Stark Drive Torque Max

[tomgillotti]

I'm really curious to hear what this Community thinks about the Stark brand and their latest bike, the Stark Drive Torque Max.

I've been loosely following them for the past few months and am also becoming increasingly intrigued with the idea of an electric bike.

I'm American but am living in Europe for a few years and e-bikes seem to be everywhere (or I'm just noticing them more).

I have noticed that Europe has far more regulations and restrictions on e-bikes than the States. Kind of frustrating that there are speed restrictions (I believe...?) on EU spec bikes vs being unrestricted on their American spec counterparts.

I've clearly ventured quite a bit from the original topic but I do like the idea of a long range, normal sized folding bike with decent top end speed but also some off-road capability.

Leave your thoughts!

 

[Ken M]

Personally I think putting the Bafang Ultra on a folding bike is a bit strange. I tend to view folding bikes as "last mile" portable models and if so, why do they need a motor. If you can't ride a non-motorized bike for 1 mile then honestly you probably shouldn't be riding a bike. If you are looking for a portable folding bike you also don't want to haul around the extra weight of a battery and motor in my view.

Given the speed restriction in Europe it makes sense why most of the Europe brand motor manufacturers (Bosch, Brose, etc.) make low powered motors. The TQ motor on the Haibike Flyon is an exception but it's going to be interesting to see if that ebike is allowed on any traditional bike paths.

I think originally the top assist speed was 32kph but may have been lowered to 25kph which simply does not make sense. My guess is the law makers in Europe feel they have to have reasonable assist limits for the most dense urban areas where the paths are crowded with pedestrians and bike but what they should have done is just set speed limits on the paths themselves.