Electric Rickshaw Hill Climb Test: How Each Motor Performs

Why Hills Are the Real Test for an Electric Rickshaw

Ride any of our electric rickshaws across a flat parking lot and you would have a hard time telling them apart. They all roll smoothly, they all pull away from a stop without fuss, and they all reach a respectable cruising speed. On level pavement, the differences between motor configurations mostly show up as a little more or a little less punch when you twist the throttle.

Hills are a different story. The moment the road tilts up, the motor has to haul the rider, the frame, any passengers, and whatever cargo is on board against gravity, and that is where power and torque stop being numbers on a spec sheet. A motor that feels lively on flat ground can slow to a crawl halfway up a grade. Another that seems merely adequate in town can surprise you with how calmly it climbs.

Because so many people buy a rickshaw specifically to carry someone else, whether that is a spouse, grandkids, a pet, or paying passengers on a boardwalk, hill performance is one of the most common questions we hear. So Dustin, our head fit specialist with two decades in the bike and ebike industry, took every rickshaw in our lineup to the same hill on the same afternoon and rode each one up, narrating the whole way. This article walks through what he found, what the numbers mean, and how to use that information to choose the right machine for where you live and how you plan to ride.

Our electric rickshaw lineup currently covers four motor setups, and the test included one of each. The goal was not to crown a single winner for everyone, but to show how each one behaves when the work gets hard.

• 750 watt front hub motor. The motor sits inside the front wheel hub and pulls the trike forward. It is a simple, proven layout and the entry point to the lineup.
• 1000 watt mid drive. Here the motor sits at the crank, between the pedals, and drives the chain. That means it works through the same seven gears you do.
• 1500 watt dual motor, dual battery. This one pairs a 750 watt front hub motor with a 750 watt rear-mounted motor for a combined 1500 watts, and it carries two batteries to feed them.
• Recumbent rickshaw with a 750 watt rear-mounted motor. A laid-back seated position with forward pedals, powered from the rear. The one in the test was also set up with a double battery, which does not change how it climbs but does give extra peace of mind on range.

If the recumbent style is new to you, it is worth browsing our recumbent electric trikes to get a feel for the seating position. It changes the riding experience more than most people expect, and as you will see, it changed the hill results too.

What Every Rickshaw Has in Common

To make the comparison fair, it helps to know how much these trikes share. Apart from the motors, they are built very similarly, which means the differences on the hill really do come down to the drive system.

Every rickshaw in the lineup comes with a hitch, mirrors, seven gears, five levels of pedal assist, and a thumb throttle. Battery sizes are the same across the board, with the dual motor model simply carrying two of them. All four use hydraulic disc brakes, which matters a great deal when you are coming back down a hill with weight on board. If strong, predictable stopping power is high on your list, our collection of electric trikes with disc brakes is a good place to compare options.

The throttle is worth calling out on its own. Being able to move without pedaling is one of the big reasons people choose a rickshaw, especially riders with knee, hip, or back concerns. If that is a must-have for you, you can see every electric tricycle with throttle control we make in one place. In this test, the throttle also gave us the cleanest way to compare motors, because it removes the rider's legs from the equation.

How the Test Was Set Up

Real-world testing is never perfectly controlled, but a few choices made this one as fair as practical.

First, the rider. Dustin weighs about 240 pounds, and each rickshaw weighs roughly 150 pounds. That is close to 400 pounds of rider and machine before a single passenger climbs in. There were no passengers aboard for this run, so think of the results as a baseline. Add people in the back seat and every number will drop, though the order of the trikes relative to each other should hold.

Second, the hill. It is not a long climb, but it is a genuine one. Near the middle, the grade runs somewhere around eight to ten percent, which is steep enough that you notice it on a regular bicycle and steep enough to separate a strong motor from a modest one. Plenty of neighborhood streets, driveways, and park paths fall into that range, so it is a useful stand-in for the kind of hill most owners will face.

