An EV for $5600 – really!
No, ebikes are nothing new. But you’re talking to car people here, and to really get us interested in two-wheeled transport you’re going to need something with an interesting automotive connection.
This is it: the $5600 BMW Active Hybrid bike.
However, to declare an interest, this isn’t quite the clashof-ideology story it could be. Yes, I’m a car person, but I’m also an occasional road and mountain biker. So bikes aren’t new to me, but the concept of using one as transport (as opposed to pure recreation) is.
This bike is relevant in motoring terms anyway, because automotive companies cannot be content to just make cars if they want to remain relevant. Many technology-driven makers like BMW want to be mobility companies as well, providing transport solutions (especially electric ones) right across the board.
We’re talking the first mile, last mile part of the urban transport puzzle. And much more.
I have opinions on electric bikes. Mountain ebikes . . . no thanks. Don’t see the point of doing a sport then using technology to take the physical effort away.
Mountain bikes with e-assistance (or rather, those who ride them) are sometimes a bit of a menace on the trails as well.
But ebike commuting? I like the idea of being able to get to work without all the sweating, on a boosted bike that’s properly set up for city riding, with relaxed geometry and properly comfortable suspension and tyres.
The BMW Active Hybrid bike is certainly that: a commuter.
It looks kind of dorky, it has a bell that goes ‘‘ding!’’, whitewall tyres and mudguards. Those tyres are Continental and the white bits are reflectorised. Hey, nerds are hot right now.
But it’s a genuine BMW product, based around a hydroformed aluminium frame with integrated Brose 0.504kWh battery; for the purposes of comparison, the new i3 about to be launched has a 42kWh capacity.
The battery assists the pedals only, but you can set four different levels of assistance, giving between 50 per cent (Eco) to 275 per cent (Turbo) assistance. You just charge it up overnight using a domestic plug . . . like you do your i3. The ebike also has a little rocket symbol on the handlebarmounted digital screen to symbolise the battery boost.
It’s fully branded as a BMW ‘‘e-Drive’’ vehicle, finished in Frozen Black and Arctic Silver.
There’s some genuinely delightful and innovative detail: at the front the headlight (powered by the bike battery of course) is an independently mounted retro-look unit, while the rear looks all hitech with a red LED strip fully integrated into the mudguard.
There’s a motorcycle-like ‘‘bullneck’’ design at the top of the frame (a favourite styling element for BMW bikes) and the Selle Royale saddle is the first ever to be created specifically for an ebike. It’s designed around a ‘‘zonal concept’’ with a short nose, moving side wings and a rising surface at the rear to provide support during ebike acceleration.
Like any vehicle with weird gears, it requires a certain technique. You only get electric assistance up to 25kmh; beyond that you’re simply pedalling an incredibly heavy bicycle (it’s around 25kg, or 10kg heavier than a pretty heavy mountain bike). Like I said, it’s a commuter.
It’s fine on the flat because there’s surprisingly little rolling resistance and with momentum the Active Hybrid bike will cruise along on pedal power alone at 30kmh, no problem.
You have to switch off the electric assistance completely though, because otherwise moving between 20-30kmh (which you do as gradients change) means the boost is going on and off and messing with your riding rhythm.
Ideally, you’d get assistance up to 35kmh and you wouldn’t have to worry about fiddling around with the power mode so much. There’s an easy way to do that, by messing with the position of the magnetic sensor for the speedometer. Wouldn’t dream of doing that, though. Safety first.
But as it is, you’re still getting access to effortless performance. On full boost, starting in second gear, you’ve got plenty of acceleration to clear traffic away from the lights up to 20kmh and get yourself into safe roadspace. And uphill work really is effortless once you’ve established the right gear/steady-speed combination.
Given the city focused nature of this BMW, the clattering mudguards (you need them, both for that swish rear LED light and the winter rain) and stodgy front suspension could do with some work, but it’s possible you could tweak one or both. The forks are adjustable, but not by much.
Aside from city commuting, as an experiment I took the Active Hybrid Bike on a 50km loop that I often do on my road bike – lots of long, steep uphill stretches and therefore also lots of long downhills that you can’t take advantage of unless the bike has straight-line stability and cornering smarts.
The BMW ebike cut 30 minutes off my usual time. So yeah. Who’s the nerd now?
No, it’s not helping your fitness as much. But it does demonstrate effectiveness as an A-to-B machine, especially as I completed that power-intensive run with 20km range remaining. The official claim is 100km and that’s certainly do-able in flatter conditions on a lower boost setting, but even if you’re working it hard you’ll get 50km-plus.
Anyway: a clever EV that’s appealingly awkward looking, strong on design detail and determinedly rear-drive: that’s the BMW i3, oops I mean Active Hybrid Bike.