Slack Randoms: Plant-Based Bikes, VR Climbing & More
We use Slack as our workplace communication tool at Pinkbike and we have a #randoms channel which we use to share an assortment of videos and stories from all corners of the cycling world and beyond... We thought a couple of the moments from the past week were too good not to share with a wider audience, so here are some of the highlights.
Plant Based Bikes
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Designed by Guilherme Pella and Nicolas Rutzen, the Astan Bike is made from natural fibers glued together with plant resin making this potentially a very environmentally friendly bike. The designers also have boldly claimed that with their manufacturing technique, the plant-based bike could be both lighter and stronger than an equivalent aluminum frame.
The natural fibers used to build the Astan bike are created with laser cutters for an exact fit and to achieve the strength require, the designers developed a now patented frame with a unique lattice pattern. The lattice uses the natural grain of the wood to allow an increase in the resistance of the frame and can absorb impacts for increased comfort.
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You can read more here.
Chainless eBikes
![photo]()
German bearings manufacturer Schaeffler and eBike drivetrain manufacturer Heinzmann have partnered to create a chainless electric drive system.
The Free Drive works by converting your pedaling power into electrical energy to run a rear hub motor without the need for a chain. It achieves this by housing a small generator in the bottom bracket area with the generated power travel through a cable to a motorised rear hub. The current prototype has a claimed continuous output of 250w although the creators claim more power than this is created so any additional energy is stored in the battery for later use. The battery system is also said to be charged by regenerative braking.
The only downside revealed by the creators is a loss of efficiency of around 5% when compared to a standard drivetrain using a chain.
You can read more here.
Dean Lucas Interviews Connor Fearon
Ken Block's 637hp Electric Audi RS
Virtual Reality Free Solo Climbing with Alex Honnold
Mad Max Triathlon Bike or the Urban DH Bike?
Juliano Neves has created some interesting new concepts with a Specialized Enduro triathlon bike or the shopper bike Specialized Demo.
Plant Based Bikes
Designed by Guilherme Pella and Nicolas Rutzen, the Astan Bike is made from natural fibers glued together with plant resin making this potentially a very environmentally friendly bike. The designers also have boldly claimed that with their manufacturing technique, the plant-based bike could be both lighter and stronger than an equivalent aluminum frame.
The natural fibers used to build the Astan bike are created with laser cutters for an exact fit and to achieve the strength require, the designers developed a now patented frame with a unique lattice pattern. The lattice uses the natural grain of the wood to allow an increase in the resistance of the frame and can absorb impacts for increased comfort.
You can read more here.
Chainless eBikes
German bearings manufacturer Schaeffler and eBike drivetrain manufacturer Heinzmann have partnered to create a chainless electric drive system.
The Free Drive works by converting your pedaling power into electrical energy to run a rear hub motor without the need for a chain. It achieves this by housing a small generator in the bottom bracket area with the generated power travel through a cable to a motorised rear hub. The current prototype has a claimed continuous output of 250w although the creators claim more power than this is created so any additional energy is stored in the battery for later use. The battery system is also said to be charged by regenerative braking.
The only downside revealed by the creators is a loss of efficiency of around 5% when compared to a standard drivetrain using a chain.
You can read more here.
Dean Lucas Interviews Connor Fearon
 | On this episode of the podcast is sit down with a good friend of mine Connor Fearon a few days after he was able to claim his first elite men’s national downhill title. Connor and I have been racing a ride together for over 15 years now, we’ve pushed each other not only as competitors but also as teammates for a brief time on Kona back in 2011-2012. Connor has always been at the top of Aussie Downhill, even back at the age of 14 he was already at the pointy end of the elite field. Battling with Troy Brosnan from the age of 11 they have both lifted each other to become two of the best mountain bikers in the world. We go in-depth into what it’s been like battling with someone for so many years and how it's grown the both of them as riders and people. He also goes into some simple tips to help you improve as a rider and racer. |
Ken Block's 637hp Electric Audi RS
| As you may know, Audi and I have partnered to create the first-ever all-electric Gymkhana car for Electrikhana! But our partnership doesn't stop there... A new year for me means new projects, so I'm very proud to introduce my brand-new Audi RS e-tron GT daily driver! At the snap of a finger (or of my right foot) the e-tron GT produces 637 horsepower and 612 foot-pounds of torque instantly, making it the fastest RS badged production car on earth. |
Virtual Reality Free Solo Climbing with Alex Honnold
| Virtual reality offers professional climber Alex Honnold a new and innovative way to share his incredible free solo climbing thanks to VR's immersive authenticity, and you can now experience exactly what it looks like to be with Alex on huge rock walls in the mountains in the documentary film 'Alex Honnold: The Soloist VR'. Under the guidance of director Jon Griffith and with the help of an elite team of climbers, the unique film for Meta Quest took 2 years to film on locations across Europe and North America and showcases the some of the toughest solo climbs in the world in an enthralling new way. Watch the full VR experience on Oculus TV on Meta Quest VR Headsets https://thesoloist-vr.com/ See more of how this unique film was made https://win.gs/makingthesoloist |
Mad Max Triathlon Bike or the Urban DH Bike?
