2old

Well, at least a little. Bulls has a new full-suspension model with a Fazua motor that weighs about 35 pounds. Finally, eMTB's are heading in the right direction. My fully rigid BBS02-equipped bike is sub-35 while laden with a porky 10 pound motor.

BrocLuno

Cool

They need to make a lot of these e-Bikes lighter and stronger. More alloy, less steel ...

But there is an alternate side to this. Bultaco has decided to get serious about off-road e-Mopeds. 2kw motors and a more robust build, but still coming in under 48 Kgs. So there is a good spread from lightweight bikes to robust fast off road offerings

chas58

I thought I was the only weight weenie, with my old 29lb bike. ;-)

Its good to see things starting to go in that direction though. There are a couple of light road bikes starting to come available, but of course light means less power and smaller batteries. Thank goodness the battery technology has gotten better (I went from a 10lb battery to a 3lb battery).

And, small motors/batteries are mostly for people who want to do some work pedaling - and that seems to be a small portion of the populace...

ollo_ollo

Have to agree with you. My personal experience is that an assisted pedal only, Schwinn Tailwind at a bargain price was very effective in bringing an out of shape old man back to fitness. The e-bike weighs 58 pounds. Now only used for a few grocery runs where its milk crate cargo hold and hill topping ability meets a need. (I'm 78 y.o., fit again, but appreciate some electric muscle now & then).

I would only buy another if a "weight weenie" e-bike was offered. What would it look like?

Take a single speed Mercier Kilo WT (22.6#), add a 250 watt hub motor (6.6#), 10AH battery (4#), plus ( .5#) for some kind of cadence sensor/battery management system and you could have a 33.7 e-bike that far outperforms my old e-bike. Cost? Likely $700-$800 from a manufacturer, perhaps a couple hundred less home-built with all new parts.

Some will want gears, so add a Nexus 8 speed IGH and that's another 6 pounds and $200 or so. I used the Kilo example because I prefer a steel frame to aluminum, carbon or titanium for multiple reasons. Most folks want that throttle option. Don

chas58

That would be a great plan. I had the original Kilo TT – actually the original design by KMS that I used as a road and a track bike. The WT has fatter tires and less velodrome geometry, steel frame at a good price. Single speed bikes with horizontal drop outs make great electric bikes because they are just about the only light weigh frames with dropouts strong enough to really hold a motor. Can’t say that I miss having gears on an electric bike. If I really needed gears I’d get a mid drive anyway.

You will need to use it with a flat bar to get a throttle though.