2013 Zero MX

[DJ99X]

They never show it doing anything REALLY big... I understand it's meant for back yard riding and camping and all that, but hear me out:

If I was trying to convince people to buy MY electric bike, and it was legitimately fast, as they say it is, I'd spend the $5-10000 on showa stuff for my video bike and show it hitting Larocco's leap or the step up at Pala. How many would you really need to sell to offset the cost of the suspension?

That'd be false advertising

[Sweendoggy]

I rode one at Infineon a few years ago, one of the first models, and it was very strange! Linear power is a strange thing when you are used to moto lol Try doing a wheelie on these things and you'll know what I mean! haha I almost wrecked the thing a few times, but it was a blast for what it was haha

[jlv]

It's GM, so they might just suck. :P

I'm going to remain skeptical about electric bikes claiming 54 HP until I see one that looks faster than a 30 year old 125.

It could very well have that.

We actually considered bolting a 32kW electric engine into our vehicle in one course at our uni where the goal was to design an electric vehicle to be raced against other electric vehicles and see which one uses less energy.
Opted for a 3.2kW that could handle 4-5x its nominal power during max load for a little while, so we still got 120Nm transmitted to the rear wheel from that little engine. :lol:
It did have some sort of high-tech cell solution, though I don't know the specifics of it since I was in the mechanical side of the project. The electronics in it were worth 20k euros. :shock:
The "car" weighed about 70-80kg and could be driven for a few hours without a recharge. Not in full power of course, and the regenerative braking helped increase the operating time.

3.2 kilowatts * 5 = 16 kilowatts = 21.4563534 hp = 30 year old 125

I'm not saying I'm against electric bikes. I'm saying the battery technology isn't there yet. If it were there it would already be in current electric cars.

If I were making an electric bike right now, I'd try to match a 250f's performance and weight by sacrificing run time. Switching batteries seems better than being overweight and under powered.

[JTmoto]

I'd try to match a 250f's performance and weight by sacrificing run time. Switching batteries seems better than being overweight and under powered.

And that wouldn't even be a downside for the average American. We spend countless money on gas everyday right? Not to mention the fact that gas prices are just going to keep raising anyways.

[jlv]

A 5 minute run time would suck, but I'd prefer that to an under powered bike that weighs 265 lbs. A 250 has about 60 lbs of motor + 6 lbs / gallon of fuel in it. I'd like to see a real chassis with 70 lbs of motor and battery producing 30-40 hp for whatever run time it could manage.

[Sweendoggy]

A 5 minute run time would suck, but I'd prefer that to an under powered bike that weighs 265 lbs. A 250 has about 60 lbs of motor + 6 lbs / gallon of fuel in it. I'd like to see a real chassis with 70 lbs of motor and battery producing 30-40 hp for whatever run time it could manage.

It'll be a long time before it replaces MX, however I don't see anything wrong with a "lazy man's" BMX/mountain bike. I say lighten it up for sure, but power can come eventually, I want something to hop on and go hit a bunch of small stuff, or maybe even rip the thing around town or the skatepark haha.

[cloud_2901]

A 5 minute run time would suck, but I'd prefer that to an under powered bike that weighs 265 lbs. A 250 has about 60 lbs of motor + 6 lbs / gallon of fuel in it. I'd like to see a real chassis with 70 lbs of motor and battery producing 30-40 hp for whatever run time it could manage.

It'll be a long time before it replaces MX, however I don't see anything wrong with a "lazy man's" BMX/mountain bike. I say lighten it up for sure, but power can come eventually, I want something to hop on and go hit a bunch of small stuff, or maybe even rip the thing around town or the skatepark haha.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbr01FLu0PA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7xlNrroFOA

One of these would be AWESOME once they get some kind of regenerative braking and a bit bigger - scratch that, longer lasting - battery.

[jacksk8t12]

why don't they just put a mixture of electric and gas

[DJ99X]

Too heavy. And that's only done for fuel economy reasons, which isn't a concern for MX bikes

[jlv]

It'll be a long time before it replaces MX, however I don't see anything wrong with a "lazy man's" BMX/mountain bike. I say lighten it up for sure, but power can come eventually, I want something to hop on and go hit a bunch of small stuff, or maybe even rip the thing around town or the skatepark haha.

What I'm saying is, if my options are run time, power and light weight, choose any two, I'd choose power and light weight. I could use a rest every couple of laps.

[Chris183]

Finally, 2 and 4 stroke riders can come together for one common hatred, electric bikes

[dani22]

And holy shit that's a big rear sprocket

i'd say it's huge hahaha

[MX_Gh0ST]

do it !

[crashreallyfast]

Finally, 2 and 4 stroke riders can come together for one common hatred, electric bikes

hate to see every1 hating on this bad boy lol. if i was fucking loaded i would definatly have one. not for the track, because 1, i feel like having no gears would cause problems, 2 the suspension would definatly be an issue. and 3, somthing breaks that involves the motor, i would have no idea were to start (reason i run 2-strokes, easy as hell to work on). however, reason i would own one, is for trail riding. issue with trail riding, is you kind of have to keep a slower pace in some places to be careful not to run into another rider comming the oppisite direction. with one of thoes, you could haul ball every were, and would be able to hear any other bikes comming. so long story short. for the track F*** NO (unless it was super super muddy, i would imagine that being a dream in that situation), for the trails... HELL yeah, would make riding so much more fun, and would obviously not have to worry about fowling plugs, or running low on gas or motor oil, etc.

[DJ99X]

Well, while you may not need to worry about running out of gas, you definitely would need to worry about flattening the battery.

As for something breaking in the motor, there's very little moving parts. Really, there's only a rotor and some bearings. Any issues would most likely be electrical, which would obviously require a professional.

As they are, they would definitely be great for sprints/enduros (as long as the entire event is 1-1.5 hours long).