Zen Photon Pure | 780Wh battery (Upgradable1040 Wh UL 2271 battery) | 750W(USA) 500W(CAN) hub motor w/ Torque sensor & Throttle | USD 2099 | CAD 2599

[Kriti Yad]

Hello EBR Community!
We are thrilled to introduce the Zen Photon Pure to the eBike community. This is our second model in the 2024 Photon series, with a 750W motor torque sensing motor, two battery options for extended range, and IoT capability for GPS tracking.

Specifications:

• Motor : Zen 500W Canada (32 kph) | 750W USA (28mph) w/ High-resolution Torque Sensor
• Battery : 52V, 15Ah or upgrade to 20Ah (UL-2271) battery with CANbus communication
• Charger : Smart 4A UL-certified charger with temperature modulation
• Controller: 12-MOSFET, 25A sine-wave controller
• Shifter Rear : 9 Speed Shimano
• Brake : Tektro E-350 brakes with E-cutoff
• Fork : SR Suntour XCM-32 Boost suspension with thru-axle and boost spacing, 120mm travel
• Tire : Kendra Kwik seven sport - 27.5" x 2.4" E-bike specific tires
• Throttle : Yes
• Seat Post: Standard seat-post
• Assist levels : 5
• Color : Lime Green, White, Grey
• Warranty : 3 Yrs (Battery)
• Lights : Adjustable stem and integrated 400 lumen lights
• Display : 3" LCD display with USB-C charge port
• Integrated rear rack and optional front rack
• IoT capable for GPS tracking

$100 off first 50 orders in the USA and first 50 orders in Canada! Accepting orders from first week of February.

Best,
Kri.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Photon Pure production has been completed. These bike frames will arrive in Canada sometime in 3rd week of March, and the final QC and battery assembly will happen here.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

75% assembled Photon Pure bikes leave our factory tomorrow and get loaded on the container. Tne vessel is expected to leave Feb 9th or 10th.
The rest of the assembly, QC will happen in Halifax, Canada.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

We have worked hard to ensure these Photon Pure bikes come with top-level components; for example, derailleur + shifter + cassette are E-bike Specific Shimano Cues Linkglide. These are typically found on $3500+ bikes.
Most bikes in USD 2000 price point are spec'ed with Altus or, at the most, Alivio derailleurs, which can also be found on <$1500 bikes, but we did not want to compromise on any of these.

 

[JGcycle]

We have worked hard to ensure these Photon Pure bikes come with top level components for example, deailleir + shifter + caseette are E-bike Specific Shimano Cues Linkglide. These are typically found on $3500+ bikes.
Most bikes in $2000 USD price point are spec'ed with Altus or at the most Alivio derailleurs, which can also be found on <$1000 bikes but we did not want to compromise on any of these.

View attachment 170776

Makes me wish that I was able to afford a new E-bike...sigh.

 

[drewberz]

What an excellent bike! All around it is well-specced and designed, especially for the price.

This has a lot (all?!) of the features I've thought about for a long time and some I've grown to like (low-step, throttle).

Expect it will be a big hit in N.A.!

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

What an excellent bike! All around it is well-specced and designed, especially for the price.

This has a lot (all?!) of the features I've thought about for a long time and some I've grown to like (low-step, throttle).

Expect it will be a big hit in N.A.!

Thanks for your kind words, especially coming from someone who has a deep understanding of E-bikes.
The early feedback from Photon Pure riders has been very reassuring. A nice outdoor image ....

 

[JGcycle]

Hello EBR Community!
We are thrilled to introduce the Zen Photon Pure to the eBike community. This is our second model in the 2024 Photon series, with a 750W motor torque sensing motor, two battery options for extended range, and IoT capability for GPS tracking.

Specifications:

• Motor : Zen 500W Canada (32 mph) | 750W USA (28mph) w/ High-resolution Torque Sensor
• Battery : 52V, 15Ah or upgrade to 20Ah (UL-2271) battery with CANbus communication
• Charger : Smart 4A UL-certified charger with temperature modulation
• Controller: 12-MOSFET, 25A sine-wave controller
• Shifter Rear : 9 Speed Shimano
• Brake : Tektro E-350 brakes with E-cutoff
• Fork : SR Suntour XCM-32 Boost suspension with thru-axle and boost spacing, 120mm travel
• Tire : Kendra Kwik seven sport - 27.5" x 2.4" E-bike specific tires
• Throttle : Yes
• Seat Post: Standard seat-post
• Assist levels : 5
• Color : Lime Green, White, Grey
• Warranty : 3 Yrs (Battery)
• Lights : Adjustable stem and integrated 400 lumen lights
• Display : 3" LCD display with USB-C charge port
• Integrated rear rack and optional front rack
• IoT capable for GPS tracking

$100 off first 50 orders in the USA and first 50 orders in Canada! Accepting orders from first week of February.

