world's fastest ebike?

[mvly]

http://www.gizmag.com/specialized-turbo-ebike/21981/

World's fastest?
I think not! my ebike goes 50mph top speed! And I am no where near as fast as some of the ebikes here.

As for world's fastest production... Nope, That goes to the Stealth Bomber

As for world's fastest pedal assist? I am sure there are many users here who built faster pedal assist ebikes.

Failed journalism. They need to do some research before posting such article.

 

[dogman dan]

That's quite hilarious, that they'd think 28 mph is the worlds fastest. You'd think guys who design and sell an ebike would have at least had the time to google or you tube, "fast ebike" Then they'd come up with tons of vids of 50 mph bikes, and links to here, where 40 mph ebikes are considered noob entry level.

Of course the designers have read ES. But the marketing guys think you have to cover the carburator when you wash the bike. :wink:

 

[The Mighty Volt]

Its obviously the worlds fastest street-legal, pedal-assist ball of shite ever.

Christ I hate seeing decent people being conned and ripped off by slick advertising nonsense.

 

[MadRhino]

Sooner or later, most bicycle manufacturers will start to design some Ebikes. They will be slick and expansive, as this one sure is, and marketed with a lot of BS. Claiming to be the fastest Ebike with a top speed that most can beat on pedal bikes, will not help their credibility. The good thing is that we will have a choice of Ebike specific frames to play with in a near future.

 

[richirich1113]

Could be they figure the negative attention from their stupid statement is still "attention".

It got us talking about it.

 

[Ykick]

Could be they figure the negative attention from their stupid statement is still "attention".

It got us talking about it.

True, very true...

 

[jkbrigman]

Came across this article on "Gizmag"

http://www.gizmag.com/specialized-turbo-ebike/21981/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=638795af48-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email

The tag line is bogus, of course. It might possibly apply in a much narrower definition, such as "world's fastest commercially-produced 250w road bike sold in Greenland". But taken literally, it's a boldfaced lie: most people on this forum have built faster ebikes, and I'm sure anyone with a Stealth Bomber or a Greyborg-based bike would beg to differ. In fact, the marketing line makes me wonder if there's ANYone at Specialized who's seen E-S or comparable ebike forums. (I also wonder if the currently available $999 Schwinn ebike couldn't tie the reported 28mph speed of this bike.)

There are, however, two important points that are the reason I've started this thread:

1) Any mass-market bicycle vendor who is producing an actual, viable and available ebike is just further validation of what we all here already know.

2) Although the bike is totally non-suspended, it has some nice design features that might inspire us with our own ebike construction. I've included a couple photos below, so you can have a look at this "world's fastest ebike":

 

[Farfle]

Looks like the an ultramotor style press together motor.

 

[jkbrigman]

Looks like the an ultramotor style press together motor.

I was wondering that very thing. I went over to the A2B Ultramotor website to see what I could see. I can't tell enough to say, but it does look like the Ultramotor product is far better suited for real-world road riding. No numbers for a full-up bike weight listed in the article. Article says it'll be for sale in Europe, but I can't see a pedelec sensor...what up with that, I wonder.

Whoa: it's single speed up at the crank, looks like the rear cluster is 9 speed or larger. The dropouts are monstrous: big, beefy, thick.

I just saw where a commenter named "SamD" calls them "clowns" for missing the Stealth Bomber. <wondering to myself if that's one of us>... :lol: )

 

[neptronix]

'world's fastest snail'.. ;D

Nice looker tho.

 

[Pure]

World fastest? I think not, but I do agree with Nep that is a good looking bike. I'd prob go as far as to say it's right up there with the Stealth in quality. Either way it looks like Specialized is trying to do it right.

 

[ambroseliao]

One thing they can claim. If it really can go 45kph or 25mph, then it is, "the world's fastest ebike with a 250W motor!"

Complete story here with a couple of videos:

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/video-specialized-turbo-the-worlds-fastest-electric-bike-33568/

 

[Ykick]

I like the battery mount but Ah capacity is surely lame. I guess okay for 200W stuff and it looks okay - I prefer many of the triangle bag builds around here over this.

They got fancy with the motor flange fer sure! Woohoo, lighten that sucker up!

 

[SamTexas]

"250W motor": Just as meaningless as calling the 9C 2807 a "500W motor".
One thing for sure: 250 watts will never propel a bicycle and a rider to 45kph on flat ground.

The bike looks really good though. I could not find the power wires going into the rear hub, nice!

 

[MadRhino]

If they ever make a FS frame with a battery mount like this one repeated on the 3 tubes, I'm a buyer. That would let me fit 8 Lipo bricks very neat, and Specialized FS frames are top rides.

 

[John in CR]

If they ever make a FS frame with a battery mount like this one repeated on the 3 tubes, I'm a buyer. That would let me fit 8 Lipo bricks very neat, and Specialized FS frames are top rides.

