Mid-drive VS rear hub-drive ebike motors? What is better?

E-Bikes, Life Cycle Bikes

A question we are asked by our customers on a daily basis while they are looking at a new ebike to buy is what is the difference between the mid-drive and hub-drive ebike motors? Which is better and why? Is the mid-drive always the superior choice?

And, like most things in life, the answer is: it depends on how and where you are using the ebike!

Hub-drive ebike motor pros:

• Lower cost to buy
• Less wear and tear on your drivetrain (so can be cheaper to maintain)
• Generally cheaper and easier to replace the motor if it fails

Hub-drive ebike motor cons:

• More weight concentrated at the rear of the bike which affects handling and ride comfort slightly
• Less power delivery/use of gears so hill climbing ability isn’t as good as a mid-drive
• Can be less energy efficient, depending on the riding conditions
• Often found on low-end bikes which sometimes have poor quality parts (not the bikes we sell, mind you!)
• The battery paired to the motor is often smaller and lower capacity than mid-drive models
• More difficult to remove the rear wheel if you get a flat

Generally, we recommend a rear hub-driven ebike for people who have a limited budget and are primarily commuting on sealed surfaces in town and on gravel tracks such as the Wadandi Track where there aren’t any major hills to deal with. In this use-case, these bikes are perfect for their needs.

Our Velectrix hub-driven ebikes, such as the Urban ST, are set up with high quality gears and brakes, and we also offer an upgrade to Tannus Tube Armour which will significantly reduce the chance of getting a flat tyre! This deals with many of the downsides of a rear hub driven ebike.

As a side note, while front hub-driven motors do exist, mostly as upgrade kits bought online, and we do not recommend these kits due to the poor handling and weight distribution.

Mid-drive ebike motor pros:

• Low and centres weight distribution
• Better handling and control riding offroad
• Quick and easy access to both wheels in case of maintenance or repairs
• More torque and power for climbing steep hills
• Generally come with higher quality components and well known brands
• Often come with significantly larger batteries capable of riding 80km+
• Better re-sale value

Mid-drive ebike motor cons:

• More expensive to purchase upfront
• Higher wear and tear to the drivetrain (Nb. this is much less of an issue with IGH/belt driven models)
• Replacing the motor and/or battery can be more expensive and difficult, although many companies such as Specialized offer discounts on replacements outside of the warranty period

As a result, we usually recommend a mid-drive ebike to people who have a more flexible budget, value ease of servicing and repairs at home, want to have a more stable/weight distributed bike, ride up lots of steep hills, or people who are riding MTB trails aggressively.

For offroad commuters who want a bike that comes fully equipped, we stock and sell the Velectrix Adventurer X, SUV and the Cruiser X which are great value options for rear-round utility cycling. We also stock and sell the Specialized Como ebike which is a premium quality comfort ebike that is just as comfortable riding unsealed rail trails and roads as it is cruising around town.

Looking for something a bit more capable? The Specialized Levo is a full-suspension monster truck eMTB that is capable of hitting steep and gnarly MTB trails anywhere around Western Australia, and then zipping you back up the climb trail for the next round! The Levo can be converted to a go-anywhere adventure / bikepacking / offroad-commuter bike too! Just ask us how. We have everything required in store to make it happen.

AI notice:

No generative AI has been used in the design, creation, writing, proof reading, or formation of this article. As a result, there may be errors, mistakes or omissions which are entirely unintended, but realistically come with the territory of “organic” human made content. 🙂