cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/49655095
This is an Ultegra 11s chain after 1000km of wear from a 1500W mid-drive. Used to ride a Tangent back in 2016. T'was shredding till it went *clunk*.
this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2025
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1500 Watts (2 horsepower) is still pushing the limit of the "bicycle" category as a whole. That's at the low end of what 50cc gas scooters output. In some jurisdictions it's enough power to require a drivers license. I guess I'm just impressed with what the ebike world is getting away with calling a bicycle.
Motorized bicycle kits (the cheap ones, 1.5 to 2 HP) come with 410 chain for the drive sprocket, and people often upgrade that to 415 chain, because the 410 is just "okay" for that. (Or is it 415 and 420? Been a while, I forget, but the point is they come with beefier chains than bicycles, and even those are insufficient for 1.5HP.)
Even on a full and proper chain-driven motorcycle, the chain and sprockets need to be replaced kind of regularly, and that's with cleaning and oiling often.
This on a bicycle chain driven by 1500W is no surprise whatsoever.
The ebike world isn't getting away with calling this a bicycle. This was a custom designed mid-drive made by a crazy guy that wanted to shred offroad. This contraption would never pass any legal certification for an ebike. I don't think he made more than a few hundred of these before he stopped making them. In fact that was part of the reason I switched to a small hub. It was lots of fun but both illegal and unsafe. Going over 55kph at the push of a button is not something you want long-term. Accidents happen and the energy the body has to absorb coming to a stop grows exponentially with speed so...
E: The most powerful version was 6KW. Here's a guy riding it, limited to 4KW.
Fair.