New electric bike promises 20mph to speed!

[RichardB]

Fastest ever electric bicycle will have commuters 'rocketing' to work | Mail Online

 

[Straylight]

Bizare that the department of transport didn't mention the fact that the motor is double the power of a road legal e-bike, is our interpretation of the law wrong? Is any size motor permissable as long as it doesn't go above 15mph? Also, why did the licencing agency say that no licence is required to ride at 20mph?

Well, all this contradiction and confusion makes me feel better about my "off road" button If those in authority can't produce a coherent statement, I see no reason to pay them much heed, but then cycling has always been somewhat anarchic

 

[Rod Tibbs]

You can't believe everything you read in the paper!

Rod

 

[Django]

Yes, the confusion seems to be in the mind of the journalist.

 

[flecc]

Only the last five sentences explaining the legal position make sense.
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[JohnInStockie]

Interesting comment that in Germany, more power-assisted bikes are sold than non-power assisted.

Doubt its true though.

 

[RedSkywalker]

If you want a really fast, powerful beast how about this one?

The highly-desirable 1000 watt Limited Edition TidalForce M-750 x2.0 electric fold-up bike

May 13, 2009 Military-funded projects often pave the way for a much better consumer product, and although the original DARPA funding of the development of the Tactical Electric No Signature (TENS) Mountain bike for Marines and paratroopers is now over a decade old, hold onto your hats folks, because the design has been upgraded and will be sold in limited quantities with a 1000 watt propulsion system. The TidalForce M-750 x2.0 is based around the commercially available (and ingenious) Montague Paratrooper folding bike but has a top speed of over 30 mph and range on a single charge is 25 - 28 miles, using the electric power only. The E+ advanced propulsion system features nine forward power modes, nine resistance (exercise) modes, cruise control and anti-theft. It folds to 3 x 3 ft, so it fits in the boot, and the componentry is first class with RockShox Tora 302 Forks, Shimano XTR brakes, FSA Gossamer 30/38/52 tooth crank set, Crane Creek Thudbuster ST seat suspension and a WTB Speed-V Seat. Like we said - highly-desirable.

More than a decade ago, DARPA funded a Montague bike project to create a Tactical Electric No Signature (TENS) Mountain bike for Marines and paratroopers. The idea was that the bike could be parachuted with a paratrooper, offering him mobility on the ground, or used as secondary transport for other military vehicles. The resultant bike, sans electric drive, is available today as the USD$700 Montague Paratrooper fold-up mountain bike. It folds ingeniously (see video) and is one of the more desirable fold-up offerings in the marketplace.

Now comes the second generation of that legend- the TidalForce M‐750 x2.0. Electric Motion Systems (EMS), designer of the E+ Electric Bike, has teamed with French Light Electric Vehicle (LEV) company MATRA, to create a Limited Edition of just 240 units, each with the E+ 1000 watt advanced electric propulsion system and upgraded components throughout.

The TidalForce M-750 electric bike was originally developed for military and law enforcement applications and used the DARPA approved Montague ParatroopeR folding frame. The Limited Edition x2.0 is built on the last batch of 240 of these original, new M-750 frames. These are being made available to US customers by MATRA in collaboration with EMS. Each has been upgraded with Electric Motion Systems’ E+ 1000 watt propulsion system. Off road top speed reaches 30+ mph and range on a single charge is 25 - 28 miles, using the electric power only.

All E+ advanced propulsion system features are available on the x2.0 – nine forward power modes, nine resistance (exercise) modes, cruise control, anti-theft, etc. Each of these features along with a speedometer, odometer, and battery state of charge are easily accessible through the EMS advanced LCD display mounted on the bike’s handlebar.

Front hub mounting of the battery and rear hub mounting of the motor maintain the look and feel of a bicycle, and provide a very low center of gravity for high stability. Every bicycle component of the original M-750 has been examined. Improvements include RockShox Tora 302 Forks, Shimano XTR brakes, FSA Gossamer 30/38/52 tooth crank set, Crane Creek Thudbuster ST seat suspension, WTB Speed-V Seat, in addition to many other component upgrades and components.

