Panasonic's Titanium Flat Road EB electric bicycle is almost cheating

Yeah, there's already a few folks out there depriving themselves of adequate exercise by choosing to cruise on an electric bike, but those who've yet to take the plunge now have yet another alternative. Panasonic's Titanium Flat Road EB electric bicycle isn't likely to be certified for use in the Tour de France, but it can propel riders a maximum of ten kilometers in around half an hour (or up to 150 kilometers if you use your own strength every now and then). Additionally, the bike features a Smart Lithium-Ion Integrated Management System (SLIM) to display remaining battery life and the distance left before your legs will be forced to take over. No word on a price just yet, but there's plenty of pics in the via link below.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

[Technex @ Feb 22nd 2008 6:36AM]

Looks cool, I've been thinking about sticking a large brushless motor on my Mongoose, but with waterproofing and everything it'll be to expensive. Pedals it is!

[Kurian @ Feb 22nd 2008 6:46AM]

I was thinking the same for my SLR. Except it would cost more than the bike. SLR=Rs.900 = 20$

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:36PM]

Actually Panasonic made traditional Bicycles up until 1989.
sabakunotora.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=2260
http://www.yellowjersey.org/pana.html
http://www.yellowjersey.org/panateam.html

"Panasonic DX 2000
Ten-Speed!

Hard to believe that Panasonic used to make bicycles! As you can see, the "new" Panasonic DX 2000 is actually a Fax machine! However, the "old" (and much more loved!) Panasonic DX 2000 was a hand made ten-speed bicycle that brought me a quarter century of riding pleasure!

For me, it all started in the very early 80s when I bought my brother Randy's Panasonic DX 2000 ten-speed to help him with a little college tuition and to provide myself with a ride to my own college classes (I was on the GI-bill and had more cash than him at the time...). I think I paid $100 in five, $20 installments to pay for the bike. Anyway, that very same Panasonic has served me well, all the way into the summer of 2006, for all kinds of errands and trips around the neighborhood.

It was in July 2006 that I spent over $400 to upgrade the ol' Panasonic to something a little more modern. Although a bit extravagant, I spent the money because I love the Panasonic's 27 inch frame and also because the overall bike, itself, hasn't been much of a "theft magnet" for the quarter century I've owned it - half the time I park it without even locking it! Anyway, for $400 a local bike shop provided me with a new chain, rear cassette, rear wheel, brake handles, cables, shifters, two tubes, two tires, and handlebar tape. Unfortunately the Panasonic's old frame was a bit too narrow to add any more gears without a lot more expense so I'm "stuck" with just 14 speeds instead of a "Granny Gear" or other configuration for our steep, hilly neighborhood.

Nevertheless, the $400 seems to have been well spent as the new technology has completely changed my Panasonic - the ride is incredibly smooth and the shifting is simply a dream - no longer do I have to reach down to the middle of the frame to change gears! Unfortunately I didn't think to photograph the bike in its original configuration. Nevertheless, you can get a good idea of what a Panasonic DX 2000 looks like in these pictures I took immediately after the bike shop's upgrades - I hope to continue riding it, as a local commuter bike, for the remainder of my life... "
http://www.rogerwendell.com/cycling.html

[Twitchy @ Feb 22nd 2008 6:50AM]

Does it do power assist? If so, then this may be the answer to my commute problem - there are a LOT of hills that need to be tamed on the way to work. I don't mind sweating, just not at 8am in my work clothes.

[Nathan @ Feb 22nd 2008 2:29PM]

EXACTLY! I love riding my bike for recreation and entertainment, but I can't show up to work in a suit with sweaty pits. Not to mention I work in a college town where there are nothing but hills.

This would alleviate my need to either ride the urine aroma filled bus OR drive.

[Ian @ Feb 22nd 2008 4:46PM]

well i understand your pain and everything but you could just bring an extra set of clothes.. but besides that i live in a college town that doesnt have a lot of hills so whats your point? (the college town thingy)

[Nathan @ Feb 22nd 2008 6:54PM]

Ian,

The reason why it is important that it is a college that I work at is because I have to wear a suit, and there is no driving onto campus. I have to walk or take a bus once I get here, and being that I do my grad teaching and studies at several building across campus it would be nice to be able to bring my bike to work to do so. Afterall, bikes are the IDEAL way to get around here if you don't need to dress professionally.

I can't do this, however, because there are so many hills on my way to work and on the campus itself, that I would be drenched in sweat by the time I got there. And no, I cannot pack a 3 piece suit while riding a bike to work. They don't store well in a backpack...

