Carbon fiber, with its light weight and high strength, is the material upon which the modern motorsports world is built. Traction control, which decreases difficulty, threatens to destroy it. However, in the world of the urban commute, traction control is a great thing and carbon is generally unheard of. Not for Sanyo, which will soon introduce the CY-SPK227 eneloop bike with a frame made of the stuff, featuring two wheel drive and traction control. The rear wheel is powered by the chain, the front by an electric motor, and should the rider pedal more enthusiastically than slippery conditions allow the bike will compensate by adding more juice to the front. Total weight is about 43lbs, many times that of the composite wonders Lance straddled in France, but about 7lbs lighter than the company's
last entrant. It has regenerative braking, an LED headlight, magnesium suspension, a ¥627,900 price tag (about $6,600), and it releases in Japan in October -- you know, right about when the skies start to threaten snow. A good test for that traction control, then.
[Via
Fareastgizmos.com]
posted July 27th 2009 9:49AM
How about comparing this pricewise to Segway. I think it's more reasonable as we are talking about high tech vechile with motors and electronics.
Well you buy the best possible portable electronic adjustable high power drill for what? $200? so then add the price of a high quality bike, say $700 (yes that is the max in actual materials, anything over that is exploiting the naive) and increase the battery size and such, so another $600, so then we are at $1400, add some extra profit and development cost and handbuilding and what not, let's be generous and say $500 so that's $2000.
Now explain 6+ grand.
I picked up a cheapie electric bike (Ezip Trailz) from Currie Tech. The electronics and frame are fine but the seat, brake pads and tires it comes with are cheap garbage, nothing you'd want to keep on there. I installed a set of 'no-mor-flats' solid foam tubes since the motor and batteries put a lot of weight on the rear wheel, and if you use inflatables they tend to pop unless you baby them. I put a nice gel seat on there plus nicer brake pads as well, and I gotta say, for what I paid (in total, around $425) it's a pretty great short-range commuter bike. I considered building a lithium ion battery stack but I worked out that with the added cost of buying/soldering the 13 Li-ion cells and sealing them up for outdoor use, I'd be better off buying a prebuilt e-bike with such batteries (around $1500) instead of attempting the upgrade. Shame too, would have made an entertaining side project.