Acer is branching out from laptops and monitors to… e-bikes, apparently
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If it doesn't come with a robotic pack dog that keeps up with you on the bike, then what's the point?
The bike probably doesn't even have a KITT system.
The bike probably doesn't even have a KITT system.
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The article repeatedly claims that the design saves some weight by using a single front fork, and I don’t believe it for a second. If having a single front fork save weight, all racing bikes would be built that way. You can tell by looking at that chonker mono-fork that it’s more than doubled in girth compared to a fork in a traditional design.
someone designed it that way because it looked cool or because it saved money on assembly.
someone designed it that way because it looked cool or because it saved money on assembly.
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There was one laptop I was asked to support once that was made by Acer. Usually, I'm not willing to judge a company/restaurant on a single experience, but that laptop was an exception. I don't think I'll ever buy something of theirs again unless it gets a solid new history. (Like Behringer pulled off with the X-32 soundboard which eventually got them off my boycott list).
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The name of this bike keeps making me think of foster kitten we had years ago that we named Ebi (she had a 'brother' within a week of the same age named Sushi). We had bottlefeed them both.
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Looks like a front hub drive (or Mid Drive) rather than a rear hub drive with a toothed belt. I'd be interested if it was a Mid Drive.
A front drive of that design could explain why it has to be lower torque though and probably single speed too
It looks like they could have easily turned this into a folding bike too which would have given extra value to such a design with the single sided fork.
A front drive of that design could explain why it has to be lower torque though and probably single speed too
It looks like they could have easily turned this into a folding bike too which would have given extra value to such a design with the single sided fork.
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Abhi Beckert
Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
They tires are also filled with foam instead of air. Sure, it's small, which saves weight, but there is nothing "light" about this bike and there are bikes far larger that are half the weight of this bike.
As a bicycle enthusiast, I'm growing increasingly frustrated articles Ars has written on e-bikes. Andrew you clearly don't know the fundamentals. Please, please, find a writer who does or make an effort to learn more about it?
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Boxy, but good?
Also, a product announcement without even an aspirational release date?
Also, a product announcement without even an aspirational release date?
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Exactly. Frankly, I deeply doubt that the double-traingle truss design for bicycles can be improved upon further to any great degree w.r.t. strength to weight ratio. Aluminum mountain bikes have slightly different angles than road bikes to help handle the sudden load of a drop. Sometimes, if you're planning on racing, you're going fast enough for aerodynamics to influence the design.. Anything else is just for show.
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Yeah I don't buy that claim either. To prevent the wheel pitching along its axle that must be quite heavy duty. If this was a folding bike maybe you could argue it makes the bike smaller, but no chance it saves weight.
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I'd really like to feel I could ride this to the train station and leave it there, but I also feel that it'll be quite quickly swiped and the various hardware/software protections broken in a very short amount of time.
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On of your image captions says that “the ebii's battery, motor, and other components are all stored in this chunky central box,” but the motor is actually in the front wheel’s hub.
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BMW claims lighter weight for their motorcycle single-sided swing arm. Strengthening just the little bit near the axle probably saves more weight than putting a full 2nd side on. They first made them in 1980.
Cannondale also has a "lefty" fork, which they build into a couple of bicycles and sell separately. They first released it in 2000, so it's pretty tried and tested.
For bicycles, it does make it easier to change tires and/or wheels. I think BMWs still have the shaft transmission in the way.
Graeme Obree built a custom track bike with a single-sided fork: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graeme_Obree#/media/File:Graeme_obree.jpg
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Decimals are so weird with feet. 4.75 feet is 4 feet 9 inches or 4'9".
This bike says it's designed for commuting but are people going to be able to install fenders on them? It's a pretty common ask for commuters I think...
This bike says it's designed for commuting but are people going to be able to install fenders on them? It's a pretty common ask for commuters I think...
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I really appreciate Ars reviewing ebikes, but what Ars presents is ... absurd ... tending to discourage use of bikes / ebikes for utility.
Fatal omissions for a bike / e-bike-that's-not-a-toy: fenders (mud-guards). Anyone who's biked for utility in the real world knows: fenders / mud guards are essential, not optional. Also essential: either The Best Proprietary Cargo Carrier Ever (highly unlikely), or an accommodation for after-market panniers. If the product includes a motor / electronics: what's the 'limp home' mode? Simply put: when (not if) the electronics fail, will the rider pitch the thing in a ditch?
Foam-filled (rather than pneumatic) tires? I've never used 'em. I know - count them - one person whose opinion on this topic I respect who finds the inherent compromises are worth it. But I'll add: on the short rides for which this thing is designed, foam-filled tires probably aren't a 'fail'.
As to anything under the heading of 'weight saving': obsessing about trimming grams from a bike compensates for the kilos on my lard-assed body.
And Acer as a bicycle manufacturer? I don't ride my 'puter around town ... and for good reason.
Fatal omissions for a bike / e-bike-that's-not-a-toy: fenders (mud-guards). Anyone who's biked for utility in the real world knows: fenders / mud guards are essential, not optional. Also essential: either The Best Proprietary Cargo Carrier Ever (highly unlikely), or an accommodation for after-market panniers. If the product includes a motor / electronics: what's the 'limp home' mode? Simply put: when (not if) the electronics fail, will the rider pitch the thing in a ditch?
Foam-filled (rather than pneumatic) tires? I've never used 'em. I know - count them - one person whose opinion on this topic I respect who finds the inherent compromises are worth it. But I'll add: on the short rides for which this thing is designed, foam-filled tires probably aren't a 'fail'.
As to anything under the heading of 'weight saving': obsessing about trimming grams from a bike compensates for the kilos on my lard-assed body.
And Acer as a bicycle manufacturer? I don't ride my 'puter around town ... and for good reason.
