Ford is jumping in on the electric-bike action with a new concept that was previewed at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Known as the Ford E-Bike Concept, the study demonstrates how Ford’s design language can be applied to a bicycle.
“The E-Bike market is growing very, very rapidly, with some 30 million units sold globally last year,” said Axel Wilke, director, vehicle personalisation, Ford Customer Service Division Europe. “We see E-Bikes as an important element of urban electric mobility. More and more people are using E‑Bikes for short distance commuting and they are becoming comfortable with the concept of electric mobility.”
The Ford E-Bike Concept is powered by a front wheel hub motor making 350W. The bike can hit a top speed of 24 kph and can return a total of 85 kilometers on a full charge.
“In the Ford E-Bike, the first application of this technology in the bicycle industry, the sensors read the revolutions in the inner bearing and relay this information to the control unit within a hundredth of a second,” Ford said in a statement. “The control unit then instantly activates or deactivates the electric motor, providing a seamless integration of the power of the legs with the power of the motor.”
A handlebar-mounted screen displays trip information and allows the rider to select from three support modes – Economy, Comfort and Sport.
Ford says it has no plans to produce the E-Bike but will continue studying the concept along with other future mobility solutions.
Technical Specifications of Ford E-Bike Concept –
- Drive Unit:
- Front wheel hub motor
- Max. nominal power: 350W
- Electricity: 36V – 250W
- Supports up to 25km/h (to EN 15194)
- Clutch with freewheel function
- Gearbox – Planet gears
- Integral sensor technology
Battery –
- Cell type – Lithium-ion accumulator
- Electricity – 340Wh, 36V, 9.3Ah
- Charging cycles – 1000 cycles at 80% residual capacity
- BMS (Battery Management System): protects against deep discharge and self-discharge Charge times – 80% after 2 hours, 100% after 3-4 hours (at room temperature)
- Range – Up to 85km (depending on drive power and support mode selected)
- Temperature range: -20°C to +60°C
- Extremely small unit to connect battery (remains on bike) to normal mains network.
- Intelligent electronics to prevent overcharging, undervolting, overheating and shortcircuit; in particular, sleep function prevents deep charging and necessity for recalibration with charger connected
Controller display functions –
- Background lighting with light sensor system
- Energy-saving automatic sleep mode
- Diagnosis function with fault code display
- Support modes – Economy, Comfort, Sport
- Displays – Range, Battery capacity, Speed, Time, Distance, Maximum speed, Average speed, Total distance, Service reminder, System diagnosis, Support modes
- iPhone Smartphone app control function planned
Bicycle Components –
- Wheels – Mavic Elipse Aluminum black (modified with Ford Design crossing)
- Tyres – Continental Ultra Sport black
- Pedals – Wellgo LU-C27G, silver/black
- Handlebars – Downhill Aluminum black, custom made
- Stem – Giant SLR Carbon 110mm
- Saddle – Selle Italia SLR XC
- Brakes -Avid Elixir 5, full hydraulic, 185mm, white
Also see – Rendered – Hyundai Concept Motorcycle
More pictures of new Ford E-Bike Concept –
