Bike Friday Offers Electric Assist (E-Bike) Upgrades for Travel and Everyday Life
100% Focused on Your Cycling Experience
We believe e-assist is meant to add a boost to your natural experience of pedaling your bike. It’s to help you feel powerful and capable of riding your bike when the hill is steep, your load is heavy or your riding partners are faster. It helps keep you pedaling through the variations in life that might otherwise take you off the bike.
Bike Friday values informed how we designed great electric pedal assist options for cyclists:
- We believe that pedaling is an essential part of cycling. Being able to control your speed/power with your own legs is part of riding a bicycle. We do not offer throttles. Having an e-assist system replace the need to pedal makes it a motor bike.
- Fully functional bike always. A great bike that fits is an essential part of cycling. So each kit can be added or subtracted from your personal Bike Friday whenever you wish. If the e-assist is turned off you can still ride your bike normally. The e-assist system only adds value to your great riding bike.
- Repairable and Maintainable. We have an open source system that allows individual parts of the system to be replaced over time with out having to go to one proprietary brand for replacement parts. You do need a technician that understands electronics to change items if they are not exactly the same as the original.
- Best value when considering weight, function, and cost all together. A high-quality investment.
Each of the Electric Assist Systems:
- Are 36 volt Systems
- The controller’s maximum amp hours is 15 amps
- The capacity varies by battery and usage but ranges 360 watt hours – 430 watt hours
- All systems are “class one” pedal assist only so there is no electric assist without pedaling (this is key in some laws)*
- The controller can be programmed for your local laws
- From the factory, we program the motor to support at a maximum speed of 20mph.
- Are equipped with a clutch, which means no resistance when not using the electric assist
*Bike E-assist laws class levels defined :
Class One
- There is only assist when pedaling, no assist when not pedaling
- The motor stops providing assistance once the bike reaches a speed of 20 mph
Class Two
- Equipped with both pedal-assist functionality and a throttle. So you can have assist power when not pedaling.
- Maximum assisted speed is 20mph
Class Three
- Support pedal assistance. Primarily assisted when not pedaling but you can also pedal if you want.
- Maximum assisted speed is 28mph
- A speedometer is mandatory
Overview of the Full E-Bike Friday Suite
for the Urban Commuter
Front hub drive style e-assist:
Motor replaces front hub in the front wheel with a hub motor optimized for our 20 inch and 16 inch wheel sizes. If you want to take the e-assist system weight off your bike for some rides you can order a second standard front wheel. In just a few minutes you can switch out the front wheels and take the battery off the bike and then most of the e-assist system weight is off your bike.
Benefits of a front hub system:
- No motor resistance when coasting or without power and very quiet!
- Lightweight: Adds only ~ 10 lbs to your bike
- Fits both 20-inch wheel and 16-inch wheel Bike Fridays
- Disc brake compatible
- Balances weight of bike over both wheels.
Mid-drive style e-assist:
Mid-drive motor replaces cranks and bottom bracket and is tuned for the Bike Friday 20in wheel size. The chain-ring and crank are built into the motor so it does limit gearing and crank length options.
Benefits of a mid-drive system
- The most efficient system in terms of battery use
- Best hill-climbing capabilities. The battery lasts longer despite hills and distance
- Bottom bracket integrated pedal-assist for smooth acceleration
- This motor runs nearly silently so you can ride like the wind!
Pictured below: Mid-drive electric assist kit on a Bike Friday Haul-a-Day Elite
– Available on non-folding Bike Fridays: Ever-E-Day, Haul-a-Day, Family Tandem.
Battery Options:
Two different battery sizes:
Medium: 10 A h (Range: ~ 30-40 miles / 50-60km)
Large: 12 A h (Range: ~ 40-50 miles / 60-80km)
Why we use a battery bag: There are several benefits
- Lighter weight – The bag is much lighter than hard shell battery carrying cases
- Smaller size – The bag is smaller than hard shell battery carrying cases for similar battery capacities
- Flexible placement – The bag allows it to be attached to several places on most of our bike frame types allowing the rider to arrange where it works best for your other bike bag set-up.
Future option in development for flying on airplane:
LIGO Battery by Grin Technology
Ready to Electrify your ride?
Contact us and a Bike Friday e-bike expert will help you with your questions and find the best electric system for your situation.
For retrofitting older Bike Fridays into E-Bikes with an electric assist there are additional steps. Contact us for details.
Real Stories from E-Assist Bike Friday riders. Here is what a Bike Friday customer had to say when she added an electric assist to her Bike Friday:
“Just wanted to let you know how much I’m enjoying my upgraded Bike Friday. It’s actually making me cycle more, and work harder, and sweat more. I spend more time in the saddle and more time spinning because the psychological hurdle of wondering if I’ll conk before I make it all the way back home is gone. Also, I’m freed to explore the hilly areas around me that I was nervous to do much of before a bit of power. Because I have a built-in habit of going for a certain amount of pedal resistance when I ride, my worry that I’d just become lazy with an e-assist is fading. I now get how this technology can be great for true cyclists….” -Abby
