E Bike Developments - just in case the industry is listening

[tomato paste]

All these ideas of regenerative braking, transmissions, etc. all add weight and complexity that is not worth having on the present generation bikes - too much weight and drag. Chains and derailleurs may seem archaic but they are efficient, lightweight, easy to replace/repair, cost effective, etc.
Battery tech. may evolve in time. I think the biggest benefit is weight saving of bike, motor & batteries - the fazua idea! - I expect high end makes like Santa Cruz and Yeti to adopt this type of system when they eventually get into EBikes!
There was an eccentric guy around here years back who had a home made Ebike and he towed a small trailer with a Honda Generator strapped on - when the battery got low he turned on the generator! It worked but he had a fear of being flattened by the generator if he ever fell off!
Maybe some one will com up with solar panel helmets?

I think the internal gears idea makes alot of sense, and we're seeing some manufacturers move that way, the Eboxx being a good example.

But certainly profit margins would be negatively affected by the long life of internal hub gearing, and the investment required in an entirely new product line is substantial. So we will likely continue to see push back from large monopolists who want to protect their investments in existing production. Remember, diesel cars are the future, right?

 

[ULEWZ]

My wants are very simple. An E-bike that does not look or sound like an E-bike. Oh, make it affordable please. I don't need tremendous power, heck, I rarely go past level 3, and that is only on the steepest climbs for short distances. Mostly level 1. An E-Zesty would be perfect, but alas, they are not sold in the colonies.

 

[R120]

I had an interesting chat with the guys at Pedal and Spoke in Peaslake the other day, they are a small shop who only sell Santa Cruz, but are pretty much the hub of the riding scene in the Surrey Hills, and due to their location see a lot fo bikes and riders for running repairs on any given day.

They said that they get a lot of guys who come from a motocross background on the Emtb'S and they tend to want more powerful bikes, but that those who come from mountain biking want lighter, more minimal EMTB's.

Interesting to see where brands go, you can definitely see that a lot of the US brands such as intense are heavily marketing their bikes to the motocross crowd.

Personally I can never see a time where I want a more powerful motor, my Shimano E8000 is all I can see myself ever needing power wise. What I really want to see is lower weights, bigger battery ranges (which goes hand in hand with lower weights) and the software development that makes the motor as unnoticeable as possible and as natural feeling as possible.

I think viable gearbox bikes, powered by a motor or just a human, are the next big step in MTB generally, and something a lot of us have wanted for years.

 

[Mabman]

"What I really want to see is lower weights, bigger battery ranges (which goes hand in hand with lower weights)"

I guess I don't understand how you expect bigger batteries, which will in fact provide more range given equal motor output/human input, terrain etc., to go hand in hand with lower weight? The components to build batteries, especially the cells which it takes more of to build a battery in a given mAh rating to get more available wh's to increase range. If a 500wh battery weighs X then a 750wh battery will weigh half again as much into the foreseeable future.

The only way to lower weight is through lighter motors, such as the mag casing that Brose went to or minimal wattage ones like the Fazua, and frame and component selection. But just like with push bikes there is a law of diminishing returns in effect in regards to financial outlay to grams shaved, especially considering the effect that e assist brings to the table.

 

[R120]

You misunderstand what I have said, lower weight bike equals more range out of a battery - I didn't say I wanted a bigger battery, I said I wanted bigger battery ranges, so yes even if the battery weights don't come massively down, but the rest of the bike does, you will see a significant improvement in range.

 

[outerlimits]

I’d like to see batteries go modular.
Example: At the moment Specialized Levo has one big battery that is 700wh. I’d like to see this break down into 3 or 4 smaller lighter packs. You could snap together 4 packs and have 700wh and go for a longer ride, or you can say snap together 2 battery packs and 2 dummy packs and go for a shorter ride with less weight. Dummy packs could also be used for onboard storage units.
You could carry 4 packs on your bike and 2 in your backpack and go on an epic ride and have like 1050wh to use. Two small battery packs in your backpack has to be better to carry than one super large one.
How bout it @Specialized Rider Care

 

[R120]

Wireless charging , just wheel the bike over a charging pad, job done

 

[tomato paste]

Anyone heard anything about a eMTB with the continental 48v motor + gears in 2020? Nothing showing up in my searches online...

