bump unexpectedly! ouch; get a shocked seat post at least! The newer mid-drive motors from Bafang have a motor cut-out switch for 2022-23 models that will cut out motor power during shifts (amazing) and it works great. I have a Accomile Cola Bear with a 750w motor and it has the cut-out; there are never any issues with power on the chain, and the chain does not fall off due to power on during shifting. This motor is inexpensive compared to all the other motors out there, and a better design too; better than Bosch now! Forget belts, and forget the issues usually associated with Mid-drives. My Cola Bear climbs hills like a Bear; very fast.