From the ashes of the Djavelo rises the Schwinn Continental !

[rsscott]

There has been a bit of talk recently about a new electric bike due on the market - the Djavelo. Even AtoB magazine has carried a couple of comments about it regarding the futuristic spec.

News link

 

[mithril]

Blimey. Seems to raise the bar somewhat. 16.4 Kg!

 

[flecc]

I too don't believe all they say. The weight seems unlikely, seeing that the frame is very similar to the Torq's in many ways, it's got a 7 speed Shimano hub and there's the weight of the shaft drive. If the picture is dimensionally accurate, I can't see that Li-p battery really being both 36 volts and 15 Ah, and in any case the claimed range isn't credible. In that last respect, they're no different from most e bike suppliers, and the range users get is often a half or a third of the claim.

Time will tell, but I think it will be a harsh judge.

 

[rsscott]

It looks like the Schwinn is a real bike and was demonstrated at the recent Interbike show in the USA.

Like you say Flecc, claims are one thing, real life performance is another !!

More links to follow.....

Update: Mon 30/10/2006: OK, I've received some information from Schwinn regarding the new bikes including a potential distributor for the UK. Details will be going up on the main site in the morning.

 

[rsscott]

Schwinn told me this afternoon that the designer of the Diavelo also designed the new Schwinn range of electric bikes!

So my gut feeling is you won't see a seperate Diavelo design, most likely a rebadged Schwinn.

 

[flecc]

That really confirms your suspicions over some time Russ. Let's hope they really get moving now and release it for someone to ride it and report on the reality.

 

[rsscott]

Yes, it would be good to see some reports of real experiences with them.

Apparently the designer of the Diavelo subsequently went to work for Schwinn after designing it (although it appears there were other Diavelo bikes preceding this one - see here )

Schwinn have said the initial allocation has already sold very well and are keen to get Moore Large to order some.

 

[flecc]

Here's something interesting and rather odd, from the Schwinn link you initially posted:

Front Hub Schwinn Protanium Mini Motor with alloy shell. 24v, 400 watts

Everywhere else they speak of a 36 volt lithium polymer battery. Possibly just an error when the entries were made.

 

[rsscott]

Here's something interesting and rather odd, from the Schwinn link you initially posted:

Front Hub Schwinn Protanium Mini Motor with alloy shell. 24v, 400 watts

Everywhere else they speak of a 36 volt lithium polymer battery. Possibly just an error when the entries were made.

They are sending me through a wattage chart for all the bikes and will also show which models are available in which region i.e. europe, usa etc.. Will post as soon as I receive it.

 

[rsscott]

Hi folks,

have received an update from Pacific Cycle regarding the different power options:

"...various wattages are restricted by a controller built into to the housing. This cannot be adjusted by the consumer."

So on the face of it, it looks like we don't have an 'off-road' option.

 

[flecc]

"...various wattages are restricted by a controller built into to the housing. This cannot be adjusted by the consumer."

Heh, Heh, Heh! We'll see!

 

[Jed]

Hi all,

just noticed this in the news section -

This is true. Diavelo was founded on the 10th of April 2006 by two Danes, Brian Hoehl and Lars Munksoe.
Schwinn, have lept in and bought the rights to distribute the Diavelo under their own name in the US.
Obviously European engineering is leading the world in this arena... at least in theory, I don't know anyone that has tried one yet.

I found the Diavelo bike on the Powerscoots.co.uk website last year and was hoping to get one but it seems it'l now never arrive

thanks
Jed

 

[nigel]

Nigel

what anoys me is if it is a white elephant then why is it still on there website somebody needs to put the bike to rest then we all can forget it and move on NIGEL

 

[rsscott]

It appears the Schwinn electric bikes have been on sale for few months now but I've yet to see a review of one anywhere.

They are even advertising them on Bike Europe - The website for the global bicycle business

 

[Leonardo]

Some models are on sale in France: Campus, World GSE and Transit

but I was waiting for some "retour d'experiénce" as well...

 

[flecc]

Going to the Schwinn site shows that the one we've been waiting for due to it's seemingly impossible claims, the Diavelo styled Continental, is already showing signs of failing the claims now it's actually launched. The specification has lost it's total bike weight claim exactly as I predicted many months ago.

They still claim the low electric drive chain weight, but this doesn't surprise me as the small motor is likely to lack power also. I'm still betting that when someone is able to test it, the range will also be nothing like the 60 mile claim.

Just another load of hype again I'm sure, but what amazes me is that anyone expects these claims to be lived up to. There are no miracles in e-bike design, just very slow progress with many small steps backwards on the way presented as advances.
.

 

[Mike Robinson]

I was interested by the shaft drive.

Do any bikes (e-bike or just bike) have shaft drive?
Also can they handle the power of one man and his motor?

Mike

 

[flecc]

I was interested by the shaft drive.

Do any bikes (e-bike or just bike) have shaft drive?
Also can they handle the power of one man and his motor?

Mike

This shaft drive is available in various markets around the world Mike, and in this country is sold by Zero Bikes.

It looks robust enough for both a rider and moderate power motor, but normally drives through a hub gear so that's more likely to be the power limiter ultimately.

Unfortunately it's implementation is rather poor in my view. The greased rear bevel gears are only cowled over and can collect road dust etc, a consequence of having to make provision for removing the rear hub gear wheel, and action which completely exposes both bevel gears. I'd prefer to see a completely new approach with the gears incorporated in the drive train and a wheel that detached shaft drive motor cycle fashion, leaving the bevels enclosed at all times.

That said, it does the job and testers indicate the small loss of transmission efficiency is acceptable.
.

 

[Flying Kiwi]

I was interested by the shaft drive.

Do any bikes (e-bike or just bike) have shaft drive?
Also can they handle the power of one man and his motor?

Mike

The big advantage supposedly offered by shaft drives is low maintenance and this can also be obtained with a fully enclosed chain. Although it's not quite to the same degree a fully enclosed chain will be more efficient at transferring power. You also dont have to worry about the handling effects of transferring torque through an angled drive train (not sure if this is an issue in reality like it is on motorbikes such as the CX500). Electric bikes with fully enclosed chains include the old Giant Twist Comfort ST or the new Gazelle Easy Glider.

 

[rsscott]

Did you actually speak to the Danes? We did look into this because like Flecc says ' There are no miracles in E-Bike design'. So we did track down the Danes and I did speak to one of them and he basically said beware of the guy trying to sell this bike because it is junk. If you look at the picture closely the cycle rack/ battery is super imposed by computer and is impossible for a wheel to move through solid matter as far as I know.....

The quote Jed is referring to was left by someone else on the main site but I don't know anything else about the source of the comment. From my discussions with Pacific Cycle they told me that the original designer of the Diavelo sold his design to them. A bit of a cloak and daggers tale this one