Hey MadRhino, how about 2 tubes, top and down that ARE the battery?...14p20s Konion VTs running lengthwise with overlapping 7p1s blocks, wrapped in fiberglass plus an outer wrap of the near cylindrical tube being carbon....74V18ah self-balanxing and capable of 100A continuous no problem. The tubes get rolled this week. Their slightly larger diameter than a SuperV's main tube, so we're just planning to copy that geometry with a 10 cm more wheelbase to accommodate the mid-drive. No Lipo bricks needed.

 

[advancedelectricbikes]

Battery inserts into the downtube. Very intriguing, and wondering if it weakens the downtube much.

Very good point. The down tube generally absorbs about 45% of the total energy stored in the frame. Roughy 60% of that is torsional and 40% out-of-plane. I would think that the semicircular geometry of the downtube would greatly compromise the inherent strength of a circular downtube.

 

[MadRhino]

If they ever make a FS frame with a battery mount like this one repeated on the 3 tubes, I'm a buyer. That would let me fit 8 Lipo bricks very neat, and Specialized FS frames are top rides.

Hey MadRhino, how about 2 tubes, top and down that ARE the battery?...14p20s Konion VTs running lengthwise with overlapping 7p1s blocks, wrapped in fiberglass plus an outer wrap of the near cylindrical tube being carbon....74V18ah self-balanxing and capable of 100A continuous no problem. The tubes get rolled this week. Their slightly larger diameter than a SuperV's main tube, so we're just planning to copy that geometry with a 10 cm more wheelbase to accommodate the mid-drive. No Lipo bricks needed.

Sounds good to me, yet I would want to be able to access the batteries. What is the final power density of a battery made with those Konion cells, I mean the weight difference of your whole pack compared to the equivalent Wh built with Lipo ?

I would think that the semicircular geometry of the downtube would greatly compromise the inherent strength of a circular downtube.

Most hydroformed DH frame tubes are not round anymore, and much stronger than before. Specialized had been making high end frames and kept in the small circle of team racing winners of every cycling sports for a very long time. I have no doubt that their Ebike frame design is reinforced and tested above bicycle specs. I have "mountain proven" many Specialized frames in my life, and still ride 2 at present day.

 

[dogman dan]

You get 250w to propel you at 25 mph the same way you get 350wh to take you 30-40 miles. Pedal your guts out.

But it's a beauty of a bike, and I'd like to have one. Just gotta look at it for what it is, a pretty nice ebike, and ignore the marketing spew.

 

[knoxie]

I think its admirable that the big boys dip there toe in the market but they always come in too high which just puts folks off, sure its a nice looking bike but I would rather have it without the motor and battery if it was limited to 250W, I can peddle a 300 quid road bike at 25mph on the flat? I dont see the point :? they will always say worlds fastest or most efficient and quote ridiculous ranges in the same sentence as the top speed, Stealth are the only folks who have come close to make the marketing hype live up to the performance in real life.

This will be another curiosity at best and will disappear like so many high and low ticket wide of the mark bikes do, the ones that get it right will hang around for sure, this smell a lot like tidalfarce in many ways and we all know what happened to them.

 

[BATFINK]

A lot more big brands getting in on the E-Bike action with ridiculous claims

http://gizmodo.com/5897339/worlds-fastest-e+bike-keeps-pace-with-city-traffic/gallery/2

hehe,

 

[BATFINK]

A bit like the stromer http://www.stromer.ch/site/index

It does have a very weird looking dropout with no bolts protruding, i wonder how it is mounted?

 

[MadRhino]

This will be another curiosity at best and will disappear like so many high and low ticket wide of the mark bikes do, the ones that get it right will hang around for sure, this smell a lot like tidalfarce in many ways and we all know what happened to them.

The difference here, is that Specialixed is making huge profits in the bicycle industry. They are not expecting a financial success with this bike, and don't need one to survive. They just feel that it is time to be present in this niche, and willing to support the investment. Specialized dealers will each have one to show on the floor, to make people talk about it. The price will be 10 times what most here would find reasonable, and it has very low power for the buck indeed. I would not be surprised if they come out with a long travel FS Ebike next, just to make a statement and show impressive videos with their DH racing team riders.

 

[sk8norcal]

http://www.go-swissdrive.com/index.php?id=78
http://www.bike-eu.com/news/specialized-aims-at-urban-power-at-e-bike-presentation-5762.html

Go Swiss Drive drive system
From a technical point of view, the Specialized electric bike could not be ‘just another’ model fitted with a Bosch engine. Because this e-project is headed by Specialized’s new Swiss R&D office in Cham, Switzerland it was obvious that they took a Swiss e-bike component manufacturer for their drive system. It’s Go Swissdrive; a new company named Ortlinghaus AG.

 

[MadRhino]

I find little interest in the motorization. It is the simple fact that a major player of the bicycle industry start to design an Ebike specific frame that is interesting. This opens the door to competition, and soon the other big players will want to do better. This is good for us, for a variety of good frames could be available soon to build with.