Third, the method. On each trike, Dustin started up the hill on throttle alone to see what the motor could do by itself. Then he started pedaling partway up, using pedal assist and the gears, to show how much a little leg effort changes the picture. Speeds were read off the display as he climbed.

Finally, a detail that is easy to overlook: tire pressure. Before the runs, Dustin made a point of checking that all the tires were inflated to the same level. A soft tire has more rolling resistance, and on a heavy trike that resistance adds up fast. If you are comparing your own trike's performance day to day, check pressure first. It is the cheapest performance upgrade there is, and if your tires are worn, we carry replacement tires as well.

Before getting to the results, a quick bit of background helps explain them.

Wattage tells you roughly how much power a motor can deliver, but on a hill the more important quality is torque: the twisting force that gets a heavy load moving and keeps it moving against gravity. Two motors with the same wattage can feel very different on a climb depending on where they are mounted and how they deliver that force.

A hub motor lives inside the wheel and turns it directly. It is simple, quiet, low maintenance, and very good on flat ground. Because it spins at the same speed as the wheel, though, it cannot take advantage of your gears. When the wheel slows down on a steep grade, the motor slows down with it, and many hub motors are less efficient at low speed.

A mid drive sits at the crank and pushes the chain, so it works through the gearbox just like your legs do. Shift into a low gear and the motor gets the same mechanical advantage you do. That is why mid drives are known for strong climbing and quick acceleration, and why the 1000 watt mid drive in this test was expected to outclimb the 750 watt front hub.

A dual motor setup takes a different approach entirely. Rather than squeezing more out of one motor, it splits the work between two. With a motor in the front wheel and another driving the rear, the rickshaw has more total torque available and it is applied at more than one point. On a climb, that shows up as a trike that simply does not seem to care much about the hill.

750 Watt Front Hub: Throttle Only

The first rickshaw up was the 750 watt front hub model. Going in, Dustin was honest about his expectations: he was not sure the throttle alone would carry 240 pounds of rider up the grade, so he planned to start pedaling if the trike stalled. He also shifted down toward a lower gear as the climb began and kept the assist at level one, so he would be ready to pedal efficiently if needed.

On throttle only, the trike did climb, but slowly. It built speed gradually off the bottom and settled at about 5 miles per hour. Dustin noted that the grade was decent and the hill was short, and that the trike was getting it done, just without much pace.

Later, looking back on the run, his read was that the throttle would probably have gotten him to the top on its own, but it likely would have been a struggle near the steepest section, and at a very slow pace. For a solo rider on a short hill, that might be acceptable. With a passenger in the back, expect it to be harder.

Partway up, Dustin started pedaling, and the change was immediate. Speed rose by about 2 miles per hour, from 5 up to 7, and just as importantly, the strain came off the motor.

What is interesting is how little effort it took. He was sitting in fourth gear and said it felt comfortable, with no real straining. He pointed out that you could shift even lower to make it easier still, which is exactly what he would recommend with a passenger on board.

That is the real lesson of the front hub model on hills. It is not built to muscle up a steep grade by itself while carrying a heavy load, but it pairs very well with light pedaling. Think of the motor as doing most of the work while your legs supply the extra bit that keeps it in its comfortable range. Riders who are happy to turn the pedals a little will find this setup perfectly capable on moderate hills.

750 Watt Front Hub on Flat Ground

Coming back down and onto level pavement, the front hub model was a different animal. Dustin described its acceleration on flat ground as really good, and that matches what most owners tell us. Around town, it feels lively and responsive.

On the flat stretch he got up to 16 miles per hour fairly quickly while shifting up through the gears, then backed off because of traffic. Top end on this model is about 20 miles per hour, and that is true on both throttle and pedal assist.

On the descent, he also offered a piece of advice that applies to every rickshaw: take angled turns slowly. A three-wheeled vehicle handles differently from a bicycle in corners because it does not lean, and a long rickshaw with a passenger seat behind you deserves extra caution at the bottom of a hill where speed builds up quickly. The hydraulic disc brakes give you plenty of stopping power, but the smart move is to scrub speed before the turn, not in the middle of it.

