New Powabyke

[carpetbagger]

I have just got back from a very wet Rochdale after viewing the new Powabyke stepthru and the prototype cross bar version..Poor Frank sheltering under a tent waiting for people to demonstrate the new bikes to.
The bikes will have a bottle type battery which should give a range of about 20 miles (apparently after a survey this was considered the mileage most people ride,pesonally i would have liked to achieve 50 miles) but you could always buy another battery to double the range. For tha same price as a Kalkoff you could have another 2 batteries and 60mile range.
The bikes are considerably lighter than the old ones which will still be available and they use the same motor.
Wheel size is increased to 28 inches with skinny tyres . The frames are more stylish than the old ones.
I had a test ride which was very enjoyable, a lot more like a conventional bike,very light handling and it seemed to have a quicker acceleration than the old Powabyke.
Should be available in september, a great bike....
If it is as reliable as the old ones it will be a surefire winner.

 

[burncycle]

I have just got back from a very wet Rochdale after viewing the new Powabyke stepthru and the prototype cross bar version..Poor Frank sheltering under a tent waiting for people to demonstrate the new bikes to.
The bikes will have a bottle type battery which should give a range of about 20 miles (apparently after a survey this was considered the mileage most people ride,pesonally i would have liked to achieve 50 miles) but you could always buy another battery to double the range. For tha same price as a Kalkoff you could have another 2 batteries and 60mile range.
The bikes are considerably lighter than the old ones which will still be available and they use the same motor.
Wheel size is increased to 28 inches with skinny tyres . The frames are more stylish than the old ones.
I had a test ride which was very enjoyable, a lot more like a conventional bike,very light handling and it seemed to have a quicker acceleration than the old Powabyke.
Should be available in september, a great bike....
If it is as reliable as the old ones it will be a surefire winner.

Yes , I viewed the bike last week and it looks a great machine.
Big, big inprovement on the current range.
I think it will sell very well.

 

[carpetbagger]

i have started saving right now,the money i had for the lithium battery is now going ito the new commuter version.....please mr lotto.............

 

[flecc]

If it's the same motor it will be higher geared now in the 28" wheel, so should be faster than the old Powabykes. As it's lighter that higher gearing shouldn't badly dent the hill climbing.

Sounds a good formula, though I'd like to have a different battery option, since I don't go along with the bottle battery approval that others express.

Why should an electric assist bike pretend it's not one? They should stand proud in their own right and no owner of any age should ever be ashamed to be seen riding one. I think it simply silly to have a maximum 20 mile range battery (less in adverse circumstances like very steep hills and strong headwinds), merely so that a bike looks at a casual glance as though it's not electric. When it's considered that the 20 miles range is only when the battery is new and that range will reduce continuously as the battery ages, I think the bottle battery gimmick will become unpopular with time.
.

 

[carpetbagger]

i got the general impression that 20 mile is conservative but you have to be where batteries are concerned. I think a longer range would be advantageous but given the bike should be under £1000 and the batteries approx £170, if you need the range you just need more batteries. If Franks estimate poves correct then they seem good value.

 

[coops]

It sounds light - thanks for braving the weather & posting too!

Is there any info on actual weight of bike and battery pack & the energy capacity & type too of the latter?

I tend to agree with flecc on batteries - it only takes 1 or 2 more kg of battery to more than double the initial range, not much weight penalty, though there is the cost issue perhaps.

I've considered lower range NiMH batteries in the past and they always seemed poor value compared to their higher capacity cousins, and some powerful bikes have benefitted from bigger batteries to help with their demand for current, but I'm not sure if either of those criteria still apply now?

Stuart.

 

[carpetbagger]

The official figures wil be launched soon but i think the bike was about 23/24 kg with battery. Initially i think it was quoted at 27kg in its earlier days but they managed to get a bit more weight off. The battery..again i think...was 6amp lithium. My apologies if i am not exact on these figures

 

[burncycle]

Oh Sorry, forgot to say though.
The only bad part about the bike is that the front wheel motor is the size of a frisby.
Much too large.

 

[carpetbagger]

i think that is so that you can still tell that it is an electric bike.....!
sorry Flecc....

 

[flecc]

i think that is so that you can still tell that it is an electric bike.....!
sorry Flecc....

Yes, I'd realised the Powabyke motor would be a bit of a giveaway, not to mention the noise it makes!

Reinforces my point about the bottle battery though, i.e. no point.
.

 

[burncycle]

The official figures wil be launched soon but i think the bike was about 23/24 kg with battery. Initially i think it was quoted at 27kg in its earlier days but they managed to get a bit more weight off. The battery..again i think...was 6amp lithium. My apologies if i am not exact on these figures

The rep told me it was 21kg

 

[Rod Tibbs]

New Powacycle weight etc

The official figure is 20.1Kg with battery. I posted the full technical details of the new Infinium on the thread "Powacycle launches Infinium." There is also a picture.

