Superstrata’s $3,999 Ion is a made-to-measure carbon fiber e-bike

Superstrata frames received’t be a single piece, although. The crew is planning to print the principle portion of the body — which doesn’t have a conventional seat tube, creating an open diamond form — and entrance forks individually. Nonetheless, it’s a formidable design feat that’s be a focus for different cyclists and street customers.

Superstrata

The corporate will use additive manufacturing to construct two similarly-shaped bicycles: a normal $2,799 ‘Terra’ mannequin, and an electrified $3,999 ‘Ion’ model. Which may sound costly, nonetheless a carbon street bike can value anyplace between $1,250 and $12,500. (And even increased, if you’d like one thing actually uncommon.) A top-end Riese & Müller e-bike, in the meantime, can set you again virtually $9,000. Superstrata isn’t making a motorbike for the lots, however the firm isn’t working within the higher echelons of bespoke bicycle constructing, both.

“It’s lower than your high-end carbon fiber bikes, nevertheless it’s not reasonably priced within the frequent sense,” Vu accepted.

In response to Superstrata, 3D printing presents a few essential advantages. For starters, every bicycle might be printed to go well with the precise dimensions of the rider. The corporate is promising “over 500,000” potential setups that account for the shopper’s peak, weight, arm and leg size, in addition to their most popular driving place and stage of body stiffness. Most bicycle producers, for comparability, provide a handful of body sizes that account for many rider heights. And lots of e-bike startups, equivalent to Cowboy, have a single specification to simplify manufacturing and repairs.

3D printing doesn’t require any costly molds, both. Meaning the corporate isn’t tied down or incentivised to stay with the identical body design for a protracted time frame. The method requires fewer people, too, than a conventional carbon fiber body. “The supplies for carbon composites are actually costly, nevertheless it’s actually the labor that makes it costly,” Vu mentioned. “That was astounding to me. I all the time thought it was the fabric, however then I spotted, ‘Oh, it’s really the labor.’”

Lastly, Superstata is promising “seamless power” that trumps conventional monocoque carbon fiber frames. Vu advised Engadget: “We are saying, ‘Nicely, your monocoque body didn’t begin as one piece. it was 20 or 30 items which can be glued collectively, laser-welded perhaps even collectively, wrapped. Nevertheless it began as many items. And if it hits a tree, it’s going to finish up being many items.” Superstrata’s bikes received’t be indestructible, however they need to fare higher in case you take a tumble or stand it up haphazardly exterior a restaurant.

Superstrata

The Ion will ship with a 252Wh battery tucked into its svelte down tube. By e-bike requirements, that’s small. VanMoof and Cowboy’s newest wares provide 504Wh and 360Wh batteries respectively, as an example. Superstrata is promising a 250-watt motor, which is successfully the business normal for pedal-assisted e-bikes, that may rise to 350 watts in a pinch. It is going to ship 40Nm of torque, which is nicely under the 75Nm that Bosch — the provider for numerous bike manufacturers together with Trek, Moustache and Riese & Müller — at the moment presents with its flagship era 4 motors. (Bosh can also be planning a software program replace that may enhance the torque to 85Nm later this summer time.)

Superstrata’s Ion might be lighter than most of its e-bike competitors, although. The whole contraption ought to weigh 11KG, which is 1KG lower than Gogoro’s Eeyo 1, 8KG lower than VanMoof’s S3 and solely 700 grams heavier than the folding Hummingbird. Just like the Eeyo 1, the burden and “open-frame” design ought to make it simple to hold the bike on one shoulder. In idea, the the burden ought to counterbalance the smaller battery dimension, too. Superstrata is promising 96KM (60 miles) of vary on a single cost and an assisted prime pace of 32KMH (20MPH), which might be software program restricted to satisfy Europe’s decrease 25KMH (15.5MPH) pace restrict.

The corporate has sourced a few of its fundamental elements — the tyres, saddle and groupset, as an example — from third-party producers. We don’t know the precise mannequin numbers, however Vu confirmed they might be pretty “normal” selections. Superstrata couldn’t choose prime of the road elements, he defined, as a result of the crew is ordering them in smaller volumes than conventional bike producers. “The common individual, I feel they’ll take pleasure in it,” Vu mentioned. “Pro bikers, they’ll in all probability scoff at it, the units. However they will put in their very own units.”

Arevo has been engaged on its 3D-printed bike method for a while. Again in 2018, the corporate unveiled a head-turning proof-of-concept with a blue body that prolonged past the top tube fork and seat tube. Twelve months later, it unveiled the electrical Emery One with Franco Bicycles, a premium street and gravel bike producer based mostly in California. Arevo has since introduced that it’ll assist Pilot Distribution Group, an organization within the Netherlands, develop a brand new line off e-bikes which have 3D-printed carbon fiber frames.

With Superstrata, the corporate is lastly hanging out by itself. “I mentioned, ‘You already know what? Why are we doing this for different people? Let’s do it for ourselves and if different people need it, they will come to us,’” Vu mentioned. “In order that’s the thought. Let’s make a pleasant bike, finish to finish. Let’s construct a complete model round it and simply have enjoyable.”

To ship its dream bicycles, although, the corporate is popping to Indiegogo. As with all crowdfunding campaigns, there’s no assure that the Terra or Ion will ever materialize. Arevo has been round since 2013, although, which is longer than many electrical bike startups. Vu additionally hinted that the corporate is utilizing the platform extra as a advertising and marketing “launch pad” than a finance-raising instrument. Nonetheless, any reservation is a chance.

If every thing goes to plan, Arevo might be delivering its first bikes in December. The corporate will make 500 two-wheelers in its preliminary run, based on Vu, by a mixture of printing within the US and Vietnam. He hopes the Superstrata enterprise will enhance to “hundreds, finally,” however is keenly conscious of how aggressive the bike business might be. If the model doesn’t catch on, Arevo might need to pivot.

“As a 3D printing firm, we are able to try this,” he defined. “We are able to say, ‘Nah, okay. We’re achieved.’ In case you’ve invested into a complete line with carbon fiber molds and an entire manufacturing setup, you higher promote tens of hundreds of bikes or else you’re fairly screwed. But when 437 people are hating [Superstrata bikes] and we are able to’t get anybody’s consideration, it’s okay. Let’s do child strollers or no matter. Let’s do one thing else. I simply love this world of additive manufacturing as a result of you are able to do that type of factor. It’s actually upending the provision chain construction that’s on the market.”