If your riding is mostly flat, such as beach paths, boardwalks, or planned communities, the 750 front hub model is an easy recommendation. It is also a natural fit alongside our broader range of electric tricycles for riders who value simplicity.

Next up was the 1000 watt mid drive, and right away there was a wrinkle: its battery was low. Dustin decided to run the test anyway, but it is important context for the results.

Many ebike controllers, including the one on this rickshaw, regulate how much power they send to the motor when the battery gets low. It is a protective measure designed to stretch the remaining charge and protect the battery. Dustin compared it to an electric car that starts limiting features once the charge drops below a certain percentage. The motor still works, but you are not getting its full output.

In this case, the battery display was down to one sliver of a bar. That means the mid drive went up the hill handicapped, and the numbers below should be read as a floor, not a ceiling. With a full charge, Dustin expected noticeably better throttle-only performance.

1000 Watt Mid Drive: The Climb

Even with the low battery, the mid drive showed its character on flat ground first. Pressing the throttle, Dustin could feel it accelerate a bit harder and get off the line a little quicker than the front hub model. After shifting through the gears, he was at 20 miles per hour quickly.

On the hill, he started again with throttle only. The mid drive climbed a bit faster than the front hub, holding about 8 miles per hour. That is not a dramatic jump, but it is a meaningful one, especially considering the battery situation.

Then he started pedaling, and this is where the mid drive earned its reputation. Because the motor drives through the chain and gears, adding pedal input multiplies its effectiveness. Speed climbed to 10, then 11, then 12 miles per hour. Compare that with the front hub model, which reached about 7 with pedaling.

Dustin's summary was that the mid drive did a little better on throttle alone and a lot better with pedal assist. For riders who are willing to pedal, the mid drive turns a hill from something you endure into something you can ride at a decent pace. It is the configuration that most rewards an engaged rider who likes using the gears.

Why Battery Level Changes How Your Trike Climbs

The mid drive run is a good reminder of something that catches many owners off guard: your trike will not feel the same on a hill at 20 percent charge as it does at 100.

Later in the test, before riding the dual motor, Dustin made a point of charging its batteries first for exactly this reason. His rule of thumb is that once you get down to around 25 percent battery, you are going to feel the difference in power. On flat ground it may be subtle. On a steep climb with a passenger, it can be the difference between cruising up and crawling up.

A few practical habits follow from that. If you know your ride ends with a hill, such as the climb back to your house, plan your battery use so you still have a healthy charge when you get there. Use lower assist levels on the flat stretches and save the higher levels for the climb. Charge after rides rather than waiting until the battery is nearly empty. And if you regularly ride long distances with hills, a second battery is worth considering.

We carry batteries and chargers for our trikes if you want a spare. It is also helpful to get familiar with your display so you know exactly where your charge stands; if yours is damaged or you want a replacement, our ebike displays are available too.

Before taking the recumbent up the hill, Dustin flagged something about recumbents in general. With the forward pedaling position, it is harder to generate as much leverage as you can on an upright ride. When you sit upright, you can bring some body weight down onto the pedals. In a laid-back seat with the pedals out in front of you, you are pushing more with your legs alone, braced against the seat back.

That means pedaling contributes a bit less on a recumbent climb than it does on an upright trike, and he expected that to show up in the results to some degree. The open question was how much.

He also had good things to say before the climb even started. From a comfort standpoint, he said he really liked it, and he found it very easy to drive. A recumbent seat supports your back and spreads your weight out, which many riders find much more comfortable on longer rides. It also got off the line pretty quickly, which was a hint of what was coming.

The Recumbent Rickshaw: The Climb

This is where the test produced its biggest surprise. On throttle only, the recumbent's 750 watt rear-mounted motor climbed at about 8 miles per hour, then crept up to 9. Dustin said right away that it felt better than the first 750 watt, the front hub model, and he was able to make it all the way up without pedaling.

