27lb Hardtail or 34lb eHardtail, you decide

[Barryboy]

Pretty nifty, I'd expect to see more hybrids like this in the future.

FOCU Raven Pro Review

First Review: FOCUS Raven² Pro – record-breaking E-MTB with 15.5 kg

FOCUS first peeled back the veil on their Project Y prototype E-MTB one year ago, and now it’s finally time for this super lightweight bike with a mid-drive motor and integrated battery to go into production. At 15.48 kg, the lithe FOCUS Raven² looks like the precursor to a new generation. We...

ebike-mtb.com

 

[watermonkey]

Stealthy - and another can of worms for regulating e-bikes. Now that the battery AND motor can be removed and the bike can be ridden normally, what does that do for regulation? The e-bike might be de-E'd without the motor and battery, but the rider can haul both in a pack for installation at any point.

So, in the future, if there ever is any hypothetical law enforcement policing of e-bike prohibited trails for e-bike use, what is the LEO supposed to do? Search the riders personal gear for a battery and motor? Search the personal gear of the group the rider is with to see if they're carrying (concealed carry) the battery and motor?

Stealth is the industry's answer to e-bike access.

 

[DL723]

5000 euros. It's nice to be able to ride the same bike with or without motor..but is it that much better than buying an hardtail ebike when you want a motor and using the leftover to buy a nice hardtail without one?

 

[Barryboy]

It's just the first wave, like all tech, it gets cheaper with time and as it trickles down. It seems now that adding e to a bike adds @ $1500-2000 to the price, I'd expect that to narrow a bit as sales slow and with competition, but something along those lines is always going to be the price difference for comparable models. If I was in the market, and they could make an emtb with the same geo as a trail bike, which isn't possible curently, why would you ever buy a $5k trail bike and a $7k etrail bike when you could buy one for $7k that was both?

 

[DL723]

True..5000 probably wont get you equivalent versions of both. It may be more than geometry that's holding back true dual mode bike/ebikes. They're almost competing requirements. Ebikes provide extra range and power assist..so battery life and torque usually means more weight and stronger gears, chains, frame etc. Fast trail bikes are going towards trying to be as light as possible. Dual mode ebikes may be the case of jack of all trades but master of none type deals. But I guess that applies to normal hybrid bikes as well, which i've bought before. So there's probably a market.

 

[boss]

Rumored for a couple of years (although projected to weigh 28 pounds with motor and battery AIR), now ready for production, it will be interesting to see its impact on the MTB & eMTB's communities.

 

[slapheadmofo]

70 degree HT scares me way more than the motor!