Electrobike

[Lowell]

The specs look good, but I'm having a hard time liking the styling.

http://electrobike.com/Pi/Pi.html

 

[xyster]

Vaporware? There are general dealer locations listed, but nothing specific.
http://electrobike.com/DealerLocations/DealerLocations.html


Take a look at their other models...
http://electrobike.com/PiX/PiX.html

$10,000 for the base hybrid; $40,000 for the hybrid racer? Who's going to buy that?

Pi X offers 30 horsepower—combined electric motor and gas engine horsepower—in the Bonneville Racer edition, while its stablemate, the Bonneville Commemorative edition, is a street friendly, emissions friendly, two-wheeled hotrod hybrid that will turn even the staunchest of red state oil barons into an Earth Day flag-waving parade marcher.

Pi X proves that eco and fast are not mutually exclusive. A 50cc 4-stroke coupled to an ultra-quiet, ultra-smooth brushless 48V e-Pi motor firing sequentially (the ratio between motor and engine can be tailored to individual preference) is enough to make you swear off plain vanilla internal combustion forever. A 48V, 100 amp, F-cell NiMH battery pack provides 30 miles of pure electric you-hauling while one gallon of gas will take you another 250 miles. All of the fragile bits like electronics, battery pack and even the gas tank reside neatly inside the aircraft seamless, patent pending monocoque spar. Marchesini magnesium cast wheels are standard on the Bonneville Racer (optional on the Commemorative). Pi X and all Electrobike models are the gateway from a brainless automobile-dependent world to a brighter, cleaner, less polluted world, with lower CO2 and a lot more loving.

 

[safe]

It's "artistic"... probably some artistic type person in San Francisco convinced a bunch of his friends that it was a good idea and they all chipped in for the costs to get it going. Even better... some left over "dot.com" con men that had not found a new "scam" and so this is the best they could come up with. (probably seduced a bunch of people to throw their life savings down the drain for it)

I'd say there is a 90% probability that this idea and company follows the long and seemingly endless list of bicycle company bankruptcies.

The story just keeps repeating itself... :lol:

If it had some more universal appeal... something other than an "artistic" feel then maybe it might be a hit. You never know... that Segue looks like it should have been a failure, but it was truly new enough to create a new market for itself. This doesn't seem original enough... so what?... the frame looks pretty... but is a pretty frame worth $7000 when you could achieve the same result for less?

 

[Lowell]

The same people that buy Optibikes? I have no idea who would pony up 10 grand for a hybrid 40cc scooter, but the idea is interesting.

The base Pi with pedals and 750W would be what most people could use on the street, but 7 grand is a bit much.

I also find it odd that all the bikes are spec'd with NiMH batteries, which is a strange choice for a new and cutting edge design. I would expect nothing but the best available lithium for that kind of scratch.

 

[safe]

It's an "art project" looking for a reason to exist. Things that are "real" tend to have artistic concepts at times, but it's the long grind of hard work and testing that makes it a winner. You have to win on technical grounds AND on price. If this design is so simple why can't it be mass produced? If you can mass produce something then you can lower the price. So what's missing is the "work" part. If this could be sold at WalMart for $500 then you might get many people to buy it. At this price they might sell a few to people who have so much money they want to spend it just to show off. If the rich celebrities can be convinced that "the king has no clothes" then they're in business. :lol:

 

[knightmb]

It looks like a large piece of pipe with wheels on both ends. Interesting I guess, not sure how sturdy it is or how it makes for a better riding position than the many other types of bicycles out there. I agree, price seems a bit steep for something that we already for less than $1K have minus the artistic look. :wink:

 

[Lowell]

One of the appeals of it will be that it's expensive. Rolex could probably build a cheap watch that sells at WalMart, but why would they want to?

 

[safe]

One of the appeals of it will be that it's expensive. Rolex could probably build a cheap watch that sells at WalMart, but why would they want to?

Well that's exactly who will buy it. No one will say:

"Oh, it's so practical"

or

"Gee, it sure has excellent performance."

or

"I'm saving money and the environment."

...instead they will say:

"Isn't it a thing of beauty? This deserves to be in a museum or in my private collection back at the estate along with my Tesla Roadster, Porsche and Ferrari."

 

[Lowell]

Rich people, saving the environment one expensive toy at a time.

I do hope this bike is a success though, and if there is enough demand for factory built mid drives, they might make it to mass production. (read cheap)

 

[safe]

Bonneville Speed Trials Update
Sunday, June 17th, 2007
by Marcus Hays

http://electrobike.com/Events/Events.html

 

[safe]

The real question is:

"What will the full suspension electrobike look like?"

