Bicycles

Coboc impersonates non-electric bike to take Gold Award at Eurobike

Coboc impersonates non-electric bike to take Gold Award at Eurobike
The Coboc eCycle took out the Gorl Award at this year's Eurobike
The Coboc eCycle took out the Gorl Award at this year's Eurobike
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The Coboc eCycle took out the Gorl Award at this year's Eurobike
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The Coboc eCycle took out the Gorl Award at this year's Eurobike
The Coboc eCycle
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The Coboc eCycle
The Coboc eCycle
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The Coboc eCycle
The Coboc eCycle doesn't look like a conventional electric bike
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The Coboc eCycle doesn't look like a conventional electric bike
The Coboc eCycle handlebars
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The Coboc eCycle handlebars
The Coboc eCycle
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The Coboc eCycle
The Coboc eCycle is a single-speed electric bike
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The Coboc eCycle is a single-speed electric bike
The Coboc eCycle's extrenal charger
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The Coboc eCycle's extrenal charger
The Coboc eCycle's 250 W geared rear wheel hub motor
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The Coboc eCycle's 250 W geared rear wheel hub motor
The Coboc eCycl's battery level indicator and on/off switch
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The Coboc eCycl's battery level indicator and on/off switch
The Coboc eCycle is charged via a magnetic plug on the underside of the top tube
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The Coboc eCycle is charged via a magnetic plug on the underside of the top tube
View gallery - 11 images

Although slapping a battery pack and the requisite electrics to a conventional-looking frame to create an electric bike seems to be a path well traveled by a large number exhibitors at Eurobike 2013, there were a few designs that see the various electric components integrated into the frame. One example is the Coboc 3.0, which took out the Gold Award in the eBike/pedelec category at this year’s Eurobike.

To come in a choice of black or black, the Coboc 3.0 from Coboc eCycle sees all the electric components, including the battery, motor control and sensor, integrated into the down tube of the bike’s 7020 aluminum alloy frame. The only exception is the 250 W geared hub motor on the rear wheel that supports speeds of up to 25 km/h (15.5 mph). Despite this, the Coboc team has managed to keep the frame size free of any unsightly bulges so that at first glance it appears like a non-electric bike.

The integrated 36 V, 8.7 Ah battery pack is made up of Panasonic cells and is charged by way of an external charger that connects to the bike via a magnetic plug located on the underside of the top frame tube. The battery level indicator and on/off switch are on the top of this tube near the handlebars.

The Coboc eCycl's battery level indicator and on/off switch
The Coboc eCycl's battery level indicator and on/off switch

While this approach does enable the Coboc’s clean looks, the downside is that the battery can’t be removed for recharging, which Coboc says takes about two hours to provide up to 60 km (37 miles) of range. However, the company says the positioning of the bike’s various electric components and hub motor provides a balanced weight distribution.

The Coboc eCycle is a single-speed bike weighing just under 14 kg (31 lb) and will come in three sizes (S/M/L). All sizes will sell for the same price of €4,200 US$5,560) with sales set to begin in 2014 in Germany, Norway, Austria and Switzerland.

The Coboc eCycle's creators introduce their bike in the following (German language) video.

Source: Coboc (German)

View gallery - 11 images
14 comments
14 comments
Corn Splosion
The design is definitely an improvement over most electric bikes, but the price seems unrealistic to me. The Stromer ST1 from a few months ago seems like a much better deal.
Michael Crumpton
For the life of me I don't know who is buying these $4k+ bikes. I have never seen one in a bike shop or in the street.
Marylandbob
The Chantilly, Virginia USA made "WAVECREST 750S" mountain bicycle of 2005-2007 vintage could easily hit 30 mph, (WITHOUT PEDALING) so this bike is nothing new! The wavecrest bike motor was much more powerful, and sold in two versions, an "off road" version without a speed limiting function, and a "street legal" version limited to 20 mph without pedaling, and the motor was 750 watts, at 36 volts. I HAVE one, and it still performs very well!
Scion
25km/hr is a bit "tra-la-la" if you ask me. Standard pedaling on a bike like this will get you to that speed with only moderate effort. It seems pointless to put an electric motor in that will only help you if you are pathologically lazy or injured. My understanding is that if I pedal to 30km/hr then even at full tilt this motor will not add anything and may actually slow me down. Shouldn't the motor be able to help? I just don't get it.
Ryan MacDougall
Post like this just shows me how many lazy people there are in this world. If you want a bike then get a bike if you want self powered vehicle get a scooter or motor bike. These electric bike are so expensive and so compromised, for goodness sakes this is a single speed bike so it will never be fast and its really heavy. People who buy this #FAIL!!
Bart Amsterdam
The negative tone of the previous comments surprise me. I like the clean design, and compared to the price increase of a set of alloys on a car, the amount of money is all right. I understand that a small company needs this kind of money, but for the money I'll be the first on the street with such a clean look. It brought Apple loads of customers. I use an electric bike to get into Amsterdam from a suburb, it sure beats paying Euro 5 an hour for parking, and it lets me get to my final destination much quicker than by public transportation. Usually I use my normal bike, but we have an electric one in the garage. It's great for going out late at night, when you don't want to work up a sweat pedaling at 25 km/h. I see people on scooters and mopeds, but what's the advantage of carrying around all that weight, paying the cost of petrol, the engine noise, getting an insurance, and paying even more money? Since we have the bike, I use the car less, and I enjoy being outside on the bike. Need a distributor for The Netherlands?
Louis-P. Huard
I personally tried this bike at Eurobike 2013, and really felt like a bike designed by Steve Jobs or Jon Ives. Yes you're right this bike is not for your average American which is statiscally overweight, but for people who are still reasonably fit this ebike is a dream. This was my favorite 250watt bike at the show!
Acceleration was incredible, and the response to pedaling amazing. The clean and bare cockpit is a refreshing change to information overload that the average ebikes give you. I enjoyed this bike even though I'm slightly overweight (I come in at 196 lbs) fortysomething.
As for the price, a bit steep, but you pay for what you get.
No battery, no gears, no wires, no throttle.... just you and the road. Pure biking exhilaration.
Roger Dutton
Five grand!? More rich kids toys to go dusty at the back of the garage.
duh3000
I agree it's very, very expensive. That doesn't mean there's no market or buyers. There is a market for anything, especially (over-)powered toys. How many years has Ferrari been selling theirs?
But this isn't what an electric-assist bikes are really about. Aside from some of the more esoteric "racing" designs, E-assist is not for going fast. In Europe, unless strictly off road, you're going to be legally limited to a relatively slow speed and low wattage motors. So forget the "speed" idea and comparisons; non-assisted bike is MUCH faster !
E-assist (in Europe) is for practical, utilitarian purposes like pulling trailers or carrying loads or riding in fancy clothes that you don't want to get sweat stained (on the way to work or some formal occassion). Perhaps you are getting older and this is the best/only way to stay in the saddle a few more years? The Dutch "Spartamet" serves this market specifically.
So, get an assisted bike for the right reason and you may find it makes you very happy... depending on how much you paid for it.
gybognarjr
At the price they want to sell the bicycle, few customers would not think, that a good scooter and/or motorcycle cost the same.
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