And that is why this being a college town / full of hills is important.

[fehu @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:05AM]

Useless
10Km/h is too slow,and you can travel at that speed with very few fatigue

[ghost @ Feb 22nd 2008 11:48AM]

"propel riders a maximum of ten kilometers in around half an hour"

That means 20km/hour dude.

[Randavance @ Feb 22nd 2008 2:30PM]

So 12.4274238 miles per hour.

Which, if the average person can run a mile in 10 minutes.

Then we're looking at something that goes roughly twice the speed that someone can run.

I'm not all that impressed.

[AutoTom @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:06AM]

what if i want to pollute the atmosphere?

can i buy carbon ONsets?

[frank @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:17AM]

So if I use my own strength every now and then I can get 150km in half an hour? That's 300 km/h!

Sweet!

[Magallanes @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:22AM]

Running downhill... i guess.

[ShaunAlfonso @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:27AM]

@ frank. it pays to read... maximum of ten kilometers in around half an hour

[Stephen @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:55AM]

@Shaun

"...(or up to 150 kilometers if you use your own strength every now and then)"

It does pay to read.

[julz007 @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:06AM]

haha that made me giggle :)

[Mike @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:37AM]

@Shaun:

Since you seem to be a fan of reading, here's some good relevant material:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joke

[sam @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:33AM]

man, if only breaking would charge the battery like them hybrid cars or if you could slowly charge it just by pedaling when the motor was off.

[Nathan @ Feb 22nd 2008 2:31PM]

I don't know about you but I don't feel like breaking stuff to charge my bike.

However if it could recapture energy from BRAKING then that would be great!

[sam @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:22PM]

doh! lack of edit button FTL

[John @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:55AM]

@ShaunAlfonso

It pays to keep reading!

"...it can propel riders a maximum of ten kilometers in around half an hour (or up to 150 kilometers if you use your own strength every now and then)..."

[soNdavidK @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:17AM]

early morning crowd doesn't seem to bright

[rossies @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:58AM]

It doesn't look flat to me.

[Dragod @ Feb 22nd 2008 9:06AM]

You might as well just peddle, since you're going to have to put your feet on the peddles, right? They need to add some fixed peddles or something somewhere so that your legs aren't being forced up and down as this thing peddles... Unless somehow it doesn't move the peddles when the battery is on.. Which would make sense. That's probably what it does, and if not, it should.

[Jason @ Feb 22nd 2008 9:26AM]

The pedals do not rotate while the bike is in motion, unless its a fixie, which its not since fixies have no derailers. This bike has a free wheel (the portion that the cassette attaches too)

[nh @ Feb 22nd 2008 3:03PM]

I love the way you have typed out your entire thought process. But well done, you got there in the end ;)

[Jason @ Feb 22nd 2008 9:30AM]

This is not a road bike, this is probably a converted cyclecross bike (mix between mountain bike and road bike, google cyclecross races) Although this particular frame seems to have a much longer and extended triangle, obviously to mount the motor components. My bike would not have the clearance for that.. hell mine does not have clearance for anything other then dirt :) Then again.. my bike is also a race ready mountain bike (Niner rip9 with maverick duc32 fork and Sram x0 all around... hmm toys :) )

[phanbouy @ Feb 22nd 2008 10:44AM]

i'm a roadie myself. ride a used stock Trek 5200 carbon frame. no more aluminum frames for me =)

[Russ @ Feb 22nd 2008 11:57AM]

I live in Tokyo, and I bought a Panasonic electric hybrid bike a couple weeks ago. I've been riding it for at least an hour a day commuting, and it's awesome. My bike is high quality and small and folds into a large bag (roughly 20kg all in all), but seems to offer the exact same electrical system that the bike featured here does. It's nearly effortless to pedal, and the range of my bike is 44km under normal circumstances (more if it's totally flat). Today, I rode roughly 15km and there were 3/5 lights displayed on the battery charge afterwards. For those interested, the electric motor simply kicks in whenever you pedal (there are "normal" and "power" modes). On my bike (and I assume this one), there is no way to simply push a button and go..it's all pedal controlled. Here in Japan, these hybrid electric bikes are very popular. I see them all over the place, because a large portion of the workforce uses them (perhaps due to fairly a laissez-faire stance on bike parking and riding on sidewalks). It's too bad they're not available in the States; I think quite a few people would buy them.

[Russ @ Feb 22nd 2008 12:00PM]

Forgot to mention, the bike I have is here:

http://www.panabyc.co.jp/products/electric/EPW.html

[Abuzar @ Feb 22nd 2008 5:34PM]

Yeah, but it doesn't look nearly as cool.

