Zen Shakti - pictures

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Some high-resolution pictures of the Zen Shakti model alpha-build are presented here.
Pictures of the final pre-production beta-build will be shared in early 2022.
We are very grateful for those who have shown support and interest. We are investing a lot of money and time to bring value to you.
The bike pictured below has over 500 miles of field testing and if you notice any dirt, our apologies. But, these pictures should offer enough information for any prospective customers and the production bikes will come with the following upgrades.

• Larger 750+ Wh long-life battery with a min of 3-yr warranty
• Upgraded controller - similar to the ones used on Stromer, Grace, etc.
• 1500 lumen front/rear lights, rear racks, and fenders (longer ones) would come as standard
• better display that offers data on several performance metrics
• Other items like powerful hydraulic brakes, air suspension w/ 34mm stanchions, etc remain the same
• More color options - matte black, electric blue, chili red
• If you have any suggestions, we are all ears.

 

[vincent]

Awesome bike!!! Cannot wait to get one

 

[TomD]

Looks really nice. Hope it all comes together for you in 2022 in this challenging environment.

 

[wabaseballfamily]

Matte Black for me please.

 

[fxr3]

Frame looks sweet! Battery would look better(invisible) if it was same color as frame. IMO.
move throttle to right side, or leave cable long enough for owner to switch it.

 

[mclewis1]

Nice overall setup.

A few comments ...
a) The front fender isn't long enough. I really dislike front fenders that continuously stream water over my feet.
b) Throttle lever - it needs to be narrower to allow the throttle to cozy up closer to the brake lever mounting and the control buttons to be less of a reach. It would be really nice for the ebike industry in general to have the throttle and control buttons on a single mounting point since there's lot's of unused real estate on top of the throttle body, saving one mounting point and reducing the cabling.
c) Display position - I prefer a display in front of the handle bar stem (more natural sight line vs. conscious looking down and then back up to the road). I think you could get the display and the front light to sit closer together (display out and down a bit, the light up a bit) which would make them appear to be more integrated. Even mounted closer to the light the display can still be tipped up a bit to provide a better angle to view.

 

[evolvable]

Wow, that's a really beautiful bike!

 

[TomD]

Just curious what fender you're planning to pair with the Schwalbe Super Moto-X? Really love the Moxo-X tires on my Frey CC but at 2.4" wide the choices are limited for a quality aluminum fender beyond SKS Bluemels 75 U and Planet Bike Cascadia ALX.

 

[Comfortably Numb]

Find a new welder. CN

 

[opimax]

Pls make sure it has an accurate battery percentage reading and a reasonable accurate odometer with .x miles not just x.

 

[coldriderwi]

Find a new welder. CN

Looks just like the welding on most bikes. Trek, gazelle, etc.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

curious what fender you're planning to pair with the Schwalbe Super Moto-X?

We are working with an accessory manufacturer for mass production. SKS is a great fender and it is sold as an aftermarket item and they also supply to OEMs.
Many of these polycarbonates fenders (especially, the higher quality ones) are manufactured in Asia to certain design specifications specified by OEMs like planet bike or SKS.

To answer your question, the fender is not SKS but very similar and with the extra width and length that we specified.
If you are interested, I am happy to discuss it further. Fenders may not be of interest for folks who live in dry states like Texas, Arizona, or California but here in Canada or some other places like Portland, Seattle, it is a must to have one.

 

[wabaseballfamily]

Ravi, Any pics of the stepthru Shakti? Asking for the the wife. lol

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Ravi, Any pics of the stepthru Shakti? Asking for the the wife. lol

Not yet, sir.
One piece of info: the step-thru will have a 750Whr battery and we have realized that it is plenty for 95% of the riders. So, no dual battery on the step-thru, it changes the aesthetics of the bike.
On the diamond frame, we will have the option to extend the range.

 

[new2ebike_eh]

Ravi,

Any update on the website going live? Will it include specs for the Shakti step-thru? My wife is 5'4" and is more comfortable on a smaller (45cm ish) bike so curious on the size of this intriguing bike.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Ravi,

Any update on the website going live? Will it include specs for the Shakti step-thru? My wife is 5'4" and is more comfortable on a smaller (45cm ish) bike so curious on the size of this intriguing bike.

We are quite close to it. Thanks for being patient.
It will have all the specs and details. We may have a step-thru bike that is more suited for your wife. I will reply to your message and we could certainly build one for your wife.
It will be a Bosch-mid drive setup.

 

[new2ebike_eh]

Hi Ravi,

Very interested in hearing about the possible step-thru with mid-drive you mention in your post above!

Thanks,

Robert

 

[Johnny]

Looks very good @Ravi Kempaiah .

Some minor comments.

-What is the handlebar sweep angle? Usually up to 15 it is good but afterwards it may be hard on the wrists.

-Connecting the rack to the frame with 2 beams can be better.

-Can front fork's travel be reduced? Braking at higher speeds may cause it to compress too much.

-During your test rides you may want to frequently take the wheel off and put it back on to test the durability and ease of use of the through axle setup.

-The info screen is a bit on the large side, I would have preferred something smaller.

Overall I think this is designed very well.

Good luck

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

We are partnering up with Velofix and after our work on some Bosch bikes, I asked them to take a test ride on our Zen Shakti bike.
He came back very impressed said, "wow, I think you should charge more for this..."
Anyway, it's good to hear feedback from someone like him because his team builds 100's of Rad bikes every week and he is acutely aware of the issues of E-bikes.

 

[JCofMN]

We are quite close to it. Thanks for being patient.
It will have all the specs and details. We may have a step-thru bike that is more suited for your wife. I will reply to your message and we could certainly build one for your wife.
It will be a Bosch-mid drive setup.

I see you're now open for business with Samurai pre-orders. Since I already have 4 variations of mid drives, your Shakti is of the most interest to me.
What would be most intriguing would be an upgrade model with a Pinion gearbox --- sort of an acoustic Priority 600x integrated with your rear hub motor.
Maybe too narrow and niche market for a startup, but something to think about down the road when you enter scale up. Unlike some other startups, you seem
to have a well thought out business plan taking advantage of your key personnel's strength and weaknesses, so I'm betting you'll get there.