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posted by janrinok on Friday August 05 2022, @05:30PM   Printer-friendly
from the Porsche-electric-boogaloo dept.

Porsche's new companies are all about electric bikes:

In the future, you may come across a lot more two-wheeled Porsches on the streets. The luxury automaker has launched two new joint ventures with Dutch company Ponooc Investment B.V., and they're both all about electric bikes. Porsche eBike Performance GmbH is based in Ottobrunn near Munich and will develop components, including motors and batteries. Anything it creates will then be used by P2 eBike GmbH, the second joint venture based in Stuttgart, to manufacture Porsche-branded e-bikes for consumers that the company plyans to launch starting in the middle of the decade. 

Porsche is far from a newcomer in the e-bike space. In 2021, it debuted two electric bikes inspired by the Taycan and were made to complement the Cross Turismo, which has a rear carrier. Those bikes, however, along with their motors and gear shifting systems, were manufactured by Japanese bicycle industry giant Shimano. With one company developing parts and another working on the consumer bikes themselves, the upcoming products the joint ventures will release will be all (or at least mostly) Porsche.

The components business will use the e-bike drive systems develop by Fazua, a company Porsche recently acquired, as noted by Electrek. However, it will also develop e-bike systems under the Porsche brand name — it will even sell the technology it designs to other brands. As with anything Porsche, the bikes under the new ventures will most likely not come cheap: Its Taycan-inspired bikes, for instance, set buyers back at least $8,500 at launch, with the sports model selling for prices that start at $10,700.


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  • (Score: 2) by legont on Saturday August 06 2022, @03:31AM (7 children)

    by legont (4179) on Saturday August 06 2022, @03:31AM (#1265214)

    I am in my 60s and still do pedaling without E, but yes, I can hear you, and my time is coming; fast.

    --
    "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
    Starting Score:    1  point
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 06 2022, @05:44AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 06 2022, @05:44AM (#1265227)

    Jump on that shit grandpa. You don't get extra points for struggling. I bought my first one age 33 and it was hallelujah. You're wasting time - go to the store now, try a few out, buy one.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by PiMuNu on Saturday August 06 2022, @06:09AM

      by PiMuNu (3823) on Saturday August 06 2022, @06:09AM (#1265233)

      > You don't get extra points for struggling

      Never heard of Type II fun?

  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday August 06 2022, @01:14PM (4 children)

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Saturday August 06 2022, @01:14PM (#1265255)

    I justified my way in with a Sondors fat tire for something like $800 delivered. The fat tires are nice to have around here, open up a lot more trails, and having the motor makes up for the fat tire drag and lack of gear options.

    Got my wife a RadRover fat tire after, and it's worth the little extra money, but I haven't replaced my Sondors yet. Passed 500 miles on the odometer last week, I think I have had it about 3 years now, maybe a bit longer.

    --
    🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Monday August 08 2022, @03:22PM (1 child)

      by Immerman (3985) on Monday August 08 2022, @03:22PM (#1265554)

      So you're happy with the fat tires? I've been trying to use my relatively short commute (across a valley that makes pedaling completely disheartening both ways) to justify getting an e-bike that I would (in theory) use for trail riding too. And it does sound like the fat tires are a lot more stable for trail riding, at the cost of being less nimble on the road. The big down side seems to be that there are few options for "tire armor"/flat-proof tubes in those sizes, and goats-heads thorns are common here.

      • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday August 08 2022, @08:14PM

        by JoeMerchant (3937) on Monday August 08 2022, @08:14PM (#1265594)

        Yeah, I was concerned about tire repair when I first got 'em. So far I haven't had an issue, but I don't think it's because the tires are unusually puncture resistant - more that my miles have been on relatively tire-friendly terrain.

        I mean, the tires are fat, the frame is heavy, and you're carrying a battery pack, motor, controller, etc. so, yeah, it's not exactly nimble, but it's nimble enough for me. We had one of these: http://buddybike.com/Home.htm [buddybike.com] that was an ungainly pig, even without a front rider/passenger - by comparison the fat tire bike is very nimble.

        --
        🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 2) by legont on Tuesday August 09 2022, @01:10AM (1 child)

      by legont (4179) on Tuesday August 09 2022, @01:10AM (#1265636)

      I am looking at front wheel conversion. Anybody tried it?
      I really do like the idea...

      --
      "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
      • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Tuesday August 09 2022, @04:27AM

        by Immerman (3985) on Tuesday August 09 2022, @04:27AM (#1265664)

        Not tested, but I've been tempted. I seem to recall hearing that it's best done with a heavy steel frame without front shocks (say, a cheap mountain bike). Those front forks just aren't designed to drag the bike forward, and can easily warp under the load.

        I've also been intrigued by the Rubbee X. An old-fashioned friction drive that'll prematurely eat your back tire, but in a compact quick-release package that lets you take all the expensive parts with you when locking up. Unfortunately quite expensive for the power and range provided.