Best,
Kri.
View attachment 170454
View attachment 170455

How much does the Photon Pure weigh?

 

[Kriti Yad]

How much does the Photon Pure weigh?

Hi @JGcycle
Weight of the Pure without battery is ~26 Kgs / 57 lbs
Weight with 780 Wh Battery is ~ 29.5 Kgs / 65 lbs
Weight with 1040 Wh Battery is ~ 31kgs / 68 lbs

 

[FiremarshallDave]

750W rear hubs must have made a significant increase in efficiency. With my 20AH battery at 52V on a flat surface hammering the throttle and pushing a big gear 52/13 with a fat tire 26/4.0 I can get to 28KPH not MPH. That is with a 1500 watt hub. The tire on the zen looks to be 3.0 or 3.5? Was the speed test done on a dyno with no rider? Does anyone here think this bike will achieve 28MPH? I do weigh 200 lbs and Was 6'1" in my prime I'm shrinking now as my spinal discs squish. I digress... What does a 750w move along at with a 200lb rider? Has there been a major advancement in energy efficiency? I also have a 1000w 29er running a 2.3" tire and still cant hit 28 mph pedaling unless it's downhill. I think yesterday I was hammering at 32KPH but my battery will hit it's burst rate quota after a few minutes of this. I guess in this day and age when we hear 28MPH I start to think about accident potential for adults not just 12 year olds. Why not have truth in advertising saying the bike will produce 20MPH continuous when pedaling hard with a 200 lb rider? Does burst rate battery use really come into play? Are we as a riding community shooting ourselves in the foot (so to speak) by touting a high speed that is either hard to hit or unsustainable for advertising purposes. Will 28MPH really garner more buyers? I would guess buyers for this bike will ride in the 10-15MPH range. Am I wrong to say these things? Please tell me as what happened in Brighton Beach a few weeks ago worries me. We don't want total E bike bans when the uninformed Karen's hearing about twelve year olds killing other riders with a bike that is ridden at 28MPH.

 

[Explorer-1]

>Zen 500W Canada (32 mph) | 750W USA (28mph)
I think you meant kph for Canada.

 

[FiremarshallDave]

I would hope I used my labels correctly. Do you mean ... they (Zen) meant to use KPH? They used MPH in both instances and a 500W at 32 MPH is crazy town. A 500w won't do 32KPH much less 32MPH You would hope marketing people would proof read and or tell the truth. What I find most egregious is the Lithium Ion 18650 marketeers from China saying their battery has 9900mah per cell when current cutting edge is around 4000mah.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Motor : Zen 500W Canada (32 mph) | 750W USA (28mph) w/ High-resolution Torque Sensor

@FiremarshallDave , the Canadian standard is 32 kmph or 20 mph.
All Photon Pure bikes shipped to the US would have a top speed of 45 kmph or 28 mph.

The current state of the in 2170 cell is 5300 mAh or 5.3Ah but these cells are too expensive.
What we use is 5000 mAh or 5 Ah cells from Samsung or LG. You can check out the latest Samsung cells here:

Samsung 21700 battery battle: 50G vs 48G vs 50E

Samsung 21700 50G 48G 50E Li-ion battery cell dischargecapacity test comparison cycle life ebike battery ev diy powerwall electric bike flashlight lfp

www.thunderheartreviews.com

With my 20AH battery at 52V on a flat surface hammering the throttle and pushing a big gear 52/13 with a fat tire 26/4.0 I can get to 28KPH not MPH. That is with a 1500 watt hub

A lot has to do with the efficiency of the controller. The motor will accept whatever the controller is pushing, so if the motor+controller combo is matched properly, you can get decent efficiency out of the system. [on a tangential note, an advanced example would be how Apple's M1/M2/M3 system on a chip architecture uses memory vs distributed systems used on most Windows machines. 16GB RAM on Apple vastly outperforms Windows]
Additionally, 4" tires add significant inertia and drag along with a high-powered motor.
A 750W motor running at 52V and a 20Ah battery should provide a realistic range of 70 miles with active pedaling.

