Road bikes with lightweight electric systems

[Captain Slow]

I know I'm probably in the minority here, but I am really looking forward to lightweight electric systems for road bikes.

I loved the Focus Project Y concept and now Orbea has a 250 watt system that will weigh 7 lbs for the entire system. Plus it allows up to two additional batteries if you want for a total of 750 watt hours.

Can't wait until these products are available to the public.

I know everyone has different needs and these bikes won't be for everyone, but it's what I want. The only thing I don't like about them is the 25 km/hr. speed restriction. I think that's a problem on a lightweight road bike as it's not hard to pedal faster than that. They need to have the speed limit at 32 or 45 km/hr. for these systems to be useful.

I want some help on the hills for my work commute. I'm fine riding 3-4 days a week without power, but I would be able to ride 5 days a week and be fresher with some assistance.

Anyone else out there excited by these offerings hopefully coming to market within the next year.

 

[SuperGoop]

Surface604 has a light weight "road bike" available now for US$3,999. It weighs 35 lbs with battery. 350W (500W peak) motor. 32km/hr assisted top speed. 316Wh Samsung battery:

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

 

[rich c]

Until battery technology makes a big leap, there will be no such thing as a lightweight electrical system. Lighter weight with small batteries and incredibly expensive carbon fiber frames, but no light weight compared to traditional light weight bikes. If light weight was really critical to me, I'd loose 20 pounds. Right now, more than happy with 50+ pound bikes.

 

[Trail Cruiser]

Raleigh Redux IE. Not that light but very light on its feet, you don't notice the weight when you ride it.
https://raleighelectric.com/redux-ie-diamond-frame

 

[EddieJ]

Orbea Gain. They also do flat bar versions. edit.. Sorry, I didn't spot that you had already mentioned Orbea. The best looking road bike out there.

 

[McSpiffy]

Here's more on the Orbea Gain - pretty cool!

https://www.orbea.com/ie-en/blog/en...L&utm_campaign=GAIN0917&utm_content=CTA_BOTON

 

[dermbrian]

The ShareRoller, if it's ever available, is still the type of answer I'm looking for. Like you, I want a bicycle that is extremely rideable without the assist and has the assist when I want it (hot days, on my way to work). But I want to be able to remove the power plant and bring it inside when I park the bike at the supermarket or work. That's where something like the ShareRoller comes into play. Rubbee is keeping their next add-on motor/battery system under wraps, but I expect it will be an elegant solution. The questions are when and how much......


Brian

 

[Captain Slow]

Here's more on the Orbea Gain - pretty cool!

https://www.orbea.com/ie-en/blog/en...L&utm_campaign=GAIN0917&utm_content=CTA_BOTON

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Captain Slow]

Wow that Surface 604 bike is nice!

 

[Trail Cruiser]

I know I'm probably in the minority here, but I am really looking forward to lightweight electric systems for road bikes.

I loved the Focus Project Y concept and now Orbea has a 250 watt system that will weigh 7 lbs for the entire system. Plus it allows up to two additional batteries if you want for a total of 750 watt hours.

Can't wait until these products are available to the public.

I know everyone has different needs and these bikes won't be for everyone, but it's what I want. The only thing I don't like about them is the 25 km/hr. speed restriction. I think that's a problem on a lightweight road bike as it's not hard to pedal faster than that. They need to have the speed limit at 32 or 45 km/hr. for these systems to be useful.

I want some help on the hills for my work commute. I'm fine riding 3-4 days a week without power, but I would be able to ride 5 days a week and be fresher with some assistance.

Anyone else out there excited by these offerings hopefully coming to market within the next year.

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
In your face electric bike presence, no stealth pretense, but at 39 pounds it is light for an electric bike.
XDURO Urban S 5.0 ($ 4,699)
https://www.haibike.com

 

[Alex M]

Until battery technology makes a big leap, there will be no such thing as a lightweight electrical system.

This.^
7 lbs for the entire system - that would the weight of battery and motor only. Small battery, naturally. And (relatively) small motor. Increasing battery size and motor wattage -> increasing battery and motor weight, and then you have to reinforce the frame, which in turn leads to weight increase.

Orbea website has nice graphics and very little details.

 

[rich c]

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
In your face electric bike presence, no stealth pretense, but at 39 pounds it is light for an electric bike.
XDURO Urban S 5.0 ($ 4,699)
https://www.haibike.com

These are fast bikes! Lighter than the usual ebike, and incredibly nimble. I had one for just a short time, but returned it when I found out I had purchased a bike that was on a safety recall. I related it to a Formula 1 machine, but it felt like a harsh ride to this aging body. Swapped for an XDURO Trekking S RX with a suspension seat post.

 

[Bicyclista]

The Faraday bikes have lightweight electrical systems (11 lbs motor + battery) with corresponding lightweight performance: 20mph, 20-mile range. The laws of physics are unbreakable.

