Electric Bike Motor Reviews

https://ebike-mtb.com/en/best-emtb-motor-2018-review/

Which motor is the best?

If we were exclusively looking for power, the TQ 120S would be the undisputed winner. However its sheer power is difficult to modulate and eats through a lot of energy in the higher support levels – plus not many manufacturers are using it at the moment. The Yamaha PW-X churns out decent amounts of power at low cadence, but eventually runs out of steam when riding at high cadence. Its turbulent nature in standing starts is not to everyone’s liking either.
The Panasonic is a very reliable motor, but its performance loss at a high cadence is irritating at best and the display integration still needs more sorting.
The Bosch Performance CX is currently the most common motor on the market and has repeatedly proven its capability over the years. Thanks to its updated software and the progressive eMTB mode, it is now even better equipped for all off-road scenarios. Unfortunately, its large dimensions and the noticeable drag above the 25-km/h limit is still a major drawback and represents a serious challenge for ebike designers.

Shimano’s STEPS E8000 motor offers the fewest compromises and suits a wider range of applications. Its intuitive operation system and well-balanced power delivery (especially in Trail mode) are truly pleasant – plus the compact design and light weight are the ideal prerequisites for manufacturers to design the perfect eMTB.

The brand-new Brose Drive S motor offers the most natural and controllable ride. If its predecessor was lacking power, the updated version of the Brose motor stands right behind the TQ motor. On top of this, it runs very quietly, can be finely modulated even in the higher support levels, and presents virtually no resistance at speeds above 25 km/h.

However, the motor is only half of the story. Factors such as geometry, suspension, and spec of a bike are the keys to a comfortable, safe, and pleasant ride. When deciding on a bike you should consider all of these decisive factors carefully.

The Brose Drive S appeals to me a lot because of the very low resistance with no motor power.

My old 2013 and all Bosch seem to have a drag when not using any power and I like to pedal with no power a lot as much as I can.

90 Nm of torque would make a big difference over the 50 Nm of my 2013 Bosch.

jjpep

How come no mention of bafang? I thought there considered to be quite good, no?

Bafang are good for power and due to their ability to mount on pretty much any bike, the bikes mentioned above are all manufacturers bikes and all fully legal ( not ) but they got their type approval so that's all that matters.

Bafang are fully legal to buy and sell and use ( off road ) their 750 and 1 Kw motors do not comply with road legal laws but they certainly can be made to comply however this defeats having a high power kit.

For lower powered use there needs to be after market kits that comply with the laws. Bosch,. Yamaha etc all get around the 250 watt limit by limiting acceleration and top speed.

So if you want a legal kit it's got to comply with 250 watts ( the mid drive legal motors are using 500-700 watts ) limit acceleration , top speed to 25 Km/r and have no throttle , motor power must only come on when peddling.

I'm not sure if anyone could deem your bike illegal if you can limit to the above. Kits offer much cheaper ways to go electric and there needs to be kits approved for E.U road use because people are not going to stop converting their bikes, a lot of people do not have the money to buy these so called legal bikes.

A lot of these ebike kits are made for the U.S where power limits are much more sensible, they can have throttle, 20 mph and 750-1Kw depending on state.