In his words, he did not even want to start pedaling. When he eventually did, he described it as real easy, real smooth, with almost no exertion. The contrast with the front hub model was striking. Both are 750 watt motors, but the front hub climbed at 5 miles per hour on throttle while the rear-mounted recumbent held 9.

That roughly 4 mile per hour gap on throttle alone is a useful illustration of how motor placement matters as much as wattage. A rear-mounted motor puts its drive where much of the weight sits, which helps traction and makes for a smoother pull. In this test, it was enough to put the recumbent ahead of even the low-battery mid drive on throttle only.

For riders who plan to rely mostly on the throttle, perhaps because of joint pain or limited stamina, that is an important finding. The recumbent delivered a smooth, confident, no-pedal climb that the front hub model could not quite match.

Beyond the hill, the recumbent has a couple of other advantages worth knowing about. Its lower center of gravity adds stability, which is reassuring in turns and on uneven pavement, and especially welcome for riders who feel nervous about tipping. Combined with the supportive seat, it is one of the most relaxed ways to ride.

On flat ground, Dustin was holding around 17 miles per hour. He noted that reaching the 20 mile per hour mark without the dual motor is challenging at his weight, and a lighter rider might do better. He then shared a technique he uses whenever he wants extra oomph: hold the throttle while pedaling. Combining both inputs seems to give you maximum power, and sure enough, the trike picked up some extra speed when he did it.

If comfort is your top priority, the recumbent rickshaw deserves a close look, and so do the rest of our most comfortable electric trikes. Many of our older riders also gravitate toward recumbents, and you can see more options in our electric trikes for seniors collection.

The Dual Motor: Reverse, Acceleration, and Fresh Batteries

Last up was the 1500 watt dual motor, dual battery rickshaw, freshly charged so it could show its full output. Dustin pointed out two things before the climb.

First, it is the only rickshaw in the lineup with reverse, and with two motors driving, reverse is nice and powerful. That might sound like a small detail until you try to back a long rickshaw out of a tight garage, a driveway, or a crowded parking spot with a passenger aboard. If backing up is something you deal with regularly, take a look at our electric trikes with reverse gear.

Second, acceleration. When he held the throttle down, the dual motor simply took off. Dustin described it as absolutely flying, and he deliberately kept it at a lower assist level on the way to the hill so he would not burn through battery before the test. It also braked well, again thanks to the hydraulic discs, which matters more on a faster, heavier-feeling machine.

At the base of the hill, Dustin put the dual motor in level five and pressed the thumb throttle. The difference was obvious from the first few feet. The trike took off up the grade far more easily than any of the others, and he was soon holding 14 to 14.5 miles per hour uphill on throttle alone, without pedaling at all.

To put that in perspective, the 750 watt front hub model climbed the same hill at 5 miles per hour on throttle. The dual motor nearly tripled that. Dustin did not bother pedaling, saying there was really no point, but he noted that if you wanted to go 16, 17, or 18 miles per hour uphill, you could do it on the dual motor by adding some pedaling.

Once the road leveled out, the speed kept climbing, and he was soon at 19 miles per hour. Top end on the dual motor is 20 miles per hour on throttle, and in pedal assist it may reach 22 or 23. It is also the model that reaches its top speed most easily, simply because it has so much more power available.

His conclusion was direct: the dual motor is far superior in power, speed, and torque. If hills are a regular part of your life, it is in a class of its own within the lineup.

Side-by-Side Results

Here is how the four rickshaws compared on the same hill with the same 240-pound rider and no passengers. Speeds are approximate readings from the display during the climb.

RickshawUphill, throttle onlyUphill, with pedalingNotes750W front hubAbout 5 mphAbout 7 mphLively on flat ground, needs some pedaling on steeper hills1000W mid driveAbout 8 mph10 to 12 mphTested on a nearly empty battery; best gain from pedaling750W rear recumbent8 to 9 mphSmooth, minimal effortClimbed comfortably without pedaling; low center of gravity1500W dual motor14 to 14.5 mph16 to 18 mph possibleFully charged; only model with reverse

In Dustin's overall ranking, the dual motor came out on top, followed by the 1000 watt mid drive. On throttle alone, though, the recumbent actually did a little better than the mid drive, with the important caveat that the mid drive was running on a nearly empty battery. With a full charge, the gap between those two would likely narrow or flip.

