Radical new ride-by-wire electric bike drivetrain with no chains or belts begins production

Published

2 years ago

February 22, 2023

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A year and a half ago, we broke the news about a wild new drive system for electric bikes that lacked any mechanical connection between the pedals and wheels. The Free Drive system, created by a partnership between German companies Schaeffler and Heinzmann, is now finally entering production.

The design essentially turns electric bikes into a different style of hybrid vehicle.

In a sense, most electric bicycles are already hybrids, though they’re what is known as parallel hybrids. The electric drivetrain that is powered by a battery and the meat drivetrain that is powered by a sandwich can both independently operate the e-bike, either alone or simultaneously.

The two drive systems thus work in parallel and aren’t necessarily connected.

But a series hybrid like the Free Drive system from Schaeffler and Heinzmann is different. It lacks any physical mechanical connection between the pedals and the wheels. Instead, it places the electric and mechanical drivetrains in series, meaning the rider’s pedaling power is converted to electricity that flows through wires to power the motor and ultimately turn the wheels. You can’t use one without the other.

To achieve this, an electric generator is mounted at the pedals. The rider turns the generator instead of a chainring, which converts that kinetic energy into electrical energy. That electricity flows to the motor and gets converted back into kinetic energy to power the bike. Any additional electricity that is generated above what is needed by the motor gets stored in the battery. The battery can also be charged via a wall outlet, which is the more likely scenario.

While the Free Drive system has multiple uses, cargo bikes seem to be one of the main applications. Most cargo bike designs are limited by the need to create a long tunnel for a bicycle chain to reach the rear wheel or gearbox. But the Free Drive allows cargo bikes to be designed differently, lowering the floor or deck and creating a much more stable platform that isn’t constrained by the bike’s mechanical drivetrain requirements.

And with electric cargo bikes increasingly filling important roles as replacements for delivery vehicles in cities around the world, making these e-bikes more efficient has major implications.

As Schaeffler AG CEO Automotive Technologies Matthias Zink explained:

We need to rethink mobility for tomorrow’s cities. Electric cargo bikes fill an important gap here, particularly in last-mile goods delivery.

Cargo e-bike manufacturers are already lining up to purchase the new system, which is expected to begin rolling out on new e-bikes later this year.

I had a chance to test out an early prototype of the Free Drive in 2021 on a trip to Germany, and it was a wild ride. While it wasn’t quite as refined yet (apparently it has received significant design updates), it was still a fascinating feeling to pedal a motor instead of a chain or belt.

You can take a look at my testing of the Free Drive in the Eurobike 2021 video below. Start at around the 36-second mark to see the Free Drive — though I think the whole video is worth a watch!

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Beta Technologies founder completes first test flight in its production-intent eCTOL [Video]

Published

4 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Beta Technologies founder completes first test flight in its production-intent eCTOL [Video]

All-electric aircraft developer BETA Technologies has shared another important milestone in bringing its first two vessels to market. Most recently, BETA’s founder, CEO, and test pilot Kyle Clark took the production version of its ALIA eCTOL up for its first flight, as seen in the video below.

BETA Technologies is a fully integrated electric aircraft and systems developer based in Vermont. Three years ago, it debuted its first electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the ALIA–250. That BETA vessel has since been renamed the ALIA VTOL and completed a piloted test flight transitioning mid-air this past April.

In addition to the ALIA VTOL, BETA has also been developing an electric conventional takeoff and landing (eCTOL) plane called the ALIA CTOL. To date, it has flown tens of thousands of test miles en route to evaluation flights for FAA certification. That aircraft is targeting full approval for commercial operations by 2025.

As BETA moves closer to bringing the ALIA CTOL to the public, it has completed its first bonafide production build in South Burlington. Following a Special Airworthiness Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), BETA has successfully taken its production-ready ALIA CTOL up for a test flight, piloted by its founder and CEO.

Watch BETA’s founder complete a CTOL test flight

BETA Technologies shared details of its first successful production CTOL test flight today alongside the images above and the full video below.

