BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Last year at Interbike, Sanyo introduced its Eneloop electric bike and solar-powered e-bike charging station. The Japanese company has now released details of a battery-powered bike propulsion system which regenerates while riding on the flat, not just as on downhills, which was the case previously.
Currie Technologies’ Izip Express features a new Sturmey-Archer hybrid drive rear hub system billed by Currie as EVO Drive 2.0. It’s a dual-input planetary drive that blends human and electric power.
Sanyo’s new models are the snappily-named CY-SPL226 and CY-SPL224. They feature ‘Eco Charge Mode’ and will be launched in April in Japan. Until now, the regenerative charging function, called Loop Charge’ by Sanyo, enabled charging while riding, but only recharged the bicycle battery on downhill stretches or during deceleration. In these situations, the electric motor on the front wheel switched to a dynamo in order to charge the battery. Charging while pedaling on flat ground was not possible.
With the ‘eneloop bike’ SPL series, however, the new ‘Eco Charge Mode’ for regenerative charging control charges the battery while pedalling on the flat.
Currie Technologies’ Izip Express is too powerful for sale in the EU but is now available for sale in the United States. The bike is a collaboration between Currie and Dolphin of Switzerland, Sturmey-Archer and Fairly of Taiwan, and Trinamic of Germany.
Dolphin designed the patented pedal-electric hybrid drive system with a transmission developed by Sturmey-Archer. Trinamic engineered the electrical control hardware and software elements, all made in Germany. The bike was built by Fairly Bike Manufacturing.
The bike weighs 30.2 kg and can ride at an average speed of 19.5 mph for 37 miles without having to recharge. It has a pedal assistance factor of 1.3 and can climb a 2,300 metre pass with one battery charge.
Larry Pizzi, Currie’s President said: “Offering an experience unlike anything else out there in the e-bike space today, the Express is designed to amplify human power to that of a professional cyclist.
“We are confident that the Express will make an e-bike believer out of anyone that takes it for an extended test ride and to that end, we have created a very aggressive demo program for our US dealers.
