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Rivian's TM-B electric bike

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190 points hasheddan | 1 comments | 22 Oct 25 18:00 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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soco ◴[22 Oct 25 18:48 UTC] No.45673474[source]▶
Bear with me I don't know much about bikes but I have this honest question: why does it need a chain, and won't place the engine (or whatever gear box it has) directly on the wheel?
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STKFLT ◴[22 Oct 25 19:02 UTC] No.45673640[source]▶
The biggest reason is minimizing unsprung mass, the performance of the rear suspension would be much worse with a hub motor.
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1. soco ◴[22 Oct 25 23:19 UTC] No.45676383[source]▶
Not all e-bikes have a rear suspension, so the motor will feel the bumps either way pretty much the same, I would guess. Or being placed in the middle halves somewhat the shocks?