Karmic Bikes in-stock, ready to go!

[Hong]

Hi Folks,

I know it's been a while, but we've delivered all our Kickstarter bikes and people are loving their Karmic Bikes! We still have a few bikes from this initial production batch that are ready for shipping across the country. I'd love to see Kobens in all 50 states!

If you've been on the fence, or didn't think Kickstarter projects actually shipped product, now's the time to get a Koben or Koben S. Check out this "First Look" review on OverVolted:

http://overvolted.com/first-look-karmic-koben-s/

There will be a few other places reviewing the Koben S soon. We've also got some exciting stuff coming out later this year.

Cheers,
Hong

 

[William Hemmingsen]

The 44v battery is interesting. I was under the impression the Max Drive only worked with a 36v battery. Is there anything special you did use the 44v battery? Or will all Max Drives support a 44v battery?

Hows does the NuVinci hold up under the torque?

I like the looks of this bike. To bad I just bought a bike. Look forward to see whats next. Integrate the battery and I will find the money somewhere LOL

Lee

 

[Cameron Newland]

The 44v battery is interesting. I was under the impression the Max Drive only worked with a 36v battery. Is there anything special you did use the 44v battery? Or will all Max Drives support a 44v battery?

Hows does the NuVinci hold up under the torque?

I like the looks of this bike. To bad I just bought a bike. Look forward to see whats next. Integrate the battery and I will find the money somewhere LOL

Lee

On the Bafang website, I've always seen the Max drive quoted as working with either 36V or 48V systems (one or both of which would work well with 44V). My understanding is that the Max on the Koben isn't just compatible with 44V but rather is even somewhat customized from the standard Max drive to provide the best experience at ~43V nominal.

I'm actually looking forward to throwing on a 52V battery on a Max drive bike at some point and seeing what kind of power and top speed I can get out of the drive. I've read somewhere that amperage is generally more responsible for torque whereas voltage is generally more responsible for power, and if that's true, then a 52V Max drive could theoretically offer a bit more top-end speed without putting more strain on the drivetrain or the controller because you'd be pulling the same number of amps as a 36V or 48V system, so the torque forces applied to the drivetrain would be similar, too. That said, the 44V system on the Koben already provides a high enough top speed for 99.9% of riders, so perhaps a 48V or 52V battery would be unnecessary on a Max drive-equipped bike.

 

[William Hemmingsen]

I was just curious if this is 3 separate options, or do all MAX drive support all 3 out the box.

 

[Hong]

I was just curious if this is 3 separate options, or do all MAX drive support all 3 out the box.

No, these motors are made specifically for Karmic to match our batteries.

 

[Adrian]

Hi Folks,

I know it's been a while, but we've delivered all our Kickstarter bikes and people are loving their Karmic Bikes! We still have a few bikes from this initial production batch that are ready for shipping across the country. I'd love to see Kobens in all 50 states!

If you've been on the fence, or didn't think Kickstarter projects actually shipped product, now's the time to get a Koben or Koben S. Check out this "First Look" review on OverVolted:

http://overvolted.com/first-look-karmic-koben-s/

There will be a few other places reviewing the Koben S soon. We've also got some exciting stuff coming out later this year.

Cheers,
Hong

Nice to actually see a review of the Max drive in the wild. It also links to the Nuremberg 24-hour race which the Max drive team trumped all the 12 Bosch teams and it's the first place I've seen real details of that race - beat the nearest Bosch team by 7 minutes!

If I hadn't recently bought a Bosch bike for my wife, I would definitely consider your Koben-S.

 

[Jolly]

I like the direction the Karmic is going. Maybe in version 2 a integrated battery.

 

[Hong]

It also links to the Nuremberg 24-hour race which the Max drive team trumped all the 12 Bosch teams and it's the first place I've seen real details of that race - beat the nearest Bosch team by 7 minutes!

It would have been on Karmic Bikes but we didn't get the frames finished in time. The winning bike uses the same motor and battery combination from the Koben. We also placed 3rd at Sea Otter, beating quite a few Bosch bikes.

 

[wetdog2]

Congrats, Hong. The Koben S is a beautiful bike with great specs. I wish I could buy one today.

 

[Hong]

Congrats, Hong. The Koben S is a beautiful bike with great specs. I wish I could buy one today.

Thanks! What's stopping you?

 

[wetdog2]

You're not the only one who's dirt poor! Saving my pennies.

 

[Hong]

You're not the only one who's dirt poor! Saving my pennies.

Haha, love this reply. And thanks for reading the Klog!