So, apparently, not every cheap e-bike sucks after all.
Until recently I was firmly in the camp that cheap, hub-motor e-bikes with cadence sensors were all terrible and unsafe. Then I talked to Kevin Dugger, founder of Ride1Up e-bikes, and he changed my mind.
It’s not so much the bikes that bugged me, although we’ll talk about that, too, it was the cadence sensors that told the motor to start going. It turns out, there’s a lot more to the “on” of “off” systems of the early days or the cheapest bikes.
Also, it turns out there are also some outstanding use cases for hub motors and cadence sensors, and that their performance, or lack thereof, really comes down to how their controllers are programmed.
Kevin and I get into the details of what makes a good cadence sensor system, when you might want one instead of a torque sensor mid-drive bike, and lots of other interesting details about making e-bikes affordable without sacrificing quality and safety.
If you’re in the market for an e-bike but have a small budget, you’ll definitely want to listen to this one.
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