Cost is going to be around £1000 which strikes me as being quite pricey for the size of battery.

Rod

 

[carpetbagger]

Rod, i think you are confusing Powabyke with Powacyle,two completely different companies....and two different bikes,but will be in the same market as the Cytronex all come in at around £1000 with similar battery sizes/range

 

[coops]

Either way, 21 or 23/24kg isn't particularly light for a bike with a fairly low capacity battery.

 

[JohnInStockie]

I agree wth Coops, to compete with the Cytronex, it needs to be in the 18KG category, so what market is it aimed at, surely not against the Wispers and the Torqs?

 

[Saddlesore]

I must agree with flecc regarding battery size and aesthetics of an electric bike. Personally I would really like to see a bike with a genuine 50 mile range off one battery. I suppose bikes like the Cytronex and the new Powabyke have been designed to keep the weight down as much as possible which in my opinion is at the expense of a decent range and I don't consider 20-25 miles very good in this day and age.

Since derestricting my Forza I have seen the battery consumption shoot up and on an average 15 mile jaunt the recharge time going from 1.5 to 2.5 hours on the lithium battery supplied. Weather permitting I shall be doing around 30 miles later today and hope judicial use of the motor will get me round ok. As a consequence I would place a decent range high up on my list of priorities when choosing another bike - so something like the new Powacycle stacking arrangement would appeal.

 

[coops]

50 miles is quite possible with Panasonic models & Wisper too, their 14Ah seems to do 45miles quite easily, 50 manageable with care I'd think, and extra power is carefully metered out at offroad speeds on the 905se; I've not read anywhere if the range takes any hit at such speeds though.

With careful throttle use, especially from a standstill, & either extra pedalpower in proportion to speed, or moderating your speed to a more 'normal' level if thats not possible, you can increase your range per charge.

The cytronex has a very lightweight basis, and only 2kg more battery ie 19kg total would double the range ie a total of around 80% of the Ezee Li battery capacity, or 115% of the Panasonic battery.

Of course, its still possible to get 50miles on many bikes, even derestricted, by riding with electric assist to pedalpower, if you can, not vice versa, and similar applies to the Panasonic bikes where efficient, moderate power in proportion to rider effort ensures good range in most circumstances.

Stuart.

 

[Saddlesore]

Regarding battery size and range under discussion in this thread because of the new Powabyke bottle system similar to the Cytronex - I think I'm getting the point.

My earlier response stated I was off on a 30 mile jaunt today on my derestricted Forza - well due to the weather it turned out to be only 14 miles but I made a decision to only use the motor when I had to which turned out to be twice on the whole trip and that was only for a 100 metre stint up the last bit of a 1 in 8 hill and the other 50 metres on a 1 in 11 hill. When I got home I recharged the battery which only took 25 mins before the charger went green which to my reckoning represented 10% capacity usage. On a similar rolling countryside route I would have been able to cover 140 miles before the battery went flat. I would add that I did not at any time use the max output of the motor but just enough to assist my pedalling input.

I've always used the bike in pedelec mode but the novelty of doing 22-23 mph has now worn off and I was keen to see how much I actually needed the motor's help and was surprised how little it was which brings me back to the point that lightweight bikes with a small lightweight battery would not be as restricting as I first thought provided you treat the bike as a motor assist pedal bike rather than a moped and you are fit enough to pedal continually.

 

[Bikerbob]

I agree with Saddlesore. Whilst a lot of people will prefer a bike capable of giving substantial assistance over a long distance - and they are well catered for - there are those of us who have been waiting for a lightweight bike, enjoyable to ride unassisted, but with enough power to take the worst pain out of the bigger hills. The Cytronex now gives us that choice, the Powabyke may be too heavy. The battery needs to be lightweight - whether it should be disguised as a bottle is a matter of opinion. However a rack wouldn't suit this style of bike and this fitting allows the bike to have a standard wheelbase, in keeping with a sportier riding style, rather than the extended one on many electric bikes.

 

[coops]

Thats the ticket, saddlesore!

A smaller battery still favours a strong cyclist though and many/most potential ebike are often precisely not that, either initially or perhaps ever.

I've had similar experience to you and now very much limit my 'full-speed' derestricted use in favour of better range.

I still prefer a high capacity battery though, so that I can push the range further and so that I can even out the rider/battery contribution on longer trips - 10% on 14 miles is a very good result; I think I'd use more than 10% overall assist if I did 140 miles though!

Even so, 30% assist on average would have then got you close to 50 miles .

Regards, Stuart.