[Nutsy @ Feb 22nd 2008 12:19PM]

Certainly interesting...

Would be good if they make the bike charge when you peddle...
And while Im not interested in a motor taking over the job I wouldnt mind a motor assisting some of the time, like up a hill. or when your a little too tired.

[TIMMAH! @ Feb 22nd 2008 1:59PM]

Would be good if they had regenerative braking and downhill charging too.

[Clete R. Blackwell II @ Feb 22nd 2008 3:50PM]

I second the powerassist notion.

Also, does it charge when you pedal? Or do you have to plug it in? (e.g. like a hybrid car?)

[ZeroCorpse @ Feb 22nd 2008 4:45PM]

I ride my electric bike 3/4 of the year, and I get PLENTY of exercise on it. You DO pedal (or you CAN pedal, anyway) and that's half the point of having an electric bike versus an electric scooter. Last year, I lost 30 pounds riding my electric bike.

I have damaged knees, so the electric bike makes pedaling *easier*, but if I only apply 10% - 50% throttle, I still need to pedal to get anywhere in any decent amount of time. Sure, I can cruise at full-throttle if I want, but even when I intend to do that, I find myself pedaling. Besides, going full-throttle uses up the battery faster. If I pedal AND throttle, I can get 30+ miles on my bike before the battery gets too low to be useful. If I just rely on the motor, it's more like 15 miles, maybe 20 if it's flat ground the whole way.

No electric bikes that I know of charge from pedaling. It's not efficient. The amount of pedaling you'd need to do to charge the battery is way too high for it to be of any use. Pedaling will build up a small charge in my electrical system if the battery's not connected-- Enough to turn on my lights for a few seconds or sound my horn for one blast, but that would be after about 20 minutes of pedaling.

The "pedal-assist" type of bike that you describe, Nutsy, can be found in the IZIP Enlightened series of bikes. Costly, but they are ONLY pedal-assist, and require that you pedal them for them to move. The upside of these bikes is that they look exactly like a normal bike, and are very lightweight because they use the latest motor/battery technology, and the electronics are all hidden.

[ZeroCorpse @ Feb 22nd 2008 4:51PM]

Oh, yeah-- My bike does 17mph on motor alone. I've been able to do 25mph with pedal+motor for a few seconds, but that's really pushing it. The bike is speed-capped due to federal laws regarding what is considered an electric bike. If the motor can't make it go faster than 20mph, it can be declared an electric bicycle (must have pedals, too) and states have to classify it as a bicycle, and not as a moped or scooter or motor vehicle. The upside of this limitation is that electric bicycles are sidewalk-legal in states that allow bikes on the sidewalk (mine does).

That means I'm almost never in traffic, and I appreciate that.

[Alan @ Feb 22nd 2008 5:12PM]

Is it just me or does going 150 km in half an hour sound like an extremely dangerous speed to be going on a bicycle, electric powered or not...

Are you guys sure it's 150, and not like, 50, or 15?

[sam @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:29PM]

It's not just you cuz wtf, 150 km in half an hour would be faster than a bullet-train.

although then again it's japan, so who knows?

[Russ @ Feb 22nd 2008 5:17PM]

AFAIK the battery doesn't charge while I brake or pedal. I merely assists, either lightly or with more power, making pedaling basically effortless even up hills. I got an electric bike so in the sauna-like summer Tokyo conditions I arrive at my destination a little less sweaty...

[Joe Anstine @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:14PM]

now the obese can ride bikes, too. Better hope its re-enforced to handle that wide load.

[Jhart @ May 13th 2008 4:00PM]

When will some enlightened company like Panasonic start importing electric bikes for sale in the US? The market may be small now, but with gasoline at $4.00 a gallon (and sure to rise further) people are already looking for another way to commute.

I have ridden and raced road and mountain bikes since 1984, but wearing "corporate, professional attire" and trying to commute to work is just not possible. Hard to pack a suit, keep it wrinkle free and clean on a bike. For those of you that say, "oh just ride a bike" and stuff like "just pedal" and other lame comments - I have and use my bikes for recreation and I am all the motor I need when I am playing on my bikes. But an electric bike becomes a form of transportation, NOT recreation!

Write to Panasonic - write to your local bike shop - and ask someone to start importing these great commuting tools! They have had high quality electrics in Japan for YEARS and all we have are the junk kits and companies like Giant and Zap (both made good products) who come and go because they don't sell here. Maybe now with wallet draining gas prices, they will!