Mid Drive or Hub Drive?

I'm curious to know if most people prefer hub drive ebikes over mid drive ebikes.

Link to Mid Drive vs Hub Drive explanation video

[ericdelmar]

My first experience on an ebike was a rented Bosch mid-drive. Then spent a few years watching every GD ebike video on the web. Back in October, I picked up a Gazelle/Bosch bike, because although I've tried hubs, I couldn't ever shake the responsiveness and natural integration of the Bosch mid-drive. And yeah, I live in a hilly area, so that was part of the math, too. One observation: On paper, it would seem that my bike's motor specs of 250 W and 65 NM would never get up a hill, I can scale steep mountain roads with this, pedaling, of course, but never breaking a sweat or needing to stand up. I feel like Superman on this bike.

[DanLetts]

I’m a huge fan of rear hub Drive, because I love the throttle. What’s great about a throttle is that you can use it to get up to speed and then start peddling, you don’t have to shift gears nearly as often. There’s something satisfying about cranking the throttle and opening it up, I couldn’t live without my throttle.

[rodney]

I have a Biktrix Juggernaut Ultra with a mid-drive Bafang 1000 watt M620 motor and my girlfriend has a Stunner X. The biggest difference besides 1000 watts vs 750 watts is the Jugg Ultra has a combination of torque sensing and cadence sensing vs the Stunner X having only cadence sensing. The Jugg Ultra has a much more natural bike riding feel - the power delivery is linear vs the all torque/no torque delivery from just a cadence sensor. Having both sensors allows one to use the pedals as a fine-tuned throttle, delivering just the right amount of assist for whatever the current conditions call for. I'm confident that if you rode a bike with the combo torque and cadence sensors, you wouldn't mind the shifting.

[klumze]

I have owned both. Just sold my hub drive. The mid drive is so much better to me. Shifting is a bonus not a negative. Your gearing ratio really makes these things go up hills easily or as fast as you want on flats. I have been doing range tests on my mid drive (Sondors Cruiser) and it has a 21.5aH battery and a BBS02 motor. 9 levels of pedal assist and I have gotten 82 miles on the 2nd lowest setting. I have tested PAS levels 2-7 already and I post the results in a FB group and some Sondors owners who have hub motors with the same size battery are asking me how my bike gets about 50% more miles than them on pedal assist. These things really transfer power more effectively.

[daveruttman]

Huge fan. Thank you for these awesome videos. For me, Not being an engine cycle rider. I.e Yamaha, Kawasaki, Harley Davidson. I feel the mid drive has a natural bicycle feel, with just a little help if you need it.

[ricks]

I watched a video from Bolton comparing mid vs hub. I remember the one thing he mentioned was that hub is simpler to ride. Based on that comment, I purchased a Blackbird. I don't regret my choice at all. I live in a mildly hilly area. When I ride, I rarely shift. I just put it in high gear and use my throttle to power thru hills. For the majority of riders. I would recommend hub. It makes the ride enjoyable without a lot of thought. I think the bigger question is cadence versus torque.

[ug]

Totally agree on the shifting, though I have one of both. Hub drive for cruising, easy trails, errands and the mid drive FS for gnarly trails/mountains. A big bonus of the mid is un-sprung weight, or lack of, when it comes to offroad. For the chain, I bring a splitter and a couple links, never had one break though.

[scurtiszz]

Both ! I took the magicycle and dumped on a bbshd it's crazy fast with dual motors 😉

[rogerf]

Good overview! I prefer a mid drive. Its more like a bicycle and a motorcycle using the gears. A mid drive is faster and has more torque and uses less current to start moving. And torque sensors are king vs cadence sensors. The pedal response is night and day. I’ve never seen or heard first hand of anyone ever breaking a chain. If you that worried, you could always carry an extra one in your bike pouch. I understand if you don’t like shifting, (some bicycle riders are this way) then a hub drive would work perfectly. I do find that when riding a hub drive, that I get lazier and lazier about putting any effort in the pedals so basically I’m just along for the ride. Hey the next time your dad is in town, race the StunnerX (pedaling & using the gears) against Frankenstein. The results may surprise you.