 

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

Swear to god, I doodled arch-type frames in high school wondering why nobody builds them.
After learning about statics found out why.

It has a 49 inch wheelbase.
Safe, you should be all over this.
If follows your mantra calling for longer frames.

 

[Lowell]

Oddly, they seem to be using cable actuated brakes, and only a 6" rotor. Again, for the price, I would expect only the best hydraulic brakes to stop a bike with that much power.

Not sure why they put the front caliper in the leading position, which means that multi piston calipers with differing bore sizes won't bolt on.

 

[Miles]

From the designer of Machine-X, another unintegrated design

 

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

Vaporware? There are general dealer locations listed, but nothing specific.

None in Hawaii.
That's a shame.

 

[Miles]

Vaporware?

Pi in the sky? :lol:

 

[Miles]

Just in case anyone missed this bit

" Light Matter (TM) is a micro-flywheel based plug-in hybrid electric zero emission drive train (PHZEZ) that powers Electrobike's tenth aniversary (sic) edition "Pi", and ZVO's amazing new B-Line (TM). Light Matter (TM) is also capable of driving vehicles of almost any scale. "

 

[safe]

It has a 49 inch wheelbase.
Safe, you should be all over this.
If follows your mantra calling for longer frames.

The frame is fine. I have no problem with a monocoque design and think that's good. 49" wheelbase is good. Even placing the batteries inside the frame is good. The problem I have is with the arch just for the sake of having an arch. What design problem is it trying to solve? What's the reason for doing this? I don't see a reason, but I do see an artistic expression. If the price is low then it has to compete on issues of practicality and performance and in that area it fails miserably. If the price is high then you have to get your "con man" dialog working well enough to hook someone into your web. I can see someone wanting this AFTER the company goes bankrupt. At that point it becomes an interesting work or art and you can get it for next to nothing. In fact, if they only manage to sell five of them before going broke then it becomes a rare and collectable item. (potentially of value to a collector) The worst case is when something like that sells 1000 and then goes bankrupt, at that point it's not rare enough to collect... at least not for a few years.

 

[Parker]

I'm with Lowell. It's hard to like the styling. I want to like it. Maybe if it was a swallower arc and more recumbent-esq. It' might be good to have a shell over it like a velomobile. The curve would match the frame. I want to see bikes set up for real transportation too - fenders, racks, headlights and bigger tires.
I like the creative thinking on it but I think they need to keep working on it.

 

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

...Maybe if it was a swallower arc and more recumbent-esq. It' might be good to have a shell over it like a velomobile. The curve would match the frame

That was exactly the line of thinking I was following when tossing around the idea on paper instead of paying attention in English class. A shallower, longer arch was to serve as the central overhead backbone of the frame with a recumbent seat & rest of the mechanical bits slung beneath it. The cabin enclosure would be the ribcage & hinge upward in a gullwing.
I'm not sure if this is a case of great minds curve along the same arch or that it's just intuitively obvious.

 

[Lowell]

If I had that bike, the first thing I'd do is throw that goofy front fork in the trash and install a top of the line dual crown DH fork with a 6 piston caliper and 9" disc on the proper side. It would totally throw the styling for a loop as well which would be funny, but I firmly believe form follows function.

 

[Mark_A_W]

Oddly, they seem to be using cable actuated brakes, and only a 6" rotor. Again, for the price, I would expect only the best hydraulic brakes to stop a bike with that much power.

Not sure why they put the front caliper in the leading position, which means that multi piston calipers with differing bore sizes won't bolt on.

I'm not arguing about the rotor size, or caliper position.

But the caliper itself looks like an Avid BB - I have them on my bike. They work. They work really well.

But that's one ugly bike.

 

[DeeL2003]

The owner just introduced Machine X 2007 on the other website last year. But he hasn't updated it in a while. I guess he's completely stopped supporting that bike and has moved on to something more "out of this world."

 

[TylerDurden]

...Maybe if it was a swallower arc and more recumbent-esq. It' might be good to have a shell over it like a velomobile. The curve would match the frame

That was exactly the line of thinking I was following when tossing around the idea on paper instead of paying attention in English class. A shallower, longer arch was to serve as the central overhead backbone of the frame with a recumbent seat & rest of the mechanical bits slung beneath it. The cabin enclosure would be the ribcage & hinge upward in a gullwing.
I'm not sure if this is a case of great minds curve along the same arch or that it's just intuitively obvious.

 

[xyster]

I'm not sure if this is a case of great minds curve along the same arch or that it's just intuitively obvious.

If I remember correctly, the arch provides the greatest strength for the least material.