E-bikes abound at this year’s expo; test for yourself
I
f you’ve never ridden an electric bike before,
several exhibitors at Sea Otter would really, really love to let you try one. Test rides, they believe, are the best advertise- ments for e-bikes. “We’re most inter-
ested in getting butts on bikes, since with e-bikes, the pedals speak much louder than our words,” said Jonathan Weinert of Bosch (Booth 706), which makes the motors for many high-end e-bikes. Compared to e-bikes from even
Haibike Sduro FullFatSix
coming to America. Commuting and transportation
five years ago, today’s models are styl- ish, dependable and backed by major brands inside and outside of the bike industry. (Bosch, for example, is a $77 billion global behemoth.) What’s changed? Motors, for one.
Bosch started the trend away from hub drives to mid-drive motors, followed by Brose, Yamaha and Shimano. Another big change is Europe,
where e-bike sales have exploded. That has driven a wave of innovation and product development that is now
are two sweet spots for e-bikes. No one wants to show up sweaty at the office. And for families try- ing to replace an automobile with a bike, a motor helps for hauling groceries or taking kids to school. “E-bikes are perfect for longer
commutes to work or replacing car trips without having to get geared up,” said Taylor Jackson of Focus USA. The company’s Kalkhoff brand (Booth 506) is showing its stylish, German-made Integrale city and commuting
Praxis Works complements chainrings with new cranks
debut cold-forged chainring offerings, with several new cranksets on display for the first time at Sea Otter. The company’s Lyft and Lyft HD are
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new lightweight carbon mountain bike cranks. They use Direct Mount rings via a three-bolt interface, available for standard or Boost chainlines and in 170- or 175-millimeter arm lengths. The company said it expects the
weight to be competitive with some of the lightest cranks on the market, such as Race Face Next SL and SRAM XX1 cranks. For those who think they need a little more heft, the HD model has a stur- dier carbon layup and a thicker spindle. The Lyft and Lyft HD will use Praxis’
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new M30 THRU bottom brackets to install in BSA, BB90/92, BB30 and PF30. The Lyft pricing is yet to be announced. The brand is also showing its new
Cadet crank, which it describes as an “all-around use” aluminum crank that also uses Direct Mount rings and 2D- forged arms. It will retail for about $200.
APRIL 14-17, 2016 32
raxis Works (Booths 170 and 171) is continuing to expand beyond its
Praxis’ 2D-forged Alba Road crank accepts small rings down to 32T and large ones up to 52T.
Praxis also is showing a 2D-
forged road crank, the Alba Road, which uses the 110-millimeter bolt circle diameter and accepts small chainrings down to 32T and large rings up to 52T, for a variety of drop-bar riding applications. Praxis also updated its Zayante
road crank, which is available with a 110- or 130-millimeter BCD. The 3D forged crank ships with Praxis’ new Buzz rings and will retail for $300.
SEAOTTERCLASSIC.COM
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