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Vacation e-bike rental case study: Las Palmas on Gran Canaria

It sounds just great: go somewhere where it's lovely, but don't rent a car when you're there -- rent an electric bike!

You see more sights, you are closer to nature, and you spend your time doing healthy things. Also: you don't waste any precious holiday time with parking, and you don't emit much CO2. Be a good tourist and don't leave a big footprint. Excellent, right?

In short: it could be -- it should be -- but it isn't always.

Not previously reported: Last year, I tried out renting an electric bike, on the Spanish Canary Island of Gran Canaria.

The Canary Islands are 100 miles off the coast of west Africa, and have a wonderful climate, with an ocean breeze tempering the hot Sahara sun. As a matter of fact, Las Palmas, the capital city of Gran Canaria, has been rated as the large city with the world's most healthy climate. That sounds perfect for bicycling. Even better: with electric assistance, you wouldn't have to worry about sweating in the African heat.

Things started out quite nicely. The rental station is a mobile booth on the quay where giant cruise ships dock.

(Click for higher resolution)

There was plenty of space to try out our bikes, and the friendly owner of the rental company explained everything in a very patient manner.

The bikes looked good, quite new, clean and well-maintained. They were rather heavy, though. Not quite the newest tech.

Off we started, but soon we noticed two things. We were more or less the only people on bikes. Secondly, the sun burned, real hard! Especially under our helmets. (We don't normally wear helmets while bicycling, but the bike rental manager strongly recommended it for Gran Canaria). So we were glad for a lunch break on one of Las Palma's many lovely plazas.

Continuing on, our first impressions became more tangible.

Streets are narrow and traffic is fast in Las Palmas, so even at our rather quick speed of 25 km/h, we felt like we were holding people up.

(Car drivers were more polite than in Germany, though, and never was a horn honked in anger).

Las Palmas has wonderful pedestrian zones and promenades.

But would you enjoy whizzing past people on a promenade such as this one?

We tried to see a lot of Las Palmas, but wherever we drove, we often felt quite foreign, as if we were unwelcome parts of traffic, and not integrated into it, as you are in northern European cities.

It's not like as if Gran Canaria is generally too car-friendly. Villages plazas are mostly car-free and lovely, as it is here:

But how to get there, if all the roads are dominated by cars?

Anyway, we soon interrupted our outing, and went swimming and shopping and got coffee and did all those other things that are great in a beautiful European city like Las Palmas.

Had we been just suffering from some kind of twisted Stendhal syndrome, or was our feeling of unease justified? Well, here's a Google bicycle map of my home town of Frankfurt:

All those green lines are bike paths, or bike-friendly streets. And here's the center of Paris, to the same scale:

A whole lot less bike-friendly density! No wonder I felt less than comfortable when recently renting a bike there. But still much better than Las Palmas:

In fairness, Google bike maps are in beta, and there are some bike paths in Las Palmas that are not shown on this map, for instance parallel to the major yellow road in the east. There is also a "respect bicyclists" traffic-share street going through town from north to south.

But still, I have to conclude: renting a bike is not so nice when a place doesn't have much bike infrastructure. And renting an electric bike makes little sense when your destination makes you feel out of place on a bike!

I have to say however, that it was nice to take the e-bikes out in the evening for some bar-hopping. With care, you can zip through deserted pedestrian areas:

We were thoroughly sunburnt by then, but that was our own darn fault. (But surprisingly, our bike's batteries were also empty by the evening. Not quite up-to-date, indeed.)

Next day, as a part of the rental company's excellent service, our bikes were picked up at our hotel:

What a job! Although I would love to work in a Spanish city, lugging heavy e-bikes into a van sounds less than comfy.

Which may help explain my last quibble: Renting two e-bikes cost us a good deal more than renting the cheapest kind of car in Las Palmas. I know e-bikes are new technology with unproven depreciation and unclear repair costs, so it's hard to calculate a fair rental price. If you are running a business, it may be better to err on the safe side!

But looking at this business from the customer's point of view, I'd say renting an ebike was a highly interesting experience, but in the end, not quite satisfactory. Less than sexy!

All images copyright Martin Schwoerer, except Google maps

Addendum: The Canary Isles are considered by the Spanish government to be underdeveloped, so gas tax is very low, making gas prices the lowest in Europe by far. No wonder everybody drives a car everywhere in Gran Canaria. As so often, bike culture suffers most whenever government actively supports the use of the automobile.

#ebike #ebike rental #e-bike #e-bike rental #canary island #gran canaria #las palmas #las palmas gran canaria #hybrid bike #pedelec #electric bicycle #schwoerer #schwörer #las palmas tourism #pedelec rental

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Binova Flow is Transformative

Oh my, yet another article about electric drive systems?

Yes, even if this might appear more nerdy, or even more geeky, than it does sexy.

But if you read to the end, you'll find why I think that Binova Flow is a technological development with very sexy potential.

First though, some techno-speak.

As I see it, there are three basic configurations for electric bikes. Front-wheel drive, which is cheap and simple and actually pretty versatile, as on ME's system or Cytronex.

Then, you have rear hub motors, which are great for heavy-duty operations, and are favored by such makers as BionX.

Then there are the sophisticated midship-motor systems integrated into the frame, which you get from the biggies: Panasonic, Shimano, Bosch and now Brose.

Midships is great because you have perfect weight distribution and high customability: your bike can have a hub transmission, or a derailleur chain transmission, and you even have a choice between chain or belt drive.

The disadvantage is: your bike's frame needs to be customized to the motor system. In other words, if you are a bike maker and want to integrate Bosch's electric drive into some of your bikes, you need to adapt your bike frames in the development stage as well as on your assembly line, quite a few months in advance.

