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TECH NEWS

Taipei Cycle: "The world’s first intelligent commuter bike"

Vanmoof and Darfon team up to offer integrated eBike system

Darfon Electronics Corporation and Vanmoof are showing what they’re calling ‘the world’s first intelligent commuter bike’ at Taipei Cycle.

We first reported on this bike last year when it was in the final stages of development, but now we’ve had the chance to see it for ourselves.

The bike features a 250W front hub motor with a smart power control that works via a torque sensor. It automatically adjusts the bike’s electric power after monitoring your cycling output.

You get a touchpad dashboard at the front end of the top tube while a GPS/GPRS tracking system will help you retrieve the bike should it ever be stolen. 'What does the touchpad dashboard do?' we hear you ask. 'Hmm…' is our short term response, we couldn't find any info on that at the show, our guess is though that it'll show you basic telemetry: speed, disance, etc along with battery charge life, and runtime info. If it's really intelligent there will be a GPS mapping display - although how visible all that is going to be at the front of your top tube is open to debate.

The integrated battery offers a range of 40-70km (25-44 miles) depending on the level of power assistance you select. The integrated 204Wh battery will recharge in four hours.

The bike is made from anodized aluminium and comes with mechanical disc brakes.

As you'd expect on a Vanmoof ront and rear lights are integrated into the frame and the chain is fully enclosed.

For more info go to Vanmoof’s website

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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7 comments

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jarredscycling | 10 years ago
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Mechanical disc? They must not have heard Road.cc's predictions on hydraulic discs

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Gkam84 replied to jarredscycling | 10 years ago
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jarredscycling wrote:

Mechanical disc? They must not have heard Road.cc's predictions on hydraulic discs

I think mechanical was a good idea for this bike. It is keeping things simple.

They are missing a trick though, because it is a single speed. They should have had the motor in the rear wheel and a dyno up front to continually recharge the battery  3

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sponican | 10 years ago
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With a nice straight open-ended top tube like that it seems a shame not to incorporate some sort of rocket launcher.

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sponican | 10 years ago
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With a nice straight open-ended top tube like that it seems a shame not to incorporate some sort of rocket launcher.

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shay cycles | 10 years ago
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Surely this constitutes a mis-use of the word "intelligent". All it has is a torque sensor and a bit of electronics to know how much power is required for the drive, a dashboard and some integrated lights; none of which equate to intelligence.

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alg | 10 years ago
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 21 it probably is better than a Boris bike (not difficult) but I cannot help but think all those brains have missed something  24
- it looks like it weighs a ton even if is doesnt (but I expect it does), its as ugly as sin and why all the clobber of an enclosed chain when it screams out for a simple belt drive

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bikebot | 10 years ago
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It looks like a good concept for a next-gen boris bike, rather than a privately owned commuter bike.

Their website describes it as stylish... well, maybe to a scaffolder.

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