Here's something a bit different: The Falco eDrive looks like a reasonably standard rear hub motor setup that you'd retrofit to your bike. It has a trick up its sleeve though: the eDrive can transform into a direct drive power trainer for indoor fitness training, and can hook up with Zwift and other virtual reality training software.
It can do what? "Falco eDrive broadcasts power (watts) to apps such as Zwift, Bkool, TrainerRoad, etc. and automatically allow variation of the resistance to match changing terrain and conditions", Falco tell us. "Falco eDrive even vibrates to simulate 'road feel.' This real-time feedback loop provides the most immersive riding experience. Falco eDrive connects to the apps wirelessly via ANT+ using a USB ANT+ stick or Bluetooth Smart(BLE)." Here's a video that explains the system:
Clever, eh? Effectively the hub motor is doing the opposite of what it would normally do, acting as a generator rather than a motor to simulate road resistance. And because it's acting as a generator you can feed that energy back into the bike's battery to top it up. The bike sits in a fairly standard indoor trainer frame, which is supplied with the kit.
The motor itself is available configured for EU, US and speed pedelec use. You can have pretty much any wheel size, and there are hub versions available for anything from singlespeed to 10-speed gearing. The motor generates 45Nm of torque and it's paired with a 400Wh frame-mounted battery. There's no control unit but the system is Bluetotth-enabled and Android and iOS apps are available.
The system is currently priced at $1,149 on the Falco website, or if you prefer you can have the system built into a 10-speed disc road bike for $1,995, the e-Citi. The eDrive is currently on preorder with the expected shipping date at the start of July.
