You definitely still need gears. These systems are designed to work by providing a percentage of assist based on the drive setting you're in as well as how much power the user is generating - and that's affected by what gear you're in. There's a wide spread (500% or so just like with regular wide range 1x setups) in current drivetrains and it impacts the way the bike handles just like on a regular bike. Also, higher cadence/lower load means more efficient use of battery power, so gears in these e-bikes are not only important for control (up, flat, and down) but also for battery management. If I climb in a low cadence and demand more torque from the motor, it uses juice way more quickly than in a high cadence/low torque scenario (I can't give you a number, but it's tangible).
July 13, 2022, 7:43 p.m. - Pete Roggeman
You definitely still need gears. These systems are designed to work by providing a percentage of assist based on the drive setting you're in as well as how much power the user is generating - and that's affected by what gear you're in. There's a wide spread (500% or so just like with regular wide range 1x setups) in current drivetrains and it impacts the way the bike handles just like on a regular bike. Also, higher cadence/lower load means more efficient use of battery power, so gears in these e-bikes are not only important for control (up, flat, and down) but also for battery management. If I climb in a low cadence and demand more torque from the motor, it uses juice way more quickly than in a high cadence/low torque scenario (I can't give you a number, but it's tangible).