The front hub model brought up the rear on the hill, but it is worth remembering that it handled the climb and does very well on flat ground. Last place in a hill test is not the same as unsuitable; it just means it is the model that benefits most from a little help from your legs.

This test was run without anyone in the back, so the obvious next question is how these numbers translate when you are actually carrying people.

Dustin's take on the dual motor was that he could have made it up that hill with passengers on throttle only. He would not have gone as fast, but given that he was climbing at 12 to 14 miles per hour solo, he estimated you could easily hold 8 to 10 miles per hour with passengers aboard. That is a comfortable, unhurried pace for a hill with a full rickshaw.

For the other models, the guidance is more nuanced. The 1000 watt mid drive will be good on some hills, particularly with the rider pedaling in a low gear. On flat ground, all of the rickshaws will be just fine with passengers. Any kind of hill, though, will be more of a challenge for the single-motor models once weight is added.

If you are planning to add the optional subframe with an extra seat or tow a trailer, Dustin was clear that the dual motor is the best choice there too. More weight multiplies everything we saw on the hill. To explore other trikes built around carrying people, browse our electric trikes for passengers, and if you are hauling gear rather than people, our cargo electric trikes are worth a look.

It is also worth checking the total weight you plan to carry against each model's rated capacity. Our electric trikes with high weight capacity collection makes it easier to compare.

Throttle vs. Pedal Assist: How to Climb Smarter

One thread running through this whole test is how much a small amount of pedaling helps. On the front hub model, light pedaling added about 2 miles per hour and took visible strain off the motor. On the mid drive, it pushed the climbing speed from 8 up to 12. Even on the recumbent, where pedaling leverage is lower, adding pedals made an already easy climb feel effortless.

There is a good reason for this. When the motor is working near its limit on a steep grade, every bit of extra input from you lets it operate in a more efficient range. It runs cooler, draws less from the battery, and maintains speed instead of bogging down. You do not need to pedal hard. Light, steady pedaling in a low gear is usually enough.

Throttle-only climbing is still a perfectly valid way to ride, and for many riders it is the whole point of owning a rickshaw. If that is you, choose a model with enough power to climb your hills on throttle alone. Based on this test, the dual motor and the recumbent are the strongest throttle-only climbers in the lineup.

And if you want the most from any of them, try Dustin's technique: hold the throttle while you pedal. Combining both inputs gave him maximum power on the recumbent, and it works on the others too.

All four rickshaws have seven gears, and using them well makes a real difference on hills, especially on the mid drive, where the motor relies on the same gears you do.

Shift before the climb, not halfway up it. As you approach the base of the hill, drop into a lower gear while you still have momentum. Shifting under heavy load in the middle of a steep grade is harder on the drivetrain and can make you lose speed abruptly.

Pick a gear that lets you spin rather than grind. You should be able to pedal at a comfortable cadence without straining. On the front hub test, Dustin stayed in fourth gear and felt fine, but he noted that dropping lower would make things even easier, especially with a passenger.

Match your assist level to the hill. Using a low assist level and a low gear lets you pedal easily while saving battery, which is what Dustin did on the first climb. On the dual motor, he went straight to level five to show what it could do. Most riders will find a happy middle for their own hills after a few rides.

Shift back up as the road levels out. On flat ground, higher gears let you reach your cruising speed without spinning your legs uselessly. Dustin shifted up after each descent to get back to speed.

Battery Habits That Keep Your Climbing Power Strong

The low-battery mid drive run made a strong case for paying attention to your charge level. A few habits will keep your rickshaw climbing the way it should.

Start hill rides with a full charge whenever possible. Power begins to taper noticeably around 25 percent, so a ride that ends with a climb should start with plenty in the tank.