(Yes yes, I know there are a few exceptions to all this -- the Gruber seat-tube drive, as well as the Sunstream add-on midship drive, as well as  certain friction drives. But let's just follow the gist of my arguments, please).

Anyway, there is now a fourth system on the market: the Binova Flow midship system. What's new, what's so special about it?

* It consists of a integrated bottom bracket, pedal bearing and front sprocket, and includes three sensors (for detecting pedal position, pedalling speed and torque input).

Binova Flow just slides over where your pedals and front sprocket used to be. Thus, you get high adaptability to just about any bike shape.

* It can deal with any type of transmission, and even handle backpedal brakes.

* So, the main advantage is: if you are a bike manufacturer, or even a bike dealer, you can turn any one of your "normal" bikes into an E-bike with no big effort, at short notice.

This is no minor matter. In many countries, bicycle dealers have to place orders many months in advance.

Does your run-of-the-mill bike shop know how many E-bikes they will be selling next summer? No, but they nevertheless have to decide and order next springtime at the latest. They will possibly need to carry pretty high capital costs for stock, especially if sales are slower than expected,

But here's the Binova alternative: order your regular bikes, and in addition order Binova E-bike systems, and then turn any bike into an E-Bike whenever a customer wants one!

There are more advantages to this system, which by the way is made in eastern Germany by auto suppliers used to low tolerances and high durability.

The disc-shaped Binova motor is gearless, is brushless, has quite high torque rated at 60 nM, and is adapted to the new EnergyBus-standard, which means you can use any number of controllers, displays and switches.

Disadvantages: I am not so smitten with the design of the first-generation Binova model I saw in Friedrichshafen -- it looked sturdy, but not pretty. (However, the Bosch system was also somewhat ungainly in its first iteration, and has improved considerably). And Binova claims it can be extensively individualized in color and shape by any customer that orders the right amont.

Alas, Binova was not yet transparent about their expected price levels. And, typically for an automotive supplier, they do not intend to deliver directly to consumers. A rep told me they do not like the product liability dimension of adding electric systems to old bikes, and most dealers are apparently leery of this as well.

Finally, although Binova says Flow is extremely quiet and sophisticated, I was not yet able to test any working model. Binova Flow is slated for introduction in November 2014, and I will keep you posted about anything I hear.

So, what's sexy about Binova Flow? Well, imagine one of your favorite bikes -- say, an elegant, classic Linus. 

Wouldn't this kind of bike, quickly equipped with a Binova Flow system, be sexier than 90% of the E-bikes on the market?

All photos courtesy Binova GmbH 

Addendum October 9: There is something in the air in Saxony. Here is another company that has developed an integrated, sophisticated add-on electric system. http://www.pendix.bike Product introduction 2015. I'll keep you informed!

#e-bike #ebike #Electric bike #electric assist #electric bicycle #eurobike #Pedelec #binova #binova flow #gearless #disc motor #pancake motor #schwoerer #schwörer #martin schwoerer

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Höganäs / Skeppsult: Towards a Volvo of E-Bikes

Long-life sturdy, useful in all kinds of weather, everyday reliable, and oozing with Scandinavian aesthetics: that's how us fogies remember Volvos. Now, how about an electric bike that embodies those values?

This is not some trivial matter. Electric bikes may work well in everyday situations. But for a task that is really demanding -- for a task that sounds exactly like what you need electric assist for, such as climbing a steep mountain for two hours -- most are not really so good.

Push a typical E-bike hard and it will get hot under the collar (it will literally overheat), will lose power, might even shut itself down.

This is the niche that Swedish company Höganäs wants to occupy: highest-quality, useful engineering.

Högenäs is an old-school engineering company with operations in 83 countries. Its e-bike system is called Eclino. They say it is the most efficient propulsion system on the market, with particularly high torque of up to 45 nM. They also promise a higher electrical efficiency than the Bosch system.

On the battery side, Eclino claims to have the most robust energy deliver. Höganäs says Eclino also has the most sophisticated sensors, to enable a highly smooth and comfortable ride. All this is coordinated in a rather unique motor control unit, the MCU --  a "black box" mounted to the frame which is the heart and brain of the drive system.

All of this, of course, is theory. But if the bike that I tried out is typical for Höganäs, then they are on to something.

I test-drove an Eclino-equipped Skeppshult-brand bike. (Skeppshult is a quite old Swedish maker of bikes and one of the few remaining that produce their own frames.) Here's how a typical non-electric Skeppshult bike looks like:

The first impression: this is some elegant, old-school, high-quality machinery, with a nice industrial look! The second thing I noticed was how mechanical and clickety-clack all controls felt.

And the third impression came while riding: wow! This is the first completely silent electric bike I have driven. Does it really matter whether a slight electric whine accompanies your e-bike travels? No. Is is still quite magic to have silent power? Yes!

Quite uniquely, the Höganäs-powered Skeppshult was not overly sporty, like some Bosch-powered bikes tend to be. Neither was it too upright and somewhat ungainly as the Dutch-style e-bikes are. Instead, it just felt  muscular, solid, unpretentious, comfortable, like it could go through a decade with no wear whatsoever.

Price? A Höganäs guy spoke of something around €2,000, which is less than double the price of a non-electric, 7-gear Skeppshult, and in my book quite reasonable. But the Skeppshult-Höganäs bike is just a prototype, a mule to show the electric system's potential. But if they decided to sell it, I'd be a potential buyer for sure.

