Overview
The e-bike industry is a blooming market since it provides a solid alternative for cleaner, more sustainable urban mobility. Annual e-bike sales are in the order of 3,400 M€ in Europe only and are expected to rise up to 7, 200 M€ by 2025. However, there is still an unsolved and recurrent complaint related to the limited autonomy of e-bikes.
LONGRIDER is a novel control system for e-bikes that provides extended battery autonomy by supporting the cyclist only when necessary and by applying extensive and efficient regenerative braking. By cleverly controlling the energy use (deliver and recover), the feeling for the cyclist is that of continuously riding on flat terrain irrespective of the terrain slope, and in the limit case it is even possible to make the battery last close-to-indefinitely (provided that the user is willing to compensate the system inefficiencies by pedalling). Thus, the value proposition of the LONGRIDER e-bike can be formulated in 2 ways:
- An e-bike with the same battery size as competitors that can last significantly more (up to 200% more with mild regenerative braking, and above that with a more intensive regeneration set-up)
- An e-bike with a smaller battery size than competitors for the same autonomy (LONGRIDER requires a battery-pack 60-70% smaller with the associated cost and weight reduction)
The development of this new concept is being carried out by a team that has extensive experience in the electric mobility industry developing next generation motors for electric vehicles, as well as a solid background in bicycles with over 10 patents related to innovative concepts for bicycles, some of them under licensing discussions with major brands in the bicycle industry (Sram, Campagnolo and FSA). ZUMA is currently working on patenting the LONGRIDER-related developments to secure a leading market position.