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We have an Acer foldable Chromebook (with a 360" hinge) we got 4 years ago from a Costco for <$300. It took a beating during remote school during Covid, was carried around by a toddler in a bookbag and dropped a few times, and has endured at least a couple of spills. Other than some cosmetic dings, it's in perfect shape other than losing a small rubber bumper in one corner that keeps the corner of the lid from rubbing on the palmrest. The case is not splitting, the glass display is perfect (and pretty bright and vivid) and touch works great, the hinges still work and are stiff, charging port works, etc. Still used daily for school web pages, Youtube, etc.We must have worked on the exact same laptop from Acer! /so
Yes, it's got a mushy keyboard and an awful touchpad, but hey, it was, like, $260.
I think Acer gets a bad rep because they are happy to design a laptop to meet any pricepoint, so there are many Acer laptops with OK internals but very cheap case designs that are designed to meet a very low pricepoint. They also have upscale designs, too, that are perfectly acceptable.
P.S. - Regarding that design exercise posing as a bike, the "box" in the middle has sharp edges that seem perfectly positioned to rub against your feet when you try to pedal or to bang a shin on. Having something bulky like this right above the pedals does not look ergonomic at all.
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Bicyclist here.
This thing looks like it has hydraulic disk brakes front and back. That's good.
There's obviously a motor in the front wheel hub. OK. Weird, but OK. Maybe it will work. As others have mentioned, there's no way that one-sided front "fork" saves weight. It has to be strong enough to resist tilting. A bike where the front wheel tilts -- rolls side-to-side -- when it hit bumps isn't going to be much fun to try to control on a rough road.
There aren't any seat stays (frame elements going from the seat to the rear axle). Also, there's no top tube (headset aka handlebar bearing to seat), only a down tube (headset to bottom bracket aka pedal bearing). So the strength of this thing depends on the resilience of the lower part of the down tube. The spot where the down tube meets the bottom bracket is going to come under enormous bending force when the rider jumps curbs or hits potholes.
Is it going to break? Other like it have broken at that spot. They're all e-bikes designed by "hey I gotta idea" entrepreneurs without much background in bike frame construction.
I love all the innovation in the e-bike world. Some of it will work.
This thing looks like it has hydraulic disk brakes front and back. That's good.
There's obviously a motor in the front wheel hub. OK. Weird, but OK. Maybe it will work. As others have mentioned, there's no way that one-sided front "fork" saves weight. It has to be strong enough to resist tilting. A bike where the front wheel tilts -- rolls side-to-side -- when it hit bumps isn't going to be much fun to try to control on a rough road.
There aren't any seat stays (frame elements going from the seat to the rear axle). Also, there's no top tube (headset aka handlebar bearing to seat), only a down tube (headset to bottom bracket aka pedal bearing). So the strength of this thing depends on the resilience of the lower part of the down tube. The spot where the down tube meets the bottom bracket is going to come under enormous bending force when the rider jumps curbs or hits potholes.
Is it going to break? Other like it have broken at that spot. They're all e-bikes designed by "hey I gotta idea" entrepreneurs without much background in bike frame construction.
I love all the innovation in the e-bike world. Some of it will work.
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Electric Folding bikes often have the motor in the front hub and many small wheel bikes do not have top tubes so this is not too far left field but looks like a cheap design and not particularly exciting.
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uhh, I mean, its nice, but I wouldn't call it essential. I've biked regularly for years without a fender and its fine.
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I dunno. I'm pretty unimpressed by these stats. My ebike (State Bikes Commuter) was $1,500, and it beats or matches this thing in almost every way:
- Top speed of 20 instead of 15
- Range of 20-100 miles, depending on assist level and terrain
- Looks like a regular bike, and can be repaired/upgraded with regular bike parts
- Comes in three sizes, the largest of which accomodates my 6'2" frame
- Only weighs 39 pounds instead of 35
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Not, apparently, a resident of Oregon. We have an entire month devoted to mud.
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I have been eyeballing various e-bikes. My workplace is now wanting me in the office 3 days per week. Before the pandemic, I biked to the office over 14 miles each way 5 days per week. These days, I'm feeling like I should change my username to oldernoobguy, so I'm not sure how much longer I can continue the commute using just my muscles. I can definitely state that no matter what the price of the eebi is, there is no way I would ever buy it. This device is not a viable means of transportation as far as I'm concerned.
Come on Ars! Your e-bike coverage is lame. I'm someone who for decades has treated cycling as a serious method of transportation, but I can't remember an Ars article about any e-bike that would serve as anything more than a toy. Please start covering e-bikes that are actually viable transportation options.
Come on Ars! Your e-bike coverage is lame. I'm someone who for decades has treated cycling as a serious method of transportation, but I can't remember an Ars article about any e-bike that would serve as anything more than a toy. Please start covering e-bikes that are actually viable transportation options.
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This has better be very cheap, because you can get a lightweight ebike with the motor assist integrated that has much better specs and is way more comfortable than this looks (they’re ‘real’ bikes), and even weighs almost the same.
For $300, sure, I could see people using it as an electric scooter.
For $300, sure, I could see people using it as an electric scooter.
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An e-Bike by Acer? Came for the lame puns, left disappointed.
Against:
It's an Acer
For:
It's a bike, so it doesn't come with Windows.
No OS X either, so no spinning wheel of death. They're bad on an bike.
You can literally reboot it.
Look like normal pedals - no apparent way they can pedal bloatware.
I'll get my coat...
Against:
It's an Acer
For:
It's a bike, so it doesn't come with Windows.
No OS X either, so no spinning wheel of death. They're bad on an bike.
You can literally reboot it.
Look like normal pedals - no apparent way they can pedal bloatware.
I'll get my coat...
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