[liftkitcrazy]

I have a 10 year old schwinn bike that I made into a hub drive ebike build then a year ago today on Christmas Eve I bought a RadRunner, then I switched my schwinn into a bafang 750w mid drive so I have both now, going to take the mid drive out and get used to the bike again since I have been riding the RadRunner for almost a year now. The schwinn went through a lot of a changes within the past year was a project bike until I got done with it. 😊 enjoyed the video keep up the great work.

[kmtnbike]

I upgraded my controller and battery on a BBSHD mid drive enabling 40mph+ in 1st gear. I guess that will be just like a hub without having to shift gears. That said, bike is a 100% specialty build and not for everyone. Wife has that exact same Stunner X with the knobby’s you so desire and she loves it! I also have a hub bike that I absolutely love to ride with 3 batteries on it and 160 miles of range. I shift my hub all the time but understand the simplicity of having that type of system you admire. FYI my 3rd bike is running CYC X1 Stealth motor and weighs only 47lbs.with 17.5Ah battery. I would say having multiple bikes is the way to go for different ride experiences. Enjoy and ride safe.

[SMG-lzzq]

The mid-drive is like having a manual shifter in a car compared to not, although you do some shifting with a hub motor if you have gears. I prefer the hub motor. I live in a very hilly area, and my Radrover 5 gets up the hills pretty easily with some pedal assistance and gear changes with the hub motor. I'm sure the mid-drive would make it even easier but I still prefer the hub motor.

[kenneth]

I live in San Francisco.
I have a Sondors LX 750 watt mid-drive and a Juiced Ripcurrent 750 watt hub motor. LX wins every time on a steep hill. And throttle is more powerful. Also, when you hit throttle and pedal at the same time it really takes off!!

[blainegordon]

I have both a hub drive and a DIY 29er Mid Drive. The shifting is a non-issue for me personally. But the mid drive just seems as though it superchargers your legs. I can get well over 50 miles to a charge and most of the time the motor only kicks in building up to a speed and then it shuts off and the bike itself retains the speed. The hub drive to me just feels much less like you’re doing anything and the bike is just going. Personal opinion I would just rather buy a motorcycle if that is what I wanted.

[ajijic]

Hub drive and throttle control all the way. I want be in control of how my bike uses its power and I want it making as few decisions for me as possible. I pedal a lot on and off road. Rear hub is the best. I like having the power right at the point of drive encased in heavy protective spokes. I ride motorcycles and dream of doing away with chain drives and sprocket drives as well.

[Todd]

I have 2 ebikes. 1 is a hub drive 1000W 52V, the other is a 1000W 52V mid drive. The mid drive feels way more natural while pedaling. Has much more mid and low rang power due to the gears of course. My mid drive is easier to work on than the hub drive. Below 3000W, mid drive stomps hub drive. Once you are at 3000W or over, hub drives start to take over. If I have to work on one bike, I would much rather work on the mid drive. Any and all rear end maintenance on the mid drive is super easy, changing tires is super fast and easy like regular bike.
That being said…both the my hub drive and mid drive ebikes are a blast to ride.

[gonagain]

I have both and prefer the hub drive for around town. On the trails I prefer the mid-drive because I get the motor assist in all of the 16 gears my bike has and that's really nice.

[stevereynoso]

I prefer a mid-drive bike. I live in an area with lots of steep hills – off road. The mid-drive has superior climbing ability and towing ability. Also, I don’t like the delay that hub-drive bikes with cadence sensors have. Hub-drive bikes are also jerkier than a torque sensor mid-drive bike.

[orson]

I bought my Stunner X in March of this year and got the 24x3 wheels with knobby tires! They had them.

[whatsinyourear]

Love both, but off road mountain biking, single tracking, hill climbing, mid drive is the way to go.