Mechanical engineer Dennis Freiburg from Germany has set the Guinness World Record for the lightest ever e-bike prototype with a design that weighs just 6.8kg.
The ride – named the Freicycle – reportedly took Freiburg almost a year to design and build, serving as part of a project for his doctorate. Unsurprisingly, the Freicycle is built with as much carbon as possible – namely in the wheels, cranks and fork.
Other components deemed unnecessarily heavy – such as pedals – were made ultra-light via 3D printing. Built on a carbon Merida Scultura road bike, the Freicycle’s frame weighs less than 1kg.
The motor is limited, as with all e-bikes, to a top speed of 25kph, but Freiberg believes it could reach up to 45kph with its full 600W of power. The tiny motor, mounted under the bottom bracket, uses a friction wheel to directly drive the rear tire. The battery, which is mounted in the bottle cage has a capacity of 137 Wh, which is a third to a quarter the size of typical ebike batteries and gives a claimed range of 19 – 38 km. The combined battery and motor drive system weighs about 2kg, meaning the rest of the bike weighs 4.8kg.
You can watch a three minute video of the new bike here.
This story was first published in Micromobility Weekly (UK)
Photo: Lightest ebike in the world.jpg
Caption: This screenshot from the YouTube video shows the 50mm diameter integrated motor and tyre drive system mounted under the bottom bracket and the copper coloured, water bottles sized battery unit.
