Glandberg

I thought for sure it would have been talked about it here but nothing I could find yet.

https://www.bikeradar.com/news/articl...ic-bike-33568/

I saw some buzz about Specialized's new bike called the Turbo. Doesn't look like it will be coming to the US but still seems fun. 28mph

It's hard for me to figure out how it works. The video just shows a guy pedaling the whole time. I wouldn't mind taking a spin on one but I dont think it is something I need to own.

What do you guys think of it? How the heck does it work?

johnny99

Price is $8000. Who is going to spend that much money on a commuter bicycle? This is more like a yuppy toy.

Seattle Forrest

It burns gasoline in order to keep people fat.

gecho

There is a hub motor in the rear wheel. That style of e-bike gives you a boost as you pedal along instead of controlling speed with a throttle. I've never tried one but I imagine it would feel like always riding with a tailwind.

surfperch

$8k for an e-bike...that made my eyes bug out a little.

I don't know much about e-bikes, but I know the e-bike community is able to create some really fast and really reliable bikes for a lot less money.

JanMM

There is an Electric Bikes forum on BF.

hiyer1

electric bike? useless.

ThermionicScott 

My thoughts? "NO THANKS!"

CXT

electric bike? Badass!

Its about time Specialized got in this game but their price point is insane. I do like the idea that they are challenging the 20 MPH legal limit. Hopefully they will drum up enough demand that the speed limit law gets re-evaluated. I regularly do 20 mph+ with my road bike, seems stupid to require a license for such a low speed limit just because it's an e-bike.

Schwinnrider

EIGHT GRAND? Are they high? It's cool that they made it go faster, but that's way too expensive. I tend to think e-bikes appeal to transportational and functional type cyclists, not the go fast crowd. An e-bike is a replacement for a motorcyle or scooter,not a bicycle, IMHO. Sell it with a rack and fenders, and maybe even throw in some purpose built hard sided bike luggage.

This thing? A silly toy.

AdamDZ

LOL $8k? Ha ha ha!!! Who cares that it's fast? That's not the point.

Interesting design, but I'd buy a nice scooter or even a motorcycle before putting down $8k on an electric bicycle.

unterhausen

attractive bike, but it doesn't look like an $8k bike. Maybe they just put it out so they could sue some more small companies.

I keep thinking about an electric bike for the days I really don't have time to ride or really can't afford to be sweaty. I don't think I would be willing to spend as much as $3k, but I haven't really thought about it.

enigmaT120

I would love an electric motorcycle, and I think 8 grand would pay for most of one:

https://www.zeromotorcycles.com/?_kk=...FcIFRQodom5w1g

But not an electric bicycle.

The Chemist

Given the design, I'd imagine probably at least half the cost of that bike is the battery, in order to fit it into a nearly traditional looking bicycle frame.

Still WAY too expensive, given that it's only electric assist, not a full-on electric motorcycle.

AdamDZ

But I have to admit that putting the battery into the downtube and giving it a paintjob to disguise the thickness is very clever indeed.

SouthFLpix

I like that it looks like it was designed from the ground up to be an electric bike. A lot of the e-bikes on the market today look like they took a regular (cheap) hybrid and just bolted on some parts to turn it into an electric.

I like the 700x45 fat tires with 36 spoke wheels. Should be pretty comfortable to ride. I like that it's electric assist so you can choose when you need help (headwind, hills) and when you want to go it alone. I like the integrated lights and the +ant compatible computer. I see attachment points for a rear rack, so thumbs up there. 180mm disk brakes should give it good stopping power.

Of course the big deal killer is the price. For that much money you can get a nice used motorcycle or scooter *and* still have enough for an Ultegra level equipped bike. Bring the cost down to something more reasonable and it will move.

BTW, that 20mph limit for electric bikes is pretty much BS. We can all go past that on our regular bikes. Heck, it can be done with a mountain bike equipped with 'city tires'.

contango 

Don't know about your laws, as I understand the UK law the speed limit relates to how fast the bike can go under its own power before it's considered to be a motorbike.