#Höganäs #Skeppsult #Eclino #ebike #swedish #e-bike #electric bicycle #Electric bike #schwoerer #schwörer #Pedelec #eurobike #electric assist

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Eurobike, part 6: Cheap and Cheerful, Momentum Hits the Spot

Have you, like me, ever dreamt of buying some electric equipment off the shelf, so as to just bolt it on to your bike, and then presto: You got an E-bike?

It sounds simple -- you can get power drill batteries at any Home Depot, and you'll find an electric motor in any household or kitchen device. Heck, young girls are converting refrigerators into electric cars this very minute! But obviously, it isn't simple, especially if you are technically dumb, like me. But if you're really smart, say Silicon Valley garage-startup smart, you should be able to do it, right?

Well, that's what I suppose the young folks at Momentum Electric said to themselves: this can be done!

And to illustrate their point, let me illustrate the concept.

Simple yet lightweight bike + simple, robust, reasonably powered front hub motor + simple two-speed SRAM automatic rear hub transmission

minus --

heavy suspension, minus heavy expensive disc brakes, minus overpowered motor...

Equals: Low price (€1,400.00), low weight (from 19 KG including battery, whereas the battery itself weighs 2.4 KG), reasonable range of 35 miles, low maintenence... high enjoyment!

I first saw the two Momentum models at last year's Eurobike. There is a masculine "Upstart" model as well as a step-through "Model T", both selling for the same price. This year, they were in Friedrichshafen once again, attesting to their staying power. But how do such reasonably-priced machines ride?

Very nice -- much better than you could expect. It seems they have invested much into the quality and sophistication of the sensor technology, so that you actually get motor assist when you need it. In other words, it is not laggy or jiggly, or stop-starty. You get assist when you need it and it stops when you don't. Both of the Momentum bikes felt fruity and linear.

In addition, handling is good. These are not overweight, cumbersome,  top-heavy machines.

I tried both their models. First, the Upstart, which is intended to be their sporty urban runaround.

It's very wieldy -- a pleasant machine, slightly old-school: you can hear the motor, but it is not loud, and you can tell this is a front-wheel drive system, so it is not as sophisticated as a typical Bosch-powered bike. I'd say it offers 75% of the ride at 50% the price.

I liked their second model, the Model T, even better. It weighs slightly more: 23 KG including battery. But for that increase in heft, you get step-through comfort, an upright seating position, mudguards, and fantastic carrying capacity. (My tester had an optional front luggage rack which gave it a donkey-like quality).

By the way, it was my first ride with an electric equipped with the ultra-simple SRAM two-speed automatic transmission.

Automatix runs with no wires and no direct input from the driver. Instead, it operates according to a very simple principle: It downshifts to first when you are slower than 15 km/h, and shifts to second when you are faster than 15 km/h. I felt this is a great system for an urban bike! Your gear ratio is fine for accelerating from zero, but you get longer legs as you speed up. And the electric assist turns hills and headwinds into small change. (Not mountains though)

Before I end this rather long rave review, let me show you the excellent detailing on these bikes. This ain't no improvised sweatshop job!

(All photos up to this point copyright the author).

Postscript September 25, 2014:

I hear that ME is planning to introduce a mid-engined, Gates belt-drive bike at a similar low price point. I'll keep you posted on developments. Pic of the prototype here:

#momentumelectric #me #sram #automatix #upstart #modelt #ebike #e-bike #eurobike #electric bicycle #schwoerer #schwörer #Pedelec #electric assist #sram automatix

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Eurobike, part 5: Vivax -- extremely light and advanced, and niche-y

Does the world need another one of those gorgeous, but pricey electric bikes where excellent engineers demonstrate their ideal of an electric bike? Take a look, and decide for yourself.

An Austrian company, Vivax uses frames and components made by Müssing and Steinbach (i.e., high-quality to those in the know). Different from most, the Vivax motor is hidden in the seating tube -- elegant and inconspicuous.

What's great about it? First of all, it looks fantastic: you can't see the bike is electric when you ride without a battery. There's nothing to see, there's nothing to steal or to vandalize. And, it is light-weight (only 1.8 KG, making it the world's lightest drive unit for bicycles).

That means: assuming you are a reasonably fit bicyclist, you only use the electric assist when you really need it, i.e. to climb hills, to kill a headwind or to speed up those last 20 miles after a long day of riding. For such purposes, 110 Watts of assistance and ten-hours capacity are good enough. It may sound meagre, but in my book, weaker is slimmer is better!

Vivax assist is available as a retrofit kit, or you can chose from a considerable range of to-go bikes. The lightest of which (the carbon-frame E-Racer) weighs only 9.9KG (including a bottle battery, but oddly enough, not counting pedals).

Now, I am not one to make a fetish of light-weight bikes -- I always say, instead of going for carbon, just lose some of your own fat first. But the low weight of the Vivax means you really only need the electric assist on those specific occasions, which makes a lot of sense.

What's not so great? As mentioned, prices starting at €3,600 make this a niche model. And at Eurobike, they didn't have any specimens available for test drives, so I can't tell you exactly how good a drive it is.

#vivax #gruber #lightweight electric #carbonframe electric #e-bike #ebike #Pedelec #electric bicycle #electric assist #schwoerer #schwörer

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Rockin' the Velib in Paris: More Power, Please

Last week, I spent a few days in sunny, wonderful early-autumn Paris. Where my girlfriend and I rented a bikeshare bike (Vélib) several times.

So, before I report more from the e-bike world, allow me to make a detour, so to speak, and tell you about how it is to bike in the world's most sexy city.

(This is the view from a Velib's seat...)

Secondly, Vélib is a quite excellent system for a visitor. You can pre-register online, for what in my case was only €8.00 for a whole week. For that price, every first half-hour of bike rental was free of additional charges. That's a great deal! Also, you don't have to worry about locking up your bike after use, like you would if you had a regular rental. You just return it to one of the hundreds of automatic Vélib stations.

