Well it had to happen sometime. Not content with just one motor in their e-bikes, French outfit TwinBurst have announced a four-model line-up of two-wheel-drive electric bikes, with a hub motor in both the front and the rear wheels.
Is that better? Well, it remains to be seen: we haven't ridden one yet, although we're hoping to at the upcoming Eurobike show. Nevertheless there's a lot going on here over and above the use of two motors. Let's have a look at some of the tech.
For a start, the bikes have a traction control system. The balance of power from front to rear is automatically managed, so if your front wheel starts to slip the TwinBurst can ease off the juice up front and give more to the back to keep you going.
Secondly, the bike has a regenerative braking system that also acts as anti-lock braking. How? Well, when you pull the brake lever the bike brakes with the motors as well as the mechanical system. Should a wheel lock up the bike can ease off the motor braking which is often enough, TwinBurst say, to release the wheel. The mechanical braking will still be active. The regenerative system can, say TwinBurst, extend the range of the bike by anything up to 65%; the battery is only 300Wh but the company claim a range of up to 100km.
In addition to that the bikes have a coupled braking system, so that both brakes are activated (with a different torque) from either lever. TwinBurst say that that, coupled with the ABS, means that you can use full force braking on any terrain.
The bikes are Bluetooth enabled and use your smartphone (housed in a waterproof case) as the dashboard. The TwinBurst control app will give you access to the normal computer functions as well as GPS navigation, rider metrics and more.
How much does all this tech cost? Well, quite a lot: prices range from €4790 for the TREKK hybrid up to €5690 for the full suspension BIGJUMP.