Use lower assist on the flats. Saving higher assist levels for the hills stretches your range and keeps more charge available for the moments you really need it. Dustin kept the dual motor at a lower level on the way to the hill for exactly this reason.

Know your route. If you regularly ride the same loop, you will quickly learn how much battery each part takes. That makes it easy to plan when to push and when to ease off.

Consider a dual battery setup or a spare. The dual motor rickshaw comes with two batteries, and the recumbent in this test had a double battery as well. Extra capacity will not make a motor stronger, but it keeps you away from that power-limiting low-charge zone for longer.

What goes up must come down, and on a rickshaw the descent deserves as much attention as the climb.

All four models use hydraulic disc brakes, and Dustin praised their stopping power more than once during the test. Hydraulic discs need less hand effort than mechanical brakes and stay consistent as you use them, which is reassuring when you are controlling a heavy trike on a downhill.

Even with good brakes, take angled turns slowly. Three-wheelers do not lean into corners the way bicycles do, so a turn taken too fast at the bottom of a hill can feel unsettling, especially with a passenger shifting their weight behind you. Brake in a straight line before the turn, then roll through it gently.

Watch for traffic as you come off a hill. During the test, Dustin was careful not to come barreling into an area with cars, and that is good practice anywhere. A bright helmet helps you be seen too; we carry sixthreezero helmets for that reason. And if you are carrying passengers in the sun, a rickshaw canopy makes the ride more pleasant for everyone in the back.

Which Rickshaw Is Right for You?

With the results in hand, here is how we would match each rickshaw to a rider.

Choose the 750 watt front hub if most of your riding is on flat or gently rolling terrain, you value simplicity, and you do not mind pedaling a little on the occasional hill. It has snappy acceleration around town and reaches about 20 miles per hour on the flat.

Choose the 1000 watt mid drive if you face moderate hills and you like to pedal. It climbs better than the front hub on throttle alone and much better once you pedal, thanks to the way it works through the gears. Keep it charged to get its full output.

Choose the recumbent if comfort comes first and you want to climb without pedaling. Its rear-mounted 750 watt motor climbed smoothly on throttle alone in this test, its low center of gravity adds stability, and the supportive seat makes long rides easy. Just know that pedaling adds a bit less on a recumbent because of the forward pedal position.

Choose the dual motor if you live with real hills, plan to carry passengers regularly, want to add the extra seat subframe or a trailer, or simply want the most power available. It climbed at roughly triple the speed of the front hub model on throttle, it has reverse, and it reaches top speed most easily.

If you are still weighing your options, our ultimate bike buyer’s guide lays out the bigger picture, and there is plenty more reading in our bike advice library.

A video and an article can only tell you so much. The best way to know how a rickshaw will handle your hills is to ride one.

Our personal fitting consultation pairs you with Dustin, who can talk through your terrain, your weight, your passengers, and how you like to ride, then point you toward the right model. If you are near our shop, you can also visit us in person and take any of our ebikes and etrikes for a test ride, just like Dustin did here.

Once your rickshaw arrives, you have time to put it on your own hills. Our 30-day test ride lets you try it at home, and every trike is backed by our one-year warranty covering parts and labor. If you have questions along the way, you can always contact our team.

Final Thoughts

On flat ground, every rickshaw in our lineup is a pleasure to ride. On a hill, the motor matters. This side-by-side test made the differences clear: the dual motor is in a league of its own for power and climbing, the mid drive rewards riders who pedal, the recumbent delivers a surprisingly smooth throttle-only climb with excellent comfort, and the front hub model is a lively, capable choice for flatter areas and riders willing to help on the steeper bits.

Just as useful as the rankings are the habits the test highlighted. Keep your tires evenly inflated. Keep your battery charged, especially before a climb. Shift down early. Add a little pedaling when the motor is working hard, or hold the throttle while you pedal for maximum power. And take your turns slowly on the way back down.

Pick the rickshaw that fits the hills you actually ride, and every trip, whether it is a quick errand or a long afternoon with the grandkids in the back, will be a lot more fun. Enjoy the ride.