Published in: Motorevija
Title: Electric Bike Motocross
Subtitle: Electric Bike Racing for the FIM E-XBike World Cup
Author: Jure Gregorčič
Title: Electric Bike Motocross
Subtitle: Electric Bike Racing for the FIM E-XBike World Cup
Author: Jure Gregorčič
At training, we visited Mitja Šorna, a competitor of the Slovenian Qulbix Racing team and the director of the company that manufactures very powerful racing electric bikes, with which they also compete in the FIM E-XBike World Cup, which is held under the auspices of the International Motorcycling Federation FIM. This very interesting sports branch combines the best from the world of motocross and mountain biking with electric bikes.
When an unusual bike rushes past on the motocross track, which is closer in weight, tires and appearance to a motocross bike than a bicycle, but still has pedals and a throttle and accelerates violently in pure silence, you just stare in amazement. And you are even more impressed by such an electric hybrid between a mountain bike and a motorcycle when you grab the handlebars and start racing down the muddy track. Believe me, every real mountain biker or motorcyclist will smile and at least a little scared when the electric surge of instant torque of 300 Nm jokingly spins the rear wheel into neutral. The 55 kg aluminum-steel off-road special can easily stand on its rear wheel or push off into a long jump with the surge of power (15 kW) of the brushless electric motor with permanent magnets. On a closed motocross track, the electric bike with pedals achieves performance comparable to 85-cc motocross motorcycles, but is much more agile than a motocross motorcycle. It can reach speeds of up to 95 km/h, and above all, it accelerates violently, even better than the aforementioned engine. The battery pack - which consists of cells from established manufacturers Samsung or LG - with a capacity of 2.1 kWh allows for a real racing experience of 40 to 50 kilometers.
When an unusual bike rushes past on the motocross track, which is closer in weight, tires and appearance to a motocross bike than a bicycle, but still has pedals and a throttle and accelerates violently in pure silence, you just stare in amazement. And you are even more impressed by such an electric hybrid between a mountain bike and a motorcycle when you grab the handlebars and start racing down the muddy track. Believe me, every real mountain biker or motorcyclist will smile and at least a little scared when the electric surge of instant torque of 300 Nm jokingly spins the rear wheel into neutral. The 55 kg aluminum-steel off-road special can easily stand on its rear wheel or push off into a long jump with the surge of power (15 kW) of the brushless electric motor with permanent magnets. On a closed motocross track, the electric bike with pedals achieves performance comparable to 85-cc motocross motorcycles, but is much more agile than a motocross motorcycle. It can reach speeds of up to 95 km/h, and above all, it accelerates violently, even better than the aforementioned engine. The battery pack - which consists of cells from established manufacturers Samsung or LG - with a capacity of 2.1 kWh allows for a real racing experience of 40 to 50 kilometers.
Believe me, every true mountain biker or motorcyclist will smile and at least be a little scared when the electric jolt of instant torque of 300 Nm jokingly spins the rear wheel into neutral.
Jure Gregorčič, Motorevija