 

[MattyB]

I’d like to see batteries go modular.
Example: At the moment Specialized Levo has one big battery that is 700wh. I’d like to see this break down into 3 or 4 smaller lighter packs. You could snap together 4 packs and have 700wh and go for a longer ride, or you can say snap together 2 battery packs and 2 dummy packs and go for a shorter ride with less weight. Dummy packs could also be used for onboard storage units.
You could carry 4 packs on your bike and 2 in your backpack and go on an epic ride and have like 1050wh to use. Two small battery packs in your backpack has to be better to carry than one super large one.
How bout it @Specialized Rider Care

I think the problem there is the cell balancing - you would need a lot of contacts between the packs to enable that to happen, and you might even need a BMS in each pack. It is a bit more complex than it initially appears.

Wireless charging , just wheel the bike over a charging pad, job done

Unfortunately there's almost no chance of that; it would take days to charge our batteries that way.

 

[stiv674]

Purely an advancement in battery technology for me, lighter and more efficient. Probably a long way off that though...

Anything that makes bikes heavier is a definite no in my opinion.

 

[gwing]

I think the problem there is the cell balancing - you would need a lot of contacts between the packs to enable that to happen, and you might even need a BMS in each pack. It is a bit more complex than it initially appears.
Unfortunately there's almost no chance of that; it would take days to charge our batteries that way.

Exactly so, there are a few solutions to the problem but they all add complexity and cost.
The simple system of a light 350ah battery in the frame, a bottle/extender holder that can be swapped easily and take another 350 plus as many other 350s as you want to carry in the backpack will take a lot of beating.
I would also like to see a battery holder option using multiple individual standard 18650 or larger cells instead of a custom battery pack, but that probably wouldn't be popular due to the charging inconvenience and the bit of extra bulk that would involve.

 

[OldBean]

Universal charging and charge points at trail centres....
I dont know if my Focus Jam would charge from a Spec charger with the right connection ?But lugging the lump around on long away from base trips is a PITA.
We need something like smart phones which seem to be converging slowly...right lead plugged into a USB port does the job

 

[DrStupid]

All these ideas of regenerative braking, transmissions, etc. all add weight and complexity that is not worth having on the present generation bikes - too much weight and drag. Chains and derailleurs may seem archaic but they are efficient, lightweight, easy to replace/repair, cost effective, etc.
Battery tech. may evolve in time. I think the biggest benefit is weight saving of bike, motor & batteries - the fazua idea! - I expect high end makes like Santa Cruz and Yeti to adopt this type of system when they eventually get into EBikes!
There was an eccentric guy around here years back who had a home made Ebike and he towed a small trailer with a Honda Generator strapped on - when the battery got low he turned on the generator! It worked but he had a fear of being flattened by the generator if he ever fell off!
Maybe some one will com up with solar panel helmets?

I think the time for a gearbox is here. The batteries are quite large, and the motor torque is impressive already- and could be even greater if the driveline was stronger.

If you want a bike to peddle in eco mode, and get 50 miles range, then No,probably not. But for an hour of power, closed course competition machine, I think a gearbox would be a real advantage.

 

[Jim25]

Universal charging and charge points at trail centres....
I dont know if my Focus Jam would charge from a Spec charger with the right connection ?But lugging the lump around on long away from base trips is a PITA.
We need something like smart phones which seem to be converging slowly...right lead plugged into a USB port does the job

I was told at the J e James demo day last weekend that there are currently 4 places with bosch fast charge units, in Scotland I believe