Interbike 2014, Las Vegas Sept 9-13

[t3sla]

Did the Xiongda folks make it to America?
otherDoc

+1 want a meeting

[morati]

SM, if you get a chance please post some pics of the new Nicolai stuff......Very jealous right now!

[spinningmagnets]

I will take hundreds of pics, but I will have to crop and resize each one, plus...I have to spend some time with my wife (usually meals). I will be posting pics for at least a week. I'll try to post any Nicolai pics tomorrow night.

[spinningmagnets]

More pics, in no particular order (I'll fix that later)

Fat bikes were everywhere. Not just a fad, everybody was very enthusiastic about them. Many examples with electric motors, but at least a hundred with only pedals.

Fat tires

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The small diameter BionX hub continues to survive in Europes 250W region, but I believe all the new choices will give them some competition, so I don't know how long the small diameter BionX will survive.

BionX

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Their new D-model, more diameter = more torque at the same watts. Silent and narrow, room for a lot of gears in the cluster and a disc brake.

BionX D

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Currie

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Prodeco Tech

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Xtracycle Edgerunner, top of hill

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Shimano Steps mid drive

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Red Zuma

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izipusa.com

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Felt longtail cargobike

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[spinningmagnets]

Felt also displayed a Bosch mid drive fat-tire bike outfitted for hunting (wild turkeys?)

Felt fat tire hunting

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Prodeco Tech outlaw

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eProdigy

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EProdigy booth

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orange BBS02 Edgerunner

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BH eMotion booth

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[dogman dan]

Interesting fat tire Izip. Looks from the tires they found some good deep silt to ride it through. You know, the stuff the consistency of a bag of portland cement you see in the Baja race.

Seems to me, bb drive is the way to go. on a fat bike. Slog along through the arroyo bottom sand, or on a sugary beach.

[Paderolis]

Great stuff! Thanks for sharing, wish I could go!!

[efMX Trials Electric Freeride]

Nicolai Bikes RN1 at Interbike Las Vegas booth 32160





"
NICOLAI Distributor of USA, Darin Brin, interviewed Kalle Nicolai about the RN-1 Prototype:

Kalle Nicolai is well known worldwide as a passionate bike design engineer and two-wheel bike constructor. His company Nicolai GMBH is the last company that manufactures aluminum bicycle frames in Germany, in an industrial format. Besides his own Nicolai branded products, he has created many award-winning bikes for the brands GRACE, SMART and others in the field of electric mobility. When asked about what kind of vehicle is the RN-1 and why it was developed, Kalle has given us the following answer's:

The RN-1 bridges the gap between Ebike and motorcycle. We wanted to create a bike that is similarly smooth like a DH-Bike behaves, in the handling, & also additionally installing an engine power that can catapult to every situation like a motorcycle can. In my opinion this kind of bike should also not weight more than 50 kilograms and must have more than 5000 watts. We have been able to develop in co-operation with Swiss motor and electronics specialists ELTRONIC.CH, a new engine that weighs less than 10 kilos and can deliver over 10,000 watts of power. This combined with a Samsung 13S17P battery, (which is of high regard with the most modern batteries) puts out an energy content of 2200W in the market and allows for longer trips. The welded Nicolai Aluminum frame is designed so that it assigns many components in more than one function. For example, the motor housing and the battery cover is used as a stressed member of the frame. The suspension elements are adjusted with respect to damping and spring rated higher loads. The chassis is constructed so that it does not alter chain or belt lengthening or protracting during spring deflection in the rear. All electrical and mechanical components are sealed so that it comes into off-road use, no problems. Whether the market requires such a product, the customer will decide. I will not give it up, on my part.

On the question of when customers can buy this baby, Kalle said: We have in the coming months, additional components such as "front fender",''rear fender "and to develop the lamp panel, and of course test the bike extensively. In addition, we still need to execute the legalisation issues facing Europe and the United States. The RN-1 is really very nice and I look forward to the upcoming work and would therefore still leave no date for availability.

Technical data:

Suspension + frame:
Nicolai Double cradle tubular aluminum frame; ball bearing aluminum rear swing-arm; Rear suspension travel 240 mm; Fork SRS travel 203 mm;
Wheelbase 1382 mm; headangle 62,8 degree; Seat height 915 mm

Motor + Controller: Eltronic CM185; Rated at 5 KW; Peak power 10KW; No Gearbox.

