ADDTECH | Exploring Rear-Mounted Motor For E-Bikes

Personal transportation is revolutionized after the integration of rear-mounted motors for e-bikes and e-trikes. The electric trike rear motors offer incredibly high stability, and improved traction and ensure stable power flow for your luxurious rides. 
 

In the article below, we will explore every aspect of the rear hub motor of electric bikes and trikes. This in-depth exploration will help you make a wise decision while choosing a motor for your electric-powered bike or trike. 

Let’s delve deep into the details and understand the rear-mounted motors for e-bikes and e-trikes. 

What is a Rear-Mounted Motor For Electric Bikes？

The motor which is designed for fitting on the rear hub of any electric bike or trike is called rear-mounted motor. There are many reasons for this rear wheel placement including better stability, easy handling, effective power thrust, and equal weight distribution. 

Furthermore, the rear hub motors improve the overall performance of any electric bike or trike and help in easy climbing over sleek heights and mountains.
 

Most Common Advantages of Rear-Mounted Motors

The most common advantages of electric trike rear motors are listed below for your consideration. 

♦  Better Traction

The rear mounting of the electric motor directly affects the traction of your electric bicycle or tricycle. It increases the grip of the rear wheel to improve the performance on ascends, descends, slippery surfaces, and undulating terrains. 

♦  Improved Handling

The rear wheel placement of the motor improves the handling of the bike with equal weight distribution and seamless steering control. You can confidently ride your bike or trike in short turns, diverse terrains, and extreme weather conditions. 

♦  Natural Feel

It offers you a natural feel of traditional non-electric that works with rear wheel thrust. This traditional similarity ensures the traditional biking experience without changing the original working principle of bicycles.

♦  Easier Maintenance

The maintenance of rear-mounted motors is easy as compared to the front-mounted motors. This accessibility streamlines routine activities like changing the rear tire or adjusting the chain and reduces the time and effort required to perform these maintenance tasks. The ease of maintenance not only increases the performance of your bike or trike but also contributes to the long life span of components. 

♦  Compatibility with Derailleur Systems

Rear hub motors are smoothly compatible with almost all traditional derailleur systems and other components. This integration ensures easy availability of parts and allows riders to utilize the original components of the bike without modifications. You can effortlessly modify your front hub bike to a rear hub without changing other parts, except the motor. 

♦  Quieter Operation

Another impressive feature of rear-mounted motors is their quiet operation and reduced noise during the ride, especially at full speed or on difficult terrain. This silent operation increases the comfort and joy of the ride by allowing the rider to feel the surroundings without motor noise. This silent operation is very useful in urban areas where noise pollution is the biggest concern. 

♦  Aesthetics

The rear hub-placed motor elevates the aesthetic of your electric bike by offering a clear and attractive appearance. This consideration not only ensures the aesthetic of your bike but also reflects the commitment to combining style and performance in electric bikes. 

♦  Enhanced Weight Distribution

Most of the newbie and elder riders struggle with weight distribution and maintaining balance issues. The rear hub motors are introduced as a perfect solution by equal distribution of weight between rear and front wheels. The equal weight distribution can help you keep the balance of your trike while riding on uneven terrain or at full speed. Also, it elevates the rider's confidence and proves electric bikes and trikes as a versatile mode of commuting for everyone. 

♦  Regenerative Braking Efficiency

Another important advantage of rear-mounted motors is regenerative braking performance. it helps the weight-shifting process and offers optimized regenerative braking power. This regenerative braking efficiency ensures safe stops during any emergency or normal situation. 
 

What You Should Consider Before Choosing a Rear Mounted:

•  Your power needs

•  Maneuverability and handling 

•  Space consumption

•  Initial cost and your budget

•  Battery compatibility 

•  Maintenance and spare parts availability 
 

Performance Comparison of Rear-Mounted And Front-Mounted Motors

♦  Traction and Stability

Electric trike rear motor offers increased traction and stability during conditions like high speed, difficult terrains, and uphill climbing. Also, it increases the weight distribution and helps the rider maintain the balance. On the other hand, the front hub motorized electric bikes and trikes may not perform well during immediate acceleration and lift the front wheel because of immediate thrust.

♦  Natural Biking Feel

Rear-mounted motor offers a natural biking experience and doesn’t affect the traditional design and working ideology of the bike. Alternatively, the front hub motor looks less familiar to traditional cycling principles and needs a little bit of adoption because of unequal weight distribution. 

♦  Maintenance Accessibility

The electric trike rear motor allows easy access to important parts like tire and chain during maintenance. This makes them more user-friendly and reduces maintenance efforts. On the other side, the front-mounted motor may disturb accessibility and make it challenging to perform normal maintenance tasks of the components. 