It was fun and easy to unlock two bikes on a lovely Sunday morning. We bikestrolled towards the nearbye Seine and enjoyed the lively riverbank scene. It had everything: cafes, restaurants, children's play areas, gardens, picknickers, roller skaters, jugglers, normal folks just out on a stroll... a practically perfect and incredibly beautiful urban playground.

We wanted to cross town to check out a foody exhibition in the giant eastern park, the Parque Villette. And that is where using the Vélib got a bit tiresome. We wanted to park our bikes around the national library, go for a coffee, and then -- having gotten around the 30-minute limit -- continue on. But all spaces in the Vélib stations were occupied; we couldn't return the bikes.

Obviously, a penalty is €1.00 per additional hour of use is nothing to worry about, but we felt stupid, biking around, looking for a place to lock up our bikes. It was a waste of precious time...

Continuing our trip a while later, we discovered the limits of the Vélib bikes themselves. They are very sturdy, to prevent vandalism and breakdowns, and so they weigh in at 22.5 Kilos, which is almost e-bike - heavy.

So, with their simple 3-speed Shimano Nexus transmissions, cycling longer distances is a bit of an ordeal. We found ourselves getting rather sweaty, and a distance I bicycle on a regular basis -- 10 KMs -- felt long indeed.

Next day was a normal working Monday, and we were audacious enough to try another cross-city ride. Too audacious, actually: sharing the roads with taxis, delivery vans and especially, with the multitudes of scooters and motorcycles was no fun at all.

The latter two like to share bike paths with bikes. Quite honestly: what is the point of all modern technology if motorized two-wheelers enjoy rather large loopholes. which allow them to spew emmissions with abandon? No catalytic converter; two-stroke engines: this means as a bicyclist, you are sharing space with vehicles that emit 1980-style poisons. Actually,  around 20 times what a modern car emits.

(Motorcyclists exhaust at every traffic light included!)

Also, our Vélibs did not feel so happy on the often potholed, often cobbledstoned bike paths.

So, after about 45 minutes, we were glad to turn in our bikes and take the métro for the rest of our journey.

Don't get me wrong: I think Véib is fantastic for short distances. And anything that gets people onto bikes is great (and the Vélibs are extremely popular!)

But for our purposes, it would be a lot better if those sturdy, heavy bikeshare bikes had electric assistance (and perhaps better suspensions).

In sum: Paris is my favorite city for walking. It is my favorite city for just about everything else! But for bicycling, my home town of Frankfurt is somewhat nicer.

#paris #vélib #bikeshare #ebike #e-bike #velib #frankfurt #schwoerer #schwörer

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i:sy does it?

Can a collapsable bike be sexy? They may look geeky, but as a matter of fact a certain kind of European nerdy hipster loves 1970s-style urban bikes.  As a hipster accessoire, they are sure less of a cliché than the average fixie. There is a utilitarian practicality to collapsables that comes from being forced to be lightweight and simple.

It does not try to be a Brompton competitor -- in other words, it doesn't do any magic tricks of collapsing from full size to pint-size. But two i:sy's fit into an average car's trunk. And its makers claim that with its 20-inch wheels and highly-rigid frame, it has quite good handling -- better than just about any other foldable.

I tried the 8-gear hub-drive model. First of all, I couldn't help being impressed how adaptable it is. One size fits all; all you need to do is use the quick-flip handles to change the height of the handlebar and seat. This is merely a matter of seconds.

So, what about the wobbliness, the uncertain feeling that if you're not careful you'll land in the ditch, that small-wheeled bikes tend to have? I am happy to say, it's no big deal. For what it's worth, twenty inches is actually a pretty giant size for a car's wheel, so it's not that much of a wonder that with some good engineering, the i:sy feels stabile.

And good engineering is what this bike seems to have. According to its maker, i:sy has a very low center of gravity and a very stiff frame. Everything worked seamlessly: the electric drive was smooth as could be expected from a second-generation Bosch system. The gearshift handled the demonstrator hill easily, and I negotiated the sharp curve at the top of the hill without a wobble.

It's not excessively heavy, either, weighing in at 22 kilos.

i:sy has been on the market for almost a year, and is quite popular among vacation rental companies because of its, yes, easy adaptability. Its maker claims to have sold "a great amount" in its key markets Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Belgium.

It's not for you if you need a bike you can lug under your arm for the daily bus or train commute. But it is great for a trip to the ever-more-common European city where you need to park way outside the city center. Or, use it for a vacation where you need local transport, for example to get to a beach 8 miles away. Or if you need to get your bike into an elevator, to take it into your apartment in the evening. You might even consider i:sy, due to its easily adaptable nature, for a family in which certain members only occasionally need an electric bike -- say, for a weekly trip to Grandma to help her with shopping.

The electric i:sy costs about double its non-assisted equivalent, adding up to €2,600.00 retail. The price sounds almost realistic to me. So, my verdict: this is a very useful bike. Just don't tell Alexei Sayle.

#isy #i:sy #collapsable bike #klapprad #alexeisayle #brompton #bosch #Pedelec #e-bike #ebike #Electric bike #electric bicycle #electric assist #eurobike #schwoerer #schwörer

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Velosolex: Beauty you can afford. But do you really want one?

I had a Velosolex motorized bicycle almost 40 years ago. You probably know them from movies: black sturdy bike, primitive engine on top of front wheel, simple and iconic. Recently on vacation I saw electric Solexes in France, and I noticed that just about everybody who was riding them was smiling. 

