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courtesy of pocket-lint |
The feeling of gliding in a two wheeled spaceship is the the feeling you will experience while paddling across the streets in this electric bike. The bike has an elegant look and is sure to attract attention of both young and old,poor and rich in short it traverses all the social classes. Some say that the bike German-engineered, but a little Dutch in appearance, the eBike is a virtual melting pot.
The Smart eBike isn't really for cyclists. Not the hardcore types anyway. It's for those who dread the Tube commute, who aspire to cycle but don't want to turn up at the office with sweat streaming through the suit jacket. For those who are cooler than a Boris bike.
In addition to being an eye-catcher, the Grace-made aluminium frame is full of curves and bends that provide an individual style. It's like someone took a Boris bike and turned the style dial up to 11.
You might not believe that the frame is aluminum though, considering the eBike's weight, but much of that mass comes from elsewhere. The addition of the motor, battery, awesomely responsive disc brakes, broad 26-inch wheels and other what-have-yous all add up.
The bike can easily got to 16mph before the weight became apparent, and putting feet to the floor managed to muscle in at around 21mph at best - but the effort required for that is like doing leg curls on a gym machine
The bike features a three-speed gear set to make thinks simple. It's an electronic SRAM I-Motion 3, to be exact, and it's particularly interesting as it controls a carbon belt system rather than the chains typical of normal bikes.
But the eBike is no normal bike. A toothed carbon belt means little maintenance, no rust, no grime, excellent longevity and no slip-ups between gear changes.
charging
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courtesy of pocket-lin |
Of cos what you completely and utterly cannot let happen is to run out of battery power mid-cycle.Because if you get stuck in the sticks without the power assistance you'll feel every single one of those 26.1kgs. It'd be a bit like cutting the floor out of a Hummer and trying to ride it like the Flintstones. And you don't want that to happen.
When it comes to recharging, the eBike has a battery port that plugs into the mains like any camera, phone or other gadget. A glowing orange circle shows that you're charging, a green light shows charge is complete. Thing is, it takes 5-hours from dead, which isn't that short really. Get home late and if you forget to plug in then your commute the next day could be in a bit of trouble. Some sort of boosted speed charge to ensure it's always ready to roll would be a help.
controls
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courtesy of pocket-lin |
For the eBike to run there's a detachable computer-meets-LCD-screen controller that clips in to the centre of the handlebars. As well as displaying what's going on - current speed, distance covered, battery remaining, range and so forth - it also houses the speed controls, ranging from -4 to +4. The bike can go for upto 62miles with a single charge.
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