E-Bike Report from Eurobike: Cargo, All Wheel Drive, & Mid Drives
In this second installment of Eurobike coverage we will take a look at the e-cargo bike trend, a few of the all wheel drive e-bikes, and the growing number of mid drive systems available in the European marketplace.
Make sure you checkout part 1 of Eurobike coverage with info on Smartphone integration, the Plus size electric mountain bikes, and a look at some of the clean looking commuter e-bikes at the show.
These reports are focused on presenting some of the trends that are happening in Europe and they could be an indication of what is to come for the U.S. market.
Electric Cargo Bikes & Trikes
Electric cargo bikes are a rising trend in certain U.S. markets and it is definitely an established trend in the European marketplace.
Delivery companies like DHL, FedEx, and UPS have been using e-cargo bikes in some European cities because they can navigate congested downtown areas with ease. The bike shown is a Larry vs. Harry Bullitt cargo bike with the Shimano STePS mid drive system.
The Yuba Spicy Curry with the Currie Electro Drive mid motor launched earlier this year and at Eurobike it won a Gold medal in the Special-Purpose Bikes category. The Spicy Curry offers a number of different cargo carrying options with it’s rear rack platform and front rack option. Checkout this report for more on the Yuba Spicy Curry.
The Patria Pickup is a folding cargo bike! The cargo bed is foldable and when collapsed it shortens the wheelbase of an ordinarily long cargo bike to the wheelbase of a normal bike. This is helpful for fitting the bike in storage sheds or other dense parking areas. It can be ridden in the collapsed position. The Patria also won a Eurobike award in the Special-Purpose Bikes categeory. Here is the Patria website.
This is the Radkutsche Musketier mit Muskebox electric cargo trike for serious cargo hauling! This e-cargo trike won a Special-Purpose Bikes award at Eurobike. The statement on the cargo box is pretty compelling. We are seeing some companies in the U.S. and Canada provide delivery by electric trike all while offering unique advertising opportunities.
All Wheel Drive Electric Bikes
Easy Motion showed their Evo Big Foot Pro fat electric bike with a 250 watt front hub motor and 350 watt rear hub motor for riding through and/or over almost anything! Like the other Evo line of Easy Motion bikes is features the clean looking battery integrated into the downtube of the frame.
The Easy Motion Evo Snow 29 is another all wheel drive e-bike with a similar 250 watt/350 watt motor setup.
More Mid Drives
Mid drive systems were all over the bikes at Eurobike. It continues to be the popular drive system for the European market. There were definitely some new hub drive systems that I will cover later.
This is the new Bosch Performance CX mid drive motor that is focused on e-mountain bikes. It has 75Nm of continuous torque with 250/350 watts of power (European/U.S. market). The motor has a different shape that provides a bit more ground clearance for riding over obstacles. The CX system was seen on many of the electric mountain bikes at Eurobike.
Bosch also showed off their new PowerPack 500 watt hour lithium pack that is the same size as their PowerPack 400 watt hour pack! The new 500 is available in certain European markets but it may be a while until we see it in the U.S.
Shimano showed off their STePS mid drive system at their exhibit area and the system was seen on a significant number of bikes around the show. This is a 250 watt mid drive that has a small size and it’s relatively lightweight at a claimed weight of ~7 pounds. Here is a review of the Raleigh Misceo iE with the Shimano STePS system for a closer look.
Here’s a look at the inner workings of the Shimano STePS mid drive motor.
Shimano showed off this new display unit that is an upgrade option. The current display and this new display both fit the same handlebar mount. The new display offers more information, the on/off button and light control button on the display.
This is the Yamaha mid drive system on the Haibike SDURO Full FatSix, a full suspension fat bike! More on that bike later. The Yamaha system will be available on the Haibike SDURO line in 2016. The European spec is 250 watt motor with 70 Nm of continuous torque. The U.S. spec may be different when it comes to market in 2016.
The Brose mid drive system (250 watts) was seen on a number of brands this year: Specialized, Bulls, Easy Motion (will be in the U.S. in 2017 with 350 watts of power), Rotwild, Pedal Power, Flitzbike, and Fantic. The Brose system allows the bike brands to develop their own battery system. For example Specialized has a very clean battery integration into the bottom of the downtube of their new Levo electric mountain bike.
A look at the inside of the Brose e-bike motor.
Another look at the inside of the Brose e-bike motor.
Here’s a video of the Continental drive system that uses the Brose motor.
Kalkhoff and Focus electric bikes have used their own Impulse mid drive system for a few years. The Kalkhoff Integrale 8-G and 11-G e-bikes have a very clean look with the battery integrated into the downtube of the frame, mid drive, internally geared rear hub, and Gates belt drive.
Panasonic had a display exhibit with their new mid drive system and it was seen on this ProdecoTech Scorpion X. It’s a 250 or 350 watt mid drive system with a pretty smooth and quiet ride. ProdecoTech has an exclusive deal for 2016 to use the Panasonic system in the U.S.
Here’s a closer look at the Panasonic mid drive motor. The battery comes in a variety of sizes: 432 to 648 watt hour.
ProdecoTech also had this Phantom S9 on display that is using the new Bafang Max mid drive system and their new battery that is integrated in to the downtube of the frame.
ProdecoTech will be using the 350 watt version of the Bafang Max mid drive. Bafang also makes a 250 watt version.
TransX mid drives were seen on a number of brands around the show. This is a creative way to mount the mid drive in a vertical position to keep things compact on a Dahon folding bike.
That’s it for now, stay tuned for part 3 of the Eurobike e-bike report!
-Pete
P.S. Don’t forget to join the Electric Bike Report community for updates from the electric bike world, plus ebike riding and maintenance tips!
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[…] Cargo, All Wheel Drive, & Mid Drives […]
andrew says
any in formation on the hercules transporter
Jonathon says
Given the 750W limit in the US, why are we only seeing new motors that go up to 350W?
My guess is that the manufacturers hit technical limits when they reuse the form factors of motors destined for the European market, but it kind of sucks.
Ray Verhelst says
Jonathon,
The challenge for most of the larger branded bikes is that to produce a bike with anything more than a 350watt system at this point does not make good financial sense. The US market is still in a very early growth stage and tooling for the market is way too costly.
In Europe, the leading brands are selling virtually every bike they produce. We, on the other hand, are just starting to really build the momentum. With the major traditional cycling brands like Trek, Cannondale, Specialized, Raleigh and Giant offering e-Bikes in their line-up, this is an important step in expanding the acceptance of power assist cycling into a more mainstream IBD market.
The 500 and 750watt bikes will continue to come from US based companies that import directly. What I am seeing is that with the massive commitment to the engineering of these drive systems to where we are seeing strong torque outputs, the efficiency may help to minimize the difference.
Most of the leading brands will actually be showcasing their power capabilities during our 6 city tour, the Electric Bike Expo, starting in January, so we are excited to see the differences between the brands, drives and styles.
Promisberg says
Pete,
The Bosch CX also allows for shorter chain stays
Ed says
That new Brose motor with its internal belt drive looks like it will be more quiet than other mid drive motors on the market. I want to check one out now! 2017 is a long ways away!
Great reporting, Pete!
andrew says
brose and conti are the same drive, manufactured by brose
they are on bikes selling in MY2015
A2B entz, rotwild eMTB, bulls eMTB
they’ll be on more bikes in MY2016 possibly available fall 2015
electric bikes says
DHL and Correos are starting to use this ebikes in Spain.