Looking to 2015 (new ebikes to be released this summer/fall)

DashRiprock

Active Member
Who has released anything of note since the first of the year and what is the 'buzz' surrounding any new bikes to be released this fall/winter?

We're looking for my wife's first ebike (5'10; not a serious biker; wants to get moderate exercise; pedal assist/throttle ideal) and we will probably just get another Dash if nothing else is on the horizon, nobody has their pulse on the market (understandable) or if bike manufacturers simply don't release models ahead of each other to gain a competitive advantage.

Also, does anybody know what the 'gold standard' would be in regards to the direct drive type (gearless) motors similar to what is found on the Dash? I'm assuming that this motor is acceptable or good...but you always hear about these motors being made by the Chinese (almost exclusively). Is there a Bosch name out there in motors of this type...with the 3rd question being...who are the top 5 motor manufacturers of any type...period?
 
a lot of the 2014 bikes started arriving in June. Keep that in mind when planning to have a bike in your home in 2015
 
Here is a list compiled by one of the Admin of Endless-Sphere about Hub motors.
Also make sure to read this. [Electric Hub Motors]

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Here we list the most reputable and most solid hub motors available on the market as of March 2012.
  1. BMC V2, V3, V4 – High end geared hub motors. 600w overvolting capacity to 2500 watts. The BMC is a larger (8lb) geared hub motor, designed to be more efficient and have a better power-to-weight ratio than a gearless (direct-drive) motor. (Read our review here)
  2. MAC Motor (BMC clone) Very similar to the BMC but not as high quality, so cannot withstand high power and have the same reliability as the BMC.
  3. Dapu Hub Motor: a new hub motor used on production bikes such as the Neo Jumper and City Commuter. It is small, wide, and puts out a maximum of 750 watts.
  4. Crystalyte (HS35 / HT35)- A recently released direct drive motor weighing in at 16 pounds (Read our review here)
  5. Cute Motor- a small planetary geared motor. 5 lbs, and capable of running 800 watts. Figure around 20mph top speed on a cute powered E-bike. Very small nice looking motors, can barely tell bike has a motor.
  6. Bafang or "8Fun" – A small planetary geared motor very similar in size and performance to the Cute motor.
  7. 9-Continents (9C) – A gearless brushless motor weighing in around 15 pounds and capable of putting out serious power when over volted. A reliable and solid motor. (read our review here)
  8. BionX – A sleek system, but expensive and made from all proprietary components, making it hard to upgrade controller or battery. Comes in 250, 350, and 500 watt configurations.
  9. BPM hub motor- a larger geared hub motor (about same size as bmc or mac) that puts out a maximum of 500 watts.
  10. Golden Motor (magic pie) – A heavy DD motor capable of putting out good power when over volted.
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There are a lot of new bikes coming out. Some of the new models for 2014/2015 [Felt, Stromer ST2, Easy Motion Wave/Evo, Currie, Haibike, Lapierre, Focus, Kalkhoff, M1 Erzberg] etc.
 
Good list Rav. Do you know what hub my bike uses? I don't think it's actually a BMC even though BMC owns Stromer
 
Good list Rav. Do you know what hub my bike uses? I don't think it's actually a BMC even though BMC owns Stromer

It's Ultramotor, a company based out of Taiwan, James. They also supply a monster 1300W motor to Grace for their Grace One bike. Scroll to the bottom of this list and you can see it.
 
I noticed that the TranzX hub motor used on the Izip Dash is not included in that "most reputable and most solid hub motors available" list.
 
I noticed that the TranzX hub motor used on the Izip Dash is not included in that "most reputable and most solid hub motors available" list.
You took the words right... Am I taking a leap of faith putting my wife on (investing in) the Path Plus (same motor?) and is there any way possible to interchange one battery with the other (Dash) in a pinch? (I believe that the two are 3 watt hours apart according to the specs.). We're about to make a decision yet the motor/battery questions (along with Charly's point above) are holding us back.
 