The new Velosolex, in tested guise called Solexity, was designed by Pininfarina, famous Italian car stylists, and intends to mirror the classic Solex look, but not to ape it.

It does that pretty well, I would say, with the old-style motor gone but inspiring a roundish headlight fixture, and a generally old-fashioned sturdy style. You might find it a little too retro, but in France it looked quite charming.

Prices are excellent. For €1,200.00, you get the basic model, with a Shimano Nexus 7-speed hub transmission, V-brakes, and a useful front suspension. I also tried the chainless Solexity Infinity (as pictured), which has a disc brake and a chainless shaft drive, and costs €500.00 more. No more wearing out chains, no dirty trouser legs, yay!

But sadly, as the British say, you gets what you pays for. The Solexity drives like something from 2006. There is no assistance from the get-go, but then it kicks in rather abruptly. And certainly not noiselessly, either. Equally unrefined are the Solexity's manners around the legal top speed of 25 km/h: full power at 25, zero at 26. Of course, you can finesse it by watching the speed indicator carefully and driving close to the 25 km/h limit, but that doesn't exactly make for a relaxed or pleasurable ride.

Is it any good as an unassisted bicycle? Well, weighing in at 23 KG without batteries, I'd say no. But the original Velosolex was useless as a bike when you turned the motor off as well, so perhaps I shouldn't complain.

For the first-time user who rents an e-bike while on vacation, this is quite nice. And it explains the happy faces I saw while in France. But for me? Not quite good enough, even at its low price.

#velosolex #solex #solexity #pininfarina #yougetswhatyoupaysfor #e-bike #ebike #Pedelec #electric bicycle #Electric bike #electric assist #eurobike #schwoerer #schwörer

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New Shimano system: A small Step for mankind, but a large one for bicyclists

One of the major product introductions at Eurobike was Shimano's Steps e-bike system. I think it's great!

A guy at Hamburg-based bike maker Bergamont explained to me what Steps is all about.

Sounds good, but how does it work out? Well, the new Bergamont bike I tried out was an excellent example. It had an 8-gear Shimano hub transmission coupled to a Steps electric drive (which, by the way, is impressively compact and nice-looking).

Your gearshift is pushbutton, electric: no more pulleys running from your handlebar to the back end of your bike. (I imagine that true wireless connectivity will come soon, too). When you shift gear, the system automatically takes some power / some load off the transmission system by cutting the electric power for a split second. Thus, what tended to be a shuddery, noisy operation is now smooth and quiet. And easy on the mechanicals, too!

This, I can profess, is especially noticeable when you downshift on a hill. It just behaves like a nice car's automatic transmission: shmoove. Another benefit is also as you have it with an old-style car's torque converter transmission: it automatically gets into lowest gear when you stop. No more problems in downshifting from a stop!

I really liked Shimano Steps. It feels great, like an invention of excellent quality, and not just like a gimmick. But I am not convinced, to be honest, how wise it is to have ever more electric parts on a bicycle. What always has been a fix-it-yourself machine is slowly turning into a overcomplicated device that has to be repaired by semi-engineers making $75 per hour.

The charm of the bicycle has always been that you can take one that is 50 years old and enjoy it almost as much as a brand new bike, after you treat it to some TLC. How complicated will the owner experience be for a 10-year-old bike with Shimano Steps?

That said, it really makes for a great ride. Even though I was not quite as  happy with the geometry of the Bergamont bike right after I had rode the Moustache (previous article): it felt unnecessary sporty for urban transport. I sure liked the front-end luggage rack, though!

Retail: 2,399.00 with derailleur. €2,599.00 with electric-shift hub.

In sum: Bosch used to be my favorite e-bike system but now, based on first impressions, I like Shimano Steps even more.

#shimano #shimanosteps #shimano steps #bergamont #e-bike #ebike #Pedelec #electric bicycle #electric assist #eurobike #schwoerer #schwörer

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Eurobike, part 1: Lundi, by Moustache is Beautiful and Strong

The French sure have a way with style... which can turn into a compelling commercial argument, when the technical side of a product is good, too. Let me tell you about this highly stylish French e-bike, and you can decide whether you like the technology as much as I did.

(Please click for higher resolution. All pictures copyright Martin Schwoerer).

Or check out the unusual shape of the handlebar. Here's a view from the driver's seat:

So far, so good, but how does it drive? Well, to be able to imagine that, picture a tube within a two-by-four. That is the shape of the frame's beams: an aluminum pipe surrounded by a square aluminum casing. Moustache claims it is airplane-type tech. The result is intended to be highly rigid. And I can report: that is how it feels. Even though the Lundi is a step-through construction, it feels like a very stabile, strong, made-for-men type bike. I noticed no flexing on potholes. In combination with the rather fat tires (Schwalbe Fat Francks), this made for a fun, comfortable ride where you sit upright and feel totally in control. Dealing with tight curves was no sweat, really.

The motor is made by Bosch, so I can report it has the usual seamless, high-quality assist. My tester had a Shimano 9-speed derailleur, but for an additional €500.00, you can order a NuVinci stepless transmission.

Is it any good to drive without electric assist? Well, at 24KGs fully loaded, I found the Lundi a bit on the heavy side, and at the slightest hill you'd be rather slow. But on the other hand, the weakest of the Bosch system's four assist levels ("Eco") was enough to keep me at an easy yet zippy 25 KM/h.

My verdict: this is a great bike that looks beautiful and rides very well indeed. I myself would like to own one.

#moustache #lundi #moustache lundi #fat francks #bosch #e-bike #ebike #Pedelec #Electric bike #electric bicycle #electric assist #eurobike #schwoerer #schwörer #nuvinci

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Going to Friedrichshafen, tomorrow!

