Why a front or rear hub motor instead of a mid-drive motor

Almost all adapted bicycles in the Van Raam range are available as e-bikes. This means that it is possible to cycle with pedal assistance. Van Raam gets a lot of questions as to why they use the motor they’re using at the moment. At the Van Raam bicycles, the motor of the pedal assistance is located in the front wheel, in the rear wheel or on the rear axle between the wheels. But why is this? And what is the advantage of a front hub motor, motor on the rear-axle and a rear hub motor vs mid-drive motor? Read all about it in this article.

The motor on an e-bike

Every e-bike, also known as an electric bicycle, has a motor that drives the pedal assistance. When the pedal assistance, and there with the motor, is switched on, you can easily cycle without having to deliver a lot of power yourself. Most e-bikes have a front hub motor, a rear hub motor or a mid-drive motor. E-bike front hub motor, rear hub motor vs mid-drive motor: what is the difference?

Rear hub motor and motor in the rear-axle

The rear hub motor is, as the name indicates, in the rear wheel of the bike. The motor on the rear-axle is located between the rear wheels. These motors are quieter than a mid-drive motor and work as soon as you start cycling so you can get started easily. Because both types of motors are at the rear end of the bike, this side is a bit heavier compared to the front and gives the motor a lot of pushing power that helps you to move forward.

Mid-drive motor

Many e-bikes have a mid-drive motor. This is because the motor works well with front forks with a lot of suspension. However, the Van Raam bicycles mainly use rigid front forks. On an e-bike with mid-drive motor, the motor it located at the bottom bracket in the middle of the bike. Because of this, the motor is not directly connected to the front wheel or rear wheel. Since there is a chain link between the motor and the rear wheel, there is some slack in the mechanism that has to be gone first. That is why you’ll notice the support a bit later. The bike often makes more noise than a front or rear hub motor. Because the motor provides a lot of force on the chain and on the gear hub, more maintenance is needed to keep the bike in good condition.
 
The mid-drive motor gets hot quickly, so it can provide support for less time when going uphill for example. This is one of the reasons why the Van Raam pedal support system has won the ExtraEnergy test. Read more about this later on in the article.

Advantages of the front hub motor and the rear hub motor

Do you want to know exactly what the differences are between the e-bike front hub motor, motor on the rear-axle and the e-bike rear hub motor vs mid-drive motor on an e-bike? Then take a look at the overview below. In one overview, this makes clear what the advantages are of the three types of motors Van Raam uses for its electric bikes are compared to the features of a mid-drive motor.

The motor on Van Raam adapted bicycles

Van Raam uses motors in the front wheel, in the rear wheel or on the rear-axle between the rear wheels. The reason for this is that there are more advantages of a front hub motor, rear hub motor or motor on the rear-axle on an adapted bicycle than on a ‘regular’ e-bike. Even if you look at the torque of the motor, for example. Read more about this in the article 'How do you compare the torque of a mid-drive and hub motor?'.

The position of the motor is dependent on the type of bike, the design, and whether the pedal support is standard or optional.The motors have been specially developed by and for Van Raam for the pedal assistance on its adapted bicycles. This makes the motors used by Van Raam very suitable for the bicycles in the range. You can read more about the pedal assistance later in this article.
 
Van Raam uses three different types of motors:

Where can I find the motors on Van Raam bikes?

As indicated, the motor can be in the front wheel or rear wheel of your bike. This depends on the design of your Van Raam bike. See below where the pedal assistance motor is located on your Van Raam bike:

The Van Raam pedal support

The Van Raam pedal assistance has been specially developed by Van Raam for adapted bicycles. It is possible to choose the pedal assistance on all the bicycles in the range, except for the Husky tricycle for children and the City walking aid.
 
The Silent System, distinguishes itself in its ability to cycle backwards, the almost silent motor, the starting aid and the three individual adjustable support modes. With the starting aid, the motor provides additional support so that you can easily cycle away without having to use a lot of power yourself. In the article ‘Riding backwards with pedal support on custom bike’ more is explained about the backward cycling function.