33kg e-motocrosser

While electric dirt bikes and electric mountain bikes are nothing new, the Bikesales Network team’s eye was recently caught by this funky creation, which appeared recently on new-technology website, Gizmag.

Dubbed the EMX (as in electric motocross), it’s produced by a small team of dedicated enthusiasts in Graz, Austria, and as the photo of the thing in action shows, it’s one capable machine.

While it might look more like a mountain bike than a dirt bike, the EMX has no chain, sprockets or pedals – just a brushless hub electric motor – so strictly speaking it’s more of the latter than the former.

The lack of manual propulsion has led to a hefty weight saving, which brings us to the EMX’s headline spec – its paltry 33kg weight. That’s well under the comparative weight of, say, the Aussie-made Stealth Bomber electric mountain bike, which tips the scales at 53kg. When you consider your average dirt bike is generally somewhere around three times the weight of the EMX it’s starts to sound like a whole lot of fun.

A team of five – Johannes Hoier, Andreas Hoier, Karl Maier, Armin Heimburg and Alex Steiner – began work on the project in 2010, completing the first prototype within a year. Now two EMX production versions are available – the ‘Street’ (a road model) and the ‘Cross’ (an off-road model).

Both use a 6-7hp Austrian-built brushless hub motor mounted at the rear wheel, which in the Cross is said to be capable of propelling it to speeds of up to 55km/h. A 1.5kWh Panasonic lithium-ion battery is said to deliver a range of up to 80km per charge, while other components include RockShox suspension, Avid hydraulic disc brakes and Schwalbe tyres.

The Street is basically a detuned version of the Cross, with a top speed of 25km/h (so it can still be classed as a bicycle) but a 130km range. In both models a ‘tubobutton’ delivers an extra hit of acceleration when required.

Taiwanese company Pacific Cycles manufactures the frame while the motor and other components are assembled in Austria. Both the EMX Cross and Street are priced at Euro 5880 (roughly A$7500). Visit www.emx-bike.com for more information.