Yes! I'll be down by Lake Constance

tomorrow to check out the latest in E-Bike niceness, at this year's Eurobike trade show. The weather looks good too, so it will be test drives galore, and pictures posted aplenty!

Watch this space, and over the weekend you'll see my impressions of the prettiest, snazziest, sexiest, lightest, most uncomplicated and most useful new E-Bikes the world has to offer.

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E-Bikes in Tokyo: Advanced, Everyday Usefulness

Life is what happens when you are making other plans, as John Lennon said. My "other plans" were to spend a day at Eurobike 2012 in Friedrichshafen, southern Germany, to check out the newest developments and hottest products of European E-bike makers. But then I received emails that said some business meetings I have been trying to set up for some time could happen, on short notice, in Tokyo. So off to Japan we went!

Tokyo was hot and humid and wonderful. One thing that struck me quickly there is how many electrically-propelled bikes there are! Here are some pictures I took.

Generally, bicycles in Tokyo are slimline, elegant, and ubiquitous. It used to be that "grannies on bicycles" were the typical two-wheel scene in Japan, but now you see bikes everywhere, used by all kinds of people. Here is a nice restaurant neighborhood, in Naka-Meguro (please click on the pic for higher resolution):

As ubiquitous "regular" bikes are, you also see scores of electric bikes wherever you go. But in contrast to the situation in Germany for instance, they are not mainly used by senior citizens as a way of getting around. Instead, you see many locked up near subway stations, used by commuters. Here, for example, near Yoyogi park:

Or check out this Panasonic in Shinjuku:

In Harajuku, I saw many E-bikes, most of which were Panasonic-type, for everyday shopping, commuting purposes, and for transporting a child.

Another view here. Note how everybody has a transportation basket or a luggage-carrier. You don't wear a rucksack in tropical heat!

They sure do seem popular among mothers for carrying children, as well as for getting the shopping done. (Or are these for Dads, too? Probably.)

You see brands that nobody knows in Europe. A.C.L. anybody? I like!

In terms of convenient public storage, I'd say Tokyo is not quite as advanced as Copenhagen, or even my home town of Frankfurt. But private solutions are often quite pretty. Check out the lock on this "Assista" - brand bike.

Summers in Tokyo can get rather wet. No wonder, that people use closed transport containers.

I know that Japan has extremely low criminality, yet I was surprised to see unlocked umbrellas! Life is certainly simpler when you don't have to worry about little things getting stolen all the time.

I like to say that the main point of an E-bike is to increase your geographical range: instead of being limited to 3-5 miles, you can easily handle 7-10 miles. But in Tokyo, it seems, one of the main points is to be able to transport all your shopping easily!

Lots of shopping, and your kid as well: you'd need a Mariposa for that (here, in Roppongi. Somewhat ungainly small wheels, but sometimes practical considerations are trump).

Here is a fire-department-red Hybrid (sorry for the poor picture quality). Imagine being a young kid, and having your Dad drive you around on one of these.

I prefer the more-elegant Panasonic style, though (again, in Roppongi):

By the way, more bike paths are being constructed, and perhaps one day Japan will have a level of bike usage comparable to the 'best' European cities.

So you see, E-bikes are already an everyday product in Tokyo. They are everywhere, except on very busy roads, and they all seem to be the high-quality, central-motor types made by Panasonic, Sanyo et al. You don't see the heavy, massive-aluminum constructions preferred by German seniors, and neither are the sporty and urban types I have focussed on in this blog a factor yet.

Are E-bikes in Tokyo sexy? Yes, in a special Japanese way. Discrete, elegant, useful, like a Lexus car. Grown-up, too. We can learn a lot from Japan!

#tokyobike #tokyo bicycling #ebike tokyo #e-bike tokyo #e-bike #ebike #Pedelec #Electric bike #electric assist #electric bicycle bike #schwoerer #schwörer

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Protanium's Shaft: The Baddest System on the Streets

I can't make it to Friedrichshafen next week to report on this year's Eurobike event. On short notice, I've booked a flight to Tokyo! (Business is waiting for me there....)

So, here's a report in advance of Eurobike -- I find this new drive system so exciting, I couldn't wait to blog.

Most e-bike blogs are add-ons. The diamond-frame bicycle is already highly evolved, so it seems logical to just strap a motor and a battery to make it quicker and stronger. However, this makes what tends to already be a slightly cluttered and unsimple machine, what with all the light fixings and brake lines and gearshifts, into something quite fragile looking, complicated, and unfinished.

Today's cars certainly don't look like horse-and-buggies minus the horse, with an engine bolted on. So I've been waiting for somebody to give the electric bike a thorough re-think.

Typically for Protanium, the battery is a slender, elegant, well-integrated design, so there's nothing to spoil a bike's silhouette here either.

Integrating all drive components into one package has more than aesthetic appeal. The less fuddly stuff you have, the easier and cheaper it is to manufacture. How about the price, availability, and up-close quality of Shaft? I'll tell you when I see it at Eurobike. In the mean time, I'll be excited about this real advancement in e-bike technology. 

#Brian Hoehl #Brian Höhl #Lars Munksoe #Lars Munksö #best electric bikes #bike electric #bikes electric #brian höhl #e-bike #ebike #electric bicycle #electric bicycle bike #electric bike #electric bike bicycle #electric power bike #hybrid bike #martin schwoerer #pedelec #protanium #shaft drive #eurobike 2012 #on

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Kranium: Cardboard Protects Your Brain

(And now, an off-topic public-service announcement.)

