grahamjayzee Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Hi All, I may possibly come across as a bit crackpot here, but bear with me... Does anyone have any thoughts or experiences of electric trials bikes (apart from kids/ OSET bikes)? Without letting on too much, I am seriously considering a development of a full-sized adult trials bike with Electric power? Why the heck would I want to do this? Well, sooner or later, like it or not, it will become harder to purchase and use conventional trials bikes. Certainly, noise issues near my home in Cambridge have all but ruled out practice as we are so easily upset these days. A trials bike isn't particularly loud, but it hangs around in one area so becomes irritating. Where I live there is a large nature reserve owned by the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds for those not familiar with this UK organisation). MTBs are tolerated, but a trials bike put-putting away disturbs the birds and therefore other people's enjoyment of the area. Technology is moving on, and it should be possible to power a bike electrically to at least clubman level. I for one would be happy to ride the route I presently ride on an electric bike; maybe expert standard will take a bit longer though. Anyone got any thoughts? Anyone had a go and made one? I'd love to hear your thoughts Graham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wherry Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Have a look here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamjayzee Posted January 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Thanks Wherry. I'd had a read of this one, he's spent a fair bit of time on it, hasn't he? I used to work for an Electronic consultancy working in the Automotive industry and we did a fair bit of work on EVs. I may be able to dredge up some useful knowledge here... Graham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wherry Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Yep. You've only got to have a look at the Oset UK site - http://www.osetuk.com/index.html - and watch the videos on there to realise that full-size main-stream electric bikes are going to happen soonish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamjayzee Posted January 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Also, think about all the comment about the power delivery differences of all the bikes available and the efforts we go to to fine tune this. How cool would it be to be able to dial in whatever power characteristics we want, down to the size and width of power pulses, which will affect how the bike grips? It could be more than just a green alternative; it could have a whole set of merits of it's own... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey_boy Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Its a very interesting technology, I wonder if any of the major trials companies have done any research into it yet? Those oset things are in my local store and I've never really stopped to look at them properly but going from the video on that site they look pretty amazing. Does anyone have any one on one experience with them? What is the battery time like etc? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamjayzee Posted January 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 I think there's a fair amount of info on the OSET bikes in the OSET forum, but yes, I would have done very bad things to have had one of those as a lad! I have seen pictures of a Scorpa electric prototype and I know Honda have spent a fair bit of time researching EV bikes.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sectionone Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Denali (now called ElectricMoto,) electricmoto.com made one in 2001. Info here. They just modified their MX bike. There are a few electric MX brands available. Zero motorcycles If battery technology improves, this could be the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamjayzee Posted January 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Denali (now called ElectricMoto,) electricmoto.com made one in 2001. Info here. They just modified their MX bike. There are a few electric MX brands available. Zero motorcycles If battery technology improves, this could be the future. I tried to get my company to buy a Denali (for reverse engineering purposes, y'know...) back in 2001 but they wouldn't! It looked quite capable. There is another bike that is similar to the Zoom: http://www.quantyabikes.co.uk/ I didn't spot that the electricmoto bike is from the old Denali project. I think battery technology WILL improve, but we are more likely to be forced to change by legislation than tempted to change! If we are lucky, battery technology will be to a level where we don't have to take too big a performance cut, if at all. I still think it's a long way off before conventional bikes are confined to the pages of history, but we could win a lot of friends as a sport if we get ahead of the game. Graham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thespikeyone Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Its a very interesting technology, I wonder if any of the major trials companies have done any research into it yet? Those oset things are in my local store and I've never really stopped to look at them properly but going from the video on that site they look pretty amazing. Does anyone have any one on one experience with them? What is the battery time like etc? Cheers Have a look here for your answer http://www.sev-world.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombo46 Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Alot of possitive comments here but Im afraid If We were forced to ditch our engines. I would quit the sport. I have a love for the internal combustion engine, the sound, smell and feel of it, not to mention the complexity is all a draw to me and something I dont feel an electric motor could replace. HOWEVER, If they became availiable aswell as our traditional petrol engined bikes I may consider it. If you could make it feel enough like a normal trials bike that is. This is purely for the no noise factor, I could practice in the woods next to my house and transfer it to the other bike, but thats only if they felt similar enough though, if they were very different Id probably find it does more harm than good. Keep us posted on your progress! All the best Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicks_tr34 Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Sadly, although and electric bike would be more stealthy, if you get seen on it , the knee-jerk reaction by the killjoys will be the same - its a bike - its bad - phone the roz!! I assume you want this bike purely for practice, but would compete on a petrol bike? Practice is practice, but clearly practice on the bike you intend to use is the most valuable, especially where trials is all about getting the power down/traction, this has so much to do with the delivery of power. I am not trying to sound negative, but I do fear it isn't going to give you what you want/need ... besides, if you get more practice than me ... then it isn't fair!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sectionone Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Electric motorcyles used to be much more expensive than gas but now the made in USA Zero X is about the same as European trials bikes and less than 4T. Also Less than $.01 per mile to operate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micm Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 If there was an electric bike that was OK with a reasonable battery time I would buy one. That would be yet another class in my local club trials! though a re charging generator sounds a bit well ... noisy. I did see a hydrogen powered bike in the Uk press a couple of years ago. Not powering a 'conventional' engine but producing electricity. The bike did about 50 MPH or so and made no noise. The reporter was impressed. Instant recharge by swapping a small tank of the gas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swooshdave Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 There has been multiple discussions on electric trials bikes on Trials Central. Be sure to read all of them. There will always be those who say they will quit if the bikes become electric. I find this amusing. My guess is that all of the major manufacturers already have prototypes in testing. Just a matter of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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