 

[FiremarshallDave]

So this bike is not pedaled and hits 28MPH with an average rider weighing 200lbs with wind resistance and what looks to be a 3.0 /3.5" tire width at 750 watts in a continuous flow not a burst rate and on level terain? How long can 28MPH be sustained with no pedaling? Color me impressed if that is the speed until the voltage drops to cut off @40V. That controller must have mosfets and a BMS much better than I have seen. Most bikes can't sustain that flow for more than a couple minutes. The battery reference was again about Amazon and it's sellers, and only referencing 18650s. I know larger cells have higher mah but the claims on Amazon exceed current tech for 18650s by double. In reference to 70 miles and pedaling that is an area where we can plug in any number right? How about 300 miles if they only use 50 watts at a time while pedaling? I've been riding and building e bikes for a long time and started work in a bike shop in 1970. In a previous review It was said the bike was slow to accelerate and was eclipsed by a hub motor. Perhaps dramatic changes have been made to the controller amperage allowed and without mosfet burn. I've burned controllers, well my son has... Congrats on bringing something to the market with performance levels I never seen.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

A 750W motor running at 52V and a 20Ah battery should provide a realistic range of 70 miles with active pedaling.

@FiremarshallDave , as mentioned here, to reach 28mph requires active pedaling.

So this bike is not pedaled and hits 28MPH with an average rider weighing 200lbs with wind resistance and what looks to be a 3.0 /3.5" tire width at 750 watts in a continuous flow not a burst rate and on level terain?

We want our customers to enjoy pedaling / some workout and don't intend to design bikes meant for throttle use only.
We use 2.4" tires on most of our bikes.

 

[FiremarshallDave]

Thank you that bring things into much better focus. Claims are being made about 28 Mph and higher on this forum and how this speed can kill. Road bikes with a seasoned rider are in this range as well. It is important to note 28MPH is with vigorous pedaling and unsustainable for most riders That speed is certainly near or at the burst amperage rating of the battery for most bikes on the market. Do you know the speed of your bike unassisted and in sustainable flow? All these facts are going to come into play in our arguments against those who want E bike bans. Having grown up both selling bikes and as the mechanic I worry that bike sellers are advertising the extremes rather than how a normal rider can use the bike. How about...Our bike comfortably achieves a sustained speed of x with a 200lb rider and light to moderate effort and can achieve 28Mph for a short period with vigorous pedaling. Truth doesn't sell though does it. That's to bad as we are doing damage to ourselves as riders by touting numbers that alarm people who think about getting hit while walking or riding on a mixed use pathway. I just re read your post...I'm so familiar with throttle e bikes I overlook torque only. Is there a max sustained unassisted mode speed while under load? As the designer has that test been done?

 

[JGcycle]

Hi @JGcycle
Weight of the Pure without battery is ~26 Kgs / 57 lbs
Weight with 780 Wh Battery is ~ 29.5 Kgs / 65 lbs
Weight with 1040 Wh Battery is ~ 31kgs / 68 lbs

Thanks for the info Kriti.

 

[Kriti Yad]

I would hope I used my labels correctly. Do you mean ... they (Zen) meant to use KPH? They used MPH in both instances and a 500W at 32 MPH is crazy town. A 500w won't do 32KPH much less 32MPH You would hope marketing people would proof read and or tell the truth. What I find most egregious is the Lithium Ion 18650 marketeers from China saying their battery has 9900mah per cell when current cutting edge is around 4000mah.

@FiremarshallDave @Explorer-1 Thank you for highlighting this, it was a typing error on my end, it has been corrected now. It's important to ensure we avoid sharing incorrect information.

 

[ROCebike]

Thank you that bring things into much better focus. Claims are being made about 28 Mph and higher on this forum and how this speed can kill. Road bikes with a seasoned rider are in this range as well. It is important to note 28MPH is with vigorous pedaling and unsustainable for most riders That speed is certainly near or at the burst amperage rating of the battery for most bikes on the market. Do you know the speed of your bike unassisted and in sustainable flow? All these facts are going to come into play in our arguments against those who want E bike bans. Having grown up both selling bikes and as the mechanic I worry that bike sellers are advertising the extremes rather than how a normal rider can use the bike. How about...Our bike comfortably achieves a sustained speed of x with a 200lb rider and light to moderate effort and can achieve 28Mph for a short period with vigorous pedaling. Truth doesn't sell though does it. That's to bad as we are doing damage to ourselves as riders by touting numbers that alarm people who think about getting hit while walking or riding on a mixed use pathway. I just re read your post...I'm so familiar with throttle e bikes I overlook torque only. Is there a max sustained unassisted mode speed while under load? As the designer has that test been done?

Well golleee Dave, you must be the smartest person in the ebike world. Happy now?

But nit picking typos makes you look awfully small minded. of course we all knew mph was a typo.

I’d suggest that if you’re so enamored with throttle performance specs, find an electric motorcycle forum instead. A throttle on a peddle assist ebike is an accessory only.

Ravi has designed a fantastic ebike and is building a nice business. He’s been a friend on this forum for years and always offers honest and thoughtful insights. Given the number of bankruptcies, he needs our support. Not your small minded “Stump The Dummy” game.

Please contribute something valuable for us all.