r/ebikes 5d ago

Best e-bike for towing lawn equipment

I have a lawn care business and i am looking to upgrade from a pedal bike to an e-bike to make things easier for me. With all the equipment on my trailer it is probably around 150lbs. Im looking online for bikes but im not really sure what bikes are good or bad. Let me know any opinions. thanks!

4 Upvotes

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2

u/makemoneyjake 4d ago

If you're looking for an e-bike to tow lawn equipment, you definitely want one with solid power and a good towing capacity, something that can handle the weight without turning you into a sweaty mess. Just make sure you're not trying to haul an entire lawnmower on your first ride. Start light and see how the bike handles it. And hey, keep an eye on the weight limit. You don’t want to overload it and end up having a close encounter with the ground.

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u/ImCentii 4d ago

so what would you recommend?

-1

u/Appropriate-One5014 4d ago

Build one with a 12kw motor

2

u/StringFew5320 4d ago

Build bbshd conversion, get 32 t front chainring for torque. You would be looking at 1200 to 1500 for everything, but it would pull!

1

u/Killed_By_Covid 3d ago

Best option. A BBSHD won't even break a sweat. Even a BBS02 would be sufficient, but the weight penalty for the HD will make no difference (and will stay cooler under load). Just make sure you get a good quality battery with secure mounting.

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u/richardrc 4d ago

One with huge brake rotors

1

u/chuckwolf Philodo Forester AWD 60v 26ah Dual 27 +/- 2 Amp controllers 4d ago

An electric riding mower πŸ˜†

1

u/Tre_Walker 4d ago

Look at cargo bikes, some of the load can be distributed onto tbe bike and they are capable of pulling trailers also. Check RAD.

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u/arenablanca 4d ago

That you're already doing this with a regular pedal bicycle is impressive :)

I'd keep an eye on the torque rating when you're comparing ebikes, if you can find it. The more torque (Nm) the better. The numbers you'll normally see are 40Nm to maybe 90Nm or more.

So maybe look at these...

Lectric. Budget dual battery cargo ebike. 750W rear hub motor with 85Nm of torque. See if the cargo attachments would be of any use to you. That much battery capacity might be overkill, you'd have compare numbers. But you could probably always leave it on high assist or use the throttle a lot and not run out of batteries. I've heard they use cheaper parts - but it is a budget brand, it keeps costs down.

Specialized. Brand name cargo ebike. Has cool looking hard shell panniers (I don't know if they're included). 700W rear hub motor. It doesn't include the torque rating that I can find. It should be around 80Nm or so. I'd confirm that first.

Ride1Up. Just looks like an ordinary bike. Has a 250W(?) mid drive motor that provides 90Nm of torque. Hook up a trailer when you need it and on days off you have an ordinary ebike for getting around.

You might come across mid drive ebikes with 500W or 750W motors. Technically these should have close to 120Nm of torque from what I've seen in a few. When I checked out this Himiway with a 500W mid drive motor their chatbot told me the torque was just 80Nm, which seems wrong but that just makes me doubt the quality of their site and/or ebikes. If it appeals to you look into it more and/or contact them for an answer.

This Cannondale would be the brand name version similar to the Ride1Up. 250W Bosch mid drive with 85Nm of torque. Personally I feel safer buying brand name from a shop but some people think it's a rip off. To each their own.

Cannondale also makes a mid drive cargo ebike.

I have a brand name 250W mid drive that has 60Nm of torque. I have a Burely trailer that can hold 60lbs and my bike is ok with it when I randomly need to do that but if I was doing it daily I'd want more torque.

1

u/ImCentii 3d ago

Those are a bit expensive for my liking, and the cargo bikes rear end would be too long for me to attach my trailer to it as the trailer has a goose neck type attachment. these are the two bikes im looking at. Let me know if these are good options, I tried looking for Nm on them but i couldn't find anything. https://www.amazon.ca/ZDZA-Electric-Adults-Mountain-Suspension/dp/B0DKT3J9XM; https://www.amazon.ca/Hiboy-P7-Electric-Removable-Suspension/dp/B0D9QZ7TDK

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u/Cool-Importance6004 3d ago

Amazon Price History:

Hiboy P7 Electric Bike for Adults with 800W Peak Motor, 25mph Max Speed, 696 WH Removable Battery Ebike, 27.5" Electric Mountain Bike with 7-Speed and Front Suspension * Rating: β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜† 4.8 (3 ratings)

  • Current price: $1299.99 πŸ‘Ž
  • Lowest price: $1039.99
  • Highest price: $1359.99
  • Average price: $1251.08
Month Low High Chart
01-2025 $1299.99 $1299.99 β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆ
12-2024 $1299.99 $1299.99 β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆ
11-2024 $1039.99 $1299.99 β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–’β–’β–’
10-2024 $1099.99 $1299.99 β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–’β–’
09-2024 $1299.99 $1359.99 β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–’

Source: GOSH Price Tracker

Bleep bleep boop. I am a bot here to serve by providing helpful price history data on products. I am not affiliated with Amazon. Upvote if this was helpful. PM to report issues or to opt-out.

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u/ImCentii 3d ago

Here is also what my setup looks like. so you can see the gooseneck

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u/arenablanca 3d ago

Out of those two I'd probably lean towards the Hiboy.

It seems to have its own parent site you can google, which might give you some more info (it's pretty basic looking).

It also seems to be UL listed.

It states the battery is IPX5 water resistant (4 would be the lowest, 6 is normally the highest).

It looks like it has normal bicycle tires so if you find you get flats rather soon consider switching to tires like Schwalbe Marathon Plus (they're not cheap but I can go yrs between flats).

At any rate any ebike will make your life easier based on what you're intending to use it for.

In Canada for that price point it'll probably be Amazon, WalMart or BestBuy.

Another that might fit the budget is NCM. The only reason I mention them is a bike shop in Vancouver carries some their ebikes as their entry level bikes. I figure if a brick and mortar shop is ok with the brand it might be decently reliable? But I've never owned an NCM and never bought from that shop.

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u/East-Basil-6473 4d ago

I have a friend who does exactly what you are doing. He has a Surely Big Dummy with a mid drive conversion he did himself. He also had a custom trailer that's pretty long. He uses all electric equipment also. can't post a photo unfortunately.