Battery: Configuration 13S17P; Energy content of 2,200W; Nominal voltage 48 volts; Range depends on the selected driving mode between 30 -110 km;

General: total weight - 48 kg;

Find the RN1 at Interbike Las Vegas booth 32160
"

[BarkMau]

Good work SMan. The mid drive Edgerunner looks great, so does the camo fat bike. Can't wait for more pix.
Thanks!

[docnjoj]

What is the story with the toothed belt? Is it as durable as a chain? Quieter? More expensive (I'll bet yes)
otherDoc
Oh yeah! When you wake up, S/M, please, please find some trikes?

[efMX Trials Electric Freeride]

What is the story with the toothed belt? Is it as durable as a chain? Quieter? More expensive (I'll bet yes)
otherDoc

well since its eurobike / interbike the belt drive is mostly just for show..
for street use a belt drive would be quieter and more efficient than chain drive..
(fewer moving parts.. example zero electric motorcycles use toothed belt drive)
for offroad use you would want to switch back to chain drive for durability and trail side repair ability..
the belt is toothed for grip on the motor cog and rear sprocket..
without requiring the higher belt tension of a non-toothed belt..
higher belt tension of non-toothed belt would reduce efficiency..
(less of a concern with gas or plug in electrics)
and of course max efficiency is very important for a mobile battery operated device such as an ebike/ emoto..

[gogo]

Nicolai Bikes RN1 at Interbike Las Vegas booth 32160

I don't like where the top shock mount is positioned right in the middle of a spar and right where the weight of the saddle support presses inward. Not correct triangulation.

[efMX Trials Electric Freeride]

Nicolai knows a few things about bike / suspension frame designs and manufacturing..
that said it is a prototype so will be subjected to more testing and possible changes if needed..
im fine with the shock and seat strut locations (as long as they hold up) but would like to see a pedal option..

Nicolai Bikes RN1 at Interbike Las Vegas booth 32160

I don't like where the top shock mount is positioned right in the middle of a spar and right where the weight of the saddle support presses inward. Not correct triangulation.

[morati]

This just in...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQe9sCZH0Oc

[skeetab5780]

60-70 mph holy shatt

[macribs]

I will take hundreds of pics, but I will have to crop and resize each one, plus...I have to spend some time with my wife (usually meals). I will be posting pics for at least a week. I'll try to post any Nicolai pics tomorrow night.

Seems you need the power of Linux. It will batch resize pics for you while you enjoy your porx ......ehh wife.

Code: Select all

# apt-get install imagemagick

[spinningmagnets]

I apologize for "teasing", but...

On the last day (Fri) I drove 7 hours to Flagstaff AZ (wish I could have stayed for "customer appreciation day"), then the next day drove 10 hrs to Tucumcari NM, and then I drove 12 hrs to get home to Kansas from there. Four hours of sleep Sunday night, then worked 10 hrs Monday, and 10 hrs today...

I'm not getting a "paycheck" for this...electricbike.com paid for my hotel and the gas to drive, so I have to upload the pics to the boss, before I can do my personal stuff with the raw data...

As far as new products, I thought this was the most interesting:

"TDCM DD-hub/IGH hybrid"
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewto ... 12#p946712

[LockH]

And EV World kicks in report "Toward the Perfect Electric Bicycle":
http://www.evworld.com/focus.cfm?cid=241

[efMX Trials Electric Freeride]

InterBike 2014 - Nicolai RN-1 electric bike (prototype) :

[sk8norcal]

[spinningmagnets]

"Interbike 2014 in Las Vegas, 4 days in September"
http://www.electricbike.com/interbike-2014/

I'll be working a 12-hr shift today (I know, that's a "good" problem). But now that the article is done, I'll try to post more pics here tomorrow.

[teslanv]

I'll try to post more pics here tomorrow.

And........

[spinningmagnets]

Sorry for the delay, published "izemans crossbreak mid drive" http://www.electricbike.com/hannes-cros ... mid-drive/

I had the great pleasure to chat with Dave Kaufman about his cromotor mid drive edgerunner, he's an incredibly smart guy.

Dave Kaufman, Cromotor mid drive edgerunner

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Got to talk to Tora Harris, owner of "Juiced Riders" and he brought a section of the custom extrusion he uses for his step-through ODK cargobike, this is why the ODK stands up to heavy abuse when it "looks like" a normal cargobike, there are a dozen features that make it beefy, and are not obvious to the casual observer.

juiced riders tube section.

