Electric Bicycles Abound…

Well folks, it is true – I am coming across increasing number of bicycle designers and manufacturers that are bringing out electric bikes.  The more recent ones — that have been brought in the market — are models from Specialized, Polaris, to name a few.  Previously, I had posted on several new brands that were early to market — as in many other industries – the startups bring the new products to market first.  At any rate, here is the link to my earlier posting with several bike manufacturers being listed.

The new models in the market are:

                      Specialized                                                       Polaris

Specialized electric bike      Polaris Electric Bike

The Specialized Turbo S bike uses a Direct Drive rear hub motor and a battery that is integrated in the frame.  The motor provides drive and achieves speeds of up to 45miles-per-hour.   (Side note:  I have been able to get to ~42 miles-per-hour speed with my Specialized Rockhopper Comp 29 SL bike going downhill)

Here, I need to point out that the Specialized Turbo was specifically designed as an electric bike. The frame / battery are designed for this model, special charger was designed as well.  So a very large investment for the company.  The bike is pedelectric only – i.e. power is applied via the motor only when you are pedaling.  By using a torque sensor the bike system then applies varying degree of assist based on how hard you are pedaling rather than how fast.

I wonder how fast really this bike will go and of course what is the range of battery powered assist it will offer.  I could not find much of that on the Specialized.com web site.  One thing is for sure though — the price of the bike is very high — set at $5900!!!

In the next article (later this week) I will pull together a summary on the Polaris bike as well.

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  1. Pingback: Electric Bicycles Abound - Next One... | Bikes, Biking Resources, Biking FunBikes, Biking Resources, Biking Fun

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