Fazua recently launched their new Ride 60 motor system, ushering in the next step towards making eMTBs that are lightweight, reasonably powerful, and have enough battery capacity for long rides.
Compared to the previous version, the Ride 60 has 60 Nm of torque and a max power output of 450 W. That's up from 58 Nm and a max power output of 350 W. The battery capacity has been increased to 430 Wh, up from 252 Wh. There's also a range extender battery that fits in a water bottle cage and provides an additional 200 Wh of juice.
Fazua Ride 60 Details• 60 Nm torque / 450 W max power
• 430 Wh removable battery
• 3 power modes - Breeze, River, Rocket
• Drive unit weight: 4.3 lb / 1.96 kg
• Battery weight: 5 lb / 2.3 kb
•
www.fazua.com The drive unit weighs 4.3 pounds (1.96 kg), and the battery weighs 5 pounds (2.3 kg). For comparison, Shimano's EP8 drive unit weighs 5.72 pounds (2.6 kg).
That's a whole bunch of numbers, but the main takeaway is that the Ride 60 should make it possible to create an eMTB with handling that feels much closer to a 'regular' mountain bike thanks to the reduced weight. Riding a full-powered eMTB is a very different ride experience partially due to the fact that most of them weigh in the neighborhood of 50 pounds.
The lighweight eMTB landscape is still changing, with companies taking different paths towards a similar goal. Specialized has their Levo SL and
Kenevo SL models, which use a motor that delivers 35 Nm of torque. Orbea uses Shimano's EP8 motor that's been tuned to deliver 60 Nm of torque in their
Rise model, and last year Trek released their
E-Caliber, which has Fazua's Ride 50 system.
What makes the Fazua system stands out is the fact that it has very minimal drag, and the battery is removable. That makes a 'two bikes in one' scenario much more feasible - if a complete bike weight was around 40 pounds with the battery, the 35 pound weight without is pretty close to what a modern enduro bike weighs. Riders could potentially head out for a self-powered ride in the morning, and then install the battery for some faster motorized laps in the afternoon. Or what about removing the battery to ride a lift-assisted bike park, and then installing it to explore other trails after the lifts have closed?
I was recently able to take a brief look at the new Ride 60 system in person, and it's impressive how little space it actually takes up. The drive unit is easy to hold in one hand, and the battery is quite slim for having 430 Wh. It's going to be really interesting to see where this system ends up, and which bike manufacturers choose to implement it.
Saving another 0.7 kg+ is not bad either. Plus a removeable battery is another plus, so I can charge it in my RV when traveling
I'm not sure how long will work light e-bike frame, with full power engine.
i have a rise and its turbo at 60 is plenty, trust me. i also see a future rise like this with dedicated lighter motor.
I said this in the past but I can see the industry just making SL bikes to replace the analog ones soon enough outside of ultra light XC bikes because they are practically the same weight and they don't have to produce multiple frames. You don't wanna use the features? Then don't. Now purist may hate this, but at this point, we see where the future is moving. I think they will still offer analog bikes, don't get me wrong. They will just be essentially one model that is customizable. Who knows though. If the weight gets low enough where the there is no difference, I can't see companies spending the money on multiple frames when it's not needed. That time so far, is not now, but it's getting closer and closer.
There are videos of guys riding the SL/Rise/EX-E etc with motor off on 1000+ accents and they all say it feels pretty much like their normal bikes.. so.
No downsides when it weighs just 2kg more than my pedal bike of similar travel and size
The more competition and development in this area the better for me!
The point of this class of motor is to make sub-40 pound mountain ebikes, so they handle as closely as possible to a normal bike. Weight matters here so you don't have to run lightweight casing tires or undersized forks to reach that target weight.
I did get mixed up with the SL vs the normal Levo- its the full power one that has the belt.
For those who get an ebike for fitness, it's a stepping stone from ebike to normal bike. For those who don't have confidence that motors/batteries will list the lifetime of the bikes ownership (me - I can't afford to replace bikes often) then you aren't stuck completely if a proprietary component dies, or battery degrades, etc.
Yes, the frame would be slightly heavier than that of a similar non-ebike frame, but I doubt the difference would be huge...
Especially is you are in a market outside of US&CANDA and europe
i havent tested the Bosch...
I can tell you that BROSE& SPEZIALIZED is absolute trash, Shimano will make you wait over 12 months for a replacement.
if you can Avoid those...
Good luck
I wonder how much vertical ascent you'd get pedaling in a medium-assist mode though?
www.pinkbike.com/news/e-bike-battery-fire-destroys-florida-bike-shop.html
but virtually none will do this for a closed gearbox ie pinion bike ……just sayin…… ebikes are like electric cars - a big marketing scam and totally unnecessary