It's made of cardboard, so it's fully recycleable. There's no more styrofoam which will  spend the next two thousand years on garbage heaps... The Kranium Ecolution (which I elect as candidate to this year's Naff Names competition), has a honeycomb shape, so it is likely to be less sweaty on your head than something made of plastic that sticks to your skull.

But most importantly, it offers superior crash resistance. The Kranium, which was developed at the Royal College of Art in London, absorbes four times as much crash energy than a conventional helmet. While helmets made of polystyrole have not been improved much over the last decades, the Abus represents a real safety innovation.

It looks pretty good, too.

#bike electric #bikes electric #best electric bikes #electric bicycle bike #electric bike bicycle #electric power bike #ebike #e-bike #pedelec #electric bike #electric bicycle #hybrid bike #martin schwoerer #helmet #abus #cardboard helmet #recycleable helmet

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The All-Wheel-Drive Biketronic is Fantastically Mad

You may have noticed that I have a notion of an ideal e-bike: lightweight, elegant, uncluttered, simple. But free choice is one of the perks of capitalism, and it will take all kinds of bike to satisfy everybody. So here is my first take on a monster bike.

Of course, the friendly people at Austria's Biketronic wouldn't call it a monster bike -- they say their Evo Pro is "the biking equivalent of a sports car", with "agressive" acceleration to beat the best. You don't need to decide whether you want a front-hub or rear-hub motor: you get both, at 600W each, adding up to 1.2KW. For what it's worth, that is over 1.6 horsepower, on a bike weighing less than 20 KG.

What can you do with all this power? Well, for one, climbing up that mountain that used to take all day is now a breeze -- the Evo Pro easily handles an elevation gain of 1,000 meters, at excessively steep angles.

So what we are taking about is doing things previously reserved for dirt motorcycles.

It does all this without looking strange. Its Li-Ion polymer battery is located within a water bottle, and the bike's electronics are also located inside a water bottle, albeit a smaller one.

(The slightly less over-the-top Biketronic Evo Race)

I tried out the Evo, and it sure is a handful. Of course, you don't need to activate both motors but when you do, they give you a kick comparable to an unbroken horse. But this is not some made-in-a-garage, overpowered machine; the Evo is quality equipment and I soon found myself enjoying a controlled and immensely powerful driving experience.

All this, for €4,700.00. And the way our society works -- the way people buy 500-horsepower off-road cars to cruise the cities -- you'll be seeing this kind of e-bike on urban boulevards soon enough.

I wouldn't look so sceptical if I were you (photo of Biketronic staff, at Eurobike trade fair, copyright the author)  

#bike electric #bikes electric #best electric bikes #electric bicycle bike #electric bike bicycle #electric power bike #ebike #e-bike #pedelec #electric bike #electric bicycle #hybrid bike #martin schwoerer #biketronic #biketronic.at #evo pro #mtb #electric mtb #awd bike #evo race #ott

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Ford's Smallest EV: An Electric Bike

Here is another previously published article. You could find it here, first:

http://evworld.com/article.cfm?storyid=2030

Exclusive interview with Erika Tsubaki at the Frankfurt Auto Show.

An electric bicycle, by Ford Motor Company, shown at a major car show? Why would Ford build an electric bike?

Well, the first answer that comes to mind is: why not? After all, 900,000 bicycles with electric assistance were sold just in Europe last year, with a strong upward trend.

But we wanted to know more about Ford's motivation, and what plans may be in store for the future. After all, Ford's e-bike is a quite gorgeous, desirable machine -- all the more impressive given that it is Ford's first effort in this field.

So in Frankfurt during this year's IAA international motor show, we jumped at an opportunity to have a talk with Erika Tsubaki (who is Ford's Design Manager overseeing the e-Bike project).

Martin: Please tell us about the e-bike project's background.

Erika Tsubaki: Well, Ford of course is a global company, and we have been noticing that in many places, emissions regulations are becoming quite strict. You cannot sell a conventional internal-combustion moped in so many Chinese cities anymore, for instance.

And we have been getting a certain amount of pressure from Ford dealerships all over the world to build something that can lure young people, and urban-lifestyle people, into dealerships.

Martin: The dealers asked for it?

Erika Tsubaki: Yes, that is where it came from. Apparently, Ford's dealers worldwide don't see bikes as something harmful to the auto business, but instead they see e-bikes as an effective supplement to their existing business. Also, e-bikes are perceived as a good entry vehicle to make people comfortable with electric-propulsion technology.

Martin: So it was a logical step to develop an e-bike?

Erika Tsubaki: It was a logical step, where new technology meets new regulations. We also figured it would fit our brand if we did it right.

Martin: And that means?

Erika Tsubaki: That means, our e-bike would have to look different from other e-bikes. You'd have to be able to tell from a distance that it was a Ford product. And it would have to demonstrate Ford's R&D abilities in terms of cutting-edge yet sensible technology.

Martin: When was all this happening?

Erika Tsubaki: The project really began rolling in mid-June. So you could say it took us six weeks to develop this working prototype.

Martin: Six weeks? That's incredibly short!

Erika Tsubaki: Well, we like to think that is what a company with Ford's global development facilities and talents can do, if they put their mind into it.

Martin: So please tell us why Ford's e-bike looks like it does.

Erika Tsubaki: In order to make the bike easy identifiable as a Ford, we wanted to integrate some basic elements of our design language into it. What is quite obvious is the U-shaped, trapezoidal frame that might vaguely remind you of Focus's front.

This is typical for Ford's "Connected Design" language which we hope is both clean and strong. It looks good but has a strong functional aspect as well, since the trapezoidal shape makes it easier to climb aboard this bike. We wanted it to have a "cross-gender" appeal: we did not differentiate between male and female versions, so we wanted it to be easy to get onto.