...and thank you, Ravi...that type of list is invaluable today as most aren't willing to have a simple opinion anymore...let alone possess the knowledge to back it up in order to kickstart simple debate. Endless Sphere is obviously out of my league in terms of the above yet I believe there needs to be strong debate surrounding current legitimate (motor) manufacturers and the (again best) 2014-15 bike offerings that they've managed to display their products in.
 
I noticed that the TranzX hub motor used on the Izip Dash is not included in that "most reputable and most solid hub motors available" list.

Izip bikes are new Charly and no decent manufacturer had used Tranzx motor in US before, in the scale/volume that Currie is using.
 
You took the words right...
Am I taking a leap of faith putting my wife on (investing in) the Path Plus (same motor?) and is there any way possible to interchange one battery with the other (Dash) in a pinch? (I believe that the two are 3 watt hours apart according to the specs.). We're about to make a decision yet the motor/battery questions (along with Charly's point above) are holding us back.

RipRock,

One of the prime reasons, I bought a Neo bike for my GF is that I could interchange the battery and keep another charger in the office.

It is really convenient and I can take this extra battery for longer rides. For the price you paid, Dash is a good bike. Try getting something that has similar battery/charger? you can keep an extra battery for longer rides (believe me, you would want to go on longer rides that you never would venture on a normal bike) and having an extra charger can be useful.

A E3 peak (has the same battery and charger!) for you and Dash for your wife? :)
 
...and thank you, Ravi...that type of list is invaluable today as most aren't willing to have a simple opinion anymore...let alone possess the knowledge to back it up in order to kickstart simple debate. Endless Sphere is obviously out of my league in terms of the above yet I believe there needs to be strong debate surrounding current legitimate (motor) manufacturers and the (again best) 2014-15 bike offerings that they've managed to display their products in.

You're welcome... I don't hold opinions but I do my R&D homework well. I am really enjoying learning with you guys.

Hub motors are readily available and inexpensive but mid-drives are catching on and their price might come down as well. Bosch is only making geared motor, for now and there is serious shortage of those for EU markets.

You and me are slightly different from average customers, we tend to enjoy deciphering into details and know more. This can be very useful as ebikes are becoming mainstream and the companies can't simply dump-ship from Asian industries, so this kind of debate among customers enhances the overall quality of the upcoming products.

Endless-Sphere is a treasure house but most info = DIY ebikes. There is a serious lack of clear info about the kind of controllers/motors/batteries used on turnkey ebikes.

If you purchase a laptop, you know it has Intel processor (you can even track the factory it's made in), RAM mostly comes from Samsung, Qualcomm such companies, Hard drives are from Seagate/Western Digital etc and Nvidia/ Asus for video drivers etc.......

But ebikes are much more expensive but we never get to know the details of motor/controller/battery etc. This disconnect can be exploited in a variety of ways. Information is power and this applies to ebikes as well. Sorry if I sounded opinionated.
 
But ebikes are much more expensive but we never get to know the details of motor/controller/battery etc.
I was thinking about that the other day. We don't even have a simple wiring diagram that shows where the electrical cables go. On my motorcycles I know where every wire goes and it's function. Even with my Volvo I know most of the wiring. I guess one of these days I'll have to pull out all those little connectors in the down tube and make a wiring diagram for the Dash so I understand this bike a little better.
 
I was thinking about that the other day. We don't even have a simple wiring diagram that shows where the electrical cables go. On my motorcycles I know where every wire goes and it's function. Even with my Volvo I know most of the wiring. I guess one of these days I'll have to pull out all those little connectors in the down tube and make a wiring diagram for the Dash so I understand this bike a little better.
Charly, I posted some files in the IZIP section you will find helpful in tracing the wiring for the Dash.
 
a lot of the 2014 bikes started arriving in June. Keep that in mind when planning to have a bike in your home in 2015
So I suppose that I'm now even more curious. Are there no European, American or even Chinese manufacturer-based shows that 'break' 2015 (USA specific) releases for ebikes in particular until...when? With the obvious follow-up question being...has any ebike manufacturer in recent memory broken the trend? I understand the concept (ShotShow, SEMA, etc.) yet that's a long time to wait.
 
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