Swiss students design long-range electric bike
Pretty it ain't but it could be pretty effective
A GROUP of sudents at the University of Zurich has designed an electric bike with a 250-mile range but paid no attention to how it looks.
The prototype was designed for a project that challenged the 14 students to experience all the steps of product development. The result is the all-electric Ethec.With mechanical and electrical engineers on the team, the bike is in dire need of a creative eye.
The design is brutal, but it serves its purpose: the monobody unit is equipped with a massive lithium-ion 15 kWh battery. The group explains that front-wheel braking dissipated 75 percent of the energy so it addressed this reality by adding a front-wheel hub motor that will recuperate the energy.
The motor is cooled by a thermoelectric system, combined with a direct-cooling oil stream around the battery’s cells. The prototype is also fitted with a seven-inch touchscreen with navigation and is started with a keyless, push-start button.
Despite its minimalist look and its elaborate technology, the ethec does retain more classical motorcycle elements including a lightweight tube frame, a proper swingarm, and a trapezoidal fork at the front.
