Specialized Turbo e-bike

[doc007]

http://youtu.be/UjbkfVamXcI

http://turbo.specialized.com/

Motor: Specialized Turbo Direct Drive rear hub motor <--lol

Closeup of motor and Battery compartment: http://turbo.specialized.com/technology/

Overall, it looks like a pretty nice build. I'm sure the price they are charging is ridiculous though.

Anyone else have any more information on this bike?

For the guys in Europe, I think you can schedule a test ride if you're interested.

I'm happy to see that more well know bike manufacturers are adopting ebike tech. Hopefully, this will help push the technology further.

 

[itselectric]

http://youtu.be/UjbkfVamXcI
http://turbo.specialized.com/

Wow! Very nice design!

[youtube]YgFDsB00Tck[/youtube]
[youtube]KSWEEkdba8g[/youtube]

Motor is using GT dropouts axles, it is the 2nd motor that I have been seen using rounded axles.

 

[Pure]

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=38168

 

[smorse1]

Any idea on a) when it would be available in the US, and b) what the price would be?
Looks awesomely cool.

 

[Hasaf]

Here is what I said about it on another forum:

My thoughts; keep in mind that unlike many here I like e-bikes and think that they are a great alternative to the use of large petrol-cars as single occupant vehicles for commuting. I am even slightly biased toward specialized, I have several and like that they pay some attention to style.

That being said, I consider the Specialized to be underpowered and overpriced. It has a very small motor in order to squeak past some very restrictive European laws. However, the key phrase in that last sentence was, "it has a very small motor." There is just no getting around that.

It also has a small battery. I like that they tried to integrate the battery into the style of the bicycle in order to achieve an attractive look. However, the battery chemistry and performance does not fit that form factor. The result is that the Specialized exhibits very poor range performance.

So, my grade for it comes down to:
Style +
Price -
Power -
Range -

Currently, it is possible to get three +'es in that list, not four. The Specialized only got one. As I said, overpriced and underpowered.

 

[ferro]

While it is an asthetically pleasing design, it is expensive ($7,300). As far as I know specialized does not plan on selling it in the US.

 

[alan]

Where did the $7300 price come from?

There is a lot of info on the bike I found through the Specialized Spain site. A direct link to the Turbo site is here .

-- Alan