If you're cranking the pedals on a regular bike a reasonably fit human can hit 20mph and higher but it takes a degree of effort, as opposed to just twisting a grip or pressing a lever or whatever else.

Personally I don't have a problem with saying a vehicle that will propel the driver at 20-25mph or more without requiring any effort to speak of is not considered to be a bicycle.

colleen c

Me too. The disguise battery makes it more appealing. Being that I bring my bike onto the train, it makes it less of a subject for discussion.

Speaking of electric bikes, I tried to chase one down last month on my way to the train station after work. There is an incline all the way to the station. This lady who was not the best in shape passed me on a electric assist bike without pedaling. That gave me a new rush by my broken pride. So I started hammering up the hill. It took a while for me to get behind her. She turn and saw me and started pedaling and drop me. I gave up with sweat pouring out.

Moral of this story: She did drop me but I drop 5lbs in my effort

a1penguin

It looks like a real bike! But "electric bike" is an oxymoron as far as I am concerned. And $8000? Riiiiiiggggghhhhhht. Yuppy toy for the fat yuppies who are too lazy to bike.

Robert C

My thoughts; keep in mind that unlike many here I like them and think that e-bikes are a great alternative to the use of large petrol-cars as single occupant vehicles for commuting. I am even slightly biased toward specialized, I have several and like that they pay some attention to style.

That being said, I consider the Specialized to be underpowered and overpriced. It has a very small motor in order to squeak past some very restrictive European laws. However, the key phrase in that last sentence was, "it has a very small motor." There is just no getting around that.

It also has a small battery. I like that they tried to integrate the battery into the style of the bicycle in order to achieve an attractive look. However, the battery chemistry and performance does not fit that form factor. The result is that the Specialized exhibits very poor range performance.

So, my grade for it comes down to:
Style +
Price -
Power -
Range -

Currently, it is possible to get three +'es in that list, not four. The Specialized only got one. As I said, overpriced and underpowered.

JimCanuck

No, E-Bikes in general are BS. Only pedal assisted versions that require the use of your feet should be exempt from licensing requirements. Any E-Bike that will go on throttle only mode should be barred from use. The non-licensing clause in our automotive/road laws, is because they are animal/human powered and are low speed relative to automobiles, the fact they are allowing some bike manufacturers to have throttle only modes is shameful.

My daily commutes I find that the ones with actual bicycle looking conversions do follow the rules of the road and tend to use it as a pedal assist. I do not mind them, and most of the time do not notice that they converted the bike unless I'm right behind them at a red light.

However, the scooter style E-bike riders, tend to believe they own the road, swerve in and out of the bike lane, into the car lane, tend to try and pass any pedal biker they see by squeezing between cars and the biker in the bike lane, even if there is not enough room due to how wide their "bikes" are. They also tend to either have their pedals removed, or they are in the stowed away position so they clearly cannot be used to pedal with.

I've only gotten into a couple of types of arguments while biking, typically when a moron in one of these scooter E-bikes pulls up behind me at a red and tells me, not asks me, to effectively get off the bike lane so they can pass me, because combined with the width of their scooter, and their body shape, there is no hope in hell they'd be able to squeeze between a bike stopped on the curb and the car beside me. I've been known to snap when that happens, and I see their foot pedals are not installed, and I know they cannot legally be using that thing at a faster speed then I tend to bike at.

As for the bike shown, I kind of like its look better then most e-bikes I've seen, looks like a bike, but still has a motor to give you a little extra "power" when going up hill. Which is all I'd ever get a E-bike for anyways.

Jim

CXT

<- 11% body fat. Currently wearing Harley Davidson T-shirt, done RAGBRAI the past 4 years, regularly race on CF road bike, mountain bike on the weekends, drives a rusty Ford Mustang when not riding a bike, and proud owner of an electric Trek bike.

AdamDZ

I also agree that if it goes on its own without pedaling then it should not be put in the same category as bicycle because it's no longer a bicycle.

ThermionicScott 

Agreed. These threads would be much better if we could figure out a way to separate the "legitimate use" discussions from the "fat lazy people" discussions, too.

MK313

+1