Once the production-intent build of the ALIA CTOL was complete, the FAA inspected the aircraft for safety and compliance before granting BETA a Multipurpose Special Airworthiness Certificate for Experimental Research & Development, Market Survey, and Crew Training, signing-off approval for test flights.

On November 13, BETA CEO, founder, and test pilot Kyle Clark conducted the first test flight of the ALIA CTOL aircraft, which lasted nearly an hour. The test included a conventional runway takeoff before the aircraft climbed to 7,000 feet.

While in the air, Clark tested the aircraft’s handling qualities, stability, control test points, and initial airspeed expansion before completing several approaches ahead of a normal landing. Clark spoke following the successful flight:

This start of our production CX300 flight test campaign is a result of years of hard work and focus on studying customer requirements, hard engineering, manufacturing, production, quality and test. It represents a significant milestone for BETA, and is the beginning of an exciting new phase for the business. With this, we’re one step closer to putting this technology into the hands of our customers.

We learned a lot from this first production build. We weren’t just building an aircraft company, we were building and refining a system to build high quality aircraft efficiently. This first build allowed the team to collect data and insight on manufacturing labor, tooling design, processes, yields and sequences, all of which are being used to refine our production systems.

With its production test flight campaign now underway, BETA says it will continue testing the ALIA CTOL aircraft for the standard 50 hours required before qualifying for a Market Survey and Crew Training certificate. That next certificate will enable BETA to fly outside of Burlington and Plattsburgh and continue training additional pilots on the aircraft.

The company shared it will also continue production of additional aircraft, including ALIA CTOL and ALIA VTOL configurations, the latter of which was recently teased in October. You can view footage of BETA’s CTOL flight below.

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U.S. crude oil rises, trades around $69 per barrel

Published

4 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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U.S. crude oil rises, trades around per barrel

Crude oil futures rose slightly on Thursday, with the U.S. benchmark trading around $69 per barrel, though the market outlook remains bearish.

Global crude supplies are expected to outstrip demand by more than 1 million barrels per day next year led by robust growth in the U.S., according to the International Energy Agency’s monthly market report.

Here are today’s energy prices by 8:07 a.m. ET:

West Texas Intermediate December contract: $68.92 per barrel, up 49 cents, or 0.7%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil is down more than 3%.
Brent January contract: $72.78 per barrel, up 50 cents, or 0.7%. Year to date, the global benchmark is down more than 5%.
RBOB Gasoline December contract: $1.9711 per gallon, up 0.3%. Year to date, gasoline has fallen nearly 6%.
Natural Gas December contract: $2.966 per thousand cubic feet, down 0.6%. Year to date, gas has gained nearly 18%.

UBS slashed its price forecast for global benchmark Brent to $80 per barrel from $87 previously on weakening demand in China, the world’s largest crude importer.

OPEC on Tuesday cut its demand growth forecast for the fourth month in a row earlier this week.

U.S. crude oil has shed about 4% and Brent is down 3.5% since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential as the dollar has surged. A stronger U.S. dollar can depress oil demand among buyers that hold other currencies.

Don’t miss these energy insights from CNBC PRO:

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Loren McDonald stops by Quick Charge to discuss EV charging, Paren, and more

Published

15 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Loren McDonald stops by Quick Charge to discuss EV charging, Paren, and more

Leading electric vehicle analyst, author, and industry thought leaders Loren McDonald and Bill Ferro stop by Quick Charge to discuss EV Adoption’s acquisition by Paren, the “crisis” of EV charging reliability, and the real state of the EV market.

Depending on who you listen, EVs are either driving brands to record growth and are about cross that critical 10% of the overall market nationwide, or the future is bleak, the market is down, and EVs just aren’t selling. What’s really going on? Loren and Bill (probably) have some answers.

Today’s episode is sponsored by BLUETTI, a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems. For a limited time, save up to 52% during BLUETTI’s exclusive Black Friday sale, now through November 28, and be sure to use promo code BLUETTI5OFF for 5% off all power stations site wide. Click here to learn more.

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