E-Bike Motor Wattage: 350W, 500W, And 750W
What does wattage mean for your e-bike? What type of motor wattage should you choose based on the way you ride? And how do you know how much wattage your motor can deliver? We’ll answer all this and more!
Skip ahead if you’d like:
What Is Peak Motor Power Vs. Nominal Output?
How Many Watts Do E-Bike Motors Have?
Is A 500W Motor Enough For An E-Bike? What About 750W?
Take Our Quiz To Find Your Perfect Match
What Is Peak Motor Power Vs. Nominal Output?
When shopping for e-bikes, you may notice 2 unique values for your motor’s wattage. For example, you may see “Nominal” at 500W but “Peak” at 750W. So how do you know what the wattage of your e-bike’s motor really is?
Peak output is how much power the motor can produce for a short period of time. When you rev your throttle up to full blast or engage your highest level of pedal assist up a steep hill, your motor is engaging peak output to give you the most possible assistance for that quick burst.
It’s common for peak output to be about 250W higher than your motor’s nominal output, and that’s the case for nearly all of our Magnum Bikes.
Nominal output is your main consideration when you look at motor wattage. It’s the amount of power your motor normally delivers, and it can provide this amount of power consistently without causing damage. And if you can only find one number listed for your e-bike’s wattage, it’s most likely the nominal output.
Curious how much wattage you’re using while you ride? Look on the righthand side of your Magnum display.
How Many Watts Do E-Bike Motors Have?
Depending on the manufacturer and model, you can find e-bikes come with motor sizes ranging from 250W up to 1000W and beyond.
That said, it’s important to note that e-bikes with nominal wattage above 750W aren’t considered e-bikes by most states and regions. Instead, they’re typically considered to be motor vehicles or mopeds. This means they can only be ridden where cars and other motor vehicles are permitted.
So, how do you decide how much wattage you need?
Is A 500W Motor Enough For An E-Bike? What About 750W?
A number of factors influence the speed and power generated by your e-bike’s motor, including the e-bike’s weight, quality of the motor, and torque. Once you take those factors into consideration, the right motor size for you depends on where and how you most commonly ride.
Steep Hills, Challenging Terrain, Or High Usage Of Pedal Assist And Throttle
For riders who love to tackle steep hills and long rides, a more powerful motor can provide more assistance. The same applies to riders who frequently use the throttle and/or the highest levels of pedal assistance on their e-bike.
When shopping for an electric bike, these riders may be most interested in features like motor size, battery size, and range, and may lean toward a geared hub e-bike with at least a 500W or 750W motor.
Flat Roads, Casual Rides, Or Low To Moderate Usage Of Pedal Assist And Throttle
For riders who prefer to use their own strength and power as much as possible, only tapping into the e-bike’s pedal assistance and/or throttle when the going gets really tough, motor size may not matter as much.
When these riders shop for e-bikes, comfort, style, and bike weight may be more important to them than motor size, so they may consider either direct drive or geared hub e-bikes with 350W motors in addition to the more standard 500W.
Wattage can be a major factor when shopping for your electric bike, especially if you love to ride on challenging terrain. Pictured: Peak Series.
Magnum E-Bikes By Motor Size
Most Magnum Bikes have 500W motors, but there are exceptions! Find your perfect ride below.
Magnum Bikes With 350W Motors
In our current collection, the only Magnum Bike with a 350W motor is the Pathfinder 350. This Fat Tire e-bike has a low-step frame and is a great choice for paved trails and relaxing rides.
The Magnum Pathfinder 350 powers a fun ride on a sunny day.
Magnum Bikes With 500W Motors
Most Magnum Bikes feature 500W motors.
This includes our Cosmo and Navigator series, as well as the Cruiser 1.0 and Cruiser 2.0, Low Rider 1.0 and Low Rider 2.0, Peak T5, Premium 3 High Step and Premium 3 Low Step, Summit 27.5” and Summit 29”, and Voyager models.
In addition, many of the models in our Metro and Pathfinder series feature 500W motors; exceptions within those series can be found in the 350W or 750W sections of this article.
The Premium 3 Low Step represents one of many 500W models available from Magnum Bikes.
Magnum Bikes With 750W Motors
Metro 750, Nomad, Peak T7, Ranger 1.0, Ranger 2.0, and Scout all feature powerful 750W motors built for any way you like to ride.
From bike lanes to trails, 750W e-bikes like the Magnum Scout can take you anywhere.
Take Our Quiz To Find Your Perfect Match
Wondering which e-bike is the best for who you are and the way you ride? We get it!
There’s a lot more to picking out the right e-bike than the motor size alone.
Take our Help Me Choose quiz to see our suggestions for your perfect match.
