What Kind of Electric Bike Do I Need？

There are many types of cool electric bikes. In this article, we will introduce different types of electric bicycles in detail. You can choose the type of electric bicycles according to your own situation.

Electric Bicycle Classification

Classified According to Drive and Transmission Mode

1. Friction Wheel Drive Type

The friction wheel on the driving machine directly acts on the rubber tires of the rear wheels to drive through friction. The structure is simple, the cost is low, but the rotation efficiency is low, the energy consumption is high, the wear of the affordable electric bike tire is also large, and it is easy to slip in the rain.

2. Bottom Shaft Sprocket Drive Type

The driving machine is specially designed to be installed on the central axle of the compact electric bike. The electric bicycle motor of this structure has a reasonable center of gravity, and the transmission efficiency is improved compared with the grinding wheel type, but the mechanical loss is still large and the transmission efficiency is not high.

3. Wheel Drive Type

The drive motor is installed in the hub of the rear axle of the electric city bike. This hub is similar in shape to the wheel hub of a motorcycle, and has a slightly larger size. The hub is connected to the steel rim through spokes to directly drive the rear wheel to rotate. Its advantages are reasonable design, compact structure, small size, light weight, and higher transmission efficiency than the previous two. So, most electric bicycles choose the hub driving mode.

Classified According to Drive Motor Type

1. Brushed DC Motor Type

This kind of electric commuter bike is installed with permanent magnet brushed DC motor. This motor has the advantages of simple control system, low cost and strong overload capacity, but it requires a commutator and brushes, and there is mechanical wear, which affects the efficiency of the brushed motor.

2. Brushless DC Motor Type

This kind of electric cross bike uses a high-tech permanent magnet brushless DC motor. Because there is no brush, no rotating gear, there is no mechanical wear of the brush. Therefore, it has advantages of no interference, long life, high efficiency, reliable operation and simple maintenance. Compared with the brush motor, the disadvantage is that the control system is complicated and the cost is higher.

In addition to the above classifications, the batteries used in electric road bikes are generally divided into sealed and maintenance-free lead-acid batteries and nickel-hydrogen batteries. Although the former is not very ideal in weight, it has large capacity, no memory effect, and low price, which is the main power source of most urban electric bike. While the latter has large capacity, no pollution, and no memory effect, but its price is very high, which is not easy to popularize.

When you are selecting electric street bike, it is important to figure out your needs first, and note that you cannot choose a lightweight electric bike according to the criteria for choosing an ordinary bicycle. What do you want to use an electric bicycle for? Is it for leisure and entertainment or daily commuting? You also need to consider the use environment of electric bicycles, whether it is mainly use in flat urban terrain or steep and bumpy hills? Find out the answers to these two questions, I believe you can choose a suitable electric bicycle.