“Since the founding of EMS in 2005, EMS and MATRA have collaborated on numerous projects,” said Sunil Gupta, EMS Product Development Manager. “The most recent was to develop this Limited Edition of the legendary TidalForce M-750, based on 240 of the original M-750 frames. It was wonderful working with our friends from MATRA on this project – the second generation of a legend. We are very proud of the result and honored to offer this Limited Edition in the US under the TidalForce brand.” “MATRA is very proud of the TidalForce brand,” said Jacques Bonneville, MATRA Executive Vice President, Worldwide Marketing. “The M-750 is a central part of that heritage. We believe it is fitting that these 240 original units find their home in the USA. Our friends at EMS have done a wonderful job in bringing them to life. We are very happy to see TidalForce back in the US with such a fine product offering. We look forward to further new and exciting TidalForce offerings in the US with our friends at EMS.”

The new TidalForce M-750 x2.0 is limited to 240 units. Each unit is numbered and will include the owner’s name engraved for a truly one-of-a-kind personalized x2.0.

 

[flecc]

Interesting comment that in Germany, more power-assisted bikes are sold than non-power assisted.

Doubt its true though.

Definitely not true John. Countries in Europe are reporting substantial increases in normal bike sales, despite the recession, so it would be impossible for e-bike sales to catch those, since they are normally a fairly small proportion.
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[flecc]

If you want a really fast, powerful beast how about this one?

The highly-desirable 1000 watt Limited Edition TidalForce M-750 x2.0 electric fold-up bike

Matra's own take on the Tidal Force now they own them is more eyecatching though:

 

[RedSkywalker]

Oh, be still my foolish heart! lol

That is one nice machine!

 

[flecc]

I was sure you'd like that one Red.
.

 

[Caph]

Matra's own take on the Tidal Force now they own them is more eyecatching though:

That's a blast from the past! Is it ever going to see the light of day I wonder? 28mph and no rear suspension. Ouch, no thanks.

 

[RedSkywalker]

Crane Creek Thudbuster ST seat suspension and a WTB Speed-V Seat

That should take care of your worries Caph!

 

[flecc]

That's a blast from the past! Is it ever going to see the light of day I wonder? 28mph and no rear suspension. Ouch, no thanks.

Yes it's been on the market for more than a year since Matra took over TidalForce and it's been selling. At around £4000 each it won't be common though.

The non suspension TidalForce bikes weren't uncomfortable, all that weight tended to keep them down on the road. Also don't forget that for the first 50 years of motorcycles they didn't have rear suspension and some models were capable of topping 100 mph. I used to ride lots of these and the saddle springs were all that was needed.
.

 

[the_killjoy]

They might have had no suspension but most had truly well sprung saddles. Unsprung saddles only really appeared after rear suspension.

 

[flecc]

They might have had no suspension but most had truly well sprung saddles. Unsprung saddles only really appeared after rear suspension.

Some were well sprung, but by no means all. But as Red says, a sprung seatpost and the right saddle does the same thing for a bike. Anyway, race bikes are unsprung and have hard saddles and 28 mph is a normal speed for them, up to 60 mph downhill in race conditions.
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[Patrick]

Interesting comment that in Germany, more power-assisted bikes are sold than non-power assisted.

Doubt its true though.

What it actualy says is that "n Germany power-assisted bicycles are the single largest category of bikes sold", it doesn't say what the system of catergorisation in question is or how many other categories there are. Given enough catorgories then this could be true if e-bikes only formed a tiny percentage of sales. It's the type of thing that advertisers say, it looks impressive but it's actually meaningless.

 

[Caph]

Yes it's been on the market for more than a year since Matra took over TidalForce and it's been selling. At around £4000 each it won't be common though.

Flecc, are you sure this ever got released? I know it was shown at an expo in Paris in 2007 but even their website still lists it as a prototype. Have you seen it for sale anywhere?

 

[flecc]

Flecc, are you sure this ever got released? I know it was shown at an expo in Paris in 2007 but even their website still lists it as a prototype. Have you seen it for sale anywhere?

I've never seen it for sale, that would only have been likely in France at first, but some while ago I saw an announcement it was available and a price given from which I extracted the probably UK price. Maybe they got cold feet or decided that it's registration needs would limit it's market too much. If not, they need to get a move on with a marketable Matra bike since they bought the Tidal Force company with that intention nearly two years ago.

As an aside, I love the glimpse of the drooling faces and elevated camera in the photo background.
.

 

[flecc]

Flecc, are you sure this ever got released? I know it was shown at an expo in Paris in 2007 but even their website still lists it as a prototype. Have you seen it for sale anywhere?

Second reply Caph. It seems Matra have put their faith in this lightweight bike with a custom BionX system now. Weird frame. It makes me wonder why they bought Tidal Force in the first place: