In a recent survey of older e-bike riders, we asked how they were using their e-bikes. The majority of respondents indicated that they were riding their electric bike around town and also on easier off-road trails, while a lesser number indicated that they were riding around town and also on more challenging off-road trails.
An E-Bike for Around Town and Light Off-Road Trails: Things to Consider
Motor
It doesn’t matter whether the bike has a mid-drive motor or a motor in the rear wheel – both will work perfectly well. If the motor is in the rear wheel, look for a bike that has the battery mounted on the downtube over the front wheel and not behind the saddle so that the weight of the bike is distributed appropriately.
This article explores the differences between mid-drive and
hub drive motors in-depth, but here are a few important differences:
- Bikes equipped with hub drive motors are less expensive.
- Many bikes with hub drive motors also have a thumb throttle or twist throttle that can get you moving easily from a standstill without needing to pedal. An example of a bike designed for around town and light off-road trail use is the MeloYelo Town’nTrail.
- Mid-drive motors typically have more torque (turning force), which is particularly useful if you are riding up long, winding hills on a backcountry trail.
Battery
Battery size becomes more important if you are going to be taking on longer trail rides.
Riding on reasonably flat, paved surfaces, a typical rider will use around 7.5 watt-hours of battery energy per kilometre, whereas riding on hilly off-road trails, a typical rider will use around 12 watt-hours per km.
Many of the e-bikes available have a 500-watt-hour battery. This means that if you’re riding around town, you might expect a range of around 66 kilometres (500/7.5), whereas if you’re riding on steeper, off-road trails, you might expect a range of around 42 kilometres (500/12).
Some e-bikes, such as those from MeloYelo, come with larger batteries, which means that you can ride further without running out of battery power.
Tyres
Wider, knobbly tyres are beneficial for anyone who will be doing off-road riding. And, while these create more friction on paved surfaces than street tyres do, it doesn’t matter because your motor compensates for any such added friction.
Suspension
There are two issues to consider here:
- What is required to absorb the shock of riding over gravel, rocks, tree roots, etc.? We recommend that you look for a bike with 100mm of travel on the front fork. Travel is the maximum distance that the suspension can compress when absorbing force before bottoming out.
- What is required to give you a comfortable ride? Some people go all-out and buy a full suspension bike – a bike with both front and rear suspension. Full suspension bikes are considerably more expensive than bikes that have front suspension only, and there is a viable and cost-effective alternative that will meet the needs of those who are only doing light off-road trails: A Suntour NCX suspension seat post. These seat posts can be adjusted to deliver a harder or softer ride, depending on your preference, and make a huge difference in rider comfort on bumpy trails.
Brakes
Modern bikes have two main braking systems: cable disk (sometimes called mechanical disk) or hydraulic disk brakes. For light to medium trail riding, either of these systems will serve your needs well.
Mudguards
Town bikes typically have mudguards close to the tyre and wrap further around the tyre’s perimeter. If you’re going to be doing trail rides, look for a bike with smaller mudguards that offer greater clearance between the tyres and the mudguards.
Lights
While not typically needed for trail rides, lights are a safety tool for riding around town.
Carrier
Whether you’re riding around town or out on the trails, a carrier is a useful accessory. It allows you to attach trunk bags, pannier bags, baskets, and more.
MeloYelo e-bikes come fully equipped with mudguards, lights and carriers, potentially saving you the need to spend an extra $300 to $500 to have your bike fitted with these accessories.
What if I want to Tackle More Challenging Off-Road Trails?
A more challenging off-road trail would typically be steeper, have more twists and turns, and perhaps longer than an easier trail ride. With this in mind, your main considerations should be:
- Motor: Choose a bike that has a mid-drive motor. These offer more torque and are also more efficient energy users, meaning that you can ride further than with a hub drive motor.
- Battery size. Choose a bike with a battery of 600 watt-hours or greater. Remember, on steeper off-road trails with lots of twists and turns, you can expect to use around 12 watt-hours per kilometre, so a 600 watt-hour battery should allow you to ride around 50 kilometres—or more, depending on the leg energy you use—whereas a 500 watt-hour battery might allow you to ride only around 42 kilometres before running out of juice.
Conclusion
Since our inception in 2016, MeloYelo has focused on designing e-bikes that meet the needs of older riders. We have models like the Townee that are designed primarily for around town use, the Tranzit and the Town’nTrail that are for town and light trail use, and the Ascent, Traverse and Superlite models which have proven themselves on serious trail rides throughout NZ. Talk to your MeloYelo agent about which model will best suit your needs.