The trapezoid-shaped basic frame was good, because we found that it was strong enough to carry heavy persons weighing up to 110 KG. It was also able to withstand the stresses of electric propulsion.

(A press photo; all other pix are copyright the author)

Martin: We have heard that the Smart e-bike has an additional brace that they had to add late in the day, for safety's sake.

Erika Tsubaki: Yes, we didn't want any add-ons, we wanted the pure design to be strong and functional.

You might notice the bike is strictly black and white. Each color has its own meaning: black is for load-bearing elements, and white for the rest.

Martin: Apart from the easy mounting and dismounting factor, does the design have any other functional benefits?

Erika Tsubaki: Sure: it's extremely lightweight! The frame only weighs 2.5 KG, even though it is not 100% carbon fiber: we use an affordable mix of carbon and aluminum.

Martin: It's quite nifty the way that the battery and the motor are hidden.

Erika Tsubaki: That's a part of our design language -- keeping it clean. A car doesn't showcase its motor; why should a bike?

But there is an important functional aspect too. Bicycle saddles often get stolen. We made the battery a slide-out unit to which the saddle is attached. So you park your bike, take the battery out for re-charging, and your saddle is protected from theft as well as from the elements.

Martin: That's a great idea. And it's impressive that such a compact battery provides a range of 85 kilometers....

I notice Ford claims to have adopted some race-car technology for this bike?

Erika Tsubaki: A part of the Ford brand claim is that our cars are a great drive, so we felt a Ford e-bike needed something to give it a special driving feel, too.

Our bike is the first with patented magnetostriction sensor technology from the world of Formula One. To put it simply, this technology makes the switch-on and switch-off aspect of electric propulsion smoother than on other bikes.

Martin: You mean, the way the motor applies power when you start pedaling, and increases power as you put more of your leg into it?

Erika Tsubaki: Exactly. With some bikes, the power assist is a pretty abrupt sensation. We wanted our bike to appeal both to technology enthusiasts as well as to people who have never ridden an e-bike before, who will probably feel more comfortable when you provide a refined driving feel.

Martin: All this sounds great. When will I be able to buy it?

Erika Tsubaki: Ford hasn't yet decided whether to really market this vehicle. It will depend, among other things, on how the press and our dealers react to this prototype.

Martin: In that case, we wish you good luck!

#Connected Design #Erika Tsubaki #best electric bikes #bike electric #bikes electric #e-bike #ebike #electric bicycle #electric bicycle bike #electric bike #electric bike bicycle #electric power bike #ford #hybrid bike #iaa 2011 #magnetostriction #martin schwoerer #pedelec #ford motor company #fomoco #f

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The Wonderful, Crazy, GreenWheel

Everybody wants to be Apple: a company with products that take your breath away. Products that are so appealing that you don't stop and think: do I really need this? Does this make any sense? But for every Apple, there are lots of Zunes (i.e., unnecessary and strangely undesirable gadgets).

I'll tell you about the GreenWheel, and you decide what it is.

But first of all, you have to respect the incredible amount of innovation it entails and how audacious the concept is. Just imagine: an electric drive, complete with motor, gearshift, electronics and battery, within a rear wheel! That means: everything can be fitted to just about any bike within a few minutes. Little or nothing has to be customized. No messy cables: look Ma, no wires!

The Copenhagen wheel

Its inventor, Michael Lin, came up with the concept of a battery that does not turn with the wheel, but instead stays immobile within its hub. The devil, as they say, was in the details: how to keep the electronics and the motor and the battery, cool and clean and dry?

With Butch Gaudy, designer of prestigious Swiss bike company MTB Cycletech, Michael Lin found a partner who was willing to focus on the details of turning an idea into a practical solution. The resulting bike is called the e-Jalopy GreenWheel, and impresses with its technical sophistication: it weighs less than 20 KG, has a Gates carbon-belt drive, a two-speed shifter integrated into the wheel, and looks just gorgeous.

A rep from MTB, displaying the e-Jalopy GreenWheel (prototype, with conventional chain drive)

The magical GreenWheel, straight outta Copenhagen

How does it drive? I took it for a spin in Friedrichshafen, and can report that it feels rather unusual, but actually very fun. You can feel that the center of gravity is way back towards the rear of the bike, but it is not a disturbing feeling -- it's more similar to how the rear-engined Porsche 911 feels both wrong and right for the first few miles. You get a sense of how you are riding something that is truly unique and special. More to the point, it works well: acceleration is quiet and linear, the bike feels meaty and high-quality, and you can't stop thinking how brilliant the whole idea is. They say the 911 is a totally wrong concept that was given, despite all odds, a high degree of perfection by obsessive-compulsive German engineers. (And it took a few decades for them to do so). So, is there a similarity between the GreenWheel and the 911? In a way, yes. Due to the difficulty of combining all that technology in a small package, the GreenWheel -- if it does make it to the market -- will probably cost well over €2,000.00. And I am only talking about the wheel. Not to mention: putting the battery inside the wheel means you can't take it with you to charge it. You better have a garage, or an extra-long charging cable. A wonderfully sophisticated package with an understated and extreme simplicity, that turns out to be more expensive than conventional technology: that sure rings a bell. Apples, anybody?

(I own the copyright to all pictures in this article except for the second,  third and last ones).

#butch gaudy #copenhagen wheel #cycletech #e-bike #ebike #electric bike #greenwheel #hybrid bike #iphone #martin schwoerer #michael lin #mit #mtb #pedelec #bike electric #bikes electric #best electric bikes #electric bicycle bike #electric bike bicycle #electric power bike #eurobike