Juliano Neves has created some interesting new concepts with a Specialized Enduro triathlon bike or the shopper bike Specialized Demo.
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I'd hate the be the mechanic working with those...
In cycling terms, that isnt a lot, especially if you are heavy and trying to get up hills.
This bike with a rider powering an electric traction motor is... taco-electric?
I'll see myself out.
Having said that, for an e-MTB, regen could be a game changer and far more significant. If you got back 60% of your braking energy on the downhills it would make far more difference in range than the 20% of human energy losses..
And a quick Google shows that lots of weird AWD e-bikes are out there.
No regen system will slow you enough in a panic stop, so you'll still need brakes.
I hope this system at least gives you the option of putting your on power in. Still a CRAP idea. I hate companies that try to uncycle cycling.
1: Even ebikes don't have a motor at the rear hub. So how much more weight over a derailleur+cassette? I assume it will be heavier and it will carry the disadvantage of more unsuspended mass, even over a hub shifting transmission.
2: It would surely be an extremely strange experience. I'm especially intrigued by the immediacy of reactions. When you give a quick whack to the pedals when you're standing still, how fast does the motor react? Would it react with the same force as the one you applied to the pedals? It might make it difficult, or super strange, to keep balance when you apply small but energetic impulses to the pedals in very low speed situations. You can't feel the chain tension and the direct connection to the movement.
I'm really intrigued by this sort of alien, detached pedalling concept.
I’m out
So by the past part of your sentence, the chain-less drivetrain doesn't make it a motorbike - cranks drive a generator, wire takes electricity to hub motor, hub motor powers wheel. No pedal, no go (excluding the small battery).
Still a bike, IMO
They're claiming 95% transfer efficiency, which may be the case when the battery is charged for pedal assist, but the digital motor controller requires its own power to ensure efficient drive, so if the battery runs out I'd wager the efficiency rate drops off significantly.
Not to mention that generators have to be tuned to specific rotation speeds for maximum energy transfer, so i hope you enjoy pedalling at one cadence forever if you want to come close to that posted 95% efficiency.
I also only use zwift to maintain fitness when I can't get out. I'm sure if I raced it could be more nuanced.
The plant based bike is claiming it works great but it would appear it won't make it into any bike porn forums anytime soon....
Eco friendly is great if it works, sometimes it just doesn't
250W seems quite a lot compared to the average human power output (+-100W).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_power
It could be great for super fatbikes, with longtail stays, no chain, regular q-factor and a 10" wide tire
Let's say you produce 100W at 100rpm (random numbers) and have a planetary gear or whatever in the hub that turns the rpm to 250 and """supposedly""" outputs 250W, isn't that the point ?
I mean there would be a lot of loss as the wiki page says but isn't the point of a generator to... generate more power ?
Also it could have a "buffer" battery, you would keep pedaling somewhat energetically even when it's flat and easy (or down) and the battery would use its power when you're on an up slope and your pedaling isn't enough.
I'm not good at physic when it's not in pictures so I may be totally out of my element :p
So like mentioned somewhere else, it's like a diesel-electric locomotive, except here it's a "taco-electric" bike.
So then the point would be store some energy in the battery as soon as the human is producing more than needed (slow on flat, or keep pedaling while going down) through a steady but not exhausting rpm pace, and to use it back to assist when the human is producing less than needed (going up).
Sounds logical, it's a way to avoid charging the battery on power supply as much as possible.
Newsflash - new materials and processes do not need to look crazy.
youtu.be/djM8JC-2b98
That. Is. No. Longer. A. Bicycle!
Yes it is a gliding scale indeed.
On a current E bike set to give you 75% of your power back, when you pedal at 100w the motor adds 75w and the total output of the system is 175w. With this (if I am reading correctly which is certainly not a given) you pedal at 100w which charges the battery at a rate of 100w and the motor puts out 175w for a total system output of 175w.
Is that the same, spiritually, as a current E bike? Is it not? I don't know.
The amount of power at the back wheel could be regulated by pedal speed (it might just have a handlebar throttle, it doesn't say) but that is still not the same as current e-bikes. With an e-bike you set them up so the motor adds watts on-top of what you put through the chainset. Therefore the feel of riding an e-bike should (in theory) be the same as a normal bike except with more power being delivered to the back wheel.
With this system the feel at the pedals for the rider can be exactly the same regardless of whether they are going uphill, downhill or on the flat
In the UK I don't think this could be considered an e-bike as the pedals need to propel the bike. Without the motor and battery the pedals on this would do nothing.
On a regular bike with gears if you change gear frequently enough you have close to consistent resistance regardless of the speed of the bike and the gradient up to certain limits of speed at the top and bottom end of course.
I think you are right on the legal definition though. I doubt you would be allowed to ride a system like that on UK roads.