What is Torque and how much does your e-bike need?

Torque is measured in Newton meters (Nm) and is a rotational measure of force. Most e-bike manufacturers will list the Nm that the motor will output on their e-bikes.

Think about pedaling on a regular bicycle. The force that you exert onto the pedals is torque - the rotational force that you are personally applying to the crank with your feet and legs via the pedals.

If you are just cruising around gently pedaling, the torque that you are applying is minimal, a small number of Nm.

If however you are riding up a steep hill and are standing up to get more leverage to put more pressure on the pedals, then you are applying much higher torque, a high number of Nm.

When it comes to the torque capability of electric bike motors, the concept is the same, the difference being that the power/torque is being applied by the motor instead of what you are generating with your legs.

The torque on an e-bike is either being applied to the crank (where the pedals are) in the case of a mid-drive motor, or one of the wheels (most often the rear wheel) in the case of a hub-drive motor.

More torque means more power. An electric bike motor with a higher Nm rating will generally get you up and going from a standing start faster and will provide a bigger boost to your pedaling.

Of course there are a number of other factors that will effect how quickly your e-bike gets going, the main one being weight. Think of it like this. From a standing start, you can likely get an empty shopping cart up to running speed in a couple of seconds. However, if that shopping cart is full of crates of water it will take much longer even though the power source - you - is the same.

It's the same with an electric bike. E-bikes are generally heavier than regular bicycles by default, sometimes substantially so, because of the additional weight created by adding a motor and battery and other tech. Bigger motor, heavier bike. Bigger battery, heavier again.

Side note, if either of the e-bikes shown above interest you, at the time of at the time of writing both are available at a large discount.

Currently all Senada e-bikes are on sale, the Herald Pro for example is a massive $600 off. Normally $2099 you can get one now for $1499. In addition, if you buy 2 e-bikes before Valentines Day, you can be ready for couples adventures this spring and receive and additional $400 off the total. Combining the discounts, it's possible to save $1600 on two bikes this week.

If the Urtopia is more your speed, they are also discounted for a limited time. The single speed Urtopia Carbon 1 with 250W motor and 35Nm of torque is $800 off if you use code CLEAN800 and the 7 speed Urtopia Carbon 1s with 350W motor and 45Nm of torque is $600 off with code SPEED600. Even if a bike like this is not your style, it's worth checking this thing out - the tech is unlike any other e-bike on the market today with fingerprint unlocking, built in GPS, voice control, automated firmware updates and other cool bells and whistles.