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So you think a 29'r has large diameter tires? How about a 36'r? tires that come up to your beltline.

36-inch tires

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Justin L-E and two of his engineers (Rob and Dan) showing a Display Case to friends at the Light Electric Vehicle Association (LEVA), it has a hub, throttle, controller, cycle analyst, and a satiator charger to help explain their features in real time.

Justin LE, test case

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Ran into this guy in the hallway as I was leaving. Awesome fat cargobike, all chromoly for easy welding, Magic Pie mid drive with a mid-mount IGH as a transmission so that the rear wheel is conventional. Link is the video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qwfMs2 ... k4m9xhZl3O

magic Pie mid drive fat cargobike

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Jason on the left (with the blurry arm) is the owner of ebikekit.com in Philadelphia, and Justin (with the smile and the shaggy hair on the right) is the owner of Grin Technologies/ebikes.ca in BC Canada...I believe these two guys sell more hub kits in North America than any other two guys in the game. They were talking business and comparing opinions on the trends about the electric bike market for the next year. Not a lot of Spandex or Lycra around Interbike...

Jason/Justin

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At first I thought these two were FLDS (Las Vegas is near Utah, and there are also FLDS in Nevada), turns out they are Amish, and surprisingly...some Amish are into bikes (non electric, though)

Amish are into pedal-bikes...huh.

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I liked this frame for some reason. I think it was at the eZee booth. The vertical battery behind the seat-post stretches the wheelbase a few inches, good for a street commuter. Room for a mid-drive or rear hub, fairly low top bar for stand-over height. I noticed I could also use a triangle battery, and then put a mid drive between the seat-tube and the rear wheel (where the stock battery is now)

Dirt-jumper frame?

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This was a cool attachment. Bolt an adapter to the frame of a standard wheelchair, and the drive unit snaps on and off. Throttle, controller, battery and a MAC 12T are all contained in the device. This guy is a business partner of Paul/cell_man...and speaking of Paul, The arrow is pointing at Pauls foot, The white bike is a demonstrator he brought, 10T rear MAC, 48V X 25A = 1,200W (yes, I rode it). I really enjoyed talking to Pauls foot. Normally you'd have to get an appointment to interview Pauls foot, but Pauls foot liked some of the articles I wrote.

Pauls' foot.

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This is the 3G stepper, 20-inch rear tire, 24-inch front. Don't ask me anything about it, but...I had to get a pic.

3G Stepper

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I liked this frame too. Not quite as long as a Yuba Mundo, but long enough for a mid-motor option (where the battery is now). Top tube with a low stepover height (like the Sun Atlas cargobike), but not quite "female" looking. Welded cargo racks front and back.

mid-tail cargobike

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This downtube battery pack blends fairly well with many available and affordable frames.

Engion battery pack

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Kool Stop brakes brought this, it is not a reproduction, it's authentic.

Penny Farthing

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No electrics here (yet), I have their number...

Huntington Beach Bikes

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The owner of Tomahawk bikes said they have the patent on an elevated stay frame for a fat bike. He's the older guy with a T-shirt and baggy shorts. When he said the word "patent", a Chinese guy in the next booth spewed coffee out his nose and tried to muffle his uncontrolled laughing...

Tomahawk elevated stay fatbike

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I stayed at the new York New York hotel/casino. It was actually fairly nice, I liked the cafes and restaurants inside. On 9/11, I had a BLT with extra B.

the New York New York hotel/casino

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I haven't heard of EG (company names from China can change often, and sometimes one company can have three names). They had an interesting full-suspension frame with a downtube battery.

EG full suspension with downtube battery

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(come back later, I'm typing right now...)

[lutefisk]

Spinningmagnets, just wanted to take a moment to say THANKS for all these awesome photos to drool over. Great reporting from Interbike, you're the best dude. I'm now going to click the link to your crossbreak mid-drive writeup, hopefully you'll have more stuff posted when I get back

Edit: Nice writeup on Johannes' bike! I read his build thread from beginning thread, but also thoroughly enjoyed your much more compact and very nicely written article.

[spinningmagnets]

Grin tech just posted a short video with some footage of the Interbike meet. It will give you a feel for the crowds at about 0:40...and I am the bald guy at 1:13!...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq5T7R2 ... e=youtu.be