That being said, I rode a Faraday Porteur up Texas Street in San Diego, a long, steep climb, and was pleasantly surprised that its level of assist from the 250-watt motor was more than sufficient in helping me climb. A truck driver gave me the thumbs up at the top, probably thinking that the Faraday was a regular bike. It does have a stealthy, non-electric look.

 

[TrevorB]

These light roadbike systems are designed to help on hills and into strong headwinds, in these situations 25km/hr cutoff is ideal. Most riders these bikes are targetted at shouldn't have any problem riding them well above assist on flat.

I can see case for them in eMTB, especially for riders that mainly use eco or tour mode. I'd happily trade turbo for 16kg eMTB, that can turned into 13kg unassisted bike.

 

[Over50]

Focus Project Y discussed at about 21:50 of Court's video. Sweet looking bike:

 

[JRA]

I've been riding these two bikes for the last year. Granted they don't follow the industry trends but they are perfect for my requirements which is a fast and powerful enough bicycle that will handle any type of road and mild trails as that is the terrain I have where I live. A great commuter also. My biggest concern and why I use a front hub motor is to isolate the motor from the bikes drivetrain totally so that it doesn't interfere with my preferred cadence/power input. The front wheel drive feature has come in handy quite a few times also.

Road bikes will be a hard sell though if they aren't at least Class III I feel. I can take the battery off either bike and average 17-18 mph which is my normal road pace. But with the assist I can average over 20 quite easily using the same amount of effort. They are not stealth but I don't care as perception is not big with me. Performance is as well as not being tied to proprietary components at this time when advancements in technology are happening at such a rapid pace.

 

[alasdair]

This is a really interesting topic to me as coming from a road bike background, I’m really missing the agile, Lightweight feel that I can’t replicate on my e-bike.

My personal needs are utility as the primary purpose of my bike is to replace a car for our family (the wife now takes our one remaining car for work commute) and an ebike really suits me as I have a long commute of 20 miles each way with slow moving traffic, so my ebike is faster and more fun. I still use my road bike (trek Emonda SLR) a few days a week for this journey.

My ideal would be a road bike geometry (short wheelbase, steeper angles and drop handlebars) with a light assist. The focus project Y looks great to me and I know the smaller Shimano motor, if that’s what they use, will enable shorter chain stays. 25lb would be fine if I can carry myself, a laptop and a change of clothes to work faster than a car can, while getting some fresh air and exercise.

Those who are sceptical of battery and motor size changing, it looks like there’s still some low hanging fruit when it comes to packaging, look at the Shimano motors and newer down tube batteries from all manufacturers. I’m excited to see what comes along soon.

 

[alasdair]

@Timpo You bring up an interesting point and I’d be interested to see how many roadies would convert for the speed alone.

For me personally, I ride my bike every day because I love it. I ride my road as much as I can because it’s damn fun. I’d ride it every day if I didn’t get so tired (200 miles commute per week) and so I need an ebike.

My ebike is very good at what it does, but does not come close to replicating the enjoyment I get from a road bike. This gap will narrow in the future I feel and I welcome it. Until then I’ll be riding my road bike as much as I can!

One thing I know is that most cyclist have multiple bikes (I have had as many as 8) as there’s no one style to rule them all. I don’t see that changing any time soon!

 

[Trail Cruiser]

This is a really interesting topic to me as coming from a road bike background, I’m really missing the agile, Lightweight feel that I can’t replicate on my e-bike.

My ideal would be a road bike geometry (short wheelbase, steeper angles and drop handlebars) with a light assist. The focus project Y looks great to me and I know the smaller Shimano motor, if that’s what they use, will enable shorter chain stays. 25lb would be fine if I can carry myself, a laptop and a change of clothes to work faster than a car can, while getting some fresh air and exercise.

Most cyclists who ride road bikes have wide operating range of cadence from 60 to as high as 120. When you power up, you tend to pedal faster into the 90's and above and you also get the associated excitement. So far, there are only 2 mid drives that support the higher cadence (Bosch and Shimano steps).

Croosrip

Dail-e grinder

Somehow, you lose the excitement and momentum when you cannot pedal faster on other mid drives since there is minimal or no support at higher RPM range.

If you want unadulterated freedom of cadence (and not hampered by the cadence limitation of the motor) then get a hub drive.
Like a Stromer,

or a Juiced bike

 

[Over50]

To me, road bikes are kind of obsolete .. The only point of getting a road bike is speed, however getting a HEAVY roadbike that's restricted to 20mph is a bit ridiculous ... Slow and heavy, you're trying to combine the worst of both worlds... maybe you don't care if it's slow because you might like the style of road bike, but to me, it makes no sense.

I think the point of the Project Y was keeping the electric part of the bike to a minimum and keeping the bike light and still essentially a road bike ... more road bike than e-bike .... 20 mph is the motor cutoff as he explained but not to say that is the bike top speed ... and 20 mph on steep climbs where a lot of roadies would probably use that type of limited assist is a pretty good clip. Agree that some of the offerings we've seen so far that have heavy batteries and motors are not a great option for a 20 mph road bike.