♦  Compatibility with Drivetrain Systems

The rear hub motors are more compatible with a variety of different components of bicycles. Alternatively, the front hub motors may need potential adjustment of drive and gear systems. Furthermore, in case of incompatibility, you may need to buy new components to fit a front hub motor on your electric bike or trike. 

♦  Noise Level

The rear-mounted motors are quiet and produce less noise, especially when riding at full speed or going up hills with maximum thrust. This allows the rider to focus on the surroundings and enjoy a more quiet riding experience. But, the front can produce a noise under high speed or full load which contributes to noise pollution and can disturb others. 

♦  Weight Distribution

Rear wheel motors offer equal weight distribution between both wheels and enhance stability for carrying extra load. On the other side, the front hub motor may contribute to unequal weight distribution and affect the stability when carrying cargo or full loads. 

♦  Regenerative Braking Efficiency

Electric trike rear motor capture more energy during deceleration and braking. This contributes to effective braking ability and extends battery life. Alternatively, the front hub motor may perform a bit slower than the rear motors and impact overall braking efficiency and safety. 
 

Top Brands Of Rear Mounted Motors For Electric Bikes

BAFANG:

This is a top manufacturer of rear hub motors among all the others. The brand was established in 2003 and is committed to offering excellence and quality. The company belongs to China and has sales centers all around the Europe and USA. 

They offer a huge collection of rear and front hub motors varying between power of 250W to 1000W. Most of the top brands of electric bikes including Addmotor use Bafang rear-mounted motors on their products. 

DAPU:

This is a Japanese company with a specialty in manufacturing all parts of electric bikes. Their manufacturing plants are located in Vietnam, Japan, and China, and supply units in the USA and all across Europe. 

The e-bike motors of Dapu are a bit expensive compared to Bafang. They offer a huge catalog of around 20 different models of front hub and rear hub motors between the power range of 250W to 1000W. 

MXUS:

This company was founded in 1996, but it focused on electric bike products later in 2004. They have expanded their import/export business for electric bike components throughout Asia, Europe, and North and South America. 

The company offers high-quality front and rear hub motors for electric bikes and e-scooters. Their collection includes 25+ models of both drive-type motors from 180W power to a staging power of 5000W. 

Safety Features of Rear-Mounted Motors

♦  Low-Center-of-Gravity Design

Rear-mounted motors lower the center of gravity of the bike and enhance the stability. This structure helps in simplifying controls and reduces the risk of tripping while taking short turns and riding on slippery surfaces. 

♦  User-Adjustable Power Settings

Most of the rear hub motors offer the ability to the rider to select the level of assistance according to their need and manual pedaling efforts. This specific customization ability plays a crucial role in saving battery and offering a more comfortable riding experience. 

♦  Torque Sensors for Responsive Assistance

Addmotor electric trikes are installed with rear-mounted motors and incorporate torque sensor technology. These sensors automatically measure the rider's pedaling efforts and customize the motor output accordingly to save energy and provide more effective pedal assistance. 

♦  Overheat Protection Mechanisms

The advanced rear hub motors are prepared with a focus on overheat protection. This feature keeps the temperature regulated and avoids overheating to save the motor from malfunctions and ensure safe operation. 

♦  Automatic Power Cut-Off

The latest technology rear hub motors come with an automatic power cut-off switch. The switch comes into action during emergency brakes and immediate deceleration. It cuts off the motor's power and helps the riders maintain balance and control effortlessly. 

♦  Compatibility with Safety Accessories

Electric trike rear motors are designed to accommodate safety accessories such as lights and reflective elements. These additions enhance visibility, making the electric bike more noticeable to other road users and contributing to overall road safety.
 

Expert Tips For Choosing The Best Rear Mount Motor:

•  Consider your power needs

•  Check the maximum torque ability of the motor

•  Look for compatibility with your e-bike or trike 

•  Research and check band reputation

•  Review previous user’s feedback about the product 

•  Assess the integration features 

•  Consider safety measures for motor

•  Check overheating protections 

•  Customization abilities 

•  Consider warranty and support period
 

Conclusion

The rear-mounted motors for electric bikes are a marvel of the latest technology. These motors can offer numerous advantages and can increase the comfort and joy of your rides. The most important benefits of rear hub motors are better traction, improved controls, quiet operation, natural design, aesthetics, easy maintenance, equal weight distribution, and effective braking power. 

The electric trike rear motor also contributes to the increased performance of your bike or trike. This includes the latest technology torque sensing feature, lower center of gravity, automatic power cut switch, and overheat protection to ensure safety during extremely difficult rides. Some of the top-selling products of Addmotor including Grandtan 2024, Triketan M-330 series, and Arisetan M-360 use rear motors and perform very well.